Carolyn - is it a perennial in your zone?
DJ9'S " WINTER SEED ROBIN " WISH LIST
That's just what I need, Carolyn. Your plant's a beauty regardless of its name. My gardens are so shy of White perennials.
I bought a catmint plant last Spring, of course the cats could have cared less about it, and realized later I should have bought Catnip. Corey, do those numbers behind the names of the seeds you tried with zilch results represent the number of seeds you planted, or something else?
Dane, if you still have seeds from your MG Baby Bell, would you please reserve a few for me? When you have a chance, take a look at my album and let me know what you'd like in return. You might like a mix of MG's I grew this year, most are Japanese. http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/578864655ymyagp
Erin - yes it is perennial in my zone. I have been growing this for probably a good 5 years or so.
FOTV - love your species lily. How tall is it? It reminds me of Black Beauty..... could I try some of those seeds as well?
1. CATMINT (NEPETA NERVOSA) BLUE CARPET (1433)
2. THYMUS SERPYLLUM (MOTHER OF THYME) (2016)
3. SALVIA SUPERBA BLUE QUEEN (1802)
4. SALVIA FARINACEA VICTORIA (1817) ANNUAL
Those numbers are the Parks item numbers.
I filled a 128-cell tray and planted almost all the seeds I got - 4 packets.
Each salvia had 50 seeds. Catmint & thyme had 100 seeds each.
So zero sprouts for 300 seeds - less than 1/3rd % germination.
I don't blame Parks, I probably got them too wet in peaty seed-starting mix and then "kept the humidity high" with a dome. I never thought commercial seed-starting mix could be poorly-draining, but they may assume that you don't DRENCH it.
Or the room may have been too cold.
Or when the sun came through the window each day. too hot.
Now I add sand to commerical seed-starting mix, and try harder to avoid excessive watering even before they emerge. Next I'll try screening some 1/8th inch chunks out of pine bark mulch, and try to start fussy seeds in a very airy chunky mix.
The "Square Foot Gradening" book sold me on placing seeds into a spot of vermiculite, just to be sure they had a sterile, moist and easily-pushed-aside covering.
I may try pre-sprouting difficult seeds on a moist coffee filter.
I can start other things, even columbine, delphinium and penstemon. After three tries, I got Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) to sprout and get 3-4 inches tall. Petunias, zinnias, forget-me-nots, marigolds, sure, no problem, they are hard to kill.
Now, I can keep many seedlings alive until they need more light than I have, or get root-bound! :-)
Corey
Thanks, Carolyn, I'll remember your offer.
Dane, I agree. Tomatoes want 75-80 degrees to germinate, and chile peppers may want 75-90, depending on species. I had chile pepper seeds on top of the fridge at night, and in a sunny wiondow in the daytime. They are probably still too cold, especially at night. So if they fail to sprout, I won't give up on them.
I'll try 10 more or 20 of each at work, where it is 70 most of the day, and probably not much cooler at night. Maybe an incandescent light bulb 12" away would provide enough warmth.
I'm not quite sure why I'm so eager to see them sprout: our summers are so cool that I doubt the adult plants will be very happy.
Corey
FOTV,
Can I put some catnip seed into your envelope?
Corey
Sorry Corey for misunderstanding once again guess i should not read the forum when I'm tired :(got most of my baking done yesterday for the family coming tomorrow . once again very sorry .
ok besides the envys that i have recieved are there others that have been sent ? that i should look for ?
I Hope to get the last of mine ready to go into the robin today.
if there are no more seeds coming from players I Hope that maybe I will get the robin out into the mail by
NO LATER THEN WED>
well you all have a great day
Corey,
When I sprout inside I use the baggie method and put the baggie on top of the satallite box, nice and warm. When using cells or peat pots, I water once and cover with a damp paper towel, it keeps the surface damp and allows the rooting area to be a little less wet.
Fruit of the Vine ... Baby Bells MG.
