Well, I was hoping to hop onto a threadd that was already started but could not find one!
So here it is!
MARIGOLDS for 2010!
So whats everyone growing in them?
I had some cute little yellow volunteers from seed that were nice and compact and no bigger than a dime!
Cracker Jack seems to be a popular one. I hope to do that one in the spring.
So, ok, show us your bloomers!
Dont know what these came from, but I will take them!
These are the only marigolds I have growing, down here, right now. I have no clue what variety they are cause I "cheated" and bought them. Next spring/summer I'm gonna get back to growing a few of my own. I'm definitely going to try African Marigold "Eskimo" which is white. The others I'm thinkin about are all French Marigolds named: "Durango Bee", "Durango Red", "Little Hero Spry" and "Zenith Red". The whites and the reds are the marigolds I generally like the most.
Jon
This thread looks a bit emeciated and under used! I will be growing:
Crackerjack
Discos
Flower Power
Citrus
Tangerine Gem
Gem mix
Harlequin
Mr. Majestic
Snowball
Snowdrift
French Vanilla
and of course my favorite Sunset Giants!
Lots of good choices for sure. The "Disco Series" ones are great. I ordered "Snowball" two weeks ago and the company no longer carries it. Aargh. I liked French Vanilla and also liked a white one named "Kilamanjaro". Kilamanjaro had slightly larger sized blooms. Mt Majestic grew and bloomed very well for me, but I was disappointed with the bloom size (small) and coloration. It had the right colors, but it didn't have the sharp contrasts in comparison to what we see on websites.
Jon
Aahh we are just starting D! It will get going give it time..
Amaranthus huh? ok, I will start a link for that one...but I warn you I have no pix as I have not grown it in years!
LOL! I found the label to the parent of that lil yellow one I started with up there.. but I set it down and oldgeezers got me, I cant remember the name again! LOL!
Yeah, it will get going Blossom. LOL. You've got Amaranthus seed coming your way.
Huh? no no no what am I gonna do with amaranths?
Amaranthus link...
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1060470/
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Oh yes, it was called Little Devil! That little yeller thang....thats a
Little Devil offspring... got more seeds this season, but they are not pure...cant wait to get them going.
don't like the stinky weedy lil beggars. Only good use for them is in the veggie garden.
They're definitely not my favorite flower either, but they do have their place. They are good summer color down here, when options are more limited.
I have lots of yellow ones, both small French ones and Tall African ones in the same bright yellow color, like the color in the first post. I also have tall African ones in an orange-yellow color. I am not sure of the cultivar because I got the seeds deadheading plants outside the doctor's office and a shopping center. I plant the two matching yellow ones together as a border of the garden. They seem to deter the neighbor's cat (along with coffee grounds). I remove the spent flowers and turn the plants under in fall.
I traded for some disco flame and startlet to try in 2010. I think the red-yellow combo will look nice bordering the strawberry plants.
I have lots of yellow seeds if anyone is interested. I have shared them with several swaps and still have more left. (Also have Star of Yelta purple morning glories left). Glad to share for trade or SASE.
Well the chickens like em! LOL! Gives them those lovely colored yolks!
You tempt me oooooh so much to send you an SASE....is it raw seed in the heads?
I pulled it out of the heads and separated most of the chaff.
My grandmother used to say that Purdue chickens look like they were fed marigolds because they were so yellow. I grew up outside NYC, we didn't raise chickens. If I did, I would probably stop eating chickens and only eat eggs.
LOL. In one of the Perdue chicken commercials Frank Perdue mentions feeding them all natural ingredients, including marigolds. Buck buck .
Well, Im not fond of store bought chicken. And there is only one kind of chicken I would raise for meat anymore and thats a JUMBO WHITE CORNISH-X. Much easier to clean than a fish! We call them suma-chickens. They will gain 1 lb. per week from chick to dinner in 6-8 weeks, You cannot let them live longer, they will die of a heart attack, but oh how they are so yummy.
Now for eating eggs.. if you want a good hen that is reliable and productive I highly recomend the leghorn. Those girls can lay without hardly skipping a beat. BUt they are white eggers. For brown, I recomment the orpingtons, I have buffs and they are a nice calm bird.
And for other colors.. go easter eggers..but I warn you the EE birds are not good eating.. only good for natural colored eggs!
I only asked about the chaff since I was debating on what size envie to send! I have a 7x5 bubble laying here just saying mail me! Troble is, dont know where I would put them in the garden if I got them. This seed collecting is too dang obsessive compulsive!
Oh and BTW, Merry Christmas! And glad you could join us.
My grandmother called him "the bald headed chicken *@%#er". She got cranky when her arthritis was acting up.
She also got upset when my mother bought cut chicken and the parts weren't from the same chicken.
Oh dont you just hate that... I absolutely hate chicken thats parted out by a machine! Getting tired of spitting bone parts. I swear sometimes the bird goes in crooked and comes out looking like well, what ever your gramma woulda called it when she was cranky! LOL! (Cant be any worst than some of the kids language these days now could it!!)
So much soilent green food on the market place it makes me wanna start chewing tobacco just to get something organic and so I can spit better, but I wont go that far either.
I separate seeds so that they dry faster and more efficiently. I am allergic to mold and don't want a lot of moldy seeds laying around. I also mix them around so that, hopefully, the seeds are a bit more genetically diverse.
If you grow tomatoes, you can plant them nearby and turn them under in winter. I am not sure you want chickens around your tomatoes.
My Westie, Tiffany, would LOVE a pet chicken. The poor chicken would definitely get a heart attack being chased around. She loves to bark at the ducks and geese and make them fly away when we go to the park. If I had more space I would consider raising chickens for eggs. At the moment, I am running out of space for plants.
