Well, what is normal looking worm poo??? You say to look for funny coloring and such, but Ella, I don't know what normal is, so I wouldn't know if it looked funny!!ROFL!!
I am sick as all get out this weekend and have to get those seeds packed up-UGH!!
CLOSED: Fall Piggy Swap # 10
Fairy.. It depends on what in th ebag and I can't find exactly what is supposed to be in the bag. Most companys post a front and back of bag and ya cna blow up th epics to read the packages.
They could have feed the worms in manure beds and you would have what looks like composted manure ground fine.
You want to look mainly for white, yellow, red, orange and green spots. If it not brown or tan, take a closer look at it. Also, if ya see little red tiny balls in there. Keep them, they are waorm eggs and they can take as long as 20 years to hatch into a worm depending on the conditions they in.
Ya all can make some of yoru own worm composting beds. Just get ya a big wood box, real deep about 3 feet, fil it with cow or horse manure or both. Throw a couple of containers of worms in from fish bait or walmart store and layer newspaper on the top then cover with cardboard and as the worms decompose eveything down, just add more manure and newspaper. Just make sure the box not toally sealed on bottom so some water can drain out through bottom cracks and just keep soil moist , not wet when it gets dry on th ebottom.
Doesn't take the worms long to break stff down and ya have some nice rich soil to work with.
Fairy,, if your not feeling good, rest, no rush to get box here. Nasty fluey like stuff going on all over the place.
I really do want to get the box out mon, but if it isn't a HUGE deal, I( would love to spend tomorrow resting and maybe shoot for getting it out by the end of the week-I have a Dr appt on Monday after work....LMK Ella...
OK-so if it isn't brown, then it isn't good is esentially it then-BUT little red dots are eggs and they ARE good-got it:)
Fairy... No rush. I just finished all my finals and starting to bag mine and catch up. Got almost 1,000 seed packets to finish makign yet, so no hurry, at all, just put a confirmation sticker on yoiur box if ya gonan be sending out after the 20th so that it dont get lost in the holiday mail if ya dont mind. rest.. Not fun being sick on holidays.
Which reminds me. I workign on sortign and taggign and bagging these next couple of days. Too cold to go to walmart ruight now and get more plastic seed baggies. I have someof the giant siz eseed baggies, so don't freak when ya get em and they only have few seeds in em. Ok. I have about 500 of them bigger size so gona use them up. just looks really weird. cuz they about the size of a small snack baggy. LOL Think they like 3 x3 or 3 x4"
I don't know about you guys, but I had sooo many earthworms this year that I had to worry about whether I was going to slice or squash them every time I went to plant something. I have a feeling they're making quite enough poop on their own, so adding more doesn't even make the top 100 on my to do list.
perenniallyme, same here in the beds I made with cardboard especially- can't sink the trowel in without slicing a worm. The more organic matter you add, the more worms will come :-)
Suueiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii nothe rpiggy box just arrived via th email lady. Cheles- garden yoru box arrived to day!
Ya all are puttign me to shame. Ya all making such nice labels and colored pics and stuff, and all I got is seeds with the name in them.
I gotta get a new printer next year and one that make spretty colored pictures on it.
Now I ben through all my dmails and been through every post of this swap thread sinc eday one twice, and have almost 800 oinks from me, but want to make sure so far that I didn't accidentally miss anybody.
Wanna double check an dmake sure that thes epeople haven't oinked anythign from me.
Gen2026
Ansonfan
Soon as I get all my seeds caught up then wil post the last chance at the trough posts for everybody. Let no piggies garden go hungry this year. LOL
*hangs head* We just got a printer that can do pretty colors, and my labels are still in black and white. I tried including a photo, but then there wasn't room for any additional info... and I'm not quite up to the challenge of double sided printing to put the photo on the other side of the label slip.
Well gemini, then I guess I have enough organic matter in my beds. Could be that the $2 or so a bag for 40 pounds of composted manure that I got at Home Depot is good enough - and I don't need gourmet poop by the ounce.
