i just sorta yanked... it did not rip, which was good. cute lil thing aint it?
Piggie Swap babies and seed starting
TCS
It was so cute & probably the only valentine I will get so I didn't want to ruin it. I think I am finally ready to WS-I got 2 bags of Jiffy seed starting mix & 1 of reg potting soil to mix-is this OK my mentorr??
I got my seeds today. I was so excited and wanted to open the box so bad and I had company so I had to wait....and wait. I don't even know how to thank everyone. You guys have made this swap a really great experience and I thank everyone for the seeds you sent. I have to go now and play. Will be in touch. LOLOLOL
Anso-were you skipping away from the computer?? SOrry that was just the mental image I had!!LOL
I have you all beat. I sowed the first of my piggy swap babies this afternoon. : ) The skullcap that Seandor gave me. I couldn't wait. : )
More tomorrow. : )
~Lucy
Already Lucy, wow that was fast. I'm still looking and googling.
Sorry Lucy - I've got Purple Tansy, Eads Lavender Poppy, Heirloom poppy and Iceland poppy on their second set of leaves downstairs. But that's kinda cheating, isn't it, since I got mine early?? You *do* have the "official first sown" - LOL!
Hey y'all. I'm lurking and learning again. Seems I'm just following y'all around but I am getting some of y'alls leftovers. If miss Suzy's swap again, I'll just die a slow death.
Deborah
Naw, you didn't cheat. I would have done the same thing. Plus, you were a BIG help to Suzy, so you deserved yours ahead of time. : )
Morning all!
One more on the clematis sowing. I always put them outside in a cup covered with a platic bag in winter but the secret of my success is STIRRING. So after a couple of weeks poke your finger in the soil and stir like it's a cup of coffee. That really makes the difference. The seeds want to be disturbed! You may have to repeat this a couple of times though.....
When do you start them outside Tuink? How many weeks before last frost? KD
Good afternoon Tuink!! ('morning to everyone else!)
Stirring?? I would never have thought that little roots would want such a thing! Or is this something that happens before they've germinated??
KD,
I sow them somewhere january-february. Doesn't really matter as we hardly get any frost anymore...... They seem to be content with just cool (0-5 degrees Celsius).
Indeed, no more stirring after germination, just before!
Cool! Thanks Tuink!
That is quite funny for a plant that does not like to be disturbed isn't it. All the strange little tips that you can pick up, wild eh?
This message was edited Feb 10, 2008 12:51 PM
LOL - yeah - I have a comment in my spreadsheet next to them that says "stir the pot" :)
Well today I started the flowering maple and the three different geraniums (not the hardy kind, the other kind!) :-)
I have entered all the different seeds I have received It took most of yesterday from about 12 noon to 8 pm and then another hour this morning. I try to find the plant in the Plant Files, then I post to my trade list, then I switch it "off" so people are confused as to what I really intend to trade.
Then, when I sow the seeds, I go back to my "trade list" click on the plant - which takes me to the Plant File, and then I click to add it to the appropriate journal :-)
Have I mentioned how absolutely thrilled I am with all the seeds?
Texas Mountain laurel. PF says to poke it in the eye. Where is the eye? I have a flat top (or bottom), a point, and a dimple on the side. Is that the eye?
thanks,
Maggie
Yes, I'm pretty sure the eye is the dimple -- like an eye on a potato.
Feb 10 th seems to early for most of the seeds I have,,,,Maybe I'll just fill some pots with potting soil in preparation for seed starting.
Suzy
Thanks for the info Suzy. I just want to thank you one more time for the ML and the little seed surprises you tucked in. It's great to get seeds you asked for. It's wonderful to get gifts that are perfect that you didn't know to ask for. You have a special gift. I
Here in FL, the Procrastinator in in trouble. I'll barely get some of this sown in time for it to not cook. So mostly, I'll just have a good start on fall. Next year, I'm starting right after Thanksgiving.
