My Gypsy. Soudn sliek you have the perfect conditions to grow the Indian Pinks. I finalyl remmebere d the name of that plac eoto, it Viola Wildflowers Farm or somethign like that that sells th eplants think it in bunches of ten bareroots.
Congrats nbgard!!!!!!!1 More babies!!!!!
Ok I need some help with seed I bought from co-op. I got fro summerhill some of them Phaselous Sunset somethign new cuz the blooms looked pretty.
I opene dthe package and they a giant bean . Now does anybody know are these gonan grow up as a vine and do ya put one or two in a pot together, wil they spread out and vine everywheres. And are they gonan mae just pretty flowers or do they make a bean pod as soon as they bloom. I feel like if i plant them i might wake up to jack in the bean stalk type plant. LOL
Gardening: Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #29
this weeks is gallardia week will start blue,white,red and yellow
I also have to start some perennial poppies
you have inspired me to keep going with the seeds
thank you
Star, if Sunset is like its red counterpart, it gets big in a season. If you do it in a pot, make it a big one! Mine vined like a pole bean, and seems like it reached 10-12'. Seems like mine was kinda stingy with blooms.
Oh wow!!!!!!!! Ok, was gonna ptu it in a one gallon pot, think that big enough for one plant . One day, mind you in the way, way far off future when I nop longer cna see pretty face s then I might quit orerign stuff, btu til then , nope gott get a prtty face and then wonder what I bought later. LOL
Thanks mygypsy. I haven't gotten my worm poop yet, boo hoo. Haven't even gotten the e-mail saying it's on it's way.
I got my worm poop a few days ago. They didn't send an email to say it was being shipped. The only email I received was when I signed up to get it on December 12th.
It's a big bag for free! :)
cool that is such good stuff and it goes a long way, you will see how your plants will thank you for such good food
Danita, I signed up for the worm poop right after you so I hope mine will be here soon.
toofew
I bet mine will be here soon, too. I'm hoping!
Oh good. I was getting a little worried. Didn't want the poo returned :-P. I've never used worm castings before, so I'm thrilled to actually try it. :-)
its easy and cheap to make your own all I do is use a good soil with lots of vegi scapes and the worms are cheap just add them to the pile and pretty soon its turned into castings
scicciarella, silly question here, what are vegi scapes?
I have a composter, which has TONS of worms in it. Poor things get scooped out and tossed around the garden. Then I guess they make their way back to the composter, cause it is filled with worms again by the time I empty it out again. LOL
toofew
LOL. Twofw is yoru worms goign for midnight strolls without you. hahahahha
Twofew - sounds like your worms are heading to the compost pile like teens to an all-night diner :) I'd spread 'em around more often, make them do a bit of work through the yard on their way back to compost heaven.
nbgard - those babies are sure fat and sassy!
Hey guys. I tried to start a thread the other day on the germination forum about indoor germination successes and failures - also thinking that some others besides me had never been to "cottage gardening" - I hadn't before the piggy swap - but no one's replied, so I'll ask one of my questions here. I planted gerbera daisy seeds over 3 weeks ago - on heat mat under lights - and no signs of life. Should I give up on them? I could use the space if they're not going to grow.
Robin and Ella, y'all are too funny. Now I have this mental image of partyin' adolescent worms headed to the compost bin that has a flashing neon sign on it!
Tonya
On the Gerbera, I planted 27 at the same time. Two groups of 9 came up within a few days. The others from a separate source, were duds. Three weeks sounds like a long time to me... anyone else?
Good afternoon everyone! And belated Happy Valentine's Day!
Last year I tried to wintersow EIGHT different varieties of hardy hibiscus. Only the hardy yellow hibiscus germinated and I now have three planted in the garden (thanks to critter).
So yesterday, I sowed TEN different varieties and I will try and start them inside. I scratched the seeds with sandpaper, then I soaked them for 24 hours. Now they are on heat pads - but not under lights. Does anyone know if they need light to germinate?
Also sowed "Purple Majesty" millet seed. Do these need heat and light to germinate?
Thanks,
Michaela
Thanks kl. If yours came up in a few days, I don't think I'll give them much longer.
Seandor. yes.. yes.. yes... : )
Seandor, Last year I tried starting a bunch of Hibiscus I saved from my Moy Grande. I wasn't sure if they would be something acceptable to trade so I wanted to try them out for myself. : ) I soaked them and only one sprouted within the time period I had expected. I didn't throw the pack out though. I left it in a zip up greenhouse and it got watered along with all my seedlings. Well the darndest thing if they didn't decide to sprout long after I had written them off! I can't remember exactly - but I think it was at least mid July. So the moral of my story, I think they are slow to germinate and possibly like it -singin - Hot Hot Hot. lol
Yopur right Meridith. They do. I been sproutign them. I soak, then sow and into baggy and under lights 24 /7 and maybe about 3-7 days if they wanna pop. But they cna be stubburn too. LOL
seeds only sprout when the conditions are right sometimes it takes years lol
Oh - the hibiscus needs light as well? Well, so far I have killed the astillbe, the begonias, and the lisanthus - so I was concerned that if I had lights on as well, that the hibiscus seeds would just rot - but I will put them on - 24 hrs a day if you think that will help ^_^
Seandor. LOL. Poor thing. I laughign with ya. I just streache d abotu a mile long a bunch oif them eeds they call mini sunflowers. They had sprouted and i never noticed in the bag .
Ya kil some , soem ya grow some, then ya go back to grow the ones ya killed and kil them again, and botu the third time ya may get it right. LOL
Ya I left mine on lithen table with just kitchen light on above then 24/7.
If ya have lots of trouble with them I have taken them and put themin water and hydrogen peroxide a touch and change dit every dya and left them in the water for about 5 days and had em all sprout. Just depends on the cultivar. But they need light and heat and dry side too. They don't liek to have wet feet at all.
