Sue/ Cheer - isn't it a great robin? I received it on the first go-round and couldn't believe the size. I don't think I've seen so many seeds in one box in my whole life! Took me a few days to get through everything; I couldn't believe the generosity of everyone in the robin and just loved the whole experience of being involved.
DJ9'S WINTER ROBIN " IN FLIGHT " PT 5
Thanks Di & If Its anything like the picture that was shared with me you all will really be blown away. :)
I Hope we will have many more variety from our gardens this fall to share :))) .
Well start another Week Robin going out today
CRIT You are the 1/2 way Mark & its only been In the air for 30+ days Rainy here & about 64* so my weather guide says .but going to drop to 50"s
wishing you all a great week.
susie
I sent the Robin on Saturday...I've usually had good luck with pkgs arriving as early as Monday -Crit let us know when you receive!
The Robin has landed !!!!!!!!! I'm goin' in! ^_^
Hope you are holding your breath for a long dive. It's a deep one. Enjoy!
Im next after Crit, right? Oooooooh! Im so looking forward to my first Robin. Cam
YEP Cam
Crit is feeding the robin Now & Sure she will post sometime today as to how it is going :)))
Patti, how goes the deep seed diving? Really hope you're finding goodies you didn't already have.
Guess she flew the cookcoo's nest :)))
I can't wait until the robin stops by for a rest at my house. I have a lot of seed packets to add.
Jennifer
hey did corey get flooded out Not heard any funnys fromn him lately :))) COME ON GUY WE MISS YA HERE >
I was just thinking the same thing yesterday while planting the Salvia seeds he shared with me.
I still have so much planting to do.... ^_^
The only flood was a flood of work. I hate it when work interferes with gardening and socializing!
We did have a few instances of heavy rain (unlike our usual constant mist).
And today, one minute I was admiring some big bright yellow round thing up in the sky (like this "Sun" I hear people talk about) when it suddenly gets dark and heavy HAIL starts falling: big frosty pellets.
FFFPPPTTT.
It makes me glad that I haven't done any outdoor planting except for snow peas & Bok Choy. Today is my official "50% chance of frost day", so I guess it is fair that we got half warm sun and half frosty hail.
i will say that the few beds where I used the most amendments are care over the last 2-3 years now definitely contain something soil-like. I even got two beds well-draining enoguh that bulbs are happy there. The third bulb bed ... well, they aren't all DEAD ... but ...
Two more outdoor success stories involve encroaching on neighbors.
One lady moved out, and our common border has always been a matter of guesswork. So I quietly moved that wall of that raised bed about two feet her way. I don't feel TOO guilty, since it just means that her yard has 2 fewer feet of Ranunculus, (I think that's what that Weed From Heck is).
And if the next resident is a gardener, and has an opinion about where the border ought to be, she can have back the 12" of the bed that might be on her property.
It's a manufactured home park, so there is no ownership, just rental, of the land. I would extend further, except for two things: the bed is already too wide to easily reach into it ... and I don't have enough soil to fill it, if I make it wider!
I might also cut a little trench over there, to eliminate the big standing puddle and create any root zone!
The other outdoor encroachment came with permission from the other neighbor. I even checked twice, giving her a chance to change her mind. That border is a concrete sidewalk, so we both know what's hers and what's mine. But she is a bald-patches-of-grass and dandilion gardener. Someone else mows her dandilions for her. So I offered/asked if I could run another raised bed along HER side of the sidewalk (there is some SUN there) and plant things that she liked. "YES".
So now there is a narrow bed running most of the length of that yard, no deeper than 8", maybe 16" wide for now, but well-draining for the Lavatera that are little green rosettes, and the Salvia I'm sprouting indoors. And anything else that overflows! (maniacal laughter)
I'm thinking of putting Alyssum along the base of that bed, maybe both sides, and let some Lobelia dangle over it. But the Lavatera and Salvia need dryish soil, and Lobellias want "moist". So If I do put Lobelia there, they might be in containers of some kind.
Oh, yes! My little bamboo is still green, but he seems to want to go sideways, not up. Each year he has one big growth spurt, and it hasn't come yet this year. I hope this year he goes UP! (Fargeisa rufa, around 3 years old.)
Indoors, in trays, I'm pretty happy so far. I think I got those sown around mid-March so by my standards, they are doing GEAT for 3 weeks.
Lobellia looks like rich moss, sown too thick. More than half the salvia varieties are up, either looking happy or tiny and twisty. i think soaking them as danita suggested was a great idea. Petunias, not so much yet, just a few microscopic teases. Only cotyledons, no true leaves yet. No damping off yet, unless those tiny, twisted barely-there saliva sprouts have fungus as well as Chernobyl Syndrome.
