I played 'True Confessions' with my post office too. I had to know how many others she had. Apparently there are a few....
CLOSED: DJ'S SEED ROBIN'S IN FLIGHT PT 3
but not as huge as ours ROBIN I Bet :)))))
WELL I HAVE ALL MY MATERIAL NOW FOR THE SHELVES But my brother was called away again to help another friend in need so we will try to get the shelves up tomorrow he promised me :) so my place is in a mess till tomorrow :))) but that is ok . i things to do till then
like get some sleep :) hehe chat soon GN all.
The robin flew around 2 pm this afternoon. I am just amazed at the bounties everyone has shared - not just numbers of seeds - but unique plant & garden passions are showing as well in what everyone is sharing.
There was an herb that I took a pinch of - don't know if the gardener sharing that one knows a bit of history with that one. Back in the late 1800s to early 1900s, before the USDA as we now know it came into existence, procurement of unusual economically useful plants, in some cases, was done by plant hunters financed by private patrons/entrepeneurs.
One of the plant hunters was David Fairchild, and his travels took him everywhere. But one of his stops was in Timbuktu. It was the custom there, when parents arranged a marriage for their offspring, for the groom's family to present the bride's family with an ankle bracelet. Her family had to fatten her up until her ankle filled the bracelet, at which time she would be considered ready to marry off. The requisite fattening recipe was milk, honey and the herb a member of our group shared in our swap.
(This makes me wonder about a "woman's place" and cultural continuity between that custom and the Venus of Willendorf - a ~23,000 year old stone sculpture that fits into the palm of a human hand - somewhere I also read that this artifact has been found from northern Europe down to the Mediterranean. )
Does anyone want to guess what the herb was?
I had so much fun with this robin, in spite of feeling pressured by Christmas preparations being put on hold for those 12 hours. I certainly feel inspired to be a better seed saver.
ps - On page 2 of the instructions about order of robin destinations, I followed the directions to send Wind the box next, after which Cris316 will be next.
no robin yet............. dumb mailman lol
What is the herb? I'm going crazy
Monkeymomr, I better stop teasing Alana - the herb was foenugreek. Given the wide range of habitats over which artifacts similar to the Villendorf Venus have been found, I suspect, that if women/girls were deliberately fattened up for ceremonial purposes, that recipes and ingredients would vary between the Mediterranean and the Caucasus.
I'm curious about how foenugreek is used now - anyone know?
I might be off-line for a while - many thanks again to Susie and all for this wonderful box and may you all have a very merry, safe and healthy holiday season.
karen
I better check and see if it is getting near coming to me yet... it may be getting closer ^_^
Happy Swapping Holidays to everyone!
Headed to the plantfiles to look up that herb. Good night all
Nothing in the files. Will hit the web.
The herb is used in lots of curries and is suppossed to help increase in the production of breast milk. Something new learned everyday.
Monkeymomr, thanks - I'll have to poke around and see what I can find on foenugreek, too.
Donna, you're right, I love blue and always wanted to make a "blue" garden - something along the lines of the color mix in petunia 'Alladin's Lamp'. But it hasn't happened yet - I'm starting to think in terms of 4' diameter circles or other shapes of equivalent area that I would treat like large pots. Each pot would have as huge or as small a variety of plants as possible, centered on a particular color with companions chosen for echos or contrasts in color or form. Then I would take the primary color of each "pot" and do a color run based on the dominant color of each pot. Probably with a "pot" centered on blue, the next pot might be centered on yellow, but the overall intensity of color in the yellow "pot" would be very pale - like a pale moon against a dark night sky next door. That "dark night sky" next to the "pale moon" pot could be a monster canna with black-maroon foliage on the side away from the blue cluster (unfortunately, I lost that canna grrr). A color run is any sequence of colors a gardener might fancy, but it would be possible to choose a sequence based on the color wheel.
Y'all should see the way Donna packed that box. As I unpacked it, in a very tiny space, I put each item as I went through it into another box exactly as it was in the box, but upside down. So, all I had to do when it came time to repack was to just dump the whole business upside down into the original box and voila - instant repacking. Although my seeds were placed near the bottom of the repacked box.
