Time to think about sprouts - what to start, and where to put them.
It's never too soon to think about homegrown food!

*My lettuce unfortunately got frozen beyond survival, but I just picked up some new seed. The Dollar General across the way has a seed display out on its floor, and this time around I'm going to grab all of the common seeds I want before they're gone!

I also want to try (AGAIN!) to start some Coleus, which is a very pretty house and office plant. It makes a stunning ground cover, and will vine if I'm not mistaken. Best of all though, if I get a bunch of them going I may just sell potted plants in my spare time.

 

Sounds like a good idea..

 

Recently put some more compost on my tomato spot . Was looking at my garden spots and my plow and disc with anticipation during the last warm snap . Tractor is good to go , I use it for pulling logs and hauling wood in the winter . Glad to know I am not the only one thinking ahead !

 

Yeah well - last year it was either use seeds from the seed bank I keep, or order online. I like to bag cheap seed packs wherever I find them, and try new stuff when I can and for some reason last year the DG store never even put up a seed display. No garden pesticides either, so I was fairly well screwed.

Also - although lettuce is a better cold weather plant than summer, it got so dang cold it just plain KILLED all of my lettuce sprouts about a month ago.

The temperature has been going up and down so much my outdoor thermometer acts like a damned motorcycle tachometer...

The last couple days it has gone up to 60, down to twenny, and right back up into the fifties and sixties again (measured at noon).

I had a bad time with tomatos this last year too, barely got any at all with the heat and the bugs being so bad. Hopefully this is the end of a long cycle with the weather, and from here on out we can expect some more moderate climate. I just got done setting up a terrarium with two new kinds of lettuce from fresh seed, and the above mentioned potential houseplants.

~We will see...

 

I have received several packets of seeds and have everything ready to start...I'll plant my seeds in a few weeks. I also need to do the pruning of my fruit trees in the next couple of weeks. Then the waiting for Spring begins in earnest.

 

I have a standing plan to convert a fairly long room on the east end of my house to a greenhouse by adding tall narrow windows to it that will fit between the studs - so as to minimise construction costs. Adding a line of two by four blocking above and below the windows will actually add to the structural integrity of the place I believe, and reduces the risk of fire since it would constitute a double firebreak built into the walls. (I wonder if that would lower my insurance any?). The existing siding could be mostly salvaged and used for repairs elsewhere if needed.

The room is next to the driveway, and the long side (N-S) is about 15 or 20 feet, the south facing end is about ten or twelve and has an octagon window in it that is a just plain bad design and needs replacing anyway. Since I'm thinking about it I measured it off and the useful space inside is about 16 X 12. A low set of cabinets or benches inside would complete the interior and then I could grow things year round.

Currently it has two of my citrus trees and some other miscellanious plants in it with a space heater (electric) to maintain the temperature at around 60 degrees. I've always wished it had better light, and I've been slowly sneaking up on this plan for a while as I have thought about it over the years.

 

Sounds good to me. Anyplace to naturally grow more Herb's is great. Right?

 

If you can grow remedies for ailments in your own yard, or in a container on your apartment balcony if you live in a place like that, anyone who does not is missing a means of saving money.

COLTSFOOT for one (which grows all over Great Britain) is a tried and true remedy for congestion, AND IT WORKS BETTER THAN THE MUCUS RELIEF medicines that drugstores sell

Once you have that plant and it is established, you have it forever. And you can't beat the price!

I have tested this, and it does work. When I feel congested in the morning I smoke a puff or two of it and it clears my lungs.

It is much more mild and effective than drugstore remedies

*PRIMATENE and BRONKAID contain an ephedrine derivative, that will jack up blood pressure and so they are hard on the cardio system

Unlike primatene or some others, it does not cause high blood pressure


Best of all - it grows back every year

It is native to Great Britain, a similar climate to the north of America. Thus it is adapted to this country, and survives cold climates


~So I have found


Wolfie

 

Started the Spring clean-up process yesterday----pruned the trees, cleaned out the gardens and raked 1/2 the yard. I'll do the rest of the yard next weekend.