Star, I've been doing as you suggested and keeping my seedlings on the slightly dry side, and they are responding beautifully! Pansies, Snapdragons, Broccoli, and Vinca are all just as pretty as a picture :-)
I've run out of potting soil and at a halt till I resupply. I tried some cheap potting soil from Lowes (Wonder brand, it was 2.79ish for a 40lb. bag), and have been very pleasantly surprised with its performance. Its very free draining and has a lot of fine barky stuff in it. I mixed a handful of granulated organic fertilizer in before transplanting seedlings into it, and everything seems to really like it! I have trouble regulating moisture with the peaty mixes, and sometimes they stay wet too long. The seeds I've been germinating in the Wonder soil have done very well too.
Meredith, I have teeny tiny Mimulus seedlings! Its hard to believe those microscopic babies grow into full size plants. Also have Wild Thing Salvias and Yellow Elder from the swap germinating :-)
gemini How did you do yoru mimulus? I gettign ready to do mien and havent' doen them before that I cna remember.
Oh I am so glad gemini! : ) I was worried about keeping those tiny seeds packaged, without escaping. I'm so glad some actually made it to you.
Star I remember them being easy just sprinkle them over the mix and press in a little. : )
man -- -i need to start shopping at Lowes. too bad it's a 20+ min ride.
I'll have to look for that brand of potting mix. I bought some MG a couple of weeks ago and it was frozen solid! I had to bring it in to thaw out. But I didn't have to moisten ahead of time ;-).
tcs, what did you buy ? Come on - tell me you bought seeds - so I don't feel like the crazy one! ; )
Meredith.... ahhhhh, you mis-read me. when Neal made the comment about cheap 'dirt' at Lowes, i said i need to shop there.
actually... i do not shop much at all... if it isn't groceries... i dont buy much anymore.
and i have not purchased commercial seeds since 2007 [oh... aside from the Summerhill Co-Op]
as i get all my seeds from good - caring gardeners.
I do need to get to Menards or even Lowes... just to see what they have. I've only been to a Lowes once, as it is not as close as HD.
I need a new bird feeder [something the squirrels can not eat] and some good bird seed.
plus i love to look at kitchen and bath 'stuff'.
Star, I sowed my Mimulus the same way Meredith did hers, just surface sowed and placed them in warmth. Mine are under lights, but I don't know if they require light or not.
Neal, NO WAY ... 2.79ish for a 40lb. bag!!! What a great deal! I know that our Lowes did not have that soil last month because I was out looking. And Meridth, I did by one package of seeds while I was there ... can't remember what right now. :o(
I'm afraid none of my oriental orange poppies have germinated. I sowed them all inside. I know a couple of years ago I winter sowed them and got alot of seedlings. Ah well, I'll save seeds again this year and winter sow them next. The plant is not for me, it is for a friend.
toofew
Kelly, can I ask where you got your gerbera seeds? I've always failed miserably with them and if you have a good source (and method) I'd love to try them again. You can Dmail me with the information if you'd rather.
Michaela let me know if you don't have luck with your hibiscus. I've wintersowed them twice and they came up like gangbusters. I think I gave away all my seed from last year but I'll happily save you some next fall.
My mimulus have gone crazy. BE CAREFUL NOT TO SOW THEM WITH A HEAVY HAND. (Are you reading chia pet there?) I ended up transplanting them HOS so I have a lot of very full cells already.
I'm kind of disappointed with some of my commercial seeds. I wonder if I'm really getting lower germination from them or if I'm just more aware of it since I paid actual money for them.
My Cerinth from Summer Hill is an eye opener though. I've never grown cerinth before and had no idea they were such big plants....at least the seeds and seedlings are big. I have no idea what to do with them.
There is no room here to devote to non or slow germinators. But in an effort to not totally give up on them I use their pots to start the next seed. That way they can still decide to wake up and poke their sleepy heads out of the soil if they ever get the notion. Of course that system only works well if you know what the seedling looks like or you could have a real mess trying to figure out what you've got growing. LOL.
Star I've been practicing with your wicking cloth system and I think I've got it down pretty well. I'm going for an over-nighter Saturday and have been pretty concerned about leaving the babies. My mom is going to come over to let the dog out periodically but she can't handle the stairs to get to the watering. I have 4 plug flats that are too big to fit into a watering tray and need to be misted about every 12 hours. I plan to bring those upstairs and she can give them a shot when she comes down to take care of Aldo and I think the rest should be good to go.
La La... I have Cerinth up too. I grew it once before, btu I sure don't remmebr it puttignup to stems at once.
They do get to be a good size and are so gorgeous when they bloom. I need to get mine transplanted. I put them in the tiny seed trays instead of a 2" pot and they have outgrown it.
I forget who had th Tall Tithonia I got, btu whenyoru sedlinsg came up did they have a tall stem with them. Tryign to figrue out if theyust naturally a tall sporut or i streched mine?
Star, my Tithonia seedlings were kinda tall and skinny last year too, but they bulked right up once they were set out.
Ah good morning Miss Star. If you're still here can you give me the name of the fellow that donated the pepper seeds for the swap? I'd like to thank him and ask him a few questions.
Oh that good to know. I thought I had goofed on the titionia. Ya they tall and skinny, but they standingup straight an dproud so far ( keepign finger scrossed)
That would be Mike. smokemaster. He a not only amaster pepper person, but a master griller of em. LOL He a sweetheart.
Star, i remember the same thing with Tithonia. They are just tall seedlings I think. : ) I can't start mine yet, or they would be too big before I could plant them out. You all in warmer zones are making me feel behind. Then I remind myself, your going to be able to plant out about 2 months before me! : )