Here’s what Tom Clothier site recommends...
Aquilegia alpina , buergeriana, canadensis, flabellata, formosa, glandulosa, nevadensis, saximontana, transylvanica, viridiflora, and vulgaris, Sow at Max. 5ºC (41ºF), germination irregular, often several months
Aquilegia atrata , Sow at 18-22ºC (64-71ºF) for 2-4 wks, move to -4 to +4ºC (24-39ºF) for 4-6 wks, move to 5-12ºC (41-53ºF) for germination
Aquilegia bertolonii, caerulea, clematiflora, laramiensis, longissima, rockii, scopulorum, and siberica, Sow at 20ºC (68ºF), germination slow may take several months
Aquilegia chrysantha, , Sow at 20ºC (68ºF), if no germination in 3-4 wks, move to -4 to +4ºC (24-39ºF) for 2-4 wks
Aquilegia olympica , Sow at 20ºC (68ºF), if no germination in 3-4 wks, move to -4 to +4ºC (24-39ºF) indefinitely.

Sierra, what a great idea to start mini-roses this time of the year, I noticed our Extra-Foods still have lots of pots in stock, I guess left-over from Valentines Day.
Hmmm, your Discaria should be up by now???

Sharon

It doesn't look like my "real" mini roses that I have had for a few years.....survived this winter. :-( I forgot to water them in oct/nov....that may have had something to do with it. Or it may be because I cut them back in the fall when I brought them in. Don't know. I had never cut them back in the fall before....I usually do that in the spring.

Hmmmm the discaria was planted Feb 6th. I would think it should be showing some signs by now...shouldn't it? I've got jungle gold impatien sprouts this morning. And one more gerbera. Ohhhh and one more cherry petunia......so that will make 5. I hope this 5th one doesn't turn out to be a weed...since it was sooooooo much slower from the other 4.

As for starting columbine seed....I found them to be pretty easy.....never had a problem with them. Gillian, it might just be the seed as you say.

Marcia....on your mark, get set, GOOOOOOOOOOOO...haha
Those seeds will arrive soon enough. You will be glad you waited as long as you don't have anything that has to be started real early like geraniums or such.

Sierra

Impatiens wallerina 'Tempo Mix'
Impatiens wallerina 'Seaside Mix'
Petunia 'Ramblin' Red'
Petunia 'O Canada Mix'
Petunia Tidal Wave Hot Pink
Petunia Tidal Wave Silver
Osteospermum 'Passion Mix' - 5 out of 10 seeds because i had five cells left in my seed starting trays.

I also bought one of those self-watering seed propagators. It has 40 cells, so i planted 20 of each kind of impatiens in it. Here's the flats i did today:

I did a few of my own pots of pansies too that are sitting up out of their reach LOL

As for the rest of the Canna seeds, I'm going to experiment with WSing them just to see if they can survive. If they do, they'll make a lovely addition to the garden. If they don't, well.... they'll make a lovely addition to the compost heap:)

By the way the only info they came with was "Brazilian Canna" and "Orange Canna, tall w/green leaves". If they survive I'll make an attempt to ID them.

Cindy

I am thinking about
Purple fountain grass..Panicum violaceum
and
Golden top....Lam arckia aurea

Sierra

Both don't take long to germinate, last year I sowed
Panicum violaceum Panic Grass on April 8th, germ April 12th.
Lamarckia aurea Golden Top on April 8th, germ April 10th.

Sharon

Any other recommendations for grasses for in large containers?

Sierra

Anyone else finding their indoor sown Venedium is growing really fast? Yikes!

Oh yeah and to hopefully avert disaster with my nasturtiums, I peeled off all their little peat pots, and planted them all together in a big hanging pot, where they will remain. They don't seem to have noticed that they got moved and have been growing steadily. Although they are taking up rather a lot of room under my lights.

