2017 Gardening and Home

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by MissMoustache

Without talking about politics there isn't much I can specifically say but I definitely believe in being informed and also that people should be contacting their various government officials on a regular basis. It's part of their job to listen to and represent us. The customer is always right, right?

I'm just trying not to have a defeatist attitude and not go well, I'm moving to another country, but it's hard when family members are being directly affected by certain people in power. I kinda wanna just to run away.

In lighter news, I'm watching Bob's Burgers. It's hilarious and fun if you like cartoons like the Simpson's.

You will have a PM soon but not tonight but this weekend.
Maybe my thoughts will help you and yours.
My news for what it is worth is NPR on the radio and PBS on TV sometimes.

Worth

[MissMoustache]

This is a crappy picture. Oh well.

Today I sowed Leutschauer Paprika, Tabasco, Golden Cayenne, Shish!to, Pinot Noir (sweet bell), Maxibelle, California Wonder, and King of the North. These are the three red sweet bell peppers I've tried over the years. I'm going to try them all this year to see which we like best. I'm also going to bag the blossoms of each pepper I grow to get seed saved.

I also planted 12 cells of Utah 42/70 Celery, and 3 cells each of Rosa Bianca, Nadia, Beatrice, Farmer's Long, Asian Bride, and Charming eggplants. I'm going to have so much eggplant...

Dusted everything with cinnamon to prevent fungus.

I ordered some sticky traps because I noticed a couple fungus gnats flying around yesterday when I watered. Little $@%&#! Not gonna get my plant babies! Nope!

Today I also packed up a bunch of seeds for trades. I love this time of year almost more than spring. I'm reading all the gardening books I can, seed swapping, seed starting(oh how I love the smell of opening potting mix), there is so much promise and anticipation right now. You can almost feel the life waiting patiently beneath the snow, ready to burst forth and to get growing. <3

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I haven't had the TV on in weeks nothing but negative news and nothing we can do about it.
Worth

. We haven't watched the news in years and years.. We're going to start watching again. When they bring back Walter Cronkite!. . Jimbo.

[MissMoustache]

I checked on these two days ago (watering, checking for fungus, or molds, and chwckin the temps of the room -still 72) and there was nothing showing. Today, Feb 7, I see some seedlings!

Purple Jalapeño 3 (4th just barely breaking through)
Jalafuego 3 (4th just breaking through)
Serrano (2 breaking soil)
Numex Big Jim 7 (4 more breaking through)
Padron (3 breaking through)
Fish 1 (7 breaking through)
Early Jalapeño (1 just barely breaking through. These seeds are old and I may have to resow)
Carolina Reaper 1
Thai Hot 2 (3 breaking through)

As for the other things:
I have to resow some onions because the germination was less than expected. I sowed a whole packet of Munstead Lavender a month ago and currently have six. I'm hopeful that my freezing these next packs will help increase germination rates. The one I have are just getting true leaves so they'll need to be potted up soon. At the same time I sowed a six pack of violas but one cell didn't germinate and another fell to the dampening off fungus before I sprinkled with cinnamon. These also have true leaves coming in and need to be potted up.

So a cold icy rainy day outside...but inside in my utility room there is life started. And I'm absolutely thrilled

[MissMoustache]

And now I get to play a game called "how does cat pee affect germination rates?"

My seeds were in a flip top box. Roxie (mustache kitty) decided to flip it open (or I left it open yesterday when I pulled sweet peas to soak) and pee in it.

I'm absolutely devastated. My traded peppers and tomatoes are fine because they were in plastic bags. I'm just wiping them off. But most of my commercial seeds are wet. Even this year's.

I'm going to spread out the packets to dry in a room with a shut door and plant what I can in the next week.

Fingers crossed.

Maybe I'll try a sacrifice to the gardening gods.

[MissMoustache]

Dying fern from the discount rack at Walmart. I cut all the dying stuff back, some new growth is coming from the crown so I hope its savable. The cats wont stop trying to eat it -_-
I potted it in a slightly wider (about 2-3 inches more around) pot, added rocks for drainage at the bottom, used my favorite potting soil and added biotone to give it a boost. Fingers crossed it lives!

[MissMoustache]

Yesterday I planted my first round of sweet peas. I don't have root trainers so I'm growing them in red plastic cups (the kind you see at parties for beer?). I'll simply cut down the sides of the cups and plant out the whole section. I soaked the seeds for 24-48 hours (some had to be soaked twice because they didn't plump). Sowed 3-4 per cup. I'll do another round at the end of Feb or beginning of March and a third round in mid to late March.

Today I sowed Asparagus. Mary Washington and Purple Passion. Same as the Sweet Peas. Soaked for 24-48 hours, planted 3-4 a cup.

[jpop]

Originally Posted by MissMoustache

And now I get to play a game called "how does cat pee affect germination rates?"

Any luck on the outcome?

[greenthumbomaha]

MM, I couldn't see the pics in your first post, but I did see the photos further down in the thread.

First, I feel for you and your family.
Second, the potting mix is not sterile from what I can tell in the photo. It looks like a mix I bought at Wal Mart last year. I had lots of problems with the plants that grew in it. If you are going to start more seeds get something better, the stores should have seed starter out now. If you live in the midwest, Menards sells it for 2 dollars. An alternate would have been DE aka unscented kitty litter! I bet you gave some of that!! Peppers do very well in it.
Search for ultrasorb and you will find several tips.

