New Thread ..... we came from here ==> #28 http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/949685/
Gardening: Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #29
Hey I'm right here at the top of the list! LOL
Sorry Meredith, I misread the last thread. It was perenniallyme who was talking about starting my echie seeds. I don't think yours came from me as I had them all labeled by the specific type, but I'd still love to see how yours do! Last year was the first time I started them from seed so I'm excited to see all home-grown coneflowers.
Hi Lala, I haven't checked my spreadsheet today, but I think I got Merlot, Green Envy and Twilight from you. All three of those have germinated this week in my WS containers. I'll keep you updated. Would be nice if they bloomed for me this year. My standard E. Purpureas that I started from seed last spring bloomed great the first year, but I understand you are saying the hybrids may not. Got my fingers crossed!
Tonya
I am still reading along even if I don't post much.....
I'll let you know Lala. Going to start some indoors as I want to see them grow up sooner!
Aha! I winter-sowed mine last year so maybe that's why I didn't get any blooms. Oooh now I'm excited. I've already WSd a jug of each but maybe I should start a few inside in hopes of seeing blooms yet this year.
Like I have the room. LOL!
speaking of Echina -- I got GreenWizard from LaLa
Merlot from Mao
Bravado from Dryad
I'm up to 6 varieties ... though this year, probably only 2 will bloom.
I never said it was going to work, Lala. Just a newbie seed starter here!
PS. I'll be happy if I just get plants for starters.
Thanks for the laughs. ROTFLOL about lawnmower cr*pping out.
I decided years ago that one weed I have, makes a really nice ground cover. Glad everyone is getting their seedlings growing, gives us all hope for a beautiful spring.
WIB,
SW
just marking my place . . . ^_^
Hi Fairy!!
I was all set to go out and toss so Columbine seeds out - but then it started pouring rain and I KNEW they would wash away, so it will have to wait another day. Instead, I've spent the day squeegueeing (is that a word) water to the drain in the basement so the little portable sump pump can get it out to the far back yard. The thing that torques me is I know why it's doing this - our neighbors (whom we like) had their gutters redone, and the guys ran their downspouts into pipes in the ground that lead directly to the sewers - which is the way it used to be done, and is now illegal. And I know those guys knew it when they did it - so all the rainwater that's coming off the north side of our neighbors house is burbling like a little artesian well into our basement. argh...so, I'm taking a break in between rain storms to grab a bite to eat and mumble to myself about stupid gutter installation guys.
Oh dryad, gee, I wish your day was going better . . . .
Remember Tweety Bird? I keep having this song he sang going through my head while I'm pushing water around: "Singing in the bathtub, life is full of hope.....you can have more feeling, while feeling for the soap....." And then I wonder if they make a ShamWow big enough for basements....
Ick. No fun when someone you like does something like that! Hmm, wonder if you could just light the whole basement and turn it into a tropical paradise... no watering necessary!
I have that exact basement here in Podunk Ohio Robin. I've been pushing water to the sump pump hole with a mop all afternoon. The cracks in my basement wall are so big (how big are they?) that you can hear the water trickling in like a soothing babbling brook. Soothing my foot! At least setting up the plant lights in the basement FINALLY got me off my rear end to clean things up down there. I can't tell you how many times all my plunder got drenched - and often ruined - because I never learned my lesson and kept things up off the floor. See? Another selling point for setting up a green house in your basement. It finally made me clean up all the junk ... and haul most of it to the dump.
Terese, you know the Green Wizard isn't really an echie as we normally think of them. I think they'll look smashing in a cone flower bed though and have WSd some myself to scatter in among them.
OH yeah.... it's a Rudbeckia, right? wonder why i have it listed at a Echie?
and i feel for ya with that basement... i lived that way, [counting..... as a kid ummmm 73-85, as an adult 88-01] too many dang years.
I don't know what I would have done without that squeegee broom thing - it made moving the water to the pump a cinch. And we've got nothing in cardboard - everything that touches the floor is either a chair, or in plastic containers. Other than our FLOR carpet tiles, that is. When the weather is warmer I'm gonna haul them to the car wash and clip them to the side and spray wash/rinse those babies (sis's idea), then lay them on the driveway to dry. It could be worse - the water is nice and clear :-)
And if our house had real electricity (it's old, so it's only wired for 100, rather than 200 amps or watts or volts or whatever it is) so I'd have that thing set up for plants in a heartbeat if I had the juice to run the lights and such. We may have to break down and have that done, and try not to choke on the cost.
OK - off to check the basement and pump!
How many sump pumps do you have? we currently have 3. only two at the old house.
you guys in Indy getting a lot of rain, or is most of this due to the melting over the weekend?