I can see that my ("our" LOL) pansies are starting to sprout already! I'm thinking that that is really fast too. I remember having so much trouble with them last year and had very slow germination and very few sprouts. Hmmmm... I wonder if keeping the seed in the fridge has helped? This is left overs from the same package! I am totally floored!

Just wait till my kids come home and see the little sprouts! I do love watching the girls out gardening! They are such a hoot.

Verena

Way too early to start Morning Glories; wait to sow indoors around the first week of May for a June planting.

It's still early gals, its not even March yet, some of you are starting some of your seeds way tooooooo early, read the instructions on the packages, that’s what its there for ;)

Sharon

I think i mentioned that i had thrown in a few of the osteo seeds because there were extra cells left in one flat. Two out of five had germinated yesterday! I'm hoping to start some pansies this weekend.

Yes, Verena - too early to start morning glories now. It's hard to resist temptation, isn't it? :) And you'll have to give your dh a little workshop in seed starting! LOL

Totally agreeing with you, Sharon, from my experiences last year. I really don't want to get caught trying to hold them until I can get them into the ground. It was sooo frustrating last year and very heartbreaking when I lost plants that I had been giving so much TLC for 2 or 3 months. That's not to say I haven't got anything started yet. Or haven't made any mistakes this year, also. I wanted to start my cape gooseberries a couple of weeks earlier. I thought I had started them in March last year. After I did my spreadsheet and compared my last year start date, I realized I was three days later. : ( So now, I'm hoping for a two week earlier plant out date or I'll be putting them out with a row cover on during the day and blankets on at night. They didn't ripen last year so this year I need to do a bit of adjustment somehow.

So far the cinnamon seems to be working in fending off the damp-off, too. I've got the Damp-off ready, just in case, though. lol

Shauna

I found some transplant fertilizer yesterday - couldn't find 10-10-10 but this was 10-12-10 so should be similar. I'm guessing I should hold off fertilizing if I don't want the seedlings to go crazy...

Today i found some seeds for some petunias, "Easy Wave Blue". I had "Easy Wave Red" last year, and they were easy - and pretty! Looks like these might be destined for that Lee Valley container. :)

Things like impatiens, petunias, and pansy's I start really early.....the faster growing things I start much later and things like cosmos, nasturtiums I sow right outside in spring. I have found with sweet peas that if I just plant outside they will pass the ones that I start inside and transplant. I have also found that tall snaps have to be planted early or they don't have much time to flower here. This may not be the case everywhere.

Have some petunia seeds, that a friend sent to me that she collected from her garden last year...that I have to plant today. I already have two kinds going.

The discaria has been dumped....not a single sprout and don't have room for plants that aren't going to co-operate. It must have dampened off.....or something.

The Datura that I started is growing like crazy...will have to be re-potted to a 4 inch pot soon..I already transplanted it into a 2 1/2 inch pot....so my guess is started way to early.....but still have 6 seeds to start some later as well. Lots of other sprouts of slow growing things.......transplanting into cell packs, pots and trays will start here in about 2 weeks...then more seeds will be started in those empty bowls.

We all make mistakes and we all have flops each year...that is how we learn. Don't let it discourage you..just try again next year.

NS...your transplant fertalizer will be fine....start out at 1/4 to 1/2 strength.....but only when you want your plants to take off.....and remember don't fertalize the nasturtiums.

Sierra

My snaps bowl looks like grass sprouts right now LOL....I guess I sowed more seed than what I thought. LOL! I certainly won't be keeping this many.