I think you and Dryad should give Organizational seminars. Seminars to be 2 weeks long, topics to be covered are time management, seed storage, spreadsheets, and Merry Mailing: MM class includes mailing domestically & internationally, in bulk, while being cost effective. Format will be organic with didactic presentations given during actual practice. Participants will be assisted to find lodgings locally as the guest room beds are covered with seeds.
Has anyone here used cowpots? In the co-ops, were getting together a group to buy them. Cases get direct shipped from the supplier. An ex sales professional is calling the company today to see if we will be able to get 10% off the case as well as the free shipping. I'm getting a case of each. There's a roundp in March and I'll be ready with all my new seedlings.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/811970/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/811210/
Maggie
Maggie-never used them but saw the whole thing on "dirty Jobs" the TV show-they look so environmentally friendly, kina like peat pots, but since peat in becoming more scarce (saw that on Martha Stewart and no I don't really watch that much TV), it is a good way to do a substitue....also another way to usee cow poop-they pretty much take all of the water out to make it compost, then kinda bake it to make it stiff...that is the general gist...
Thanks Margaran, I think I'm going to try some out!
wow --- that's a great idea. [poop pots] I tried, last year, the coconut husk ones, and they just don't break down... i can still see them out there under the trees where i tried planting stuff.... the pot is still sticking up... the plants never survived, since the bunnies ate very well that night.
I finally got milk jugs from my kid.... weeks of nagging. so I maybe have 15 jugs plus a few smaller containers... so HOPEFULLY i can get some WSing done later this week..... DH will be gone Wed night and all of Thurs i think... so that will be a great time to make a mess in the kitchen without getting in his way.
Terese - be sure that any kind of those "pots" you use have the edges completely buried, otherwise the edge will wick moisture away from the roots and help those bunnies kill off your babies. Glad to hear the weather is beginning to cooperate for you so that you can get to some WSing! (You may want to consider resurrecting that coconut husk and tucking it around the edges of containers when you plant them - it may help hold some water in - but that's a WAG on my part.)
I've seen the articles about the cow pots and applaud those guys for their ingenuity! I'm giving the paper pots a try this year (Dave did a video on them). I use a 6 oz. tomato paste can rather than a larger can, and it seems to make just the right size of pot. Fill 'em with soil, tuck them in next to each other in a tray, and water from the bottom - poof!! They can go straight into the soil too (remember to keep the edges buried or they'll wick water from the roots as well). The benefit, of course, is the paper is free (and I can bury all that annoyingly repetitive political and economic reporting!). I promise I'll go take pics today of the few babies I have. Warning though, I started Tansy and poppies - so don't question my sanity - LOL! I was just so eager to get things going I grabbed those and stuck 'em in the pots! I started the Tansy in the paper pots, and the poppies in an ABS setup - which was another mistake as now I've gotta figure out how to get them out without them being annoyed from the disturbance - LOL!
And I'll second (or third?) the vote on Suzy's uncanny ability to "know" what kinds of seeds will be interesting to someone - she's got a true gift for that! If she ever hosts another swap or co-op, I'll be right back at her elbow learning more!!
the cow pots sound interesting, would love to here follow ups from those who use them this year.
I use the peat but never plant them directly into the dirt because they seem to never fully break down, which I guess defeats the whole purpose of using them.
I thought that was the purpose of the peat was that they break down?? I bought some just for plants that "don't like their roots disturbed" so I could directly plant the pots??
Fairy, that's true! Fact is, that only works if you bury them completely. One way or the other it doesn't if you leave the rim sticking out of the soil. Never figured out why......
regarding those husk pots.... i do believe i DID completely bury them... it's like the 'worked their way out' again
If i use them again this year... i'm sure i have more in the garage.... I'll pay more attention.
Fairy and TCS,
Why not use empty toilet rolls? They do just as well and are splendid for plants with taproots. Lots cheaper too!
i did consider them last year, for WS but arent they too 'narrow"? i was thinking paper towel too.... but with 3 bathrooms, i do have quite a few of the 'rolls'.