I ran out and got one of those little portable dudes, one of the main selling points was that it would work with only 1/4" of water and hooked up to a regular hose. This is all from the rains as the snow's already gone, ground's saturated, and the neighbor's downspouts lead directly to the sewer lines. I swear it looks just like a little baby fountain, about 1" high, spurting up next to the drain. After this settles down I'm getting that waterproof epoxy and plugging a few of the holes that I found while running the squeegee around the floor. We've only had water back up into the basement twice since we moved here on Oct. 2006, and both were after the neighbors had their gutters and downspouts replaced, both times were this winter. The guy from the city who came out to take a look at the sewer and everything agreed with me, he thinks it's their downspouts as well. Since we get along really well with those neighbors he's going to swing by early next week and leave a note on their door saying he was running a regular inspection and noticed that their downspouts are illegally running to the sewer and give them a chance to fix it without getting into trouble. That way I won't have to go over there and make them feel guilty for flooding our basement. Now then, if I didn't like them, I would have had my reciprocating saw out and hacked those puppies off myself this afternoon - LOL!
Poor dryad. I don't think they make shamwows that big, but you could use a lot of them. Then tp the neighbors with the illegal drainspouts. Not really! ^_^ Your solution is much better. I can't believe that you are still having problems with your poor basement. Maybe you need two coats of that waterproof epoxy. Oh and wear a breathing mask. That stuff is harsh on your lungs.
It's hailing up north of us, and my son said it was really cold last night. He probably didn't light the woodstove, much less feed it. LOL! Must have really been cold for him to complain.
It was warm here at the beach and clear for a change too. I actually saw a shooting star . . .
WIB,
SW
Singing Wolf,
The star was for strength something to believe in. I love it when I see one makes me know I am being watched over.
Boy these threads are rolling with flower power and her I have sat with the flu this week and ichey hands wanting to see something sprouting so got to get a move on. You people are awesome!!!!
Carolyn
Well, the leaks have stopped leaking, so the pump is off and the fan is on - we'll see how dry the thing is in the morning. Sunny tomorrow, so I'll haul out the FLOR squares to dry, and spread some Columbine seeds :-) We had some power fluxes, and one of my lights doesn't want to come back on - I'm hoping it's a temporary snit fit and I don't have to go get another light thing tomorrow. I'm about a third of the way through updating my Trade Tracker with all my seeds (I make them not visible), then I'll be able to update my spreadsheet with the status of all the little babies that are started. Now I just have to be patient for another week or so before I rip into all those peppers. I'm also gonna get brave this year and really try to start some Delphiniums, I just love how they look, the colors are so ethereal.
Congrats on the shooting star SW! Those are the coolest. I do have the waterproof/sealer paint, just have to let the basement dry. I'm marking the spots where I can use that to stop leaking, but there are a couple of places that will probably require that waterproof epoxy stuff. I used to use that when I had a saltwater fish tank - man, it can glue just about anything to anything.
Lala - how's your basement doing?
Darn I wanted see you in action with the RECIPROCATING SAW...LOL not really
Tubby
The water has subsided but it will be a good while before things dry out. Fortunately there's a natural 'gully' and the water flows (yes it actually flows) from the biggest crack in the wall to the sump pump hole. But it was coming in so fast today that I'm afraid there's water laying everywhere. The floor material is .... I don't know what you call it. I guess it's cement or concrete but it's not smooth. The surface is more stone than concrete with a lot of dips and rough spots. I imagine it was put down when the house was built which was well over 100 years ago so I guess it's as good as I could hope for. It's supposed to start snowing tonight. I can't believe I'm glad to see snow, but I can't take anymore rain!
I've spent a good portion of my night going through the seed bags.
Again.
I categorized in greater detail this time then made 2 very important piles. One pile is the 'I hope I have room' pile and the other one is the 'ain't gonna happen' pile. It's almost a relief to cull out the ones that won't make the cut. Now I can put them back in the fridge and quit sifting, sorting, and agonizing.
Lala_Jane, our house on the farm was built in 1911 and have one large room that had a dirt floor. Extremely hard to keep it neat and clean, as we burnt wood and tossed it in that room. I also used that room for my fruit cellar to store things that I canned and potatoes and apples.
Also after reinsulating the whole house, when the wind blew [house on hill] the curtains would flutter in the breeze.
Maxine
I've been off the site for awhile and wow - it's takes awhile to catch back up! I love hearing about everyones sprouts. I have my first sprouts too!! So exciting. I have:
Abutilon - commercial
Hibiscus, Blue Bird - RatherBDigging
Lisianthus - Commercial
Desert Rose - Starlight
Begonia's - self
Viola's - Starlight
The Begonia's are SO tiny, I can't fathom them growing into a flowering plant. Truely amazing. I will planting a few more today - Torenia, Bronze Fennel, Alyssum and maybe Agastache (need to look into this one first).
We went with weeks of freezing cold and snow to 50's & 60's the last couple days. Needless to say, the snow is gone and everything is flooding then along comes rain and high winds. yikes. I was so afraid my WS would start to germinate but today is back down to colder temps.
Lala, hate to hear of the basement flooding. It seems like all of Ohio is flooding.
Good to have you back Chele! Of the seeds that you listed as germinated, are they under lights?