Sierra

Pansy Rhapsody Mix
Pansy Snow Mix
Osteospermum Passion Mix
Osteospermum Giant Mix (left over from the seeds Shauna sent me last year - thanks!)
Petunia Easy Wave Blue (the seeds were pelleted but looked as if they'd been crushed - not happy about that!)
Lobelia Fan Scarlet
Nicotiana Pink Mix
Nicotiana Red
Nicotiana Sylvestris (left over from Jan's seeds)
Clematis Ligustifolia
Calceolaria Sunset Red

Oh? Was i supposed to take out something for supper? Sorry about that! :>

Dalea purpurea Purple Prairie Clover (I'll be WS'ing some later on too)
Meconopsis sheldonii (second batch, thanks Ian)
Schizachyrium scoparium Little Bluestem (thanks Susan)
Melica ciliata (thanks Rick)

Marcia, were having left-over pizza from last night ;)

Sharon

2) Growing pansies. I just planted some seeds. It says keep dark and cover with black plastic. What about ventilation? I am thinking that they are ok not well ventilated until they start sprouting, but it seems odd to keep them so confined.

3) Lobelia- this is more for later in the year. But the seeds are so miniscule, that I sprinkled them over my pots. Last year, when I did that, I got a chia-head like mass growth. Once they sprout, do you thin them? or plant the chia-mass as one?

Thanks!!!

Kim

Question 1.....If it worked for you....keep doing it. What happens if plants don't get enough light is that they will get leggy and flop over and just generally don't look that good. However...your particular window just might be right for what you started last year....so if it worked, don't let anyone tell you it doesn't. BTW by the time spring arrives...my window sills are full.....not with seedlings but with pots that are planted with lilies that I bought very early or other bulbs and plants, that I don't have room for under the lights.

Question 2. Yes keep pansys in dark till they sprout. I start mine in a Wendy's salad bowl...with the lid on and put a black garbage bag around that. Checking every day for sprouts.....once they start to sprout...I remove the garbage bag and the lid....and place to the side of the light....then once a good number of sprouts appear, the bowl is placed under lights as well. When sowing the seeds make sure your soilless mix is damp but not wet....and you shouldn't have a problem. If the soil is to wet then you may have a problem with damp off.

Question 3. I started two kinds of lobilia yesterday. Yes the seeds are very tiny. Again, I start them in a Wendy's salad bowl....usually 1500 seeds to a pack....so I spread them out into two bowls.....once they get large enough to transplant into cell packs......I transplant little clumps of 5 to 10 seedlings...occassionally a few more in the clump...it doesn't have to be percise. Once transplanted they seem to take off faster for me...so I take the scissors and trim them back once they get ohhhhhh about 6 inches tall or so......and some years I do this twice depending on how fast they grow that year. This just makes the plants more bushy but will slow down flower production...but once they start blooming they are full of flowers.

Hope this helps!
Happy Gardening,
Sierra

Ang

Thanks for the info all!

Kim

Oh yeah and I have sprouts in my bugs... I mean salvia... and gaillardia. Joy!

Marcia...that should work. I use the stokes catalogue for germination information....even if its a different brand of seed. You may find that stokes info may differ from what it says on the pack...I always go with the stokes catalogue info, and it has worked for years.

NS...Yes I freeze the snaps for 48 hours or until I remember them LOL.I just put the pack in the freezer. I think the snaps will still sprout, even if you don't freeze them. It will just take them longer. I have never tried putting the sowed seeds in the freezer.

OH OHHHH what I did was leave my two kinds of lobelia in the car over night....remembered them the next morning....I asked the guy at the nursery here if they would still sprout and he said ya...plant them up...so thats what I did....if they don't sprout, I'll still have time to start more seed. eeeeeeeeee

I have sprouting bugs and gailardia too.

Yesterday I started more petunias....so now I have a total of 4 kinds of petunias....LOL....and this after saying I was cutting back on petunias this year. I also started gazania and schizanthus, yesterday. Both of these need dark to germinate....I also have salpiglosis in the dark...hee hee under a black garbage bag.

Oh I just want to mention that I don't start the whole pack of each kind of seed.....I just start a few of each, so there is lots of variety when its time to plant up the planters. Usually sow more than what I plan on transplanting into packs or pots just to be sure I get enough...but still some get tossed out. The seeds I use next year again and sometimes for a few years, depending on how many in the pack. The packs are dated so I know which year they were purchased in.

