Whats happening in your neck of the woods? Ring out the old

OK!!!! You all better get with it....

I keep om clicking o the MAF and there are NO new Posts on the Threads I am watching!!!

I am trying to do my best--as I think, Ruby, is also...Same old, same old Folks chime in--but seems anything to do with
Gardening is GONE!!!! And--as it would be---it IS January!!!! Nothing going on n gardening to write about...

I just miss all the Chit-Chat on the MAF!

BOOO....Gita

Gita you must have missed this whole conversation
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1218507/#new

I've been cooking extra with college kids home; interviewing for a job; trying to do some kind of housecleaning, too easily ignored; trying to crochet a hat for DS, which turned into three trips to yarn store and probably 30$ worth of yarn and so fgar the hat is too big and I need to start over.
The nicer days, I amended my asparagus bed. Oh, spent hours on Saturday hacking down more forsythia, and digging up the electric dog fence to find and fix a break. Dog was visiting neighbor- AND leaving presents - how embarrassing!

Sally---

Nope! The cat Thread is on my watched list...I just don't have much to contribute there,
as do not have any pets....But--I have read every entry on it.

I am trying to clean up my house also--just not getting too far. it is a job I procrastinate on....:o(
I did vacuum all the floors a few days ago--now to tackle all the dirtiness above the floors...

Where are you interviewing for a job? At the same school--different position???

Did you miss my short comment a few Posts up that I am growing you a baby Easter cactus???
There is even a picture....You did not respond to it.
Do you already have one? If you do--I can gift it to someone else...

You know what??? I think, soon, it will be time to sort, bag, and organize all my seeds for end of Feb. Swap.
BIG job!!!! Don't have much new--maybe a couple....

OK! I feel good that I chatted with you....Gita

Anyone know why new AV's have this bunching of leaves in the middle?
Most AV's grow with leaves all the same size and nicely spread out.

I have to go soon too, pick up a kid. But yes I DID see your offer of an Easter cactus. I could just hardly beleive my good luck! Really, for me?? Thank you!

Reading Jill's article today made me wonder if some of you all have some amaryllis pictures to share...?

Here is the link to the article

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/468/

lol Gita and Sally!
I hear HD is starting to hire 70,000 workers nationwide for the Spring season, Holly, are you up for it again?

Stay warm you all as the jet stream dips on down to bring some semblance of winter to our region, We've been sooooo spoiled.

Yes, I expect to be heading back again this spring. I have a few extra vacations I want $$ for. Not to mention all those bargain plants.

Judy---

From all my past years at HD--they do not really hire anyone for "The Season" (does that mean gardening???)
until late February.
Perhaps, there are other positions open rather than Garden....Don't know about that....

NATIONWIDE includes many zones----maybe in CA or FL or GA they may be hiring early for "The Season"....
Not here in the MA!

Usually--January and February are the "Dead Seasons"-------hours cut for the PT'ers.
I am averaging 16-18hrs a week right now working 3 days a week.

It can get sparse--but I am always grateful that i DO have a job! Gita

Thought about your HD job today Holly --have been thinking I will show Bell Nurseries site to DS. We hope he gets something lined up and start making his OWN spending money as soon as he's home for the summer.

I started watching the Lowes site it is a bit early yet, last year I started working at Lowes late March.
Ric and I have started talking about the Spring Swap we want to host this year. We are thinking of having it mid May and should put up a thread sometime in late Feb.

Wasn't sure Lowes or HD- sorry!

Yay looking forward to swapping.

Hello to all......many of you my very favorites of Dave's members. I too enjoy the chit chat and love hearing what everyone has going on even if it isn't garden related. Due to declining abilities and the horrendous heat of the past two summers, I am no longer doing outside gardening to the extent that I once did. Oh yeah, babysitting kind of interferes with that too. (I won't even mention that my largest bed has been under construction and off limits to me for years!!!!) I am very happy to report that John recently purchased a concrete mixer that will make the stone laying of the walkway a much less tedious and back breaking job. Hip, hip hooray!!!

The seed and plant catalogues are coming in and I am being tempted a bit. So far I haven't ordered anything but did make note one night last week of some of the plants that I have lost that were purchased at a company who will re-place them free with no questions asked. I do need to get on contacting the company to see about replacements.

