Here we are on the new thread. Too bad I don't have anything to say :)
Oh, I know -- I can show you my Mina Lobata -- here it is, just beginning to bloom. I hope I can get at least some seeds from it before frost, but they are awfully slow to develop!
Suzy
Suzy. that is spectacular! I hope you'll have seeds to trade, eventually.
oooo, how pretty! never heard of it, but I just looked it up and it is loved by hummers. I will have to give it a try. if you have spare seeds later, will you let me know?
beautiful...I never heard of it either...looked it up too. Yours looks really full for an annual vine ~ really nice!
Ok I got tired of waiting and mailed my seeds in yesterday. Not as many pkgs, as I finally gave up on the Alma and Purple Dome asters. They just WON"T cooperate and dry out!!!! If anyone wants any of either later, just let me know. We had a light frost last night so that might finish them off.
Okay, I'll watch for them, Cat.
Wind, It is VERY full. I have it on a double Shepherd's crook bird feeder, and the thing is sunk in the ground 18" with a big wire coil to hold it steady underground, and it is listing at a 20 degree angle from the weight of the single vine. I wintersowed 3 seeds last year and only got one live plant, but I can't imgaine if I had gotten more!
I keep watching the oldest seeds, but there is no way they will ripen by next week, or even the week after. (Guessing)
I'm not sure what triggered bloom on it, but I think it was the cooler temperatures. If that's the case, I probably will never see seeds in this growing region because there isn't enough time before a hard freeze. It might be better up north or in New England where they have longer autumns, or of course way down in Zone 8 or 9 where it probably is a winterblooming annual.
It's a shame because it is really cool.
Suzy
I think we can go ahead and say they seed to be in the mail by Oct 31, as opposed to they have to be here by then. Does that ease the work load for anybody?
I can make it Nov 10, or any date you all need or want, but I don't want to make 1/2 the people mad who signed up for an Oct 31 date.
Another alternate is to send me a list of what you're sending and a list of what you want via dmail. If I have the promissory notes to plan the packages, I can slip the seeds in the right coffee can when they come in on say, Nov 7-10? Would that be helpful for anybody? I promised a 2-week turnaround, and that is all I'm worried about :)
Suzy
Suzy, if I end up with my hands overfull preparing for next week's probably freeze, I'll send you Dmail with everything that I'll be putting in my package... but I'll try to have my package in the mail on Wednesday. Thanks for being flexible! :-)
ok, Critter.
I just checked the forecast here and our forecasted low temperatures have been steadily going UP (I check the weather at least twice a day). Looks like we have a full 10 days of 40-50 degree nights with no forst or freezes in sight.. Yay!
Suzy
Boy, I'd better keep an eye on that forecast... now they're calling for a low of 36 on Sunday... 31 Monday night... and then temps rise again. Maybe we'll get lucky and not have a freeze? I'd better dig those plants regardless. On the plus side, I had a neighbor over for lunch (because he'd never had fried green tomatoes), and he offered to come over on Monday and help me get the banana beds from their bed into the basement. Hooray!
Sorry, all that had nothing to do with seeds, except that I"m hoping the freeze will hold off a bit... I've got my eye on a few more seeds that aren't quite mature...
Critter, Banana bed? As in you grow Banana trees?
We had fried green tomatoes Sunday night. My husband wasn't too sure about them (even though I have made them before, he didn't remember). Do you use flour? I thought my crusty stuff on the outside was a little thin. It was crispy, but just thin.
Ok, back to seeds. Uh, I got nothin. I am packing every single night, but I am rather slow. Even on seeds that you guys will look at and wonder if I even cleaned them, it takes me forever.
I wonder if I should tell you what some of them are, because I haven't reported them in any of the previous posts....well, here's one: Alonsoa meridionalis 'Bright Sparks Apricot' . Hows that for a mouthful? This is my first year growing it, but I had a bumper crop. I put a pic up in Plant Files. I am trying to get the full allotment of 10 packs of this and I believe I will make it. It wintersows really well, but I like to get a headstart of 4 weeks with an inside sowing before throwing it outside to fend for itself ala wintersowing.
Suzy
Okay dokey :) I can do it right now.
Suzy
You're welcome.
Peeps, if anybody else wants one, it's no trouble, but you ought to know there are only about 25 or 30 seeds in a pack because I am trying to save you from making the same mistake I made... I got 50 seeds and had about 50 geminate. I planted them all, but they are mostly green plants with little flowers, so I really used up a lot of garden space I could ill afford on them. I figure if I send you 25 you can get 3 or 5 plants out of the deal (worse case scenario) and that's probably enough. Seriously. They get about 18-20" wide.
Things are heating up on the receving end here. I received 2 more envies today and all your little coffee cans are slowly filling up. Some are very full. Ahem.
I have noticed more than a couple people so far are requesting cool colored flowers...blues, purple, pinks. I just thought that was interesting since I have the corals, red, and oranges here. For the cool colored people who want blues and purples: How does the color magenta or red-plum stack into the equation? Yay or Nay? Just curious.
Suzy
Gee, Suzy, seems like you have all flowers that I never heard of. that's great! would love to try your alonsoa (looked it up in PF). I really love those peach & apricot colors.
Critter, I really want to try a musa basjoo. I know people in my zone (same as yours) who grow it sucessfully without having to bring it in. What kind of bananas do you have?
I have all my seeds packed and everything is in the envelope. Just have to get to the P.O. and have it weighed so I get the right amount of return postage inside. Probably have it in the mail Tuesday.
