Well yesterday I started the larkspur. Today I started the Malva Zebrina v. Pink. Hope I got that title correct. And tomorrow I'm going to start the Malva Sylvestris Zebrina. I'm doing everything in egg cartons this year. Well except for the ones that need trays. I've got 2 seeds per each cup and I hope that this way I won't have to disturb the seedlings more than necessary for the transplant. I'll just cut the cups apart and plant the hole dang thing lol.

I've also got a big pot of mint water simmering on the stove to keep the kitchen nice and humid where I am starting the seeds. Smells pretty good too.

I am so looking forward to my garden in 2006. I can't wait to see how everything will look. And also how everything is going to do over the winter that I planted last year.

And while I'm talking about the rest of my garden plans I should say that the portulaca that I am overwintering indoors are still blooming and looking good. I may have lost a few of the colors but I still have several different kinds. And with the seeds I traded for this year I should have quite a show next year and can overwinter them again then.

I posted my what I planted in the Herbs section. I was surprised that Walmart had seed already. This is my third year for a garden and I am looking forward to it more and more every year.

Also went out and watered today, my poor strawberry plants don't know it's winter, nobody told them.

Here in Oklahoma we haven't had rain since October 1st, and it is like a tender box here.

Have had grass fires all around the area, but so far it has gotten into town where I live.

Also made some Sauerkraut today. It will be ready in a couple of weeks.

We've had pretty regular rain after September which is a good thing. It is making the ground easier to work. That is except when it snows lol. The celosia are very confused and keep trying to come up and then getting snowed on. I'll definitely have to try starting them indoors when the time comes this year. And then planting them inside their biodegradable containers come summer. I love celosia.

I'm glad you mentioned the herbs, I can do those between the last of the "12 weeks before last frost" and the "10 weeks before last frost" plants" lol. You can tell I plan to be right on schedule this year can't you. Mid March I plan to be out there with a brand new trowel doing some brick laying for my terracing project. And then it's top soil and transplanting 2 weeks later.

I'm like you in that I so look forward to next years garden. 2005 was my first years garden and I really expect better things next year.

I hope all the grass fires pass you by and that you and yours are safe and sound through out the year.

Well today I planted 24 of the other Malva. So now I have the regular and the pink variation in the works.

I think tomorrow I'm going to go through the herbs and see which ones I'd like to have growing in the house that I don't have already.

I have another month before I start planting anything. Except herbs. I have some basil started.

It was 75 degrees today it broke a 94 year record.

I guess we're not going to have any winter this year.

It doesn't seem like it but I'm sure later this month or Febuary is going to be rough to make up for it. I've got some par-cel a hybred of parsley and celery that I'm thinking of planting today. It's suppose to be easy to grow, can be kept inside and only needs a 6 inch pot at maturity. That combination I can handle. I just need to run downstairs and find a six inch pot lol.

Hey Fernie, I love basil. What kind did you plant? And if you hear of anyone with the cinnamon basil let me know. I would really like to plant a couple more of them this summer. That way I can harvest seeds and leaves. But with only one plant I want to keep it alive as long as possible. The flavor it adds to recipes is yummy.

I have just regular basil I think....it only had one seed in the packet. Triss sent me some lemon and sweet and Patty is sendingme some purple. I will keep my eye out for the cinnamon.

Well I couldn't resist so today I planted another avocado. From what I understand I should plant 3 or 4 in the same hole to help with pollination in what 50 years lol. I'm such a nut but someone might benefit if the plants live that long.

About the avocado thing . . . did you have any luck with that last year? I certainly did not.

At Canada Blooms (the plant show) I was at one of those little lectures put on by Home Depot . . . the avocados we get in the fruit store are NEVER females . . . if one actually 'took' it would be pure luck.

That's why I didn't try it again. Also, you've gotta' keep in mind that if you live in a cooler climate, you have to bring them in - they get really big and most of us aren't in a position that we can give over a whole room in our house or apartment to these big plants.

Is there a reason you're making sauerkraut? Is it because they're saying it wards off bird flu?

I'm wondering if there's anything to that business.

One of my online friends from Israel just gets cabbage, cuts it up and pickles it in pickle juice (after he eats the pickles, of course).

I think it all boils down to (no pun intended) the fact that green vegetables are darn good for ya'.

You take broccoli - you hear of those cancer diets that involve eating it big time. It's supposed to work - I have a theory about that and I've even told it to people who actually study science.

