04-23-03

  Of the 10 seeds, three did sprout. They went on to become big beautiful plants ready to burst into bloom. 

  I started 10 geranium seeds but only one has germinated. I had tried some seeds for a tiny grape sized tomato and 3 sprouted right away but then only one grew over 1/2 inch tall. Now, it seems to have stopped, the seed still partially stuck on top of the little leaf. So sad. They were probably a hybrid and may not stand a chance. I want to use our one old tire to make a raised bed for putting in the Red Sage. It's much too big for the kitchen window and looks like it may be blooming soon. I will need to make a wind break to keep it safe.

  Every thing that has been put into dirt to sprout before going out is decorating the living room going out for sun when possible. There is a big table just outside the door so it's not far and they get a good bit of sun.

  I really want to look for some chive seeds and get them started in the kitchen window. But they are best kept right there in the window. The thyme and oregano seeds I started and doing great and will be ready to to outside soon.  

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03-25-03

   Several of those geraniums have actually survived through the winter. The ones that died back are not coming back from the roots although I keep trying. 

  In my kitchen window right now is one really BIG Red Sage plant. It was started late last year from seeds and spent the summer trying to grow. They were only getting minimal light but when put in the window and getting spring sunshine directly, they came to life and are wanting to go outdoors and bloom. They are fairly cold sensitive and thrive in the heat. 

  Also in the window is a little square pot with Baby's Breath just sprouting. I get these free seed packets every year and was never able to get the seeds to sprout. This year I dumped them all together in a 4" square and they are everywhere ! 

  If there were enough window sill space there would be others sprouting. But they will be doing good to stay warm enough to sprout. Many gardeners make the mistake of trying to cover the tiny seeds with a layer or two of soil. They soil must be wet and the seeds scattered on top so that they aren't watered until they emerge. Then it's misting or really light watering. I have a table outside on the south side of the house that will serve well as a protected area for sunning during the daytime. They will have to be brought inside every night and during a storm.

  I so enjoyed reading Wanda's delight in waiting for the spring bulbs to burst forth. Ours have been here and long gone. The unexpected late deep freeze took out most everything that blooms early. None of the iris have made a showing of even a stalk. I am giving up on the idea of making a fence to protect them from the strong wind and going more with the plan of moving all the iris to a more protected place. The spot they are in now is protected only from sunshine. They need more sun and less wind. They had one really great spring and were so very beautiful. Huge white blooms 3 to a stalk. ________________________________

03-03-03

  The geraniums have gone to artificial lighting when most died. They needed much more light than the more distant grow light bulbs. They flourish in the fluorescent light though. Lesson learned.

  The window spinach plants were doing wonderfully until we gained a feline friend. During the first night, he climbed into the window, ate all but 3 of the plants, roots and all. The dirt went everywhere. Right now, I have a container full of red sage (hummingbird sage) that survived the harsh summer of last year. I had planted a few late season seeds and these were ones that wouldn't sprout until the others were all gone. Arlene sent seeds and I planted some of her Oxheart tomatoes. Despite the cold days, they sprouted and a few already are an inch tall.

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12-06-02

   The geraniums have been trying to grow on top of the filing cabinet. I tended each plant and fluffed the packed dirt with some better soil. Just try to find a bag of potting soil this time of year. So not to waste any space, I moved the airplane plants and the last coleus to join them under the grow lights. The light coming in the kitchen window, south, is just so low and little of it that I will stick to the grow light space with foil around them. It's nice to have a garden spot indoors while most everything outside is trying to go to sleep.

  The greenhouse is so cold that not even the squash seeds have sprouted. The warm days are nice be we've had several hard freezes now and no heat to help the plants along. There were two coleus and the are gone. Amazingly, the hummingbird sage is still looking fairly good. It had bloomed well for a long time. 

