Posted on 02/15/2020 5:08:16 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
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Good Morning, from the frosty state of New Hampshire. It is 2 degrees outside, with a high forecast to be 28. Should be warmer Sunday.
Our four midwinter ducklings are pushing out their adult feathers, and there have been some lower pitched sounds coming out of the brooder. Mandy, our Border Collie, is really interested in them now. The brooder I built has two chicken wire “windows”, so they can look out and she can look in. They are nearly tall enough to stretch and look out over the sides.
Good Morning, Everybody!
(((HUGS)))
We’re still waiting for wood ducks to explore the pair of duck boxes we put up a month ago. We’re seeing loons, mallards and a pair of diving ducks we can’t identify.
Fingers crossed for duckies !
It’s minus 12 this morning.
>:(
Do opium poppies grow well in southern climes and sandy/clayey soil?
If so, where can I get a starter kit?
And you said the thread couldn’t be hijacked :-)
It’s a balmy 14 degrees here, and lots of snow on the ground.
Nice to hear your ducklings are doing well.
It’s 46 degrees and cloudy here on the shores of Humboldt Bay. Lady Bender got tired of waiting for me to clean up the yard so she hired a gardening service to do it. I will post some photos later today...
The days are getting noticeably longer! I will probably start some spinach and borage seeds inside this week for planting outside the first week of March.
If the weather holds (20’s overnight, upper 30’s to 40 in the day), I should see signs of new growth on my chive plants in the next week.
Good move Lady Bender! Looking forward to the pictures.
She rented some GOATS, didn’t she? LOL!
We were -13 yesterday morning, but it’s come and gone. Back to the high 30’s today, but overcast.
Light 2” of snow the other day which prettied things up again.
Got my first seed order from Totally Tomatoes. Yes, I know. I said I wasn’t going to buy much - and by comparison to other years, it ain’t much! Just some tomato & pepper varieties and some kale.
“The days are getting noticeably longer!”
Yay! I noticed we still had a bit of a sunset left last night at 6pm.
Beau hates it - he hunts raccoon at night, so he was whining that it’ll still be light out at 9pm in the near future.
Suck it up, Buttercup! Mama has to garden!
Sand? Yes. Clay? No.
I’ll be back later in the day. Funeral for a step-sibling, today. She put up a good fight, but 53 is too young to die.
Cancer Sucks! :(
They don’t like hot weather, so depending on how “southern” you’re growing them, it might work better to grow them in the fall. They actually germinate better in cold soil, and in cooler climates the seeds overwinter easily, so sowing in the fall works for northern climates as well. Be aware that they reseed themselves very easily, so it would probably be best to have a dedicated spot just for poppies, instead of trying to rotate them like other crops.
As for where to get a starter kit, that depends on how specific you want to get. Varieties selected for opium production are illegal to grow in the US. But there are varieties selected for ornamental value, or for seed production, or both, that are readily available. You can find them just about anywhere that sells garden seed. Baker Creek has a nice range of varieties.
You can find more details, including some details that I refuse to type out, here: https://wimastergardener.org/article/breadseed-or-opium-poppy-papaver-somniferum/
*** It’s minus 12 this morning. ***
Yikes, and I’m whining that it was 40° this am.
*** Do opium poppies grow well in southern climes and sandy/clayey soil?
If so, where can I get a starter kit? ***
Home Depot has them with their bulbs that come in little net sacks. I have gotten seeds from Select Seeds.
Purple larkspurs, Shirley poppies, and papaver somniferum grown together make a pretty stand. If you have some daisies, and batchelor buttons in there, you get almost 3 months of blooms.
Re: poppies. Here in Central TX, seeds are sown usually October to December, and depending on rain/cold bloom March to mid May.
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