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debbie_n_ontario

Need A Garden Buddy in Northern Ontario... March

Debbie_N_Ontario
18 years ago

Hi

I have some petunias growing under the lights now. Some haven't come up, I don't think they wanted to push thru the paper they were seeded in. But at least some are up.

The amaryllis I brought up from the cellar are starting to get some green on them nothing on the geraniums yet.

Also saw some birds at the feeders outside yesterday, so I guess that is a good sign.

Today was very cold with the wind, but that is the way it normally is when winter carnival is on here.I can hardly wait until spring gets here!

Have to go grocery shopping tomorrow so I'm going to get going here. Think I'll stop into Canadian Tire too and see if there are any wave petunia seeds there.

Take care

Debbie :-)

Comments (10)

  • claubill
    18 years ago

    Last weekend, I decided to experiment with winter sowing. I started saving some containers, especially the big plastic containers when you buy mixed lettuce. Poked some holes at the bottom and on the lid. At this point, I've planted phloxes, Goldquelle, and perennial sweetpeas (they are called Heritage: I'm not too sure what that means). Now I have to do more research to find out what else I can start in zone 3 (Sudbury, Ontario). I had read that you can actually winter sow vegetables, like beets, radishes. Has anyone had any experience with this?

  • den_vic
    18 years ago

    for ex-Ontario residents on the coast. Many are moving out here and garden early. Here's a palm move on Saltspring Island (Home of Hollywood stars and wealthy folks.) at a time when St-John's, NF is very deep in snow. The difference is amazing.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Full Scale Gardening on SSI, BC

  • den_vic
    18 years ago

    Camellia season is here with photos from ex-Ontario residents in the Garden City. Victoria has millions of spring blooms at this time of year.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Large Flower Camellia

  • Debbie_N_Ontario
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    My impatiens and silver wave petunias are doing well. I have to transplant them as they have the second set of leaves on them now.

    My Christmas cactus is blooming again! That was a nice surprise. I caught a flash of red when I went to water the plants in the window and looked and sure enough half of the plant was flowering,,, don't know what happened to the other half,,,but it still pretty *S*

    It's nice to feel the heat of the sun again and when it is sunny outside our south facing porch is heating up so that our poor cat can go out there and look out the window. He notices every year when the sun get stronger as he gets a bit of spring fever and runs around the house like a dog. *L*

    I have been looking at some pictures of my gardens and can hardly wait to get outside puttering around again.

    Hi claubill *waving* I have not tried the winter sowing yet, but I know Marcia has had very good luck with it. She will be able to help u with it I'm sure.
    Maybe Heritage on the sweet peas means they have been around for a very long time? Like the pioneers used them? I know they say that about some tomatoes that have been around for a very long time and the seeds are hard to find.

    I wonder how u would winter sow veggies? That would be great if it could be done. If u find out could u post it here so we can learn? I guess u would plant them right in the veggie garden instead of in a container? hmmm interesting. I hope u can find out about that. I really can't catch on to this winter sowing thing. I just don't get it. I think I have a mental block about it when there is over 4 ft of snow outside. *LOL*

    Here's some pics of my garden from last year.

    {{gwi:1088346}}

    {{gwi:1088347}}

    Take care and think of spring!

    Debbie :-)

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    18 years ago

    Hey everyone! I'm sure bad about coming here this winter. :( I'll try to do better!

    Winter sowing - Claubill, you're off to a good start. You can winter sow pretty much any perennial and hardy annuals. Things like impatiens and petunias still need to be started inside around here. As far as vegetables go, i do things like broccoli and cauliflower, but it's a lot easier to plant beets and carrots right into the garden. I've winter sown lettuce too. It's a lot of fun, and you save a lot of room inside by doing this. That and you can really go nuts! Yikes! :)

    Debbie, the best time to winter sow is when there's four feet of snow outside! If your containers are buried in the snow, it insulates them from temperature extremes. You should go to the Winter Sowing Forum and read their FAQs and some of the posts. It will give you a better idea of what it's all about. It really is "a leap of faith"!

    I've been doing some inside sowing too - impatiens, petunias and osteospermum are up and thriving. Other things are just poking through. I can't go crazy because i'll end up with way too many plants way too soon! I'd LIKE to, though!

    Our weather has slowly been improving. It's supposed to be mild and possibly rain this week. I was noticing a few things that give a person the idea that spring might be on the way - the buds are swelling on the willow trees, there are puddles in some places and small bare strips of ground near the house. The snow is compacting and settling - and hopefully MELTING pretty soon! It would be nice!

    Debbie, none of my amaryllis rebloomed this year, and it looks like the geraniums didn't make it through the winter in their paper bag in the garage. Maybe it was too dry iin there. Oh well... An excuse to get new ones!