Enjoyed your posts.
- Lisa

[MissMoustache]

Today I'm planting my onions! Yay! From top left: Red Wing F1 (High Mowing Organic), Rossa di Milano (High Mowing Organic), Roxie sniffing around and batting seed packets (she's blurry because she's moving that little nose so fast), Flat of Italy red pickling onions (Botanical Interests), Yellow Sweet Spanish Utah (Botanical Interests). We don't eat that many yellow onions. My husband loves red onions and so that is what I'm growing for storage this year.

On the table is Borettana Cipollini yellow pickling onions (Botanical Interests) and Zebrune banana leg shallots (Botanical Interests). The Zebrune packet is empty. I sowed some earlier this year but did it wrong. I'm not sure how well they will separate for transplant and I thought this packet had some left. I'll need to pick up another packet to do it properly (3-4 seeds a cell, thin to one). I'm also going to see if Walmart or HD has bags of red shallots for me to start inside. I've never grown shallots before so I'm trying all three kinds (ordered grey ones for fall planting too).

I sowed a pinch of seeds in each cell. I'll thin them down to the 4-6 healthiest seedlings when I pot them up into small cups (just snip and use the cut bits for salad or eggs). I'm growing in bunches of three and I'll snip the last ones out when I plant outside.

I have yet to get more than pearl sized onions, but I spent the last week reading and figuring out what I did wrong the last two years. Hopefully these do better this year!

[MissMoustache]

Originally Posted by jpop

Any luck on the outcome?

According to my good friend Dr. Google it should actually help germination. It doesn't say anything about whether if they're dried after wet with pee if that helps or hinders. Hence my trying to dry out everything I can't sow this month. And sowing everything I can asap.

I love her. She's the sweetest kitty (when she wants to be ) and she's my baby...but oh...why did she pee on my seeds? Augh.

[MissMoustache]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

MM, I couldn't see the pics in your first post, but I did see the photos further down in the thread.

First, I feel for you and your family.
Second, the potting mix is not sterile from what I can tell in the photo. It looks like a mix I bought at Wal Mart last year. I had lots of problems with the plants that grew in it. If you are going to start more seeds get something better, the stores should have seed starter out now. If you live in the midwest, Menards sells it for 2 dollars. An alternate would have been DE aka unscented kitty litter! I bet you gave some of that!! Peppers do very well in it.
Search for ultrasorb and you will find several tips.

Enjoyed your posts.
- Lisa

Yeah. I was making do with what was available. The local hardware store's was frozen into a lump on their pallets and we had car trouble so I couldn't go to a big place like Walmart or Menard's. Its what shopko had. At least its not as bad as the dollar store's? My first year starting seeds I used that (its pure muck) and then potted up with that crappy MG water retention stuff. It was a diasaster as you can imagine.

Cinnamon seems to be doing the trick. I may get neem oil too just in case. And I watched a video that said to thaw, freeze, then thaw your bags to kill the bugs. So far everything is doing pretty well. I have new stuff I'm using for these next trays and its much nicer.

What kind of cat litter? Scoopable? Non scoopable? The ultra light stuff? We only use unscented because of my allergies (and its better for kitties own respiratory health) so I do have lots in the house lol. If I can use what we have on hand I'll start some extra peppers this weekend to see what happens and compare to the others. Plus if I need some more I can just tell my husband to pick up an extra box of Cats Pride (or whatever) and not have him texting me photos of the gardening aisle in panic.
He is not gardening inclined at ALL. Purple and yellow beans blew his mind last year. Can't wait to see what he thinks of the purple broccoli and kalettes we're trying this year

[MissMoustache]

Ahha! I found mosquito dunks I bought on clearance.

The fungus gnats don't know what's gonna hit them

[MissMoustache]

Alright! A day off and I'm cleaning out my seed starting area. I have loads of plastic bottles for winter sowing (that I haven't gotten around to yet I need to get more soil and get them out!),old trays that need washing, plus my tools, extra paint and holiday decor. I'm moving everything that's not for seeds out and put it into the newly cleaned out closet upstairs.

I'll need to buy another couple shop lights because after this tray I'm officially out of room! And I need to get some petunias, impatiens, and dahlias started too! I'll be rotating seed trays until I can afford some more lights and some shelves! It's so lovely though to have green growing things again.

Alright today Jynx decided to jump up and sniff around as soon as I started to sow. I had to pick him up and pull him away because he tried to paw into the dirt I would simply sow and pot up in the utility room but because I'm using two tables to grow on there isn't room for me in there...hence the reason I'm going to buy or build a shelf instead. Then I can have the small table for potting and under for storage of soil and pots. Just waiting on the budget.

I have 18 cells each of Tokyo Long White bunching and Blushing Bunch from Burpee (2016). I've sown these heavily and will thin to 6-10 when ready to plant out.

Another 18 cells of New York Early (I had forgotten I had a yellow storage onion!) These will be thinned when potted up and again when planted out so they grow in bunches of three. And then the last 18 cells are Borettana cipollini pickling onions.

[MissMoustache]

And I'm IN LOVE with these poppies. Jimi's Flag Mix. Absolutely gorgeous!