To be sure that SOMETHING would sprout, I have a few 6-packs of Zinnia and Cosmos, and they came right up and are now demanding MORE LIGHT.
The single heat mat shared among 4 trays helped. (2'x2' squares of drywall under it, to make sure no heat is lost downwards.)
I think, most of all, well-draining seedling mix is SO much better than soggy peat-powder that never dries out. If I over-water, it drains. The surface will dry out in a few days. Seeds and roots have air. Even bottom watering seems to work with this mix, unlike "drown them and keep them drowned for weeks". Maybe next year i will screen the pine bark more finely.
Winter sowing: I may have proved that people are wrong, it may not be COMPLETELY foolproof.
A few Salivia and Delphiniums came up, out of 6 varieties of each, 9-12 seeds per pot, 100-150 seeds.
As of a week ago, zero Pentstemon out of 10 pots (100-150 seeds), and zero Lobellia out of 3 pots (??? seeds). Zero Columbine from 2 pots. Zero this-and-that, one six-pack each.
I had no jugs, so I put many 3.5" pots into big tubs.
I think one problem was "not enough light". I focused on keeping slug out more than I did on letting light in.
Possibly poor ventilation, but they always smelled "sweet" and did not sweat excessively.
When I have time, I need to cut the lids up and insert clear plastic film with slits, and window screening to keep slugs out. Then move them off the shady porch to the back deck - Slug Central, also known as the No Plant Zone.
And I started WS late, I think it was early or mid February. The Pentstemons may need 8-12 weeks of cold, and I think they only got about 8 weeks. That was first year WSing, and I expect next year to go better.
Corey
GULP!!!!!! Coming up for a breath of air!!!! ^_^ lol Man, there are a lot of seeds in there. Because of work, I agree with others who hate it when work interfers with gardening and socializing, I am only about 1/2 way through the Robin. I hope to be able to finish her this evening and will be sending out. I apologize for still having her. Hope to get her out on Monday, as I can't get to town to the post office on Saturday. Will post more when I find out.
When I saw it, I flet like I had walked into a liquor warehouse, and only had three days to drink it dry.
GULP! Indeed!
Corey
Isn't that the truth, Corey...lol
Seed Planting Central here since last week. Every morning I run to see if anything has sprouted. Some of the flats have potting soil and others have peat pellets. Had to have some of them again just to watch the little things swell and have a shell of sorts to pick up and make planting individually a bit easier.
We had such a mild Winter with hardly any snow, it's hard to say how W/Sing would have gone during the gray days. I W/Sed a few jugs last year and have really missed tending them this year. It was April last year before I W/Sed Cosmos, Zinnias and other annuals and they grew great, just planted the clump in one place or quartered it if it looked like a Chia plant.
Fruity -
I am anxious to get my zinnias started, hopefully I can do that soon. I was just telling Anita that I haven't had the opportunity to get most of my seeds started. I did, however, broadcast my larkspur, laurens grape poppy and assorted columbines.... I plan on having a lot of zinnias in my gardens for this year.
I put out herb seeds last year well into the summer, they popped up within a few days and took off. I put out some of my seeds late this year, too. I'm curious to see how well those will germinate.
SPRING IS HERE :))) have a great day & Yes COREY I Now The 3 DAY LIMIT On The Robin Is sometimes hard to get through when you have Jobs & Daily Routines so i have tried to let you all have an extra day or two with it .
But if you spend one day really going through it others will have a good chances to get it in time to still plant this spring yet
for it is going Pretty good right now. ,
well wishing you all a great day .
susie
That's good to know, Anita, since I just planted a bunch of Herb seeds this week, and started Creeping Zinnias too, Carolyn, along with broadcasting Creeping Thyme and Poppy seeds. So far I only have four flats (72 cells each) of the 8 available planted so far, but it is a tedious task making labels and planting a row or two at the time. And my fingers don't want to cooperate with the tiniest seeds like they used to. Just rec'd a "dial-a-seed" tool today and it will be a lifesaver from now on. If I were planting flats of the same seeds, like I did with your purple petunia seeds, Lavina, it would be a breeze. In most cases, there are just 6 cells of this and 3 of that. Not that I'm complaining, though, and am glad to have such a variety of seeds you all have shared with me.
Spring has sprung here too, Susie, at least for the foreseeable forecast. We usually get zapped with a surprise frost or two before we're completely out of the woods May 15th.
