Plant Propagation New Year

Not a good idea to trim trees with freezing temperatures , so I guess we both wait ,
long cold season this winter .

Chilly. Would have thought they were trimmed before blooming...temps roller coasting up n down again this year. My tomato sprouts fold their leaves when I douse the light at night, never saw them do that before.
Picked up a new rosemary while down in Katy, Tx today/ yesterday now. Named a 'Foxtail Rosemary' I liked its look. My dau and I were at Nelsons Water Gardens where we are fond of visiting even when we don't find what we search for- I also picked up my African Blue basil start. She also treated me to lunch at Gyu Kaku BBQ which is Japanese and you cook your own meat at your table. I was quite happy with what I had.
I have to thin my mater starts down, they need more room to grow.

Our weather is warming up. I have a caregiver coming in the afternoons to sit with Vern while I garden. This is an extra caregiver over the morning one. Expensive way to garden but I have to feed the roses. Suppose to be in high 60s. I am so ready.

I gave the dogs a bath this morning. Only a week after grooming but they had so much fun in the snow, they needed a bath.

Oscars are tonight but we have not seen any of th movies, so probably will not watch them.

My daughter picked me up a package of mixed onions at Lowe. I am going to plant them on Wednesday. I will use them as small onions and chives.

Kitt so pleased you had a trip with your daughter. Water garden looks great. I will have to look up foxtail rosemary and African Blue basil.

Ju, you should have got slammed yesterday with the storm that blew through here.

Butternut squash, granny green apples sauteed in the orange juice with stevia. It as delicious. And our projected weather for the week.

Sharon, African Blue would do good there, but it never seeds. Maters survived the splitting up process. Had to take them inside tho to get over their fainting spell.
The new raised bed. SIL wasn't sick anymore so the metal was washed, painted, cut, installed and 2 cross braces installed. Then I felt and rake more pine needles and gather those 2 dead pine tree pieces and I will be ready for dirt! Yay! The tall one has to be cut down as it was too high to fit well.

wow we have great weather til the freezes next weekend. Got my back yard pond rebuilt and running. checking construction before I move the fish and plants back in. Doesn't seem to be losing water

sunny and about 30 degrees today was 17 degrees last I looked this morning ,

Sharon , a lot of high wind and rain yesterday and last night here

A few bulbs and such showing outside , way to cold to do anything ,
Wind like to carried me away yesterday

It was sunny, about 55 and a nice place to be today. No clouds or wind. Dogs and I took a long walk down to the golf course. Problem, when you go down the greenbelt you have to come back up with a steeper incline. Really not that far, probably 9 houses down but it felt much longer coming back.

Lawn maintenance individuals were here today so major clean up is done. Now I need to get the fertilizing done and still some plants that need to be cut back. I also have some I need to dig up and toss.

I will take some photos tomorrow so you can see how bare my landscape is currently.

The elm tree mostly got torched, I need to wade thru the drizzles and see if embers enough remain to burn what didn't. Houseplants out to catch the drizzle. Still February contrary here, tho. Cats are watching the bird feeder hopefully...

My card like the feeder outside my kitchen window. Got backyard pond running Sunday, hope to get plants in tomorrow

Kitt, your area looks so clean. Good job.

Gypsi, so glad you got that pond going. I have plants in the ponds but I do have to cut back some of the limbs due to snow and freeze damage.

Going to garden tomorrow.. I will try to remember to take photos.

Temps heading back to normal. Tahoe area suppose to get another big dump of snow.

photos later today, need to go get firewood for the coming cold front, clean the plants up and get them back in the pond, and my lost bunny, my lost Dec 2017 white bunny has turned up in a neighborhood a couple of miles away. The people over there are going to text me when she appears next, hopefully today.

yesterday photo. Sugar, I won't know for sure til I check her ear but sure looks like her and she's pretty tame, used to being loose, loves kids, she took off after the school buses came through.

Oh, wow, Gypsi, cool.

