I’m starting snow peas and lettuce today.
Just got my large Grow light set up, gathered seed-starting mix and other needed paraphernalia to start tomato seeds that I couldn’t find in seedlings to buy...Amarillo Rust Heart to give sauce that little extra something, Sunset Torch, a large cherry that looks yummy, and Hossinator, a slicer that I want to try. Can’t wait to get my hands down in the rich garden soil again.
I have a fair number of small yellow pear(?) tomatoes. They seem to have rather tough skins and supermarket tomato taste.
My green pepper plants have not done well in the rather cool Florida weather this year. I will have to start from seed again.
I’ve bought three Mexican Talavera pots and one blue/white Mexican pot from Beall’s Outlet.
My bareroot roses are doing well. I’m using about 40% peat moss with the rest the rather poor Florida sand.
This is azalea bloom time in my part of Florida 60 miles south of Tampa.
They only do well here when protected from full sun. This year is not their best.
Coming in like a LION here in MA.
Daffodils are starting to bloom:
Also California Poppies:
My helper taking her break from catching rats and mice:
Good morning. Appreciate all the work it takes to do this. Will look forward to checking in weekly...learn lots here. I am moving my grow lights from colder to warmer area of house based on comments here. Spring is coming!
Thank you for keeping this thread going - you have done greeneyes proud.
I was able to finish smoothing out the old garden site and threw down some grass seed. I need to spread some straw on top and give it a good watering. Spent most of the weekend on the tractor moving/smoothing dirt in the yard. With the garden torn up it's giving me the opportunity to work on some other projects that have gone begging for too long.
I probably should have been building fence instead of moving dirt but my back is out right now and it said NO BOY YOU ARE NOT DOING THAT TODAY. It's been a problem for quite awhile and the miles are starting to show. I'm having an MRI done later today. Hopefully that will provide some guidance for what needs to be done to fix it.
I found this fascinating video about gardening and composting.
We Buried Common Kitchen Scraps in the Garden and THIS Happened
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xXohNFN0rk
Well I finally had a little look-see at the garden thread - how delightful!
I see most are experiencing roller coaster weather. We are as well (southern Ontario).....we should be at or below freezing temperatures and still under snow. We didn’t even get one good snowfall this winter, didn’t have to plough the laneways once. The kids missed it, because they normally have 10’ high piles of snow after clearing which they spend hours playing on.
Now we’ve had a few days of weather that’s basically the same as early May. The trees are starting to not only bud, but the leaves are coming out. If we get cold again and get the snow, I don’t know what happens to them, but I guess we’ll find out.
The nice weather made me anxious to get my giant pots planted, but I know better. Thanks for the thread, Diana! I love looking at the pics of what everyone is doing, growing, planting, etc.
This caution only appears on the actually seed pack itself...it does NOT appear in the catalog listing for this item (I would NOT have ordered it otherwise), nor does it appears in the online catalog. Totally Tomatoes did NOT respond to my e-mail, and they kept me on hold for half an hour on the phone; all the while assuring me that 'I was next in the queue.' I finally gave up.
I intended to use these for food, NOT 'any other purpose'. WTF, TT...is this stuff dangerous, or not? Does anyone know?
We had a great week in the garden.
Mr. mm and I got the three raised beds rebuilt and between them laid down cardboard (from a nice supply provided by my son’s kitchen remodel project) and covered with wood chips.
It looks GREAT.
Got the culvert pipe set out for the potatoes to go in later.
I started more seeds. The lettuce and onions, columbine and rosemary are doing well. Waiting for the peas to show but since they are now buried in snow, that’s going to have to wait.
I’m thrilled because I an far ahead in spring clean up this year of where I am other years. And all the cardboard and wood chips will help keep the weeds down, which will cut out 90% of the work.
I’m considering pressure canning the remainder of my potatoes. They’re just beginning to show signs of starting to sprout and I don’t want to lose them.
Greetings from southern New Hampshire where, after a week or two of false spring, we had a few inches of that white Sh%t and now we have something that can be considered rain, but can’t be considered snow.
This past week, we had a nocturnal visit from the local Black Bear. It climbed the railings the first time, so I set up an electric fence. The second time, it went up the steps and through the gate…so I re-arranged the fence and we will see what happens.
The Boss has me building raised bed, half barrel planters for the greenhouse. I have one finished and in place and now need to cut out the frame pieces and fabricate the remainder (3) planters.
I took a load of trash wood to the local transfer station and picked up a load of compost and brought it home to use, screened, in the new planters and elsewhere in the garden.
Now, I just need for the precipitation to stop and the snow to melt.
The Boss is busy planting in the basement.
We contracted with a local pest control company to eradicate the rat population. In addition, I busted one of the two we have been observing with rat shot out of my .22 pistol yesterday.
That is a great idea!
I have my seeds sorted in one of those over-the-door shoe organizers*. I zip-tied it to the back side of my grow light stand, and it’s out of the way and organized. I have two pretty boxes I found in my travels that hold all the flower seeds and seed-starting supplies like tags, my favorite marking pen, a pencil for poking a better hole in the Jiffy pellets and...Jiffy pellets!
There’s no right or wrong way to do it as long as your seeds stay dry. Whatever works for your situation. Mice aren’t a problem for me with two cats in the house.
*Shoe organizers - also have one in the under-the-stairs pantry that holds whatever over-flow there is from ‘The Stash’ but it’s usually salad dressing and other condiments and another on the back of my office door that holds crafting supplies. Actual SHOES? Those are just scattered everywhere throughout the house, LOL!
I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!
Question: I’m trying to start lettuce from seed this year, but am having trouble getting any germination. The seed packets are marked 12/2024, and I’ve tried a couple different “seed starter” media. Planting depth is 1/8”, as per some of the seed packets’ instructions and common web recommendations. Soil temperature varies wildly at that depth, as these are in starter containers, outdoors: Soil temp. has been between 35° F on a few cold nights, and near 80° F on warm days. (I do cover the containers on cold nights, as air temp. has been as low as 31° F a few days ago.) AVERAGE soil temperature would be ~60° F. The seed starter media is kept damp but not “wet”. Watering is from the bottom.
Is the soil temperature variance the problem?
I’ve seen a FEW recommendations for lettuce seeds to be right on the surface / not buried at all. ???
Would germination be better if the seeds were on the surface and covered with very light transparent plastic like Saran Wrap for moisture retention? (Obviously I’d have to remove the clear plastic soon after the sprouts came up.)
TYPICALLY, what % of lettuce seeds germinate under good conditions?
Thoughts?
Thanks!