Don't hang your head Critter. Mine is probably the worst cuz I don't have tiem when school in to try adn write growign diections. Wil post emin the cottag egardenign thread when folsk get redy to sow, fr some of mine are hard seeds to do and even i lose some of them tryign to sprout em but when ya do get a couple of man some nice plants come out of em.
I can't tell ya all, just gonan have to wait and be surprised, but cheles.. Ya made me laugh when I saw your bags. ; )
I gotta admit..... i hate using color. yea - i makes the lables/envies look pretty... i i'm so cheap, i just see dollars signs flying out the window, knowing i'll have to replace those 'carts' sooner than later. [I love pford's lil seed envies though]
so, i started using colored paper, which i have a lot of, in my laser printer... with just data, no image.
as for the worm poop.... I think i'm going to use it in the bed with my Roses and tomatoes. I'll be very interested to see if it makes any difference.
Yea Star!! I was hoping to bring a smile to someone's face - but you gave me a laugh! Oink!!!
I tried sharing the poop medley gift with DH last night but the website must have been overwhelmed with all us piggies checkin out the worm poop - it never did let me on. :-) Will try again later, just to share. I also have tons of worms.
Star - we oinked over 800 oinks from you??? OMG! Sweetie, don't worry about all the data. I'm happy to just have the name as I can always oink at you later..........or look it up. I was SO happy to see we get to continue the thread to discuss planting and sharing stuff. Yippee!!
Regarding the Free Worm Castings, they are labeled as "Organic" so I'd imagine they have to hold to some high standards to be labeled as such. I don't think you are supposed to label products as "Organic" unless they are certified organic under federal regulations.
I just realized I posted this on the cottage garden thread instead of here woops. : ) So I'm going to put it here too.
I didn't go back and catch up yet but I wanted to pop in and say hello to everyone. I just got my power back on. We had some nasty ice storms around here and a million people were without power. I am very thankful to have it back already, as they were saying a few days. It only ended up being about 36 hours for us. Last year we had no electricity for 60 hours from a similar type of ice storm- so this is much better : )
Hugs to you Meredith..we had a nasty one back when I lived in St Louis..and we were among the lucky who were only without power for a day or two..others were without for nearly two weeks...no fun at all.
This message was edited Dec 13, 2008 3:54 PM
Meredith, glad you're ok and the lights are back on! How do you heat your home?
Danita, you've got me wondering now about use of the term 'organic' on labels. I know its regulated on foods, and I've always assumed if garden products are labeled organic, your crop is still considered organic (if that's all you use). In the soil, anything decaying that once lived is considered organic matter. I'm wondering if plants that have been treated with chemicals, then composted, could be labeled as 'organic'? Its organic matter, but I don't know if it could be used on a crop and label it organic. Any of you know?
Hmmm, looks like we'll have to do a little research. I'm pretty sure you can't sell plants as organic unless they are certified organic which means grown from organic seed, organic soil, organic fertilizer, organic pesticides etc.
You would think the same holds true for soil amendments too, but I'm not sure.
we have an 'organic' forum, don't we? you can ask in there.
Thank you for hugs and well wishes. : ) We are lucky that we have a wood stove and bought 2 cords of firewood in fall, so our house was just as taosty as always. The people with no heat definitely had it harder. We went out for dinner at one of the few places that didn't lose power - T-bones and people were saying every hotel in the area was completely booked. All the generators were sold out at the big name stores in 2 states.
A generator was one of the first "big" things we bought when we bought our first home... you only need to lose power for any length of time ONCE, and the purchase was well worth it.
in our new subdivision.... [we've been here 7.5 yrs] our first big power failure, we all were without power about 36 hrs i think... after that first night... the next day, 3 of my neighbors ran out to get one.
i'd say in 20 yrs, we've had to use a generator 4 times.... only once was in the winter though. ... bad ice storm.
lucky you have a wood burner... we have a wb fireplace ... but have not had to use it to heat the house.
Hi. all
Trying to get my seeds sorted and bagged, ( I am crunched for time) but I am afraid that my envelopes will be the sorriest ones of the lot. I am trying to clean out things at my house and had a whole stack of old church envies, card envies, partially used envies and I have zero zippielock bags of proper size. I am trying to be as Green as I can, and not put more stuff in the landfill, and while I could recycle the envelopes, I would have to go out and buy new ziplocks. Sio I have cut up the old envies and reused them - they are clean, new envelopes, but they look a little sorry and not real finished.