Wow, lots of action on here lately. Must be spring in the air down there, certainly not here.
Love those painted metal raised beds Kitt. Very interesting stir fry Sharon.
The seed company where I was getting my sweet potato slips that do so well here has discontinued them this year. I have 2 nice firm ones left and I found an article on Pinterest on how to start your own slips so am going to give that a try.

African Blue basil and the tip I nipped are growing even tho there was barely 1/4" of stem.
I am not waiting too patiently on that last cross bar to be mounted. I am putting it together somewhat like a compost pile, because I needed a trim on some plants.
The Doo prefers top level naps, while Remi took a zanax and thinks he is a cat.
Too much rain, too many gray days and the ground starts growing white stuff. The brutal trims did good.

not that much rain here, just mist, I don't think I've gotten half an inch out of the last 3 rains total but since the feral cats knocked the rain guage over who knows for sure.

Waterfall pic. I suspect now that it is cold here Sugar has gone down a burrow til warmer weather. Hope I'm home and can go get her when she comes out again. She's a people bunny, she may have taken off with the wild rabbits but she is hanging around people and a neighborhood with kids. Fewer predators.

and Wulfie pic.He loves the granddaughter. He's hating the bandage, got about 3 or 4 days til sutures out. I feel bad, I put the mulch down, saw an injury on his foot but we had Thanksgiving drama in 2018 and I forgot about it, callus formed over the splinter. It's off now anyway

Cat guard over the onion and spinach and carrot bed. I feed the ferals and they have other places to go....

somebody's dumped house cat, Socks eats with the ferals, I got him fixed and discovered he was tame. He caught a toy yesterday.

Chuckl, looks good Gypsi. Keith, we stay busy down here- mowing has only been quit for 2 months and my yard is knee high in weeds, grrr. The bed will get braced tomorro, gonna hit the iron with bbq pit black to help reduce the iron rust leach...the dead pine needles are ready and wet. New neighbors moving in, with 4 horses. 3or4 dogs and 3 barn cats. I don't envy him the job in this cold and drizzle. I guess next month we may be looking at real rains and flooding if the month is typical. I only have 2 real seasons- monsoon or severe drouth....

magnolia texas? is that where the Gaines have their show set? Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines?

If it is or it isn't I'll bet you are tired of that question.

Nope. Magnolia with Chip and Joanna is in Waco. It is their brand mark for all their ventures- farm, construction, diner etc. Magnolia, Tx is where Ren Faire is held for the Houston area every fall.

This message was edited Mar 4, 2019 8:18 PM

I learn something new every day. I tried to look up a map for Magnolia and you can guess who came up

I want to start spinach seeds in some kind of plug but I'm not sure today is the right day to do it as i don't have plugs.

When they have a couple of leaves I want to insert the plugs into plastic tray and float it over the goldfish in my 55 gallon tank that have been making it all nice and dirty. (there is a corner filter in there and I feed sparingly)

I am not willing to pay an aquaponics guy to teach me how to do it their way but I saw a pic of one they did.

Gypsi. On the aquaponics plants. The containers are all built like sieves. There is a very special type of clay the plants are rooted in that doesn't cloud the water, nor kill the plants. I haven't searched for it in awhile, will see if I can find it....

I'm reading and watching along , Not a lot doing here at this home Thread has lots going on ,

Little Echinacea

That would be excellent kitt. I've got a couple of experimental containers. going to post the pic I saw on his FB

I just want some spinach for longer than 3 weeks in very early spring, temp controlled environment

I keep getting The Pond Guy, but he does have supplies and floating containers(which Lowes SHOULD have) and Aquasource which Amazon carries. I wasn't finding what I was looking for, and Houston has better sources than FW.

I found the stuff, on amazon for about $15. the tray is 99 but I can build that, I bought some plastic to work with for the bees.

I'll get to it eventually. Thank you for looking.