Sierra

Rick, I thought about putting them on the floor originally. The top of the freezer is about 16 degrees C at night. I'm guessing the floor would be a few degrees colder than that. I thought that would be too cool, but I will place them on the floor starting tonight. The pots with the wood ashes took longer to germinate, about a week longer, but we'll see how they compare in the long run. I'll add a little sand to the first two pots tomorrow. They are about 5 or 6mm tall and are starting to get a few tiny spines.

Again, I'll keep everyone posted.

daveycrockett

It seems that my Escobaria vivipara are at a stand still, they are about the same size as they were about a month ago. LOL

Sharon

Salpaglossis and verbena babies this morning. :-)

Sierra

Laurie

Sierra, IME, Asclepias Milkweed do great with Winter Sowing, some germination can be expected at warm, with rates significantly improving after a cold treatment.

Sharon

Would it be better if I got a grow light and put them somewhere else?

Do I need to water these continually?

Sorry for the newbie questions!

Good luck,
Laurie

I haven't used Jiffy pellets in a few years but I had good results with them growing peppers in the past. Just keep in mind the plants will outgrow them pretty fast and will need to be planted into a pot. Plan your space accordingly. Or start them late enough that you can just plant them out when they outgrow the pellets. Have fun!

Sharon

"......I transplant little clumps of 5 to 10 seedlings...occassionally a few more in the clump...it doesn't have to be percise"

Sierra, any ideas on how to separate 5-10 seedlings out of these bunches?

Anyway in less precious flats where I had sown more (such as dianthus), I just used tweezers and thinned them. I could see a combination of division and thinning working for you depending how many you aim to keep.

I for one am learning this year how much germination to expect and thus how thickly to seed. I'm new to this.
- Gillian

Hee hee I have snaps that are planted this thick....I have no idea how I sowed so many....I didn't think I did, but thats how they came up..(and sprouts don't lie haha)..trust me I was very surprised. The snaps will be transplanted 1 per cell in 6 or 9 paks....once they are big enough.....

You could also try the bunch o'seedlings that some winter sowers use. I read that last year somewhere about the winter sowing seedlings.

Enjoy transplanting the seedlings....it will give you time to think about how wonderful your garden is going to look in the summer........I will take a few pics in the next few weeks of the bowls of seedlings and the transplanting.

Here is a pic from a couple of years back....

Sierra

Oh man there were a few pots that were so slow to germinate that I gave up on them and re-used the soil to plant something new... so yeah of course I have two different things growing in some pots now. Duhhhhh! At least I know what they are. I just have to pick them out and separate them. I actually have very good germination in my columbines now, they were just super slow.

Oh BTW anyone know how long chamomile tea is good for? I made some for a spray bottle and I don't want it to go bad before I can use it all...

and thanks for the cinnamon tip (to ward off dampening off). I haven't seen a hint of fungus or mold so far this year!

Kim

Something that I have learned through trial and error is to not reuse the soil for more seedlings. This is just in case there was a problem like damp off or something that can cause loss of the new seeds as well. I dump the old seedling mix outdoors, bleach the bowl and start fresh. I even do this when the seedlings are transplanted...dump the excess outside and bleach then start something new in the bowl. Don't know about the tea.

EEEEEEEEEE Kim leaving new seedlings under someone elses care can be a tough one......as for the transplanting...thats entirely up to you....I don't transplant the seedlings until they are much larger than your pic shows though.

Good luck,
Sierra

I will transplant my lobelia when I get back... One less thing to get done before I go!

Sierra

Well, I'm all caught up with my transplantings! I also indoor sowed these today...

Gallardia aristata 'Arizona Sun'
Gazania splendens 'Kiss Yellow Flame'

Whew, my neck is sore, time for a break and a cuppa tea ;)

Sharon

Laurie

Petunia, coleus (finally) and more lobelia sprouts this morning.