Our freeze date is April 5, so I will be comfortable moving plants out in 2 weeks. We will be out of town next weekend, and I have to get that darn garage cleaned out before I can start on my flower beds ^_^ . I have had miserable luck with my jiffy seed starters. Maybe because I planted different seed in each row and not all the same thing. I've lost so many to damping off I'm just sick over it. I bought 5 of the 72 cell ones. Put some cinnamon in on them when I saw it starting to happen, didn't think about sprinkling them when I planted them. Someone suggested going ahead and doing that, but I still lost a lot. :-(
We had a good hard frost the night before Mother's Day last year, so I worry about that. The old wives tale around here is to never put out annuals until MD and now I know why. I can't ever remember a frost so late before. I'm zone 6b but we're down in the Ohio Valley and it's like its' own zone from Dayton to Cincy when it comes to spring, fall and frosts. I need to be like zone 5b/6a/6b lol
Di -
bite your tongue - we are zone 5b, or at least we used to be...I think that is changing. I know last year we had to run our furnace on June 10th, it was so cold, but we were also able to sit outside as early as the end of February, which never happens. We are in a valley though, and that seems to have a big effect on the weather. I used to think the hills protected us and to some degree, I still subscribe to that idea, however the wind seems to be unreal here and I don't remember that when I was growing up....
My tulips and daffs are coming up, but not flowering like Susies' yet. Can't wait until they are in flower.
My daff's are really in full BUDS So I Hope to get Nice blooms this year I think the deer got them last year but i have my IRISH SPRING Hanging OUT & ABOUT The yard now .
So Crit have you found the goodies in the robin what did you think of This robin .?
anything you would do different ??? any chance the robin Will be taken flight today ???
I am 'almost done', just have to get my stuff put in there and take to the P.O. on Monday. Our P.O. is only open on Saturday from 8-9, and I'm 15 miles from town.
I think the only thing I would do different, to make it flow better, is to have 'like seeds' put together, even if they are from different donaters. There are quite a few of the same seed, and I have to keep going back to my pile and digging through it to see if I already got that one. To me that takes time. I'm all about saving time.
This is a terrific offering of a lot of different seed. I LOVE IT. Now to finish the garage so I can get to planting them. LOL
There should not be any more then 3 -4 PKs of any one type If there is a 1/2 cup of seeds of one type then it is in one bag for all to take what they can use out of it
I am back home and can hardly wait I am getting more excited as it gets closer to me. We had frost last friday as I was leaving but its in the 60s today,
Lavina
Wow we have 80 degree waether today. Of course, we have thunderstorms tomorrow and low temps on Tuesday...typical Indiana weather.
Welcome back Missed ya :))) beautiful day 80* & feels wonderful & i got much done today :) Still much much more ahead of me yet :) quick bite then back out side :)
same for here anita :) HEHE
JUST WONDERING IF Robin took off iN flight tODAY or not Crit can you please send cam the CONF # Please .
Yes, I sent it off. Got online at work just long enough to send him the confirmation number by d-mail. I couldn't find this thread to leave you all a message though. :-( Anyway, she's flappin' her way to his house. I can send you the conf# too if you want it.
Thanks, for the conf # crit. I'll be watching for it. Cam
Susie, when a person "thins" their irises, what is the objective and which are candidates for removal. Ive never done it. How does that help the irises to bloom more? TIA Cam
Just take a Potato Fork To dig them up I Find they come up much better like that & Just move clumps in other areas or her to others for Postage . guess if you can send me a picture of the clump I can maybe then tell you better How much or how little ECT . but without seeing the area it is hard to tell you.
I Would love to come visit but it is not Possible at this time :)
Well here is MY NEW POT BEDS :))) & Yes I put it together myself today & so cannot QUARANTY That it will stay together all summer :))) I Have many More pots to put in it this week yet.
well it has been quite the day .
Margaret had her Knee surgery today & Do well so far . So the Robin didn't land today ???? I Take it sure to land tomorrow :)
Have a great evening .
Tracker said it went out for delivery at 9:52 a.m. today
Hi, everyone. I was out for the afternoon and evening. When I got home, the Bird was sitting on my front porch. I dived right in and so distracted, I just realized I had not notified. Just now got on line to check out some of the names and here I am at 2AM notifying. Box was in good shape, nothing amiss. Talk to y'all later. Cam
Good to hear Cam Hope you Find lots to choose from :))))
>> I dived right in and so distracted, .... and here I am at 2AM
I know the feeling! They can be like druuuuugs.
Corey