This is all just an excuse to stuff as many different plants into a tiny space as possible, since I am no longer as fit as I was when I was young.
But, Donna, I loved the tea towel you sent, and yes that would be the color I would have chosen.
If I can't get back before Christmas, wishing everyone a merry season.
karen
foenugreek- I did not put these seeds in the box but I do have foenugreek (1/4 cp) seeds in my cupboard. My husband gets terrible colds and I make him tea with these seeds and it really loosens up his chest. Therefore I'd say it has expectorant properties. Does not taste good and turns some body excreations orange (TMI).
Karen-your garden "pot" overwhelm me. I'm still trying to grow things. Color coordinating is in the distant future for me. :) I'm also hoping that by next years Robin I will recognize a lot more plant names and I won't have to look up so many.
Donna
ok as promised here is the after I shut lights off to get a better picture I still have to get a few More shelve boards but after the New year.
well been transplanting & Now Time to go spend time with daddy . ya all have a great day .
susie
Busy day everyone?
I tried to stay off the machine and stay busy and I accomplished that. Bluespiral - I looked at that herb when I received it but wasn't aware of the historical/mythical properties. ;)
I guess many of us will be busier and busier so I'm sending my wishes for happy holidays too.
xoxo
A.
the robin landed tonight cant wait to go through it!!!! happy holidays all
Hurray! Thank GOODness. :)
Hey Susie
Thats some good-lookin shelves you got there. How about sending that carpenter down my way when you finish up hehe. Got a question for you since I see your shelves; do you use bottom-heat to germinate your seeds at all? I have a home-made contraption in my house that will hold up to 16 flats (though I haven't used near all of that space at one time yet), and up to now I haven't used bottom heat at all, but this year I'm thinking about buying one of those very expensive heating mats and I wonder if its worth the too-high price. I would like to start some geraniums. Is there a lot of seeds that require bottom heat? Sorry to go off-topic.
well i ordered one of the heat pads so i will let you know but as for heat on the shelves NO just the heat from the lights is all they will get .
so i will see what happens & let you know what works best. this is my 1st year to go all out inside so to speak :)
my biggest problem is between my heater the plants i Have way to much humidity in my place so i have to go buy an dehumidifier
today . well off to read a few more forums then off to town .
have a great day all & merry christmas to all .
susie
Great looking shelves Susie! You are a lucky gardener.
Fenugreek leaves are used in money spells. There are a few traditons regarding Fenugreek and the enhancement of monetary wealth including tossing a few leaves in cleaning water to spread it around the house.
ansonfan, I don't know what you are growing, but bottom heat is an economical way for me to start seeds in the greenhouse. Root temperature is more important than ambient temperature for most plants and with bottom heat I can keep the air temperature much lower than I could without it, using less energy to maintain the seedlings. I don't keep my house very warm either and I find a heat mat useful in the window when I start seeds there, too.
ty lalana OH Please send me a few of those leaves i could use a few extra dollars around here :))
What's the average temperature of the heating pads 70/80 degrees?
I think 80 but don't quote me , i took my heat pad out of the box today had it all rolled out Only to find you cannot use it without a thermostat control witch it didnot come with ,& was not explained in the add for the mat . so ontop of the $80+ there will be more going out for a control ot sure but maybe it would be cheaper to just order the plants ;( tried to call the comp & they are closed till after christmas .
well daddys about done with his lunch & so guess get him back to his chair then off to get dishes done.
susie
You're right Susie, the plants are probably cheaper to buy. LoL Does anyone have Lantana seeds?
I have a little Miss Huff lantana i could share but it's not very much. Let me know. Robyn
Robyn, that awfully nice of you. I would love to have a sampling. Have you ever tried to start Lanata inside?