Still no butterfly flower or delphs or cerinthe. Hmmmmmm

Sierra

Sharon

Sharon

I have had them self-sow but I don't see the seedlings until later on in the season. I've left some of the self-sown ones, but really haven't paid attention to how late they bloomed.

Thanks Pudge, last year I sowed my Verbena on April 2nd, I just thought maybe if I sowed them earlier I would get early blooms. Marcia, last year I also WS'd a batch and they indeed germinated, but very late to bloom.

Sharon

I finally got verbena sprouts....I had them on the heat pad, then on the cold floor, then back on the heat pad.....then put them in the dark and that is when they finally sprouted. LOL.

One pot out of 5 Cerinthe has sprouted so far.

Sierra

Sowed...
Amaranthus 'tricolor'
Amaranthus 'velvet curtains'
Chilian Glory Vine
ice plant
Aster 'single mix'
Aster 'milady'
French marigolds 'Bonita mix'
French maridgolds 'Mr Majestic'
Rudbeckia 'chim chiminee'
Rudbeckia 'cherokee sunset'

Oh and since there is still nothing from the butterfly flower.....I sowed some more and put them in the crisper of the fridge...maybe this will help.

A second Cerinthe has now popped up. Seem to be taking their sweet time.

Sierra....How many days till SPRING? :-(

She believed me. :>

As a result I've only started a few things. All the varieties of perennial Dianthus are transplanted and growing well under lights, as well as a couple varieties of Penstemon (gormanii and hirsutus), Inula ensifolia and Clematis mandschurica. I seeded Craspedia the other day, and I see many sprouts poking thru. Oh, and Alternanthera Purple Knight - there's 5 or 6 sprouts. I must seed Snaps, Dahlias and Asters soon - hopefully will get to it this weekend. Most everything else I'll wait until early April to coincide with (hopefully) getting them into the greenhouse in mid-April.

Shauna

Verena, IF ONLY!!

Hugs,
Sharon

Syreeta

On the bright side, I'm on my way downstairs to seed the Snapdragons, Dahlias and Asters. My sister is arriving from Calgary today for a visit - if I don't get these done before she gets here it'll be another week before I have the chance. Off to play...

Anyways, I've now got 3 little sprouts of Morning Glory I guess! [as mentioned in my MG thread] LOL. Probably waaaay to early for them yet but I have them sprouting now so I may as well plant them and see what happens! Actually a few years ago I had some blooming indoors so maybe they will be OK.

CD..maybe you will get bigger plants by planting the morning glories this early.

Haha 11 days till spring....tooooo funny. If I believe hard enough will it come true? I believe, I believe. LOL!!!

Sierra

The little grandguy came over this afternoon and he planted daisies for his mom and bachelor buttons for himself. Boy, am i gonna have fun thinning out his seedlings! We used the little peat pellets and he had about ten seeds in each one! Reminds me of a little poem:

Tiny fingers planting seeds -
A packet in a minute!
The only work involved
Is when i go to thin it!

Cooking with cheese LOL - maybe that's why I left home at 18 - Mom's cooking was boring!

So I just have to grouse a little here... how long does it usually take to ship seeds? I think The Seed Centre lost my order. I placed it Feb 11, got a confirmation e-mail, sent an e-mail Mar 7 asking when they would be shipped and got a response that something must have gone wrong because they should have been shipped a long time ago. No response to repeated e-mails since. Grrrrr. I am dying here!

Gil what kind of seeds do you need?

Sierra

Sierra, the only seeds I'm really desperate for are phlox drummondii "Twinkle Mix". Out of the rest of my order, I should also be starting the coleus, lobelia, nicotines and delphiniums now too but those wouldn't even ruin my garden plans if they didn't happen. Gotta have the phlox man, I can never find it in the nurseries anymore!

Shauna - who has transplanting and seeding galore to do today.