Anyway.....if we do decide to go the seed swap, I am also open to taking home any live things that people have an over abundance of and are looking at re-homing them. I would like to put out a request here and will also put it on the seed swap thread, but if anyone has any Purple Passion they can share, I promise to care for it very lovingly. I have a couple of pots going, but they aren't doing as well as some have done for me in the past.

To Coleup, Gita and Sally and of course Critter too.....those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head and okay one more, Donnerville........I am here to report that for the most part I am able to report that the houseplants you all have shared with me at different times in the past are doing well and seem to like living here. The one giving me the worst problem is the pigs ear or pigs foot. Anyway, some of it is still alive and I am hoping it will make it in to summer when it can live on the side porch where the other houseplants seem to all thrive.

Cole, a few of the Christmas Cactus cuttings have hit the dust, but the majority seem to be happy living near the grow light I have set up in the plant room for them.

I dmailed Donnerville a while back and got more instructions on the care of the very beautiful Lipstick Plant she gave to me at Aspenhill's swap. A few weeks ago it was budding crazily but the blooms were drying up and dieing before opening. After some research we figured it was drying out too much in between waterings and didn't like that. I removed it from hanging directly over a heat vent, and have kept it moist since then. No new buds but still growing and seems healthy.

Gita, I have several Angel Wing Begonia's that are leafy, no blooms, but looking very healthy. I will need to know at some point....again.....if you don't mind saying...when the proper time to cut back is.

Gotta run.....kiddies woke up and they are not in the best of moods....oh, lucky me.....but only about one more hour and then I have a week and half grand child babysitting gig free. Do I hear another hip, hip hooray?

Ruby

Ruby---

When I read your woes of losing plants like CC, the Purple passion, and the Pig's Ears--
the thought always goes through my mind that you may be over watering these. All the above like to go dry in between watering.
It is a known fact, that more people kill their houseplants with over watering...Give it some thought....
You can compensate for over watering by planting things in clay pots.

Re the AW Begonias, you can cut back the long stems any time. I just did on all my small pots and just stuck
the cut off piece in the same pot next to the other stems.
You can go the water route--rooting in water--or just in some nice, fresh, loose potting mix kept moist.

My BIG Mama AW is really doing horrible this winter. I have an idea why!
For one--last spring I should have un-potted the plant, picked through the roots and discarded the old ones.
Then, re-potted the fresher, stronger ones---and I did not. Just ran out of time. This always produces a
lush, new plant for the season.
Now the plant is a skeleton. It has dropped ALL leaves, except the tip ones. Will cut it back/down soon.
Another reason, it is sitting in a dark corner of my LR. Window space is non-existant here in the winter,
so I have to prioritize.

Here is my big Begonia taken some time in December...Just disgusting!!! Most of the leaves are now gone.

Aside from plants--I am seriously going through, and organizing my seeds for the Swap.
It came earlier than I had thought....was, mentally, thinking of end of the month.

Hi Ruby! Did you get some snow? We have a scant inch down here south of baltimore.

Gita, I trashed my older AW Begonia in the fall , it had not been all that happy over summer. I just kept a five inch pot with rooted tips. They haven't done much but they are small enough to fit near my plant light.

NAW! Not gonna trash it. I know why it is doing so badly. Will correct it when it is time to put it out for the summer.

This is the same plant--last October. Yes, it was cut back to the nubs end of April, or so.
It always re-grows. But, like i said, it should have been un-potted, re-potted in fresh, good soil mix
and the roots sorted out--keeping only the live, viable ones. Every 3 years!

However--the heat last summer was harmful to many plants. That may also be a factor....

Here--last October. Did NOT bloom at all last year. another oddity.

Yep Gita, I will have to admit that some of the plant losses I have experienced in the past has been due to over watering. I am really making an effort this year to pay lots more attention to what I am doing with each individual plant.

I have written on my to do list for the weekend to begin potting up some of the rootings I have in my kitchen garden window. I know that I now have three pots of Peace Lilies that look as though they are more than ready to be separated and put in to some new pots. Maybe I can get started on that later today.


Hmmm.....need to also address the issue of seeds if we do in fact plan to join you good people on Feb. 11.

Sally, we have about a half an inch less of the white stuff than you are reporting. I hate to say it again, because it is so negative to allow to come out in the open, but when it is so little as this amount, it only makes for ugliness and not the beauty I want when having to be inconvenienced by ice and snow. On the up side, at least I am not obligated to leave the house today, so that is good.

