Posted on 02/21/2014 12:13:29 PM PST by greeneyes
You can have some of my rain. I just looked at my water gauge outside and I've had two inches and it's still raining, plus cold, but my cold is 44 degrees. The cold goes right through you due to it being wet.
So, what did I do yesterday and the day before the rain started? I transplanted all those plants, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, into big containers AND WATERED THEM. Now, they are totally waterlogged. All the containers have drainage holes but their potting soil mix is swimming in rainwater even as it drains.
I just now finished seeding 21 small paper cups and they are now under the grow lamp with water in the container I have them sitting in.
The grass clippings that I picked up the other day I layered part on the garden, and layered part in one of the empty compost cubes along with older compost.
I applied the seaweed extract. Right now, the center of the compost pile is over 100F. I've got a thermometer in it so that I can make sure it's not going to catch on fire. Compost heaps, and hay piles can get that hot.
/johnny
After planting in so many outside containers on the deck the past couple of days, I'm going to have to figure out some kind of container arrangement so I can move around on the deck. I will have a lot more containers and I think I have to divide them into two groups - one group will go in the net room sitting on the dirt garden and those won't need insect pollinating and one group on the deck will need pollinating and put flowers in containers throughout the deck group to encourage pollinators, mainly butterflies so I'll use Lantana flowers butterflies like. I really don't want gobs of bees on the deck as that is too close to me and the Yorkie.
I'd mix the seaweed extract per the directions, and use it in the water you water the plants with.
/johnny
Okay, I’ll use the seaweed powder that way occasionally when I water.
It’s 42 in my greenhouse. Has been all day. Brought in my portable transplants, covered my potatoes with a planket.. I have about 8” of water in the rain barrel from the drizzle. I knew that would happen if I cleaned the gutters.
/johnny
It got to 25F here, but it should warm up fast..31 in the end of the greenhouse with the thermometer..Glad I brought the portables inside.
Forecast high for tomorrow is 81F. Crazy.
/johnny
Oh well. That's why I start so many.
/johnny
I stayed up late until 1 am and it was in the high 30s so I don’t think it got to freezing here. It’s now 55.
Sorry you lost the tomatoes.
We made it to 32 for just a few minutes this morning. It’s a big sunny day here. I brought in the mater starts that we bought last weekend, and a couple of hibiscus, too. I had to turn the light bulbs on to warm my seedlings last night, and again tonight. It won’t be long before we plant.
/johnny
I haven’t seen this on FR yet, but the Washington Times sends me news updates and a few hours ago, there was a “flash” news item. This morning, Eric Holder was having a meeting with his people and had chest pains and troubled breathing, so he was rushed to a hospital emergency room. Unfortunately, he got better and they sent him home. He said he was going to a meeting of people at the White House later today. Texas and the United States would be in better shape if he hadn’t made it out of the hospital except to go to the morgue.
I've been trying to lay out the garden on paper.
I have come to the conclusion that I don't have enough garden space. I'll begin the process of opening up new area this summer for next year's garden.
/johnny
BEES, BUTTERFLIES, PERENNIAL FLOWER PLANTS TO ATTRACT THEM
Bees are the best pollinators with butterflies as the second best. Certain flowers will attract bees and butterflies more than others. In choosing flowers, I chose to get perennials since they don’t die off - they will come back year after year. I don’t want to plant flowers over and over. I did research to find perennials that attract both bees and butterflies. There are various colors of Lantana, plus Black Eyed Susan, and Sunflowers. Most Sunflowers are annuals meaning they die after blooming. There are perennial ones and those can be read about and ordered from this website. Or, get the name of the perennial ones off this website and buy anywhere you can find them if you don’t want to order from this place:
http://www.botanical-journeys-plant-guides.com/how-to-grow-sunflowers.html
The two types of Sunflowers I am planting because I already have the seed, are annuals – Velvet Sunflower, and Sunspot Sunflower. Next year I will plant one of the perennials so I don’t have to plant again.
Bees:
Bees do not see color the way we see color. Here is the difference in colors we see and what bees see:
We see red - bees see black.
We see orange - bees see yellow/green
We see yellow – bees see yellow/green
We see blue – bees see blue
We see violet – bees see blue
We see purple – bees see blue
We see white – bees see blue green
We see black – bees see black
Butterflies:
Butterflies see three colors as we see - red, yellow, green. Butterflies seek out green when they lay eggs – they seek red and yellow for nectar.
If one compares bees and butterflies and common colors they see, both see yellow as yellow so yellow flowers are important to both. Black Eyed Susan flowers have bright yellow petals so that one is a winner and it is a perennial, plant one time. Lantana is an amazing flower as there are many combinations of colors on the same plant or they may be all one color. The choice is up to you.
I tried to buy Lantana at Lowes about two weeks ago, and all they had at that time were solid gold on all the flowers on the plants. I got one of those so the bees and butterflies will see that yellow. I will get some variegated ones that have red and yellow and blue and pink all on one plant. If you haven’t checked out Lantana flowers at Lowes or Home Depot or any nursery, look at them. If they have a large selection, you will be amazed at the various colors on just one plant. Last year was my first time to buy these flowers and when I went to where they were, a cloud of butterflies were all over them – every color in the rainbow was on those plants. You bet that is what I wanted – and they bloom ALL SUMMER, color throughout the growing season. That plant weathered the winter and is putting on new leaves now.
To me, Lantana, a perennial to plant just one time, is the mother of all flowers for bees and butterflies, with Black Eyed Susan next. You can see various colors of Lantana at this link, plus notice you will have hummingbirds as well as bees and butterflies:
http://www.crystalgraphics.com/powerpictures/images.photos.asp?ss=lantana
All my flowers are in containers to sit among the food plants which are also in containers.
Food plants and well chosen flowers combined means FOOD. :o)
I would be in mourning if that happened to me. One year I did a cold frame with those plastic barrels cut lengthwise. Everything froze. I haven't tried that again with them.
In my garden, the two most bee attractive things are stevia plants in bloom and the female flowers on my giant winter squash.
YMMV.
I love lantana, but it’s an annual here. Most of my flowers and plants are perennials, but I like to plant some annuals for non-stop color. One of my favourites is the marigold. I also like zinnias and cosmos.
My husband ordered me two wonderful planting containers that are about waist high. One has wheels, so that I can bring it inside during the winter to grow lettuces all year long. The other is a sturdy wooden container that has an optional cover to keep out bugs. We’re both quite happy about the way they look, as they arrived late yesterday. Anything that I can do to reduce bending down to ground level is good for my knees.
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