Amaranthus cruentus
Gypsophila 'Gypsy Deep Rose'
Gypsohila (regular white)
Heliotrope 'Fragrant Blue'
Unidentified ornamental grass, described as "green/white with red head"
Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty'
Petunias (white, from saved seed)
Gazania 'Rose Stripe'
Gazania (saved seed)
Cleome (purple)
Salpiglossis (thank you, Shauna!)
Verbena bonarensis
Balsam
Cerinthe 'Pride of Gibralter'

I'm going to direct-sow some gypsophila into my container lilies when i plant the bulbs - i loved Pudge's baby's breath and lilies look, but it didn't work for me last year. Maybe i'll be luckier in the containers!

Better check your car and your purse, all of you seed snatchers! Don't want to miss planting something your forgot about.

Shauna

My boys have Venidium sprouts this morning.......thank goodness!

Whats with the Delph seeds I got this year....I have sowed them twice and still not a single sprout....the ones in the pic in the gallery I started from seed with no problems. Hmmmm

DH and I filled 14 blooming bags this weekend...when we were done I found one more. LOL. Now they have to hang for a couple days to settle, I guess, before I can start planting them up....I'll probably start planting them tomorrow.

Gil.....I have to tell ya....I found phlox seed twinkle mix on the weekend.....and yes I got them and started them this weekend too. See you paid me back. LOL! One more try...now how does the phlox dance go?

Sierra :-))

Today, I indoor sowed Verbena bonariensis, will be WS'ing some too ;)

Sharon

I'm really disappointed in the pansies i sowed awhile back. Very few have germinated. They were in the dark for about a week, but when the sprouts started, i uncovered them. But the ones that had sprouted are the only ones. >:(

Re: bloom bags. How do you water them? I tried putting a piece of hose in mine (we put nail holes in it first), but it hasn't worked too well. Someone else said they dunk theirs in their pond. Last year, i lay mine in a seeding tray and watered that way, but i'd like to hear some better ideas! I only have one, and last year i got the bright idea to root impatiens cuttings in it, and it worked. So i'm going to invest in a few more of them this year to hang along the back of the house.

To water the blooming bags.....I use a water wand and just tuck it into the back of the bag and then turn on either soaker mode or shower mode lightly till the water starts running out the bottom of the bags. They are a bit of a pain that way, if you arn't careful and forget to turn the water off...it can ruin the plants in the top of the bag. I water the pots the same way...tuck the wand in under the plants and then turn it on gently....it can take quite a while to water this way. While I am standing there, I dead head and have a nice close look at the flowers...so it all works out well .........

Hmmmmm last time I looked at the bowl of pansy seedlings...I was thinking they needed to be transplanted...uhhhhhh that was ummmmm last week, I think...guess I had better find them and get that done. LOL.

Sierra

I drag the 100ft or is it longer? hmmm heavey rubber hose around to water the planters too.....its good for keepin me in shape in the summer. LOL!

and you know this is commin' haha.......You could always just do the rain dance.....then you don't have to worry about watering anything. hee hee

Sierra

Marcia,
off to shelve some more books, with a little twist in her step :)

My Seeds arrived in the mail today! Hooray! Of to plant lobelia, delphiniums, nicotines and phlox. Some will get WSed, we'll see.

Gil...I dunno about sowing seeds at work though. LOL! Uhhhh the phlox I sowed and put in the dark.....there seems to be only one seedling.....you didn't tell me the steps to that dance.....see I told you I can't grow phlox. That one seedling is probably a weed seed....:-(

Sierra

Today I planted phlox, delphiniums, coleus and lobelia. I dunno about phlox in the dark Sierra, my seed pack doesn't say anything about dark. I just sowed mine shallow and put them under the lights. The only dance I have ever done to get phlox in the past is the "boogie down to the greenhouse and pick up some flats" dance. LOL.

I was going to mention, aren't salvia seedlings beautiful? Sigh... I sowed exactly 65 seeds and exactly 58 came up. Now that is a pretty good germination rate!! Compared to about 300:5 for Alyssum saxatile. The 5 are coming along splendidly though.

