>>LOL can you say feed me. LOL
LOL -- and i do have hosta seeds. I got some in the last swap, plus i have a few plants that produce viable seed.
tcs1366 picture (Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #17
Found it. Here the hosta I have if ya want some plants
is that lancifolia? if so... i have about 50 of those... the line my back yard, alternating with albomarginata. They are pretty though.
All I know is that they are called Green Edger.
Hieronymus Bosch would be great, he's born in the same city as me!
This is what I'll do, if you agree to it:
I have lots of leftover seeds, I'll put those in a box and they can be given to the hurricane victims.
The "official" swappers (= you lot) can choose from my seed list. Whichever they please!
What you think about that?
Hi Dryad, nice to hear from you :)
That is very generous of you Tuink :)
Star, I guess you will post a link to the swap here for us, so we will find you?
I picked some seeds yesterday for the swap; never could get any from the lovely lilac petunias. I did get a few seeds from a new one ~ long bean-like pods....wild Senna, Cassia hebecarpa. It is a native perennial for zones 7-9. For us, it bloomed (yellow blooms) the second year.
Critter, I've been meaning to mention, your seed article was really good! I like how you edited your photos for it. Also, I haven't picked any basil seeds yet and worried if I'm going to have any from your Italian basil. We got carried away at harvest time and picked most of it!!! I'll go out and check later today.
Does anyone know if you have to bring in gingers? I have one more large pot on our porch that I'm debating whether or not to bring in. The gingers I have didn't flower this season, so I have no seeds from them yet to offer.
Pray for rain! It is bone dry again here, we put away our sprinklers and I'm too lazy to drag it all back out! Our dahlias are dying of thirst and so are the fall veggies.
I think most gingers are considered zone 7 hardy. If its in a pot I think it would need to be brought in. I've read of some having success overwintering them outside in our zone in protected spots, well mulched, but that was planted in the ground.
I would bring your Gingers in up in your area. Even as warm as it is down here I lose a few over the winter in pots. Do't feel bad, mine are just starting to bloom and now we got rain and freezing temps coming all this weekend.
I had a few pots of gingers that sat all summer and didn't do a darn thing. Not one leaf, no roots, nothing , nada. Figured they was dead and empited th epot on a compost pile of leaves I was making and raking up and dang if not a coupel weeks later all them what I thought was dead rhizomes went and started growing. Friend cam eby and saw them and so up they got dug and on to her house.
My Hidden Gingers just starting to bloom too. I have to figure out why they wait so late to try and bloom here for me.
Oh yep we definately will have link to here to the Seeding Frenzy. Seed aholics unite. LOL
Hey wind - I'd bring in those gingers.
And I still have some hosta seeds from last year that I didn't get a chance to start, not many, but I can share :)
I'm really irritated with myself - I started castor but didn't get them in the ground in a timely manner, so all those nice seed pods are going to be just for looking at, as we got our second frost last night and I'm just not sure they'll have time to set seed.
I'm sitting here this morning watching Sportscenter (I just can't take the news anymore with all the political hooey) and sorting out seeds that I got yesterday - anise hyssop, green amaranth, wheatstraw celosia and purple angelonia. I also got a red celosia that grew to about 4' and am thrilled with that, so I got a lot of seeds from that to sort out of the chaff.
I'll dig around for the pics I shot at Suzy's - I was careful not to get her in most of the pics so I think we should be able to use one. I've also gone searching for the article, and can't find it! I wonder if Dave took it off?
I don't rememerb what the title was to it and I know on one of the threads here we had a post about it, but if I try and go back through all them posts for all the pages we got, I wil be blind and my eyeballs wil look like one of them slot machines going round and round.
Appreciate ya lettign us use a pic. Thank you.
Robin --
>>I also got a red celosia that grew to about 4' and am thrilled with that, so I got a lot of seeds from that to sort out of the chaff.
I had some WheatStraw celosia too -- what a cool plant... anyhoo -- this is how i collected the seeds
Glass jar over the red feathery part, with the seed... and just rattled it in the jar, seeds fall out - with not much chaff at all.
I did that with the amaranth too. Worked like a charm.
Looks liek we are gonna have a good weather day.... upper 50's and partly 'whatever'. Rain coming in tomorrow - or so they say.... so i gotta get crackin' .
Fantastic! Your good. Now which pic do ya think would be best for our swap?
oooooo - I like that glass jar thingy. I've been rattling them over a paper plate, and so far it's worked pretty good.
