Posted on 12/20/2013 10:03:22 AM PST by greeneyes
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We had freezing rain yesterday and overnight here in CoMO. I need to go out and dig some horseradish root for my Christmas roast before it turns cold and freezes the soil.
Just checking to see if you have cabin fever yet..I would think you have lots of things to do to entertain yourself.
I'm always working on something, either mental or otherwise. Looked at my seeds and the sheet I made where they are all listed, to actually get the seed packets out that I'm about to plant under the grow lamp.
I have a question:
A seed company sent me, free, one envelope of seed for two orders I sent them, and the envelopes are both “Garden Cress”. Takes 10-28 days to grow. It says on the envelope, “Similar to watercress, extra curled variety from Europe and Asia minor. Like some shade and moisture.
How would I use that and is it important enough for me to even grow it?
Another question:
I have an envelope of Sweet Basil and one of Lemon Basil. I am going to buy some herbs in spring when Lowes has them, so does it make sense to plant these two basils or not?
I have so many envelopes of seeds and I've been doing this not even a year. All of you must have tons of envelopes of seeds if I have this many in less than a year.
I've tried today to nail down what gets planted and how many containers I would need and what goes in each container. It gets mind boggling.
Basil is too easy to start to buy already started plants. The plants that are already started are too expensive, except for hard-to-start stuff like thyme or rosemary.
/johnny
Are small pots okay for the two basils? Like a pot 5 inches across and maybe five inches deep?
/johnny
Off topic but we bought one of those 10-year Kidde smoke alarms per your rec!
My Kidde alarms came day before yesterday. To start the enclosed lifetime battery, you twist it on the holder and that starts the battery. Maybe you bought yours in a store and already know what starts the battery. Now, I’ve got smoke alarms again and don’t have to think about them for ten years.
I thought that onions and grapes were toxic to dogs.
Mr. Sg makes his own jerky and it tasted much better than the store-bought stuff.
I wonder how long they’d last with four cats around....
We use London broil for jerky. “Extruded”-ick.
Those are great basils. It’s way cheaper to grow basil from seed than it is to buy it. Some herbs are better bought, lemongrass, tarragon, and mints for example. Some are devlishly easy to start from seed. Basil is one of those. You might want to start 3 or 4 divots and do that every week or two as it will eventually bolt. This way you’ll have a fresh supply continuously. If you don’t let it bolt at the same time you can save seeds from each kind.
The garden cress is nice in salads and on sandwiches, if you like (& can’t get) watercress.
Like arugula, it’s one of those things that is a nice extra that we have no trouble living without.
OK, guess I will grow the two basils and buy the rest of the ones I have on a list somewhere, have to find that list.
I've never ordered from Amazon, but it was either Burpee's or Gurney's that sold my email address and I was inundated with spam. I avoid both now.
Do you have a web address for the government seed bank? I couldn't find it on a google search.
I have opened a file card box just now with seed packets from 2011 in there. My husband ordered these as he was going to grow something besides tomatoes. He was the tomato man and I was not anything in that garden. He never planted this seed as the cancer prevented that and he died that summer in August and I hadn’t opened that box until today.
In the box is a seed planter that is a six inch or so piece of metal with a crease down the middle in which to put the seed and let it drop into the soil.
There was two packages of Wild Galapagos Tomato seed which I know now will not grow here plus Alpine wild strawberry seeds and they won’t grow here, either, so I dumped those seed packets.
Are you aware, in your experience, of any of these seeds as to whether they are worth planting (I have a lot of seed to grow):
Oak Leaf Lettuce
Cucumber SMR-58 (Everbearing)
Matt’s Wild Cherry Red Tomato
Unfortunately, the kiwi in the stores is a subtropical vine. The one I was trying to order is hardy enough to survive in Wisconsin. But thank you!
The seed bank is at http://www.ars-grin.gov/
I should probably mention, the interface for the seed bank is designed for scientists, so it’s not very user-friendly sometimes. And, while they will send seed to just about anybody, it has to be “for research purposes”. Fortunately, they are pretty flexible as to what counts as research, but they will expect at least a summary of what you’re testing.
(I think the last time I ordered from them, for my intended research I put something like “Investigating the growing properties and tolerances of these plants in various soil and weather conditions. Researching and developing new varieties. Testing possible commercial applications.”)
Johnny, when do I put the basil and lemon basil seed under the grow lamp?
MomwithHope, I have the Sabre tomato seed in the freezer. That will be a fall planting started by the middle or last of July. The Burpee’s “Long Keeper” Tomato will also be started then.
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