I've looked around town and I have only seen one person growing annuals. I don't know if it's the crop duster or the climate but many usual plants don't grow here. Many of the seeds I get won't grow there. The amount of seed in the Robin seems overwelming. For these reasons I'm treating the Robin as a person and will do most my trading with Robin, unless you have tropical seeds. My Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans) is flowering outside now, it's a house plant for you.
Can't figure what FOTV stands for. "For others to view?"
Thanks
Dane
This message was edited Oct 30, 2010 9:58 AM
This message was edited Oct 30, 2010 10:48 AM
FOTV __FRUIT OF THE VINE
Just got back from town & As always I Still forgot half of what I Went for the main one being Laundry soap RRRRRRR.
& Don't don't tell me to make a list for i forget to take it with me :(
I'll just have my brother bring them out tomorrow when they come out . :)
well I'm going to off here you all have a great day .
susie
could i please have some hot lava+milkshake coneflower seeds too please
OK HELP HERE ARE MOST OF THE SEEDS FOR THE ROBIN & tHEY ARE OVER FLOWING THIS LG FLATE RATE BOX & THERE IS NO MORE ROOM FOR ANYTHING ELSE :(
SHOULD I DO 2 BOXES AS WE DID THE FIRST ROBIN ? WITH THE WEST TO EAST & tHE EAST TO WEST ???
Yes to catnip seeds, Corey, and thank you dmtom for the MGs. Did you want any of mine?
I've updated my list of promised seeds to gardenseeder63 and Carolyn. Specie Lily was a new bulb this year and the plant grew to about 2' tall and best I remember had either 4 or 6 blooms.
FOTV,
I haven't seen any pink MGs around, I'll take you up on that.
Thanks
Dane
Susie
I think two boxes would be good.
Dane
This message was edited Oct 30, 2010 10:49 AM
Gotcha.
Susie,
If you decide to do two boxes, can I still amil my seeds to you or would it be better to wait?
Two boxes, or whatever you think best, is fine by me. Let me know if you wnat a second page of labels for the counterclockwise box. I could mail them to you or to person #2 on the counterclockwise circuit.
Would postage be less if you just packed them all into one bigger cardboard box, and sent that "priority"?
Maybe, if the box is so big, you should allow four days to go through it all, instead of 3? If we finish early, we can still send it on early.
Corey
I was speculating, so I looked up some rates.
http://postcalc.usps.gov/Default.aspx?m=0&dz=92584&oz=98204&pob=0&MailingDate=11/1/2010&MailingTime=8:00%20AM
Do you think we will have more than 6 or 9 pounds of seeds? It looks like the flat rate charges extra for convenience, unless you are sending something denser than seeds and smaller than 12 x 12 x 6", more than a few states away. And now we are bigger than 12x12x6.
(BTW Susie, to make things simpler, maybe you would rather send me the cana rhizomes as a separate package, and I'll just pay that postage separately.)
Priority gets cheaper if it's lighter, or if it doesn't go as far, like WA to CA instead of WA to FL. And the box can be twice the size of the large flat rate box.
I guess one downside would be that everyone would have to weigh their box at the post office. Or put on excess postage, still less than the flat rate. My post office has a 24/7 automated scale that prints postage for you and you don't have to stand in line.
It looks like the break-even point is that
one 9-pound pkg, 12x12x12, WA to CA costs less than two medium flat rates.
Since most Robin hops are short distances, and we will probably be under 9 pounds, that sounds promising.
One 6 pound Priority package 12x12x12 costs about the same as two medium flat rates over the greatest distance - WA to FL .