Next I have to figure out how to get tomato and eggplant seeds - what's the secret on those? Do I have to let the fruit get over-ripe, or can I take them from the fruit after harvest? (I know, I could look this up, but I'd much rather ask y'all!)
I hoping a pack of celosia seds I just bought is the tall ones. The ones I had last year was little shorty squaty things and didn't like them at all, gave them away
Hey Star - I'm thinking the pic of the beds with all the seeds - what do you think? Either that, or the pic of the shoebox (which was Ansonfan's - how quickly it starts to come back!). Since I was bringing my seeds home each day that I was over at Suzy's I didn't get a package in the mail, but I sure can empathize with everyone who did - I bet you all still remember the day you got your seed package!
And I still owe you some peonies!
I got a BOAT LOAD of the tall ones, I'll send you some.
Star -- i had some that grew tall, and others that were short -- and even a few 'yellow' ones.
I just assumed it was the location and what they were planted it...as i think they came out of the same envie.
I had WD'ed a bunch - then planted them willy-nilly in various beds ... the ones that grew in the front of the bed, stayed smaller ... then the other ones, my neighbor tossed zinnia seeds, so i was thinking those celosia grew taller because they were 'fighting' for sunlight due to the taller zinnias.
I also direct sown a few, they also stayed smaller.... but again, they were not in competition for sunlight.... but did get a bit more shade than the others.
I did my tomatoes when they was ripe but not over ripe. Here is the method I used.
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/Horseshoe/1109/
worked beautifully. And i have this tiny old powder sugar shaker and I ould just put the seeds in there for final rinse. The big secret is makign sure they sit out there and dry all them weeks.
Peppers I just core and dry on plate for about ten days before packaging and storing.
I looked at be done too and had liked it. ASfter all we spend alot of time layign in th ebed dreaming about our flowers and gardens. : )
I have gotten so I check the back of all packages now and compare for height. Had somethign else i had bough too that was little short guys. Heck couldn't find them for the weeds and so small stepped on a few.
Alot fo the new hybrids are being breed for shorter and shorter heigth. No fragrance anymore and now if they 6" tall nobody cna see them in yoru yard unles s they got their nose stuck in them.
I think the tall one I had was an heirloom - not sure, will have to dig through my files and see. I've got one client who only wants heirlooms and I think this may have been from her batch of seeds. It was in a spot that had aster, narcissus and surprise lily bulbs, and didn't get much water when I watered the yard (just out of reach of the sprinkler). It really surprised me as it kept growing and growing. None of the other celosia that I started (from trade seeds) got any higher than perhaps 2 feet at the most. The stalk is a good 3". Here's a shot of it in between the asters and the monstrously high tithonia.
(edited to add: the wooden structure was put there to keep it propped up after a storm, so it wouldn't fall into the driveway and get run over.)
This message was edited Oct 23, 2008 9:10 AM
Yay! Thank you Star! I'm off to find a couple of jars....
Oh, Robin I've been so tempted to answer your question about saving tomato and eggplant seed, "they have to be digested first, then you find the seed" LOL! I'm recalling the stories of old timers talking of all the tomatoes that grew around the out house. However, I digress...anyhow, a method I'm trying with tomatoes that an avid gardener told me about is to spread the seeds and slime onto a napkin or paper towel, and lay those out to dry. I'm using over ripe fruit because I've read that fermentation is beneficial to the seed. Seems like tomato seeds typically germinate readily, so I'm not sure about that. When starting the seed, he said he just lays the paper towel with seeds adhered to it on the surface of the potting medium, lightly covers the whole thing with a thin layer of potting mix, and waters it in.
Probably not the best way to present seed to someone to trade, but I find collecting tomato seeds so nasty, it was nice to speed up and simplify the process.
star, thanks for posting that article! I've been at a loss how to make tomato seeds tradable :-)
he he he he :) I knew there was some fermentation required, but didn't have a clue how to get it done. I just googled eggplants, and unfortunately they have to be past ripe on the plant, so maybe next year...
I was doing it wrong and alway shad been afraid to trade mine til Shoe jumped in and sent me his link. Now it a breeze and they look so good and have sent out some I harvested and they grew so I very happy.
Dryad, I used that method Starlight posted too for tomatoes and it works really good. I'm not sure how long the seeds can stay under water though...this year I may have forgotten them too long, hopefully I didn't ruin them.