Might be a good day to turn on the boob tube, find some mushy movies or shows to watch and sort seeds. We will see. I am getting a very late start due to waking up feeling especially nauseous and that is just now settling down a bit. So full of good reports today huh? This might be a good opportunity for me to get up from my seat and get occupied doing something other than complaining about the weather, which my complaining about won't change a things. Aha!!

Hope others are having a better day and that the weekend is just what you all need.

Ruby

Ruby---

When it comes to plants--often "ignoring them" is the best way to go.
This mostly refers to watering. Glad you realized that it was the issue.
Almost ALL plants can take dryness better than being over watered.
Watering DOES NOT, necessarily, contribute to a plant's well being.
Of course they need it when they get really dry--but they will let you know when they need it.

Ruby dearest--please tell me WHY you think your Peace Lilies need separating....
What do you see that leads you to think you need to do this? How do you know they are "ready"???

You DO know that Peace Lilies LOVE being root-bound???? The grow the best--and they
perform the best. I, personally, would not mess with a Peace Lily by dividing it--unless it was close to
splitting the pot.
My concern is that small divisions just won't be able to hold themselves up. It IS a tall plant....
IF you still plan to divide this plant--please plant each division in a 4" or 5" pot. NO bigger!

Good luck!!! Gita

Ruby,

I am still at work--until 6PM.
Took a walk around garden on my lunch--and, LO and BEHOLD! We had some
Purple passion plants. These are in the 3.8" pots (the little Angel Plants).
I picked out the best of the three and will buy it for you. It is a nice size--and costs $3.67.

I will put it under my lights and take good care of it for you and bring it to the Seed Swap.
The poor thing muat have just got watered--it is SO wet!!!

If you like--I can take tip cuttings and have them rooting in water. There are 4 stems to this plant.
If I cut each one back--you would have 4 new plants--plus the original plant will
re-grow nicely.
Let me know! If you get this and can reply before 6PM, I will see it before I leave.

Gita

Got a forward today--maybe some of you also have seen this advice.

Thought it was important enough to pass on.

How to tread a burn:

***************************************************************

Keep in mind this treatment of burns is being included in teaching beginner fireman.

First Aid consists of first spraying cold water on the affected area until the heat is reduced which stops the continued burning of all layers of the skin.
Then, spread egg whites onto the affected area.

One woman burned a large part of her hand with boiling water. In spite of the pain, she ran cold faucet water on her hand, separated 2 egg whites from the yolks, beat them slightly and dipped her hand in the solution. The whites then dried and formed a protective layer.
She later learned that the egg white is a natural collagen and continued during at least one hour to apply layer upon layer of beaten egg white. By afternoon she no longer felt any pain and the next day there was hardly a trace of the burn. 10 days later, no trace was left at all and her skin had regained its normal color. The burned area was totally regenerated thanks to the collagen in the egg whites, a placenta full of vitamins.

Since this information could be helpful to everyone: Won't you please pass it on? I just did! Gita

Sounds great, and I have never heard that one. THX!

Just getting caught up here. Have been away since the 11th. Hoping to go to the swap in April in NJ and at Holly and Ric's in May.

Spent a couple of weeks with a dear friend who is like a mother to us in Florida and on a cruise. Am thinking that she will need to move into assisted living. She needs some supervision. There but by the grace of God go I.

Jan- I hope you get to both Swaps.

Good thoughts going out for your friend.
Mark's mom has started to show memory problems, and now that we are aware, its been a challenge between Mark, a faithful sweet hired helper, and Mark's SIL, to get Betty organized and taking all her meds.

Shirley does seem to take her meds faithfully. Her daughter mails them down to her in packs that are all sorted by day, morning and night. I kinda kept track that she was emptying them as she should.

I'm hoping to come to DS's in Annapolis sometime in Feb for a few days. Don't know when yet. Don't think DH would like it if I left again right away. Heehee.

PLANT SWAP
Ric and I are hosting a plant swap in May we are looking at dates and would like some input. The dates we are considering are May 12th, 19th or 20th. I think I am leaning towards the 19th and would like to see how any of those dates fit into your schedules.

I have continued this thread over here. Come join us and give Holly and Ric some feed back on Plant Swap dates over on the new thread.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1240666/

See you there!