I didn't realize that they used a machine. Yikes!
I buy whole, free range chickens whenever possible. I make sure they are labeled hormone and antibiotic free. I also make certain that they aren't basted with corn syrup or other oddity. Stores are beginning to have more natural products. I am sure that they are not as healthy/tasty as fresh grown.
Derned assembly lines take all the jobs from the real people. And they blame unemployment on whaaaaaat? I swear the government lives in theiir own bubble.
Oh please dont get me going there!
Get so tired of fake food and waste the pakaging makes.. grrrr.
But anyway, back to those marigolds! got pix??
YOU EAT YOUR GIRLS!? I could never eat something that I knew it's face. Bad habit of mine to make everything a pet.
BB...don't you send me no sticking marigolds!
I think the only marigold I like was Tiger Eye.
P
no no no.....thems not pets, I guru-anty it!
Im not sending ya any marigolds so dont hold yer breath.. I got sumthing else in mind fer you old lady!
And dont give me that ima vegan look!
I'm not vegan...I don't eat faces I know.
so there...keep them stinkin' marigolds
Well, they come pre-traind to always hold their fanny feathers to you so no worries, you will never see both eyes! Beleive me you will get so sick of looking at them fat tushies, you will want to give them a mercy killing. I dont kill nuthing I dont raise either, cept the plants of course then like you I is a royal cereal killer. You chicken embryo scrambler yu!
Feathers are flyin on the marigold subject. LOL Who would have thunk it.
I didn't know anyone hated marigolds. I think they are kind of cheerful. You dump the seeds in the garden and they grow! Unlike the fussy little seeds requiring refrigeration, scarification, exfoliation, lights, heat, assorted spa treatments to grow large enough to damp off and die.
I will have to check if I took any pictures. I always catch the irises and roses, but take the marigolds for granted.
Problem is, I am not big on the color orange. It clashes with my pastel roses. I tried white marigolds, but they weren't as hardy or floriferous as the yellow ones. Any suggestions?
Hate such a strong word. I use them around vegetables but rather not have them as an ornamental in a flowerbed.
GQ, im still contemplating on those marigolds of yours..
Well, I just got in some marigolds from Jon.. actually they are a calendula called Scarlet Starlet. Thanks Jon! I have not tried those before so that should be fun!
You're welcome Blossom. "Scarlet Starlet" is a French Marigold I grew last year, and liked them very much. Their primary color is red.....which is a little bit unique compated to all the yellow and orange ones out there.
Here is a pic of the little French ones. The African ones are the same color but taller. I will have to find a pic. I take them for granted, but am glad for the constant flowers in the summer. I baby along the roses and potted tropical plants, and take the marigolds and morning glories for granted. I am new to gardening, trying to achieve a cottage look with constant blooms.
This spring, I got some extra ones in surprising places. I had saved up a bunch of seeds and gave them to a couple of the neighborhood kids who "help" me garden. Their parents wouldn't let them plant them , so they dumped them in my garden. I keep the marigolds by the strawberries and the veggies, not in my pastel cottage rose bed. This year, I had them everywhere. I moved the ones that were in the way, and was grateful the others don't self seed here.
I like the African Marigolds also, but for some reason haven't planted enough of them the past two years. Will have to plant them from seed this spring because they're much harder to find here, as plants. I baby along my Morning Glories. I know that sounds strange, but they're tough to grow here and will only grow in the winter.
I have a dumb question. Do any calendula have seeds that look like marigold seeds or did I get mislabeled seeds in a swap. I got "calendula" seeds in a seed swap. I planted them in a pot and got plants that look like my yellow African marigolds, but even taller and a different color. Their seeds look like marigold seeds not the hard crunchy calendula seeds. I am glad that I planted them in a pot, not directly in the garden.
They say that gardening is "upside down" in FLA. You have plants growing outside, that I baby inside during the winter. My morning glories are "star of yelta" purple ones. They reseed and come back every year. Perhaps, if you don't have a winter freeze, the morning glory seed coat doesn't crack open. I have some of those seeds left also for trade or SASE. Next year, I want to add some other colors with them. I'll see if they are as hardy.
I've only grown a few calendulas from seed and they're always hard "u" shaped seeds. I'm sure my "Heavenly Blue" Morning Glory would reseed itself, if I let it. I deadhead all the blooms and never let any of them go to seed. It's my way of keeping it under control and getting it to put out more blooms. My other Morning Glory is a tropical perennial Morning Glory named "Blue Dawn". It's on its second year now. It stays green year round, but only blooms about 8 months of the year for me. It's just starting to go back into its blooming cycle.
GardenQuilts, I will be happy to clear the confusion on "Pot Marigolds(calendulas)" and "Marigolds(Tagates)"
Calendula seeds should appear as little comma shape worms, and will germinate more slowly than true Marigolds.
Marigold seeds should be tiny sticks showing black and white color, and will germinate in under one week, if condtions are good.
Thank you, I am glad that I asked.
You are welcome!
Marking my calender for my zone to do Marigolds>>>>>Sow indoors 2/20, 3/7, 3/15, 3/25, 4/15. Direct sow 4/19
Perhaps I may grow some myself this year??? Not sure yet. They're one of the few flowers you can grow here at any time of the year. Boy am I glad I grew some Calendulas (Pot Marigolds) from seed this winter. Have never tried them before and love the way they've grown and are blooming. A real pleasant surprise.
Ok, now are those sposed to be the same planting times as regular marigolds becuase I have some of them too. Guess I need to check their packet.
Been trying to mark my calender for planting days.
Calendula or pot marigolds.. back of packet said...
Planting time April or May for direct sow and in the late summer for pot plants
3/10, 3/24 if potting, then start indoors, set out 4/19
