Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #14

My yard work plans were just shot down by some yellow jackets. I was trying to dig up a pile of dirt with weed grass growing in it to use in a spot that needs to be filled in and I must of dug up their nest because within minutes I was running away screaming as I got stung twice! Now I have nothing to do becasue I can finally say I have planted every thing that had germinated and not died in it's seed starting pack/cups. : ) Maybe I'll go use my $10 off coupon for lowes : )

I saw the neatest thing today on gardening by the yard I thought you all might appreciate...apparently you can take a bvrown paper bag, spray it w/ vegatable cooking spray, let it dry, add dirt and plant seeds for things that don't like to be transplanted-then when it is big enough, plant the whole thing-will take a bit to decompose and you are supposed to be able to top water in them too...

Fairy, thanks for that tip. I didn't catch Paul James this morning. Hope I can remember this idea.

Hemophobic

ella
this is a hybrid i have grown yellow and red from seed..this one i bought about ten years ago and it does produce seed. i do give it protection during winter

pam sue

ps. thats a good idea about brown bags...ill have to save some up ..a bit hard to find these days with plastic bags offered



This message was edited Aug 17, 2008 2:40 PM

What's gardening by yard? Is it a program on cable? If so I am out of luck , no cable here. I don't get it, why the vegatable oil?

Pam Sue .. My that is pretty!!! : ) Definately gotta order me some seed of it . For protection, do you use mulch or do you cover it or bring it in?

Meridith. Ouch. and double ochie!!!!!! Good excuse for not to any more weeding. Hope they don't hurt ya too bad.

I was out weedign this morning for a bit since it was nice and cool. I noticed flying in the yard this bee, but it not like any bees I have seen before. It small and all black and dark black wings like a fly has, and by the rear on the sides, just two very small almost unnoticable unless ya close to them, yellow spots. Anybody seen any kind that that before?

Meredith: I have shared your pain in every sense of the word. I was out weeding two years ago Labor Day weekend and got into a next of yellow jackets. Ended up in the ER with 10 bites or stings, had to have morphine for the pain. I ran screaming into the house, covered in YJs. DH took me out on the back stoop, where he knocked them off my clothes, which were covered. I have been deathly afraid of bees and YJs ever since. I keep Benadryl on hand and take it immediately if stung. Also Benadryl cream for the itching.

You have my complete sympathy and understanding.

I think the veg oil so it deosn't just disinigrate right away...it is a show on HGTV every Sun morn @ 7:30am...I LOVE Paul James-he give you REAL people tips and explains it in a way everyone can understand-not the MG mumbo jumbo....

hi ella
these are the bella series and i just have this in a gallon pot and it doesnt get more than a foot high. i like these better than the species because they have the open face blooms that you can see. I may have seed from this certain one ( orange shade ) but no guarantees because it is a hybrid and it may have crossed with other colors. There was a thread in seed starting forum about abutilon seeds..using fine sandpaper to the seed before planting..i may try that method since i have found that the seeds did not have a good percentage of germination, like one seed out of six will germinate.
i put my pot at the south facing shed by the foundation and it goes dormant. i water it once in awhile..sometimes it sheds all its leaves and sometimes it does not depending on how severe the weather is in the winter time. In colder zones it is best to keep them indoors as a house plant..it likes bright sunny windows to while away the long cold days before going back outside.
i have read that the color pink is the dominant color in the seed mixes that you buy.

pam sue

ps yellow jackets..oh my..im allergic to them and also have to have benadryl on hand..i swell up and i try to avoid them if i see them flying around. Im glad you are ok now


This message was edited Aug 17, 2008 3:01 PM

Thank you everyone, only one of the stings still hurts. One right on my lower back, thank goodness I'm not allergic. I haven't been stung since about 10 years ago, and I know you can change. So I'm thankful I didn't end up in the hospital I feel so bad for all you that are allergic it has to be the scariest thing, because it was less than a minute that it took for me to see them and get stung! Now I am wondering when I'll be able to get that spot done. I think I read something about doing it at night because they are asleep and shouldn't sting. I don't know how true that is though. My husband sprayed the spot but they appear to have a nest underground so we probably didn't get them all.

meredith
actually the coolest part of the night/morning is the best time to kill them ...if you have 40/50ish degree weather..
they still can move around if it is still warm at night

pam sue

my point is that they dont move very fast when it is cold outside

This message was edited Aug 17, 2008 6:02 PM

Good to know, so I'm thinking now, I may have to wait to finish this area untill fall. If it's 40's during the day they shouldn't bother me right? Thank you pam : )

Meredith,

I'm so sorry you were stung. A friend of mine was telling me to find the hole, pour gasoline down it and then light it. I've half a mind to do it because the wasps are after my caterpillars. But given how fire can get out of control, I might just be a half-wit.

Maggie

PamSue.. Appreciate all the information. Big help. : ) If ya get a few seeds extra woudl be glad to trade ya somethign for them.

Maggie.. Pouring gas may kil th ebees, but that gas also stays in th eground for a long long time, and wil kil and be absorbed by other things to and yep it like an accident waitign for a happening.

You don't have to light the gasoline, just pour it down the hole sometime just before dark.

Howdy Gang -- I just got a DM from a gal who is new to Indy ... .I directed her to this thread since there are so many from her area here and a plethora of information. Hopefully she will pop in.

anyone heard from Suzy lately? I browsed the last thread and found she's been MIA most of August.
Hope all is well.

The marigold seeds I got from her are just gorgeous... my neighbor is already collecting all those seeds to grow for next year.

OH and regarding bees.... I feel for ya... with us it's wasps. I know so many who have been stung this year, myself included.

T.

hi TCS, haven't heard from Suzy. I hope all is well too.

I was stung too from wasps, first time ever. It was our fault though...my dog put her nose in their nest and they sure told her that they didn't like her doing that!

We harvested all of critter's Italian basil and made it into pesto yesterday :) I have a pot full of lemon basil, that is next in line for pesto.

Believe it or not we needed more dirt! Got some dlvrd. today so we can fill a new raised bed in the veggie garden. I'm holding off on planting the mizuna again until we fill the new bed.

Gemini...I mailed out your seeds the other day, so you should get them soon if not today :)

Wind that looks yummy. Pass the bowl , please. : )

Yep sure hope Suzy ok and that maybe she just on vacation or busy workign or somethign and it not nothign serious.

Wind,

Do you have enough whisks?LOL I have a new one I really like. It has straight wires w/ weighted balls at the end- quite nice for making sure it gets into the edges of bowls that don't match the bends in my other whisks. http://www.amazon.com/WMF-Profi-Plus-11-Inch-Stainless-Steel/dp/B00004S4WO

Maggie

hehehe lol
I do like whisks :)))

I wrote an article on watermelon and it is posted today if anyone is interested :)
I never tried to grow it myself yet. Didn't see any watermelon seeds in the swaps. Actually from what I found out, watermelon seed doesn't stay viable for too long.

LeBug....where are your pictures?
also, this thread is getting long. I don't have any trouble with it loading but maybe some people are. Should someone start a new one or just let this go?