I guess I'll have to lug in the ginger pot before tonight, it is going to be a freeze. Thanks for the advice.
edited typo :)
This message was edited Oct 26, 2008 12:26 PM
I would love to contribute and participate in a swap this year:)
I have calendula, a few tashkent marigolds, Red dye amaranth, old fashioned "vining" petunias, tithonia, lauren's grape poppies, blue breadseed poppies and a few more I can't remember from the top of my head.
star, I've got 4 jars of nasty tomato slurry in the works, LOL. Keeping them in the craft/plant room where the puke-like odor doesn't carry to the living areas. I could already see how the seeds separate and sink- I think this method is going to work out great!
Aremiss. Be glad to have ya join too. : ) Nothing like another seed and plant nut joing the gang.
I can't wait for it to start. Feed me!!!! Feed me!!!1 Feed me!!! (burp) ( little indigestion there) LOL
Gemini when I read abotu the smell , I got smart and used MasonJars with screw on lids. Ya it pretty cool and once ya do the add and stir part you wil see even more of then drop. When I got ready for the last stages, I took the jars out side to scoop an ddump mess off the top. so I wont be surprised if I see a few volunteers coming up in weid areas.
Anybody know if I cna possibly root and keep alive over th ewinte rin the house some Calibracheo ( sp) Mini double Pink . With the heat and drought I had to shear them back pretty hard to keep them going and now they out their blooming their fool heads off. I wanted to take some cuttings, but not sure how difficult they are to root and if they will even grow inside. They haven't produced any seed as these were started vegetatively so dont expect to see any.
It cold now and havignto cover things up and now my butterfly gingers are trying to bloom. Such a weird season this year for me.
Some people have tremendous luck with calibrachoa Star....I am so/so with it. Last spring another DGer sent me some cuttings and almost all of them EVENTUALLY rooted. However I just tossed the ones I took a few weeks ago. Maybe if I'd have been more patient some of them would have made it, but I needed the room on the mat for waiting coleus.
I don't think calibrachoa produce seed, at least I've never found it. But if you have the available space I'd say go for the cuttings. I would recommend some bottom heat and doming if you can swing it.
Calibrachoa are some of the pickiest plants I've ever grown. They're beautiful, but if they even THINK they need water and you don't water them - poof, they start dying and you have a battle to get them back. We've had two frosts here - and even though some of the taller plants definitely show they've been hit I'm leaving things up as they're protecting the shorter plants - some of which are new perennials so I want to give them as much of a chance to settle in for the winter before I take out the tall plants.
Did anyone grow hollyhocks this year? I started three, and they were like magnets for the Jap. Beetles. (I never got around to starting any four o'clocks - those are on my list for next year). Anyway, mine got NAILED by the JB's, but I let them be and didn't spray, and they put out a second round of leaves after the JB's were gone and ended up looking great. In fact, a couple days ago when I was perusing the green amaranth to see if I could get seeds I was thrilled to see a little brown praying mantis on it! I had thought about ordering some, or some ladybugs, as I was beginning to see too many aphids for my comfort zone, and then all of a sudden things evened out and I didn't have very many bug troubles at all - other than the loopers that destroyed my few cole crop veggies. Between the birds and the beneficial bugs, I think the yard had a pretty good balance this year.
I think I'm going to put my tomatoes in the garage for their transformation to seeds - I know the greenhouse won't be warm enough (I don't have a heat source in it yet) and I'm SURE Nora won't like the idea of rotting tomatoes in the basement - LOL!
all the Jap Beetles were on my roses... they didnt make it out to the HH.
Robin, my hollyhocks were demolished by some other bug before the JBs arrived, leaving the foliage looking like lace. I had a friend comment on how beautiful the "black flowers with the lace leaves" were, LOL. Glad the casual, non gardening, observer perceived them as pretty, but I'm ready to be armed with Neem next year! I've found a few praying mantis egg cases in the garden! Good idea to keep an eye out for them when removing frosted annuals, they seem to like morning glory vines here.
Robin, you are better off, I think, to just let the good bugs come, I heard if you let the lady bugs loose they don't stay in that area, not sure how true this is, I've had a few all summer but about two weeks ago more came, a little late but better late than never, I still haven't seen as many this year as I have in the past though. The praying mantis are still here, some aren't full grown yet so I'm wondering if they will be killed when we get a freeze, I just love those little critters but they are so creepy when you pick them up, they have sticky feet, ewww! I've had so many of those this year that when I'm cleaning under plants or moving pots around one baby ends up on my arm lol But then I did see a lot of eggs for them on my grasses this year, just wasn't sure if they were used or new. I didn't think those were suppose to stick around in the same area either after they hatched but I had quite a few of them.