Have fun Gypsi. I have had two day of gardening done. Vern's daughter came for a visit and was here about 4 hours a day, so I got to go outside and garden. I finally got the roses fertilized. Only about 3 weeks late. Going to try to plant onions tomorrow but we are suppose to have rain. I have some pots done and a few let. If it is raining, I will pull my car out of the garage and work in the garage.

Weather has been in low 70s and beautiful..Suppose to be breezy Thursday and Friday. Todd, my son and his boy Luke are coming to town Thursday night for the March Madness tournament that will be in town. Gonzaga University is in Spokane and Luke, 9 years old now, is a BIG Fan. This trip is one of Luke's Christmas presents.

I ordered it, will be here some time next week. $15 I'll spend. Worth a try for fresh spinach, not doing it for tomatoes, they flopped in straight water, need really good media

Will put them out on the 10th, they are doing fine. Pollen for each day coats the porch and chairs. Rain clouds moving in. Beautiful day.

my tomatoes were started at least a month later. but our winter lasts a bit longer here too. They are under lights in the greenhouse

Winter hangin on up north hurts us, but it looks like we will also have 80* days and drop back to 45* nights a few more weeks. I am putting tomatoes out the 10th, weather or no, they are jumping in ht right now and I had to get the bamboo skewers out to support some of those indeterminates. Winds are blowing higher now than they will reach come summer, so wind blocks being thunk on. It is frustrating dancing around the too cool, to too hot all in the same day.

Kitt it gets that way here also , Temperature around the air dance
Plants are slow to get done , sprout etc ,

I bought 2 cherokee purple tomatoes at Ace Hardware yesterday. Mine are a couple of inches tall, these are 6 inches strong and bushy, will probably put them out today, in the hugelkultur. They have to be slightly elevated as my garden floods when it rains. I have seedlings for lavender, basil, zinnias of a couple of kinds and my peppers are finally coming up too on the heat mat in the greenhouse. But on Early girl tomatoes, I think I will just buy 2 sturdy plants,

I will start juliette seeds today, looks like I didn't do any of those when I started the CP. The seedlings of CP will be potted to go on the pond aquaponic tray I think. It takes longer to get warm so the timing should be right.

I did get my onions planted but it rained again yesterday. More rain in last 2 1/3 months than what we get all year. But the wildflowers will be beautiful.

I am to late to sow tomato seeds. If I am going to grow tomatoes I will need to get the plants. But I am not to eager to do so because they have not done well the last two years and my time is limited. If I do buy any, it will be a Juliette.

JU, storm coming your way. We are in high 50, 10 degrees below normal. That would b nice if it was July or August.

Grandson Luke is here from Spokane with my son Todd. They are here for the Western Mountain Conference for basketball. We are having a family dinner tomorrow night but most of the dinner, green beans and country pork ribs will be cooked in the instapot.

I got several rotted succulents removed from pots and fluffed up the soil to try to help it dry out. I have a weed with a pretty little white flower that is having a ball in my front garden in one bed. I need to get to it before they go to seed. They pull easy, just have to do it.

Kitt, I worked in the garden the other dy fr 3 hours. I hired a sitter for Vern and had 3 hours to get all of my work one. I only made a dent and I just need to realize I am no longer Wonder Woman and it is going to take longer. March and April are our busiest months and after that I will be able to handle it.

Kitt, that new bed is fabulous. know how much work that was. Would be easy to put hoops over it and extend your season in the fall.

Have a great Sunday and wishing you all great weather. We are suppose to be windy. We had a gust hit the house Thursday morning around 2:30am. It blew oen out outside bedroom door and set off the alarm. The gust actually woke me up first and I saw the door open. I had not shut it securely. Normally alarm will not set if door is not secure but oh well.

Trees are budding out but citrus are not blooming yet and that is good because it is to cold for our bees. Need a little more warmth. But hummers are sucking down the food. I am down to my last bag of sugar and I forgot to get any when I went to the grocery store.