No, but I'm going to try winter sowing it. The lady I bought the seeds from said that even if I wait to start it in the ground next spring, it grows fast enough that it will be great. Remind me after the holidays and I will send you some. I will probably only be five to ten seeds. I only ordered a small amount. I fell in love with the pictures. I'm hoping next year to have some of my own seeds from her. I'm getting some yellow lantana in a trade and if theres enough of that I will send some of it too.
Diamond,
I too have lantana seeds - think I have a pic in my have list
if you want to have a look. Can send them to you since the list
flips. Let me know.
Hi all... guess what I got? Yahoo!!!! >>>> The Robin East has landed in Mt. Laurel, NJ
THANKS so much Karen (bluespiral) for the Christmas card and Sunflower towel. I love them. We're cat lovers here. The card is so cute. We put the dish towel to use already! I may try to do Karen's repacking "flip" technique so that I can fit everything back in the box. It's so packed and weighs a ton. So many wonderful seeds. I need vacation time to sort thru it all. I'll try my best to go thru it over the holiday weekend so I can mail it back out to CRIS316 asap! And, who put the seed envies w/ labels in there for us to use? That was so nice.
Happy Holidays!
Diana
Dont quote me - I saw it on Pinterest I think - use rope lights under your trays for under heat. I have no idea how hot they get or if it even works. Sounded like a nice cheap alternative.
Opened 1 gift each last night because my DD went with her dad for the holidays. I got a food processor :) SO, I made more salsa today. SLICK!! Made this batch spicier than the last two. AuGratin taters are on the menu tomorrow. Bringing them to dinner at the BIL & SIL's place.
Made my DM gift today. Waiting for DH to get home with my stencils so I can finish. It will look something like this when I am done...its a growth chart. She currently is using a door for the grandkids. Not very mobile... :) I think she will love it.
Stephane . My GM used her Kitchen wall to Messure us when we would go for summer vacations @ her place she cried when she had to sell her Home she had her favorite recipes also on her Kitchen walls she ran a Boarding House we would go for a week to visit sure miss her cooking :) often wonder if the people tht live there ever kept some of the recipies :)
she put our names by the inches .
back when there was nothing but the kitchen wall :))) & This will be nice for grandma for she can move rom room to room :)
Diana TY for posting we know the Robin will have a great time at your home this weekend :))) Plenty of time to rest up before his NEW YEAR Stop :)))) @ Cris's :)
well was a long day & its time to relax Have a safe & Happy Weekend & MERRY CHRISTMAS
Hey Steph - I have seen Christmas lights also used to heat cold frames and other homemade outdoor seed starting contraptions. I have been using one of my cookie cooling racks as a cooling rack for my computer. Once when I had to set up a hospital fish tank I put it on top of the cooling rack and the heating pad slid right underneath. That might offer the added warmth w/o or with less risk than sitting a tray directly on a pad.
My thoughts.
OR since the temps in my iguana's room are always 70 deg. and higher, I will start all my seeds in there this year. What will I DO with all these new plants?! Stay tuned. ;)
A.
I love that growth chart. What a wonderful gift.
had a great time with the robin thank you all will try to get to po today if not monday happy holidays all!! ps there were no cards to take out for the game?
Oh! - funny you mention the cards. I didn't see them either, but forgot about them..... I was confused enough by the towel. The older I get, the less I seem to 'get it'
And here is MY version of the growth chart :) Very happy with how it turned out. I think she will be thrilled with it.
nice growth chart gift :)
has anyone grown tree okra or have any info about it? I never heard of it before and love okra's blooms and plants
here is what ii found http://permaculture.tv/tag/tree-okra/ not sure if it will help ya or not :)
The growth chart turned out beautifully.
Wishing everyone here a wonderful Christmas!!
Deb
I think that most heat mats can be used without a thermometer unless you need one specific temperature. Mine advertised that it would raise soil temp by 10-15 degrees above room temperature. That room is alwys cool (55-60, at most 65) so adding 10-15 degrees was pretty safe.
I put drywall under the heating pad so more heat was retained. On the other hand, I use one small pad to try to keep two trays warm, so only the very center of each tray gets the full benefit.
Corey