Shauna

I may be wrong, Gil, but it's just what I've been reading. It's one I checked specifically on because my germ. was sooooo bad last year.

Shauna

According to my journal last year I took many flats out to the greenhouse on April 15th, that’s when I’ll start the tomatoes and the rest of the tender annuals since I’ll have more room downstairs by then.

Sharon

And the dance, isn't there a backwards rotation of the left arm? Were you doing that? And the twist in the step?

Just wondering, has anyone here successfully sowed phlox drummondii? And if so how?

-Gillian (who is afraid of being phlox-less!)

Gil.......Yes I sowed the phlox last weekend. No I didn't take the lid off, nor did I put it under lights, when the first seedling appeared. I was suspicious this one seedling wasn't a phlox.....I did spray the seedling with chamomile tea every second day though so it didn't dampen off. Yesterday I took the lid off and placed beside the lights not under the light. Might put it back in the dark today. LOL!

I have tried several dances ...with no luck. :-( I only sowed half the seeds.....so if someone comes up with steps that I haven't tried...I'll sow the rest. I'm about to try the forward seed catapult into the garbage can. LOL!

All of the blooming bags are planted, except for the last one...which is only half planted. LOL....I ran out of good sized seedlings for it.....so will have to wait a week or two for some of the smaller seedlings to catch up. I ended up with two trays of small impatiens that have to grow a bit more.....then I can finish the last bag. I also will use these seedlings to plant the tops of the bags once the bags can be hung.

Transplanting, transplanting......Oh DH my b'day is comming up....and I really need that greenhouse. LOL!

Sierra

Also today I indoor sowed my sempervivums mix, jovibarba mix, geum triflorum, and creeping thyme.

I'm having fun toooooo!

In case anyone cares, they were sowed on the surface of wet soilless mix and kept under lights for one day. Then I put the dome on and covered with a garbage bag and kept them at 20C for one day, then returned to 17C for one day and they sprouted within one or two days of that. The compost was very wet and the humidity was high.

Savona, I'm glad your phlox is sprouting for you too. I wonder why the range of acceptable conditions, yet the reputation of being hard to germinate. Oh well.

Oh and yesterday I also sowed Saponaria ocymoides (Soapwort). Marcia I will have it cascading over a wall yet - LOL!

Anyway, after the other half finally built shelves, this is my beginning-

Liatris,
coleus,
brocolli,
brandywine and yellow pear tomatoes,
a couple zuch just for S&G,
foxglove,
snaps (the first set I didn't freeze, but the room did so...they're sprouting anyway)
some shade mix with viola, impatiens, forget-me-not, torenia, mimulus,and colensia;
some generic salsa peppers mix (if I can get them to grow why not- plants are expensive!)
and a blue columbine

The wood shelves are about 6 ft each long, the side board is about the same-- now where can i put that TV?
and to go: Oh I better not even start that line of thought-- I have 3x5 files full of seeds--

Vrie what a great sunroom! You're so lucky to have all those south windows - my house only has 3 and one has the kitchen sink under it.

Yesterday I indoor sowed:
Verbascum nigrum
Dianthus superbus "Snowdonia White" (Thanks Sharon for both!)

And my Jovibarbus is up already - 2 days, wow!

I've done some tomatoes. Package said "6-8 weeks" but I'm sure one extra week won't hurt!

I thought that I would post a couple of pics and let you know how things are going with my planting. These are pictures of my planting room in my basement and so far everything is going good.

Today I will probably spent most of the day in there transplanting and starting more seeds.

Will be starting today:
Hybrid Marigold --Golden Jubilee
Tomato-- Sweet Gold TMVF pvp
Tomato-- Lemon Boy
Pennisetum-- Purple Majesty
Nemesia-- Carnival Mixed
Schizanthus-- Hit Parade

No woodworking today:( !!!!