4 pound - - - - - - $11.90 - - WA to CA - short distance
5 pound - - - - - - $13.50
6 pound - - - - -- $15.05 - = - = - = - one large flat rate = $14.50
7 pound - - - - - -$ 16.80
8 pound - - - - - -$18.20
9 pound - - - - - -$19.75
10 pound - - - - -$ 21.35 - - - - - - - two medium flat rate = $21
Two medium flat rate boxes cost $21. For that we could send
one 6 pound package, 12" x 12" x 12", Priority mail, all the way from WA to FL:
4-pound - - - - $15.30 - - - WA to FL farthest distance
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - = - = - = - one large flat rate = $14.50
5-pound - - - - $17.65
6 pound - - - - $19.90
- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - two medium flat rate = $21
7 pound - - - - $22.40
8 pound - - - - $25.10
9 pound - - - - -$27.95
I guess that's likely to be more than one large flate-rate box ($14.50), but comparable to two medium flat rate boxes (2 x $10.50).
Medium flat rate sizes: - - - - - $10.50
13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8"
or
11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2"
Large flat rate size: - - - - - - - $14.50 12" x 12" x 5-1/2"
well let me see what I Can do here .
corey i might have to send your cannas into another box but will let you know .
Anita If I do just the one box then you can send on monday & I Should have them by weds & Put them into the box & Get the Bird in flight by thursday .
I'll try to let you all know tomorrow late afternoon for i have company coming tomorrow .
Ya all have a great evening .
oh corey I got the pictures thank you .
I hope you liked the pictures. Now I'm going crazy and even using my inkjet at home for pretty flower-pictures.
Enjoy the company!
(I see I got carried away with the Post Office website. Needless to say, I'm sure you have all the experience with Round Robins and this is the first one I've been in.)
Corey
you will enjoy corey you won't know where to start when it arrives :) TRUST ME .
good nite all movie time :)
You got that right, Susie!
Corey, she's too modest to admit she runs fabulous Robins, and you will not believe the variety of seeds when you dive in! The three Robins last Winter kept us motivated to try new seeds, we were drooling over pics, and they kept some of us like me on the East Coast half-way sane from our worst Winter in 100 years with record snowfalls.
I'd prefer one box but do whatever you think is best, Susie. In the for what it's worth column from personal experience, using Flat Rate is convenient for the PO but isn't customer friendly unless you get in the 8 - 10 pound range. Since the pattern you showed has each of us mailing to neighboring states or near-by ones, regular Priority Mail (in a large #7 box) or Parcel Post with Delivery Confirmation in a comparable size box, is much more economical. When the last Robin made its rounds and been fattened up before I sent it home, it weighed about 7 pounds.
>> you will not believe the variety of seeds when you dive in!
I'm already overwhelmed and a half. Just the things that have been set aside for me "one on one" will keep me busy for years.
The image of a CUBIC FOOT OF SEEDS or SEVEN POUNDS OF SEEDS has my jaw on the floor and me trying to keep my head from exploding.
It's like I went in one year from my first seed trade to a scene from the movie "Scarface" where Dustin Hoffman wades knee-deep through cocaine! (Almost.)
Corey
With two boxes you get seeds from more directions. The first few people would also be the last few. The warmer south would get more time to get seeds.
Susie's last Robin had two boxes. Wonder what the general opinion was for that?
I will be happy either way, I already have more seeds and plants than beds for. Next year I will have a better selection of seed and a plan for what I want.
Dane
I would prefer the one box and the flat rate box. Most of the participants may send to a neighboring state but some may have to send further. With a flat rate we know everyone will pay nearly the same rate. If weight and distance is a factor in the rate, it may vary a lot for some. Of course, what ever Susie or the majority decide, of course, I'm still in.
Corey, my first RR felt like Christmas in a house with 20 parents and Me as the only child. LoL I was even more excited about the individual envies.
I had to build more gardens to accomodate all the seeds from the RR. LoL
Susie, I'll be sending my envies to you on Monday if that's alright. I can overnight them to you so that way you'll have them unless you are planning to send out two boxes. I'm towards the end of the list so I'll send them to you on Monday unless you'll be doing two boxes - then I can just place them in the box for later on down the road.