I noticed the Sweet Alyssa is ready to bloom, and the hyacinths are starting to poke through the mulch. I expect the crocuses will be along any time now. Next weekend I will plant the first round of seeds for later garden placement.

 

I have a terrarium full of lettuce sprouts, at least the left half of it. I filled the bottom with peat moss and pearlite for carnivorous plants last year - but ended up using a smaller terrarium for those.

I tell ya what, it holds moisture real well, and the peat is going to make it real easy to pull plugs of sprouted plants up out of! Kinda looks like a bean sprout farm.

Now all it needs is for temps to edge back up into the forties, and I'll have the biggest outdoor salad bowl so far

 

I love bean sprouts on a sandwich. Any Sandwich. Can I come for lunch Wolif?

 

Got all my seeds planted.....just waiting for Spring now.

 

If you have an old aquarium that leaks - DON'T DITCH IT!

Put about two or three inches of peat moss in the bottom, with a very small amount of anything else like pearlite or soil.

I swear - this thing is sprouting seeds I never had any success with before, looking at it today I see at least thirty or so COLEUS coming up. I never had any luck getting them started before!

A part of it is that it holds heat and water, I think. It protects the small plants better than any other method I have tried.

~THIS is useful...


*Looking back in this topic, I see that I started those seeds almost ten days ago exactly, so this is right on target for the germination schedule.

Two things strike me about it right off:
1) The peat moss retains water well, but also shares the moisture throughout the planter without having to flood individual containers and then risk some or all of them drying out too much. Because it is a fairly large body of soil mix, it achieves an average moisture content that is steady, so it is more like a healthy level of water in it.

2) Individual small containers or cups could be pushed into the peat moss, and absorb water yet still be easy to pluck out for transplanting later. The above will still be true, the moss will guard and share the moisture content.

In FACT: "PEAT POTS" seem like they would be ideal, here

 

Sounds like the aquarium is a good idea. I have decent success with the paper towel/toilet paper rolls and seed starter soil (fairly cheap at Ace or Walmart). The cardboard gets saturated and helps keep the seeds moist. I have about a week before I should start seeing some sprouts.

 

I want to suggest that you get some peat moss, and try it instead. Place it in a tray and drag a pencil along it in a row to drop hard to start herb seeds in - when they come up they are easy to seperate without root damage to the small plants.

But the thing about peat moss is that it distributes and holds water well - like a sponge or paper towel, yet also is easy for roots to drive out into and develop better.
~And at the same time it is easy to pull apart when seperating small plants that are too large to stay where they are any longer...

*Best way to get plants that have grown together without damaging roots is to run water over the root ***** to wash the soil out. A pan of water works best, so you don't lose the soil.

"WASH THEM" apart...

I have been looking at the better mixes of seed starting soils, and they are rich in this stuff. It has to be for a good reason!

I think my idea of growing Coleus is going to be kind of large this year - they are remarkably pretty office and house plants.

Here is an excellent example of mixed Coleus varieties, from WIKI:


Sorry that it's a link, and not a picture, but if you go there you can see that they are a startlingly bright - almost psychedelic color in the leaves, and make a wonderful center piece in the garden, office, or as a houseplant...

There are so many varieties of them it's amazing. This is why they are much prized - if you can get them started.

But once they get over the sprout stage, they are fantastically resilient - all they want is occasional watering!


For the main focus of my efforts this year, I have selected the Parks Seeds "CABALLERO" hybrid of the Poblano pepper.
Maybe you remember me mentioning Poblano's before. It is a bell pepper sized pepper, with the flavor of an Anaheim Chili - what is used to make Chiles Relleno's...
(A Mexican Delicasy that is hard to describe) The fresh pepper is called a Poblano, the dried pepper is called ANCHO

~And I also decided that I want more Haberneros, so I have several packets of fresh for this year seed for them too.

Then also, I have some basil begun, and will see what I can do about leafy greens for salads. I pray to the creator that the crummy seasons are over with for a long long time to come...

(They do seem to run in cycles)

THAT is where I intend to go this time, whatever I have to do.


~ the Wolfiness