Neal, I bet those were the blister beatles, they are black with white trim around their wings and almost an inch long, they ate my clematis shrub one year in no time, just in the time to go get the bottle of alcohol to spray them with, that kills them but I'm careful not to spray flowers with it. I had them on several plants this year a lot more than usual, they love tomato plants too! They come in swarms, so creepy!
The JB demolished my HH and like you said Robin they came back out of it, I think I'll plant some 4 O'Clocks by them for next year and see if that helps. The hibiscus didn't look very good, I hate it when they get on the blooms and ruin them!!! And I had an awful lot of those little beatles/wevils whatever they are all over my blooms too!
I'm going out to collect seeds, it's 43 out :):
Gentle gardeners,
I have dug up my beautiful gladiolas today. Here is the plant file link
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/90252/
These are the most exquisite tangerine-peach-orange - a very exotic, sophisticated colour.
Anyway, every year I have lots of baby corms. These are the size of morning glory seeds. Last year I cleaned them, cured them, then saved them in old panty-hose, hung on a nail in the basement. Well, I planted them this year and many of those corms have now grown to a size that next year they will have flowers. (yes, the corms come true)
Anyway, would anyone mind if I included some packages of these new baby corms in the seed swap? I know that, strictly speaking, they are not seeds, and that you will have to wait 1-2 years for blooms (like many perennials).
BUT, if you have an extra row in your veggie garden, or a sunny place where some strappy leaves might look just fine, perhaps you might like to try these. (Honestly, these are the most amazing cut flowers!)
I have lots of other stuff as well, but I thought I would ask about the glads.
I would sent the corms in a little plastic seed pack, like the other seeds I will be sending, so if you receive the corms, you should probably open the plastic bag and keep them in the toe of an old pair of panyhose until you want to plant them.
So . . . anyone interested?
LoL, Seandor. Love that gentle Gardeners. We may be gentle when sniffing or handling a bloom, buit when it comes to hauling dirt an dpitchign manure, ain't no gentle about it. Thanks fo rgiving me a smile: ) Sure , put them in the swap. Baby corms hardy take up any room or weight. Somebody will want to grab them up.
Appreciate the heads up on the calibrachoa. Maybe I will just leave them in gh and if they make it they do and if they don't they don't. They never have looked liek the picture. Tiny leaves and about half inch blooms.
I didn't realize JB's ate HH's. Glad I didn't have that problem. Just got some of that new color Fietsa time HH seeds.
LeBug -- it's 53° here, and windy.... we have a 'wind alert' for tomorrow i think, sending that subarctic air in... oh goody!!
but i was out collecting too. still have a few mantis' in the yard too... picked up two of them yesterday [or the day before] when i almost stepped on them.... put them in the garden. no egg sacks though.
think the last of my MG vines will be coming down this weekend.
I"m spending most my free time now [3-4 hrs last night, while DH was watching DVD's] cleaning seeds.
Cosmos, Bachelor Buttons, ConeFlower .... and since it's been so wet here the past few days... i now have a lot of seeds drying on plates on the DR table... thankfully - i dont have cats. *wink*
We have cats, but they seem to stay clear of our new seedling light rack shelves, which is what I have been using to place all the baggies of seeds I've been collecting :)
Seandor, your gladiolas sound pretty, I am interested :) We have never tried gladiolas here before. So they multiply for you annually? The corms sounds so much more manageable than dahlia tubers.
I still have to go out and dig our dahlias and cannas. I usually wait for the first hard freeze. I also want to try and harvest some zinnia seeds, never did that before. They are LeBugs pink ones...really pretty. And, sheesh....I forgot to check on Critter's basil seeds too!
It is really windy here too and unseasonably warm.
wind -- zinnias are easy to harvest... once you figure out which part is the actual seed.
You are soooo right tcs1366! I have a perennial sunflower, "Lemon Queen." LOTS of chaff, but very, very few actual seeds - which, of course, look like sunflower seeds. If you didn't know what you were looking for, you might assume all the chaff was the seed- and think you have TONS to share . . . alas, no such luck.