I have read so much on these threads about folks' light systems, etc. Due to limited personal time (full time job, etc.) I have been limiting myself to WSing and a few seeds in the window light. It sure is fun to come home from work everyday and see new sprouts in my WS containers, though. BTW - I have agastache cana and agastache rupestris sprouts in WS containers. My abutilon, desert rose and lisianthus have not sprouted yet, though. I may do them inside also, if I don't have to use lights.......
Yes, I check on the threads in between tasks at work (she says with some chagrin), one of the perks of being a boss! I read y'all everyday, even if I don't pipe in!
Tonya
Tonya if I lived in your zone I would probably WS everything and forget the lights completely. But up here in the frozen tundra our growing season is just so darn short! I don't see blooms from WSd annuals until July and with our first frost usually coming in October it just doesn't give me enough time to really enjoy them. I love the ease and convenience of winter sowing but I usually save it for perennials so if I miss the blooms this year I'll have them the next.
Chele I saw you had some commercial Abutilon sprouts and I'm wondering if anybody had any luck with the abutilon seeds I sent. I FINALLY got 5 seeds to germinate, but I hate to tell you how many I had to plant to get those 5 or how long it took to see them.
(I'm starting to see dry patches in the basement. LOL.)
As stuff germinates I move it into a Germinated category in my journal. I don't know if thios will work, but if you want to see what I have germinated try the link. http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/vbc/Meredith79/72467/
Will someone LMK if it works, please?
This message was edited Feb 12, 2009 11:43 AM
Hmmm Meredith, the link didn't work for me. It said there was nothing listed in the category yet.
Thanks for the input Lala. Makes me feel better about my decision!
Tonya
Would you mind trying again? I realized I probably didn't put the right link in and tried it a different way.
Yeah! It worked this time Meredith. Thanks for the link.
Oh cool! I forgot that I needed to click on the spot that said external before I copied the link. Thanks for checking it out! : )
Hey Chele! I'm glad you're back!
Tubby - I'm wicked with power tools :-) Dad did a great job of teaching me how to "fix things". I used to follow him around all the time as his helper, my nickname was "Shroofer" - must have been German for something, as all the little words and saying both Mom and Dad used were German - that's my predominant ancestry. One of my favorites (I know I won't spell this right) is "machs nix" - which means all messed up or confused. It can apply to things or people - very handy phrase.
Lala - I hope the dry patches increase in size! We're pretty much dry, and with the sun and breeze today my main mission is to get those carpet tiles out to the drive to dry. I overslept something fierce today - too much exercise yesterday - LOL! And I really like your idea of the two piles of "where will they go" and "ain't gonna happen" - I need to do that too.
The one light that didn't want to come on last night was on this morning, so all the fixtures are working. After the tiles hit the driveway I'm going to spread some Aquilegia seeds on the north side of the house, and schlep the bags of topsoil into the garage so I can set up my WS containers and get those done over the next few days. Do y'all have a list of what you've WS? I really can't make up my mind what to do this year, guess I'm spending too much time on the inside stuff. I've got some Milkweed I want to start, and some Joe Pye Weed and Dianthus, but that's all I can come up with off the top of my head. I'll take any suggestions!!
Robin, I'm wintersowing just about anything I can (..and still running out of room inside!). I made the mistake of counting the WS containers..107, and 5 or 6 to go.
Flu symptoms have hit me like a ton of bricks! For the last couple of days been having sinus issues, which is nothing unusual for me, and was sore and trying to figure out what I'd done to cause it. Well last night the fever hit, and I've been in a state of semi-delirium since. I haven't even eyed over the sprouts today...which definitely means I'm sick, LOL.
At least yesterday I got several more seeds sown inside, 5 different Clematis, Mimulus, Clary Sage, Pavonia Rock Rose, a couple more Impatiens varieties, and a few tropicals.
I'm behind on my WSing too Robin. So far I've done all my echies (5 kinds,) a couple rudbeckias and 2 different monardas. I still have a couple hollyhocks to sow and I think 3 gaillardias, and I might do a jug of calundula yet. I have some old veronica seed that I might try just to see if it's still good...oh and I want to do a jug of Blue Salvia. I did a small container of it last year and just loved it so I'd like to have enough to do a border. My neighbor had orange zins in with his blue salvia last year. It's not a combination I would have thought of but it was really quite striking.
La, I love blue and orange flowers together. They're complimentary colors (opposite each other on the color wheel). I've found keeping the color wheel in mind when combining colors a handy tool.
veronica that is a funny one last year everything else I planted was growing like crazy and not a one veronica then we had real bad weather at the time when all the plants had been spending the day days outside and coming in at night so it ended up that the veronicas the flat was on the bottom since they had not come up and I put another on top for two days it was cold with heavy rains when I finally put everything back outside they had all germinated lol they need darkness to grow and didnt know
I just kinda just put things where I want to see them it usually works out pretty good a few times I had to move one here and one there