    Anyway, i'm yawning like crazy here, so i'd better head off to bed.

    Happy dreaming of spring!
    Marcia

  • joanne77
    18 years ago

    hello, I too, have been sowing indoors.Since this is my first year growing flowers, i have been extemely anxious to get things going. I started a few varities of pansies and they are just starting to sprout.I also tried some dwarf delphiniums, but they aren't up yet. Hopefully I will see some sprouts soon. I soaked some canna seeds to see if they will sprout, but they seem to be slow as well.I
    don't have much room in the house to start my seedligs so i am very limited to planting early. Hopefully everything will grow for me since it is my first year with flowers. I can't wait till spring arrives though, then I can really get my hands dirty, lol.
    Joanne

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    18 years ago

    Joanne, if your space is limited, you should try winter sowing. Not that i'm pushing it or anything! :>

  • den_vic
    18 years ago

    The start of magnolia season enjoyed by ex-Ontario gardeners in Victoria. They have many varieties out here. This temperate white star variety is an early bird on the island.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Magnolia Season

  • Debbie_N_Ontario
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Hi

    Yesterday it was in the 50's and then last night we had lots of rain and a thunderstorm. We have lost almost 2 ft of snow!! It's cold today but if we get another warm spell I might be able to get out into the garden sooner than I hoped! yippee

    I have gotten all of the impatiens transplanted into their own pots, have seeded some pink wave petunias and coleus too. The top level of my plant stand is almost full already. I also took some geranium cuttings yesterday.

    One of my amaryllis has a bloom opening up on it so I'm going to have flowers in the house any day now. It really seems like spring is in the air. *S*

    Marcia, I don't know why u have trouble with the amaryllis reblooming, did u put them in paper bags so they wouldn't get any light?
    Also, about the geraniums...did u replant them to see if they would grow? Not all of mine come back and they sure don't look alive when I open that bag up after being in there all winter either and pot them up again. *L* Sometimes it takes them a month or so to start growing leaves again. Some of mine have started to get leaves on them, some are more ahead of others. Maybe u need to replant them sooner? I know the first year I didn't have much luck, then the second year I potted them up a bit sooner and had better luck with them.

    Son told me the other day that they are trying to get pregnant so I'm excited about that! *S*

    Hi Joanne... WELCOME! *waving*
    Ask us any questions about gardening and we will be happy to try and help you! *S*

    I have grown delphiniums from seeds before many years ago and this is what I had written down about them.

    DELPHINIUM
    seeds need to be put into the freezer for 24 hours to break dormancy.
    germination in 20 days
    cover seeds lightly, which probably mean they need light to germinate.

    I also use No Damp when I plant seeds just in case I get damping off and it wipes out my seedlings like it did one year with marigolds I had planted.

    Take care
    Debbie :-)

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    18 years ago

    Debbie, it's a good thing you lost 2 feet of snow because i heard a rumour that you might get another one tonight! LOL Typical March, eh? We haven't lost a lot of snow. It was really mild but we didn't get much rain. Icy out there now. And chilly. We've been spoiled this winter - it isn't even that bad out there but it seems really cold!

    I had my amaryllis in a dark area under some shelves. Maybe not dark enough. I'll try the paper bag thing next year. I did have the geraniums potted up for about three weeks and no sign of life. I just uprooted them all to use the soil for the three wave petunias that overwintered. I transplanted them into hanging baskets yesterday, and also did several more winter sowing containers. Anyway, i think next year, i'll just keep as many geraniums as i can inside. I've done that before. This one woman in the Seniors Apartments has a lovely one blooming in the stairwell. I'm so jealous!

    My impatiens should be ready to transplant in a couple of weeks. The petunias are still pretty small, and my pansies have really sporadic germination. There are a few things that were planted two weeks ago that still haven't germinated. Thankfully, quite a few of the Easy Wave Blue petunias germinated. The seeds seemed like they were crushed. This week, i'm going to do some more, and the little grandguy is going to come over to plant daisies for his mom. I'm also going to let him plant some marigolds and bachelor buttons because they'll grow a lot faster than daisies. I bought a small square tray with peat pellets in it for him today.

    Walmart doesn't have any of its bulbs out yet. People out west are snapping them up like crazy from places like Costco and Home Depot. We don't have those around here. We never got to Canadian Tire today, but maybe we'll try to get there later this week. I'd like to get some more begonias and get them started. I overwintered the ones i had right in their pots, just put the whole thing in the cool corner of the garage where we keep vegetables. I just brought them in, so hopefully THEY won't let me down! :)

    Well, that's about it for now. I'm off to surf a bit and then off to bed.

    Nighty night!
    Marcia

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