Sharon it was 54 degrees here at midnight , white out rainstorm , a little lightning and a little thunder to go with that ,
I am reviving pots about to start a basket of new wave petunia ,

A few of my little seedlings are still alive but struggling a little ,
I will try some more tree starts in a while ,
If I am here , awake , and the weather allows I have shrubs to trim ,

I need to repot my lavender seedlings. excited to have them, last of my seed so it was a Hail Mary when I tossed them in pots to go on the heat mat.

Sharon- you can use filtered water and boil 1 cup water to 1/4 cup white sugar and get the same as ya buy. Hummers not here yet, but it reminds me I need to get a feeder out soon...Set 2 new beds and reworked the water spigot. Another of the container beds 8"x36" is ready to be stained and placed. I did get the peppers out, and the 2 Celebrity plants I was seed gifted set into place. The rest will wait for Monday morning. I will grab a few extra pix in the morning.

I up potted my lavender seedling into individual 4 inch pots, running out of pots fast around here. and dirt.

Kitt, I use that formula. I make 3 cups of sugar with required water because I have 3 feeders. I also saw bees on my walk yesterday in the greenbelt. That made me happy. Suppose to rain again tonight.

I had a manicure today but it was a dash there and a dash back because I had no one to stay with Vern after the caregiver's time was up. I have a Dr. appointment to get my prescriptions renewal scrips at 1:30 tomorrow and I have someone to sit with Vern so I can go see what the nurseries have to offer. We are suppose to be in the 70s by the weekend.

Mow and blow guys were here today and he cleaned out the bed for me. He had some leftover petunia plants from someone's install so he planted them for me. I never plant petunias but they were a gift and he was so pleased he was helping me. I got him 3 new clients and I think this was a payback. Petunias here are a feast for the cabbage worms. I will go out Wednesday and feed them some organic insecticide that the plant absorb and see if that helps. Worked last year on the geraniums.

I still have no tomatoes planted.

JU, you are going to get it again this weekend. That is what our weather report is telling us.

Kitt, so happy you are getting your projects done.

Gypsi, you are so lucky to be able to grow lavender. It will not grow here. I know how you feel about pots. I had about 6 quart sizes and I guess my garden helper thought they were trash and they disappeared. I had them stacked by my small greenhouses on the South side of the garage. I got 2 today from a neighbor and put them in the garage. Do you have anyone in your area planting annuals by a landscaper. Landscapers will happily give you all the pots they have. Time to start getting Vern's bed turned down. I hate this time change. I do like the extra daylight but I am still thinking it is earlier than it is and dinner has been late every night.

my area is homeowner planted, even the big houses aren't landscaped, flowers, well myself and one other home owner have some. It's prairie. But I do have customers that have landscapers and will grab pots for me. (I use the 2 gallons to pot their bog plants for their ponds) I'm going to text one and let her know I'm short on 4 inch

Ran out of veggie fertilizer, but half the maters are in. All changes are not completed, but here is so far. I am jamming my kitchen garden into all the space I have ready- I hope it is forgiving. Blasted beds are so tall, but my daughter has art in her controlling heart, chuckl. Celebrity sets are slow, slow to germinate, slow to grow, but they are trying. The heirlooms need better roots, but it hasn't slowed them yet in spite of a squirrel sampling the plants on the porch. 3) box is waist high to me, so my daughter asked if I need a shelf, absolutely!!! My SIL went and welded a shelf, set a piece of heavy fiberglass grate inside it, and fixed the faucett spigot for me. I still have a lot todo, but I am tired and resting a bit by weeding that nasty sticky willy weed and sweetgum balls out of other spots. I need to order some fertilizer...

have yet to see if lavender will grow, but I bought 2 last year and one bloomed. I have 2 tomatoes in the ground, the cherokee purple, had a frost last night and I had them covered with a plastic tote box, they were fine. Couple of more should go in today but I worked and I'm not feeling up to it