A 'Basjoo' should do fine for you, and yes you could leave it outside year round. I have this delusion of one day having fruit... and you don't get edible fruit from a basjoo... So I bought 'Ice Cream' banana and 'Apple banana' plants, plus a mystery one that was supposed to be 'Dwarf Orinocco' but is SO not a dwarf (it's the tallest and sturdiest of the lot). I overwintered them semi-dormant in the basement last year, learning as I go... :-)
Suzy, I'd love to try the Alonsoa, too. I'm still coming upon seeds that are a surprise to me, so won't send in a list until they are all cleaned, packed & tamed. There's a couple of fat oriental lily pods still green out back - I may invert a bucket over them if frost looks likely - but can't yet promise them.
Lol to the Mina lobata shepherd's hook leaning at 20* - now how could any of us have a *true* cottage garden without something listing as if great age were frosting its antiquated brow?
bluespiral, you are the poet among us!
critter, I just want the neighbors to think I'm crazy...I want to try a couple of hardy palms, too. fruit wasn't one of my goals. good luck!
If we have until the 31st to mail, maybe I can go ahead and get some of the asters sent in after all!
I sent mine the first of the week because harvesting and cleaning were becoming too all-consuming and I needed to "get on with my life." I guess I know myself all too well because each time I discover something new it makes me want to send another package to Suzy. LOL!
I will hold those new-found seeds for the winter-sow swap. I'm going to have a hard enough time finding 10 different seeds for that swap that I didn't use for this one. (My apologies to anyone else in both swaps that might get a duplicate of one of my seed packs).
Blue, I gotcha.
Yes, Lala, I am afraid of the duplicates for the other swap, too. I'm not sure how we can get around that.
Gram, I had some unusual things this year and I think that was the driving force on hosting this swap. One-on-one trades are so expensive and such a pain and I'm afraid I'll trade things I ran out of, on the other hand, I had some gorgeous surprises that I wanted to share --but not on an open forum SASBE with 100s of envelopes coming to my house piecemeal.
Suzy
Dear Suzy,
God Bless You for extending this to a 10/31 mailing. It has rained every day for the past 10 days and the dehumidifier failed. Other than that everything is fine!
Thanks,
Maggie
Regarding harvesting Salvia Black and Blue
What I've found is most successful is checking under the plants for dropped calyces. After that, I gently stroke the salvia to remove any loose calyces. Those calyces have 2 seeds in them that spill out easily once they are dried.
Regards,
Maggie
We are forecasted for frost tonight -- but I do not see how the forecasted conditions warrant the advisory. Can anybody help me understand?
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/784847/
Suzy
Sorry I can't help with the question , but I got frost last night , I love about an hour north of you.
GG -- So is everything killed? The dahlias, ageratums and the Zinnias? Everything is all black? It got down to 33 here last night/this morning, and everything looks the same as it did yesterday.
The only thing showing signs of frost is the wandering jew in the ground ( black) and the blossoms of the pink cosmos out near the shed , the ones by the house are fine.The tips of the pepper plants are black but the fruit fine.
There was frost on the whole lawn and we had to scrape the car windshield this morning.
I did expect more damage.
I did drag all 75 house plants inside last night.
My dad used to talk about a black frost as his way of saying the killing frost of the fall season. I always associate it with the frost that will turn a plant like ageratum solid black. I have been watching the forecast like a hawk, plus I've been working outside like a fiend. If we get a black frost tonight, I will be very surprised. It just doesn't "feel" like it.
I guess I'll know in the morning.
I'm going to throw a bed sheet over the Mina lobata just in case it will help any. I really would like to harvest some of those seeds, and if I can just get through tonight, It looks like a full 10 days of nicer weather for them to mature.
Suzy
EGADS! I just became aware that today is October 28th. Seeds will be sent by the quickest method possible to arrive in time for Oct. 31 . . . or was it 30th.
Well, anyway they are on their way tomorrow, first thing!
Michaela, Suzy said we could MAIL the seeds by the 31st to give us a little extra time. ok, now ...breathe...in...out...in
LoL! Seandor/Michaela, Gram is right. Just send them when you get around to it -- Wed is fine. Do NOT spend extra on Priority!
As an update, there was no frost and the only thing that shwed any signs of cold or frost was the darn Mina lobata I covered! Did I damage it by covering it? Or is it tropical, and 32 isn't it's threshold, it's, say, 34?
I don't know, but your seeds are safe :)
Suzy
Suzy, I have damaged seedlings in early spring by covering and having the plastic touch the plant. The parts that didn't touch were not harmed. Were yours touching plastic?
We had a patchy frost advisory all the way down here for last night and I was surprised for so early in our season... But my instinct told me I wasn't going to get any and I was right.. it's a bit chilly though right now, but the suns out and temps should warm this week.
:)
Susan
Thanks! I am soooo glad I checked this first. I am walking to the post office now to send the seeds. :-) Which will be sent 1st class - not priority :-)
PamSue, Gotcha
SoulgardenLove - I used a bed sheet, [sing the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies here], but I needed to add plastic over it, but then the weight is a concern because it's already leaning so far over :)
Michaela/Seandor, Glad to have saved you a couple bucks.
I am trying to get things cleaned & packed still. Last night I was watching TV for 2 1/2 hours and only got 25 packs packed.
Suzy
burlap works well as a cover but who has burlap lying around! I've used plastic trash bags over hanging baskets but very open around the bottom. This article says to use plastic as a last resort.
Also, I read last yr that a water spray protects from freezing by creating a frozen shell around and 'insulating' the bud or fruit. It got cold here last night but no frost yet. I'm glad too.
http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/house_and_home/blogpost/1261813/
