My luck with tomatos runs the opposite - seeds started indoors seem to have a lot of trouble unless I time it just right.

I'll pass along some of the Parks Whopper seeds I have - supposed to be very disease resistent and unusually productive. The giant var. tomato's I have grown in the past seem to have a lot of problems...

Best is to dig out a divot the size of a cup (8 ounce) and fill it with high-quality potting soil, then put ONE tomato seed dead center in it - directly outdoors.

 

I'll certainly have to try that method for tomatoes.

I planted my cucumbers and summer squash plants/seedlings this weekend. I also put the moon vines in the herb garden.

I'll put the peppers in next weekend, most likely.

 

As of this evening, you need to keep an eye on your mailbox - wouldn't want the tomato and Poblano pepper seeds I just sent you to get wet if it rains in it...

They should be fine, the packets they are in are sealed, unopened. Parks seeds has a kind of a plain looking seed pack they use - but it's similar in some ways to what we used in the military to preserve items for long term storage. Kind of a plasticky stuff!

I'd figure about four or five days transit, then you can evaluate them at the same time I am, although I already have a number of sprouts I started indoors.

They DO seem very reliable, so try to set only one seed in each planter or spot.

If they are started outdoors, they will have a lot less trouble getting adjusted to winds and breezes, as well as strong sunlight. Indoor sprouts have a tendency to be a little weak, and they can go to pieces sometimes before they get adjusted to the garden environment.

 

I will have a small greenhouse by next spring. Nothing beats starting your own seedlings. You know they are fresh & what they really are.. You can start a huge garden with a 8x8 greenhouse.

 

Thanks Wolf! Got the envelope yesterday in the mail. It was a very nice surprise given how everything else about yesterday SUCKED. I appreciate your generosity.

I will plant them this weekend hopefully and see how they do.

Going to have to bring in some plants and cover others tonight----getting down to 28 degrees at the estate.

 

I have several 3ft by 7 ft windows from a remodel job I did years ago. I will build my greenhouse with these for the walls. Man moving to the country is great if I ever get all my projects done. The house starts soon. After it's done the chicken coup ,greenhouse,tractor shed & the downdraft paint room. I'm sure more will follow.

 

Snow this morning ! Frost tonight ... I see people scramble to protect their plants . I have not yet planted anything other than 2 cabbage plants my youngest daughter brought me . I shall not plant anything else until my 100+ year old walnut tree buds . It is never wrong on it's timing . Years ago we got a freak spring snow storm . Most fruit and crop plants were damaged .Spring hay was damaged . All the other trees showed damage . That old Girl went on doing her thing . I watch her today , no buds , other trees have bloomed . She wins again !

 

Frost missed the estate by ONE degree....33 was all it got down to. Thus, my apricots should be OK. We'll have to see how the flowers fared in a day or so.

 

I have been planning for a while now to convert a room to a greenhouse by setting windows in between the studs in the walls. It's nice to have a job that you can get free materials from ain't it?

I still have boxes full of RV and Satellite TV stuff...

 

Buds are just showing ... Soon , time to plant !

 

I need to be looking up the parts kit to rebuild the carburettor on my one working tractor - when I went to light it off today it was flooding right through the intake, good thing I always install a fuel shut-off valve on all of them.

For now I'll be cutting the grass in sections with a Poulan 133 multi-trimmer loaded with Oregon Magnum Gator line. I swear by that trimmer line anymore! Nothing lasts as long as it does.

 

Dutch it is nice to get free stuff. I got these windows in the mid 70s. They have been in my hay barn since. If I'm working a remodel & any good material is to be sent to the dumb I name my truck dump. I save & refurbish light & high end plumbing fixtures. I had women begging me for some of the Retro lights I put in my Collierville home. They were late 50s early 60 lights. I put new bulb holders & repainted them. They were offering $500 & up for my $6 light fixtures. Old USA made faucets from the same time period are hot too. Well made & completely rebuildable. I will use some of my best ones in my house

 

I re-potted my mama Aloe plant this weekend....ended up with 12 babies. Already down to 6 left.

My apricots are already marble-sized and the cherries are just a bit smaller. Looks to be a good crop of both, if I can beat the birds and squirrels to them.

 

I miss my Aloe plant up at the old homestead. Nothing better for burns
or to keep the scars down. Best skin med I have seen yet.

Just slice open a fresh one and apply it and it's juice directly to any burn.
Instant relief and less scaring. No bull. True story.

 

I always heard to treat aloe like the desert plant it is - but if you give it better soil and lots of water they grow like wildfire, and are thicker and juicier.