So I was going to get labels and print them so that they look nice, well, my printer has bit the dust.
So I have to Old School it and hand-write the info on the packs. The seeds will have the full name (botantical and common) but you are on your own for all of the details. Just look them up, they are mostly all on DavesPlantFiles and in far more detail than I could ever provide even with labels and clear plastic bags. I am very sorry about this, but the choice is fewer seeds and more details, or more seeds and less detail. I chose the latter.
As my late father used to say, "It does not have to be done perfectly, it just needs to be done."
Hope that you all understand, and that you don't get mad- Some of the seeds are just dried, too, and so if I were to put them in plastic they might mold. At least they will be in paper envies and should be fine. For the very fine seeds (papaver) I will wrap them twice so that they do not leak out of the outer envelope.
I must keep keep eyes open for suitable envies (or get my printer fixed/).
Next time I will smoke all y'all and be better prepared for the swap next year.
Hope that this is all okay.
Oinks!
Lorie
Lorie ... granted, i've only been trading for just less than 2 yrs now, and i've received all sorts of "envies"
here are my 'wish list' so to speak.... an envie/baggie that is closed, taped, stapled in some manner so the seeds are not flying all over the place when i open the mailing envelope.
at least ONE name for the seeds on the envie/baggie ... some way to track them down.
OH, and if tape is used... make sure the seeds to not all stick to the tape... fold over the envie/paper/baggie so the seeds are not stuck and usless when the receiver gets the seeds.
so... basically, dont sweat not having the 'perfect' envie/baggie .... most of us just want the seeds, the mode of transport does not always matter. *wink*
Sounds great to me! If we've got the name, we can look them up in PF (that's where having the botanical name can be real handy).
It may not be possible if you have to resort to handwriting, but having a DG name on seeds is nice... I like to put where things came from on my labels, and it's also good to be able to ask questions if need be. I printed off a couple of sheets of little slips that just have my name on them, to save time on hand-labeled seeds (generally things I just have 1 or 2 packs of). I also made a bunch of slips that say "seed from a trade / shared by critterologist," and I used those on passalong packets.
Terese, that sounds like my "requirements" for seed packets exactly! Gosh, I know I've harped before about the tape thing... but if you've ever received a packet of seed you *really* wanted and couldn't get any of the tiny seeds off the tape because the person didn't fold over a flap... aaaarrrgh! LOL
ah... yes, the person it came from... a few times i've had to contact a person to ask a question...
i've gotten 2 trades since i started trading... where, when i opened the mailing envie... there was a mixture of seeds bouncing around in there... and when you can not tell what's what... that is aggravating... sometimes you can tell what seed is what... so you can separate them, but when you are new - and clueless.... you get mystery seeds.
Meredith - glad to hear you're ok - Hugs!! Storms cause such havoc. We were hit in Sept by the Ike fallout - yes in Ohio. The city of Columbus was without power for 7-10 days with destruction everywhere. Before that, you would have never convinced me that we would be affected by a hurricane. I live in the safe zone......HA! There were people in their yards cooking food (bonfire) and giving it to anyone walking by because everything was lost. Freezer's etc. At least we weren't in the cold. Yikes! Good to have you back!!!
I mailed my large envie of seeds today, Ella. I'm guessing it will reach you by Tuesday or Wednesday.
Tonya
Oh I'm right with you Pyromomma. I don't know what program you guys use to write the labels out on, but I've got to find one. And then I think you have to buy the labels in sheet form also? Right? I've looked over the last year but I have no idea what I'm trying to find. If you could point me in the right direction, maybe I can get my DH to get it for a Christmas present. I've handwritten mine. Name and botanical name and my name. I've got the little baggies but not the label making. I can probably challenge you for the "Ugly Label Award" Pyromomma! :-)
Andrea
I use a template for making labels (it's a grid that has 3 columns, 6 address labels per column), but I print them out on regular paper (I like the idea of getting some colored paper for pizzaz!) and cut them into slips that I insert into my little seed baggies.