Sorry Fairy - I wasn't clear on that post (no coffee yet!) The plants that I started in the ABS tray are the ones I'll have to disturb - not the ones in the paper pots. I'll plant the ones in the paper pots completely - pot and all. The seeds started in the ABS (I'll go take a pic now so you can see what I'm not explaining well) will need to be transplanted.
Here's a pic of the paper pots:
And here's a pic of the babies in the ABS that will need transplanting:
Every role can house one seedling. In fact you start to use them after pricking the seedlings out. If they don't have taproots, you can cut the rolls in two.
I agree with the above posts. Suzy does have that ability to figure out just what you need. : ) I got my ML's also, plus alot of other stuff, I wasn't expecting. : )
And, she wasn't the only one, I had special surprises from ALOT of you. I surely was not expecting all of these wonderful seeds. This is gonna be one huge butterfly heaven around here this year. : )
~Lucy
dryad, what kind of seedlings in the paper pot photo?
Thank you, ladies.
I suggest we *all* get going on these seeds, but having a plan is worth a few extra days.
Right now, I am looking at the 10 day forecast for these poppies seeds (direct sow) . I like to sow right before a snow because I am sure that all the birds and mice and other seed-eating rodents will eat them if I don't cover them, but they like to be on top, so no covering with soil. It's not the right time in the next 10 days (according to the forecast), so they go in a coffee can marked Peonies, and that at least gets the seed packs out of my hair. I'll be looking at March for those.
Then I go to the annuals that take a loooong time inside under lights... There is a list in the annuals forum under "What annuals should I start in Jan?, and then, What annuals should I stat in February? So I pull out those for immediate planting insdie.
Then I go to the perennials, and I divide it into a) perennials I really really want and b) perennials I want to see what they look like and sort of want. Naurally I need to take a close look atthe ones in a), the ones I really really want.
Within that group, some are going to be easy, the Tovara & Agastache for example, and some are going to be tough. Some will also need a cold period, and those are the hardest to determine because I don't have the list memorized. One rule of thumb you can use: The more expensive the plant at the garden stores, the more likely it needs some sort of special treatment. Hellebores is the best example I can think of. I believe it needs to be sown now, left in the house for a month and then set outside to finish off its winterchill. It will germinate in mid to late April.
B&B Salvia is another one that is expensive, so I need to look it up to see if there is something special about it. Maybe we should post if there is somehting we notice on Tom Clothier's site about special instructions needed to germinate certain seed. Most of the packs came in multiples, so more than one person has almost everyting.
On the perennials I sort of want or want just a few of (the second b) group) I can take my time and maybe put them away until later. OR I could work up a little nursery outside and direct sow them. If I decide to do that, I want to put somehting over them that will keep the rodents and bunnies away. The best thing I have found is the little punnet (basket) that strawberries come in at the grocery or market. It is a green plastic basket about 4 1/2 inches square. I upend that over where I planted the seeds and secure it with the legs of one of those zinc markers from Eon Industires. (because that's hwat I have here handy) In any case, I am going to put those perennials aside for now.
On some of the Columbine I got, I really, really want those plants! But I think it's a little too soon to wintersow the "a)" plants here. Too soon? The reason why it's too soon here is because the seeds will germinate in March, but I don't really have a place to put them if the temperatures turn bitterly cold in April. If the plants are somehting I really really want, and I don't want to take any chaces that they'll die on me, then it is too soon to wintersow. Other Columbine I have is more expendable, "b seeds" . I want it, but I have other kinds, too, that I'd be equally happy with, and those can be wintersown now.
Next is the annuals -- cool season and warm season. We'll plant those seeds in about 2 weeks - some inside and some outside, and I'll post on what I do on those later.
Suzy
There's a list on the annual forum . . . excuse me I am off to find it . . if I do, I will post the link here :-)
Hi Wind - those are Purple Tansy in the paper pots. A bit leggy, I got them to the lights a bit late and didn't plant them quite deep enough, but they're persistent!
Here is the discussion for January:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/804677/
Here is for February
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/809495/
You always dish out such great info, Suzy! (and seeds!)