Pepper, I wonder if this is what March is really supposed to be like. We get so used to April being the cold wet month and March has kite flying days. I think I'd rather the months corrected themselves and March stayed chillier.
February 2011
Another gloomy day! My tomatoes are getting too lanky, I don't have enough grow light space for everything and natural sunlight is so much better! i'm transplanting them into deeper grow bags but they really need that sun! I think the perennials have made it okay, I covered them all the row cover cloth and they seemed to like it. If the weather forecasters are right two more days of chilly nights and it should be good to go.
We've had the flu at our house so have been running behind on things. And of course time out for anniversary and family birthdays. In the rush of Spring I have to remember what is really important.
Shortleaf, good luck on getting a car I know that must be very frustrating.
Heres some color in the photo below, Daffodils and Hyacinths in all they're glory!
Thanks Sally, I do have kinda a dry sense of humor. Yeah, Grandpa is a humorous sort too! A soft yellow eh? Not a bad color I suppose and tropical settings are about the color I agree.
Oh, the 70° weather will be back, maybe this weekend!
Thanks Justgrowin, I'm still looking for a used car! Oh boy, I hope I don't have to dicker with a car salesperson, that means I'm buying at a car lot! A friend was car salesman of the year years ago at this one new and used dealership here on the "Miracle Mile" in Independence, MO. A good salesperson can make over 50k a year if they're good, like my friend was. He went on to become a mortgage broker and made over 100k a year, (he said he was huge at the time), and then he became unemployed shortly thereafter...lol Actually, it wasn't so funny when he lost his house, but you know what they say, "laughter is the best medicine"! Oh, I wouldn't get much if I were to trade in the truck on a carlot deal, maybe 300 dollars. It's not in very good shape up close.
I was looking at my seed plantings a while ago. I might have a Calif. Fan Palm tree coming up!
Pepper, I have the Habanero seeds in an envelope for you and addressed and everything, but I was hoping it'd warm up a little before I mailed them.
I think they look forward to my visits too. I know my Grandpa does, he loves to play Chess, I think my Grandma gets weary of the hours we play it most of the time. I've played him so much and lost that now I'm getting to where I can give him a little trouble sometimes in that game. I've learned so many good moves, that he used on me, that it has been helping for things to sometimes swing my way! Overall, he still has the winning record, like his 75 to my 55 or somewhere thereabouts.
I'd like to do the big garden thing in the backyard. I asked my friend here for her opinion on it. I'm liking a chainlink fenced in garden about 12 x 12.
Has anybody heard of the "natural daylight" bulbs that GE and the makers are hawking now? I was wondering does that mean they are growlights? I know the color spectrum of a growlight is suitable for plants, I wonder if they're new bulbs that say, "natural daylight" have that color spectrum? I looked on the package at The Home Depot, the packages don't say.
I forgot to say that on that "tropical spot" that I plan that I want to cover that weed fabric with about a 4" layer of black mulch.
I think those bulbs are supposed to be brighter than the current set of CFL lights. They are supposed to more closely resemble daylight.
Justgrowin, do you pinch off the lower leaves so you can plant them even deeper? That's a good solution for when they start to get too tall. I do that to the green peppers too.
I hope the flu is done at your place. That really knocks you back doesn't it? I hear you on getting busy too.
Will, it would be nice if things could be planted year round, but you're right to stick with the white.
Well, 300.00 is more than you have now, and it's old enough that by the time you do brakes, plugs etc. you have nickle and dimed yourself to death. But since you have time, you can weigh your options.
The win/loss isn't too far apart now, LOL! I imagine it took a while to even win a first game with him :o)
12 by 12 really isn't very big. What are you planning on planting? If you stake the tomatoes you will gain room, and if you go with the square foot gardening you could pack in the plants.
Don't bother with the fancy lights. It's the lumens you want to look for and cheap shop lights work just fine!
Nice daffs and hyacinths!
I know I have talked like a pauper before, but I have been saving my pennies for a car. I might have made only $8.65 an hour (22 hours every 2 weeks) but I have way more than $300 saved up (but not enuff worth kidnapping me for, and I know you're in a gang up there in IA., billyp)! I agree tho, it's 300 more dollars and thats what separates us from the animals, (Seinfeld says) WE don't turn down money! lol
No, the win/loss isn't that far apart anymore. I told him I am gaining on him! My Mom and my friend here say its dumb to keep track like I do, but I like it and my Grandpa likes it. Oh, he wants a copy of it and is always looking at it. This is a screenshot of the latest figures I been keeping! I go by my middle name to family people. For all you stalkers out there, my last name is Smith! lol
Thanks billyp, the daffs and hyacinths are real troopers, its a good thing that they bloom before the leaves get on the trees because there is NO sun there when the trees are in leaf..lol
My truck isn't there anymore, I had it towed to a garage to be fixed yesterday.
I wonder why they even sell plant flourescent bulbs at Walmart then? Regular shop lites are much cheaper, maybe plant bulbs last longer too? I have a shoplite with 2 plant bulbs in it that I purchased new in 2004 and I've never changed a bulb or a ballast in it. Much of the time it is on 24 hours a day, like now, it's been on since Oct. In it's heyday there is like 30 plants under it! I've been putting many of them outside now, I'm pretty sure they can easily take the temps. now.
Oh, the flu sucks. I'm glad I have went the Winter without it.
Will
That's great that you spend all that time with your Grandpa, I'm sure he really enjoys it. My husband and I play chess sometimes in the winter. His nephew is really good and will be playing in the Kansas State Tournament. He was Kansas State champion one year. No, I never play him, wouldn't even try. He can stand in another room and call out the moves, and hubby tells him what he's moving, and he will still win.
Potted up more Tomato plants putting them in deeper than they were. While I was doing this I was trying to remember which ones are coreless, Better Boy or Big Boy? I think it's Better Boy. People always ask me that and I can't remember any better than they do! Has anyone grown Applause? They are supposed to be early ones. They plants are huge already.
Will, I think it's great that you are able to save any money. I hear you on wanting to spend what you have wisely. My brother keeps getting burnt on the cars he buys off the street. These people are selling them for a reason. They aren't good enough to trade in. So, that's where I'm coming from.
Gang, ROTFL!! The only available member I have to help is my SIL and she can't hardly walk. You'll have to come down here and walk real cose to us before we can get your money!!
I think it's cool to keep track of your games. It looks like you have both skunked each other at different times :o)
They sell plant bulbs because there are always those that think that's what it takes. I too bought a stand and it came with the plant bulbs. I replace them now with high lumen shop lights, (after they burned out.) They now have really slender bulbs and they don't get so hot. I still need to get the lights almost on the leaves to keep them from getting leggy.
Justgrowin, quite the chess players! I tried to learn and couldn't. I'm more a solitare person anyway. I was never lucky in cards, so I'll never gamble.
I'm trying new tomatoes this year, but havent tried Applause. I did get Better Boy seed. It's been years since I've had it and way back then, I used to just buy the plants already started. I'll have 11 varieties to try, one being free seed and one being a cherry.
Oooh, I'm making myself drool!
I just buy my plants from Powell Gardens usually. But since I might be visiting a peony farm that weekend, I will just get them from work. lol
Does anyone know the name of the peony farm that is over on Bannister and if they have a website? A friend of mine is helping another friend landscape his yard and he wants lots of peonies (like 15 of them) but for a good price. The place on Bannister supposedly is having their sale the first weekend of May.
New April thread!!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1169226/