Cheers Al

Now, let's see... If i could get rid of the freezer and some more of the junk in the laundry room..... :>

I just finished adding another table infront of the Living Room window and did some:

Tomatoes - subarctic 'Plenty'

Basil - I think its Italian sweet basil ??

Marigolds - 'Canadian Sunset'

Ameranthus 'Velvet Curtains'

Coleus 'Rainbow Mix'

Xeranthemum

~Ang~

Marcia - I do not have a light over the larger pots as these are my cannas and are just coming up now. They will go to my greenhouse in a couple of weeks so I do not worry about having any light over them because when they get into my greenhouse they really start to grow.

Cheers Al

He did agree to build double shelves in the sunroom so I can use bottom to store instead of other shelf space.

Anyway, I have seeded more--

larkspur
lupine
delph i collected last fall
more snaps
blue flax

Let's see from the original I have almost all my yellow pear tomatoes up this week and that gives me hope for the peppers and brandywine. Also I have foxglove and snaps up and the one single dumb early girl seed my mother left here. Just today I found some of my shade mixture up (probly foxglove too but oh well.)

I also sent a set of 1-4 ft plant seeds all mixed up nicely for my aunt's meadow to her. In return she sent me seeds for old hollyhock and something she doesn't know it's name (but it was pretty in a bouquet I saw last summer!)

It's been so nice outside! I have been weeding already (why do the dandelions come up so FAST?), prepping the garden for the cold season veggies, moving rocks, marking bulbs that need moved this fall, and prepping a spot for those no-name roses someone is sending me (that should be hardy - they're zone 4- where I plan them to be!) and for that plum tree I need to go get!

Oh, I've also preapproved my boulevard flower beds with the city, found out they own the tree I want to kill
(darn it!- it doesnt bear fruit and it shades that native flower bed I'm making) I also found that I don't want a fence as they make me come in 22 FEET! I started pruning other stuff too!

Let's see Sat was spent away from home-- the HOME AND GARDEN SHOW!!! Of course a few more wall-o-waters and some seeds later, I had spent well over 3 hours there- in the middle of the day- oh well it was raining! I'm so proud of myself- I didn't buy a single bulb or lily (I already have a combo of about 300 of those!)

Oh my! maybe this should be in projects LOL Anyone got a spot for shelves?

I've been pinching back my Mina Lobata and Cobaea for about a month now and they both have really bushed out. I'm planning on putting them into 18" pots really quick now and giving them tomato cages to climb. I've got so many tomato cages and I plan on adding them and wiring them together to make a tower, as the season progresses They will probably just take off when I give them that privilege.

Shauna

Marigolds "Canadian Sunset"
Xeranthemum
Basil

gotta love it!

My Cobaea is getting long and hanging down! So far it's not touching anything yet so it's not getting tangled up yet. I keep thinking that I should pinch it back but being tall and skinny should be OK for where I plan to put it between some Morning Glories and a Hyacinth Bean Vine. We'll see how they do together!

I also finally have one sprout of butterfly flower....geez this took forever. Still hoping for a couple more.

Been transplanting into cells and 4 inch pots...all sorts of things..

A couple calla lilies have poked up above the soil and I now have two castor beans showing. All 5 of the new cannas are growing.

Still have to start a few things this weekend or next week. And set up the glads and freesias when I find time. LOL!

Happy Gardening,

Sierra...will my hands and nails ever be clean again? :O

So far my poor germinators are coleus, delphiniums (this might be bad seed, had no trouble with them before), and alyssum. I had a couple of bags of Miracle Gro soilless seed mix that looked like pure sawdust and contained weeds. There is now a drought of soilless mix in this end of the city, there is just none anywhere. I've been having to use potting mix. Ok so far.

My cypress vines have been doing something weird, namely dying. :0( The vines grow to about 6" or less, then all the leaves go white and the vine fails and dies. Any ideas??? They are receiving good light and water.