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11-01-02

  The closer the first freeze, the more I knew that it wasn't going to work out with the greenhouse. It would be nice and the woodstove would have been ideal for heat but that's a lot of expense and work just to buy & install a unit. We thought for a little while that one of the small heaters and propane would do nicely but then we reached the point of knowing there would be no Christmas bonus this year. When so many things are depending on one event happening, the priorities all change when things fall through. Maybe next year. For now, there are a dozen potted geranium plants in the living room. They've been without sunshine for over two weeks now and they will have to wait a few more days for me to see if we have any grow lights that can be put to use. 

  I have a big potful of aloe vera on my desk under a lamp with a 100 watt bulb. The plants are growing great and even are leaning toward the light.  ________________________________

09-12-02

  Note to self, squash in window is not a good idea. Just wishful thinking. I will plant a few seeds in the greenhouse in a very large container. I want to get some winter spinach going probably next month. We still have a lot of hot weather yet to come. I am anxious to get things going but too hot and they won't make it. It's better to wait just a little while. I've grown chives in the kitchen window year round so I want to start more as soon as I can get the seeds. 

  What has grown extremely well in the kitchen window is the coleus. It is a big, beautiful plant in an oxy-clean tub. With dirt of course. It's still trying to flower but I keep the bloom tips picked off to keep the leaves growing. The other morning I had sprayed a little water over the plant and was so delighted to see in the sunshine, these little droplets of water appear the deep red color of the leaf. Oh my, it was so very pretty. 

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08-16-02

  The window squash isn't looking well and all the new growth is smaller and smaller. The sunshine that does come through the window is hot and harsh. Will give some time to growing with a sheet of waxed paper over the window where the afternoon sun gets mean. 

  This is the time of year when our temperatures are usually hitting 100 and above. Our normal is 95° with a low of 75° and we've been there for about a week and it is the forecast for the next several weeks. We call them the dog days of summer. They tend to be the hottest and seem like they last the longest but usually our weather breaks by the first or second week of September. Our county fair starts at that time and it usually has a night or two when they are rained out. That is normally the point where our night time lows really start falling off. It will be probably Thanksgiving before we see a frost. I still have plenty of time to plan what needs to go into a container for moving to the greenhouse. 

  I had taken a plastic 6 inch by 12 inch, 6 inch tall container, punched holes in the bottom for drainage and filled it with good potting soil. There were 3 hummingbird sage plants still in fair condition so they were planted in the new planter. It just fits on my window sill and two of the plants thrived. One never grew and quickly died. The larger of the two went right to blooming and they went outside to the seed table. I keep hoping we'll see a hummer drinking from the trumpet of the sage flower. The birds are preoccupied with making a new brood of babies. This is their second this season.

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08-07-02

  Question: I had asked Wanda Lynch what variety of lettuce she had found that did not bolt especially growing in her greenhouse where it received extreme heat. 

  Answer:  The lettuce that I have such good luck with is Simpson Elite Lettuce and I order most of my seeds from RH Shumway. www.rhshumway.com  Phone 1-800-342-9461. They sell the best seeds and have a lot of non hybrid seeds which I am interested in.  I swear by that lettuce though.  Even through all the hot weather in the greenhouse, it is thriving quite well!  I have it planted in an oblong plastic container and I am hoping to have fresh lettuce at least until Thanksgiving.  But that will depend on how much snow we get.

  We thank you Wanda !

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08-06-02

  The first reason to look at container gardening was to get away from all the bending and stretching involved in tending the regular in the soil at ground level garden bed. It looks good until you do about 75 bend and reach in a row and then try to straighten up.

  And so begins the journal of gardening in Contained Gardens. The window gardens (kitchen and living room) are the only windows receiving any sunlight. Most garden flowers and vegetables have been wiped out by the grasshoppers. It is still much too hot to consider putting any plants in the greenhouse without an air conditioner. The old structure will be undergoing recovering and improving. Better raised beds and hanging plant areas will be added in the next few months with the hopes of growing spinach and lettuce all winter. Perhaps onions and cucumbers and tomatoes as well.

  Our area usually doesn't get a hard long freeze until Christmas. A little protecting and the tomatoes keep going through December. A vent opening in the North side shade with a small fan should be enough cooling for the hot days of autumn.

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