I use the 1" x 2 5/8" Address labels. They fit on the little baggies perfectly.
I just use microsoft word to make my labels. Look under Tools, then Letters and Mailings, then Envelopes and labels. Similar software should have a label making function too.
I don't have color ink right now so I don't bother with photos but I could add them.
Personally, as long as I can read the name then I don't care what the label looks like. I just want the flowers to be pretty!
Well, I used the mini-zip-lock bags for seeds. I make inserts using MS Word. (That way the recipient can re-use the mini zip'lock bag.)
I insert a table 4 columns and 2 rows. Then I turn the first cell into the first label. I copy and paste the finished insert into the other cells. Each sheet produces 8 inserts.
Each insert I make, I save to a file so I don't have to reinvent them next year.
My printer is low on ink and I need to get everything out... so I am handwriting the botanical and common name + my DG name and harvested date. I think that covers the minimum. If anyone gets any seeds from me and needs info on how to start them - just d-mail me because I have a lot of info stored in my journal. I've started all my seeds I'm sharing successfully myself so I can give you the info of what worked for me. : )
My computer didn't come with ANY software at all. I have openoffice but don't know how to really use it. Can I make labels with this also? I have to look. I thought there was a special program for labelmaking. I kept looking for one like an idiot :-P. I'm very good with computers in some areas. I built my last desktop with the help of my brother over the phone. But in other areas.... geesh.
mygypsyrose, if this sounds easier for you I just did mine in word. I just insert a text box and make it the size of the plastic baggy (so it fits inside). That might take a couple practice runs of printing to make sure the size is right. Then I insert a picture and right click on it and click format, then click on size and make the picture an average of 1.5" x 2". Then in a size 12 font - This is an example of what I put inside under the picture. *I forgot only the name is in 12 the rest is in 10 then the dg name and harvested are a smaller font 8.
Lychnis chalcedonica
Maltese Cross
Hardiness: Zones 3 to 10
Height: 3’ to 4’ Spread: 18” to 24”
Full Sun to Light Shade
Well-drained Soil w/ Average Moisture
Blooms: June to July
Perennial; May Be Short Lived
Attracts Butterflies & Hummingbirds
Sow at 68ºF, germinates in less than
two wks
DG Name: Meredith79
Harvested: 07/2008
This message was edited Dec 14, 2008 12:39 AM
I'm such a bonehead. I guess Microsoft works would do it? You can tell how much I use that software :-)
Thanks! That helps out alot. I've made most of my packets up and time is getting close to redo them all but now that I have a visual and some directions, I'm going to practice this.:-) Maybe I can get the ones done that are left. I can't tell you how thankful I am! I'm on the road to nice labels. Woohoo! :-)))
Andrea
I am going to stay up until all the tagged seeds are sorted at least. With two little ones I could never spread out like this while they were not sleeping. : )
cheles_garden - I'm putting in an order right now for next year for some of those 'Italian Tomato' seeds. I loved the story!
No poop for me this Christmas, but I did received my themastat and heating pad from the co-op. Hubby opened the box, then asked if he should wrap it for me. I said yes even though I want to try it out right now!
Did I ever mention I sent my SIL and BIL nice tomato cages for Christmas this year? Hubby (it's his sister) thought that was an inappropriate gift too, but hey, they sent me tomato seeds as part of our gift last year. hehe I think they will love them.
Star - 800+ bags .... yikes! I know I got my share from you. lol
Sorry ladies and gents, no great seed labels from me, but I guess I'm going to learn how. I bought 20 lbs of Candy to give as Christmas gifts. I have them divided into their bags, but now I need to make labels and hubby has said he will help me do that. So I'll be ready next year.
I guess I'll join the ranks of the rest of you sick gardeners out there ... thankfully just a bad cold for me ... aaaaachuuuuu!
Meredith, glad to hear you got your power back and are ok. We have lived in this house for 17 years now, and the only power loss was the BIG ONE - the grid failure. And then it was only for 8 hours. We live close to an Edison plant. :o)
More rain today .... want snow!!!!!
toofew