Carolyn, my echinops is the blue - I'd like some of the white myself. I'll send some of the gayfeather and coreopsis to you in an envie. I'm not sure which is the seed and which is the chaff with the coreopsis though - I'm still new to collecting the seeds and cleaning them and just want to let you know that.
Merrymath, I can send everything you asked for.
Di
Me too: whatever Susie says is best.
>> my first RR felt like Christmas in a house with 20 parents and Me as the only child.
Nice!
Corey
Who here has prior experience separating Coreopsis seeds from chaff and has a step-by-step process to show us? These are still blooming and it would be a shame if I don't collect seeds properly and have a chance to share them.
Good Morning all I Hardly slept Last night thinking about this robin & I PRETTY MUCH Had my mind made up
Before I Read all your Post .
THANK YOU All & There is ONLY Going to be """ONE FAT ROBIN """ & It Will FLY After all the Seed Pks
Have arrived here
DI You Do NOT Have to overnite the see;s that cost way to much please just send them 1st class or reg mail with a conf will get here just the same ,
We may have to vaccume pack :) right now i wish i had a machine to do that :)
Some How ,Some way they will all fit in there :)
Has everyone a Vaccume sweeper ???? I Can use a vac bag that way it will make it in a i will get mine
out later today & let you know how it works , it won't hurt the seeds .
Susan : I forgot about my coreopsis i will go out & check them & seed if i can find the seeds on mine .
Di we all are still learning how to collect seeds so your not alone on that .
ALSO IF ANYONE HAS ANY SEEDS FROM IRISES OR DAYLILIES Other Then STELLA"S I Would Like to
Try THEM . TY
well i have some mail to read & Then off to fix BKF For all .
susie
if they won't fit in a standard LARGE PRIORITY BOX, how about the three sided PRIORITY TUBE BOX??? about the same in shipping charge..I HAVE both the large and small size tri sided boxes... most postal offices dont' carry them, so I ordered online ((FREE OF CHARGE)) .
Can't wait til it flies.
Dane
Susie - I think I have some daylily seeds - I can check.
I don't have a vacuum packer...... I have to package regularly becuase of this.
Since space will be at a premium, I won't put in the wire cloth mesh or soda-straw seed-spoons I was going to. If anyone wants to see or have them, let me know and I'll mail them separately.
Seeds are better!
Corey.
Pictures Corey, so I know what you are talking about.
Maxine
My list for seeds of a few White flowers below only gives a suggestion of those I'd like to try. It doesn't matter to me if they're annuals or perennials, just need more White blooms next year.
Balloon Flower
Baptisia leucantha
Candytuft
Catananche
Cobaea Scandens
Columbine
Double White Datura
Hibiscus
Lunaria / money plant
Lupine
Primrose
Scabiosa
It's still shakey. My $4 tripod on a carpet is not very steady. I need to find the "delay shoot" feature. These are 6 mesh, 10 mesh and 16 mesh in 4" squares.
I wish I had ordered 12 mesh and 18 mesh instead of 30 and 60 mesh.
Corey
MAN uploading from home is slow!
Here are the easy-to-make seed spoons. The smaller ones might be 1/32 tsp, just guessing.
The biggest one is wrapped around a 3/8" dowel.
Corey
This is about as close-up as I can get.
The ruler shows 1/16 th inch lines, and millimeter lines.
green - 3/8th inch dowel
clear - chopstick
red - bamboo skewer
For scooping out tiny, controlled amounts of tiny seed with shaky fingers.
I like to sand the wood until it is willing to slide, then rub the wood with beeswax. That lets me expand or contract the scoop area to taste.
I've probably spent 40-60 minutes fooling around making them, and 10-20 seconds using them.
Corey
Here's a convenient way to use wire cloth for stackable seives.
I can't find the link right now to the DG member who posted a how-to blog entry for this.
This seive uses 6 mesh wire cloth to support the rather flimsy 16 mesh cloth.
Corey
This message was edited Oct 31, 2010 9:09 PM
You can stack them together and sorting goes faster.