Cancer cells probably like broccoli, so they get into it, and broccoli, passing through the system easily, flushes them out when you hit the can.

Am I crazy for thinking that?

I decided to make sauerkraut partly because I was bored and needed something to do and also it's fairly easy to make.

I like to try new things, I really like going to the store and looking at some vegetable I have never heard of and taking it home and cooking it.

When I was in Germany I would go to a restaurant and point it something on the Menu and tell them "I want one of these", can make for a VERY interesting meal.

Well the first avocado grew a root so I'm hoping the second one will too. It would be nice to be lucky. I'm finding that they take a lot longer than 6 weeks though. I guess that could be because of my soil. But as long as it's growing it can stay as long as it likes. I live in a warm climate so I don't think the avocado is going to need indoor wintering. I hope not anyway since I have a very small apartment.

Today I haven't planted anything yet but I did add some more seeds to my seed exchange list so I'm feeling pretty perky.

Next I think I'll do breakfast lol.

I'm glad you got so much planted Tammy! That's great.....

I can't wait to plant mine but I have about a month to wait here....A few years ago I started them in January and they got too spindly and most of them died....so I learned my lesson....But I'm SO looking forward to starting them before too long, I have so many seeds this year!!!!!

Yes I have a huge selection of seeds too. There is no way I can start them all indoors but I do want to do what I can. I have about 8 feet of window space left for starting plants early lol. That's not much room. But I do plan to fill every inch I can with whatever I have that seems like it will need an early start. I know I'll start the miniature snapdragons soon because they are so hardy that they will even take some light frosts. And so I can plant them out in the bulb bed early like around the first of March rather than the end of it. By late March I hope that they are blooming. At least that's the plan lol.

Glad to hear you are in full swing tk...be sure to keep us updated on whats sprouting....LOL

Woohoo the Malva v. Pink has 4 sprouts so far out of 24 seeds planted. That's a start. I'm feeling very optimistic at this point. Hope it just keeps on getting better and better.

I do believe that 2 of the larkspur have broken ground. They are little tiny so they are very hard to see but I did see them. I hope they make it. I still haven't seen a sprout of the regular malva but it will happen sooner or later lol. I haven't gotten around to planting the par-cel which is next on my list but I'll get there. I started alittle early I think because I didn't understand the last frost date stuff. But I have a handle on it now. I love this website it teaches me so much.

That is great tk...it is so rewarding when those little seedlings poke their heads up!

I haven't started any seeds yet (Well, not on purpose anyway), but am planning to get on that this weekend. I want to get some of the longer germinating things started, like Bells of Ireland & Columbine.

I also have seeds from a pretty little Lilac Mist Callalilly & some Western Blue Flag Iris that I should have planted last year, I think, but I want to see if they'll still grow... I'm not sure how long those seeds are good for, so I hope they do something. (I harvested the seeds at the end of the 2004 growing season, but knew even less about flowers then, than I do now... which still doesn't feel like much, but I'm with Tammy in that this site has so much to offer, if a person wants to learn!)

We don't see a lot of sunshine here before March, as a rule, & I don't have a really good light system set up (just a bank of regular fluorescents), so I don't want to start things yet, that are going to come up fast & get too spindly before hardening-off time.

When I was getting seeds ready to send Triss & Fernie on Monday, I was really wondering if what I thought were seeds, really are seeds, so I tossed about 5 of the paper-thin grey "spots" from a Crystal White Zinnia into the water, where I'm rooting an Avacado seed. (I thought to myself, "wouldn't it just be awful if these things don't turn out to be seeds? I'll just see if these little specks do anything in the water, so I can brace myself for Triss to tell me later, "Hey Patty, those Zinnia seeds you sent, don't seem to be any good!") Well, today when I was cleaning off the window sill, I noticed 5 little sprouts in the cup where the Avacado seed is!

Congrats on your sprouts. Are you going to direct sow the bells and columbine? They both require pre-chilling right?

I have one sprout in the regular malva this morning but still nothing from the larkspur not that it doesn't have plenty of time yet to come up. I just love to see them.

No, I'm not direct-sowing the Bells & Columbine, cuz I've read that they might take quite a while to germinate. Yes, both seeds require stratification, & if I'm not mistaken, I think the Bells seeds also benefit from scarification, so I'll try sand-papering some of them (lightly) & marking my seed trays, to see if that makes any diff.

Both of those seeds also need light exposure to germinate... I think that was my prob last year when it took so darned long before any of my Bells did anything!

Must remember to keep the surface moist, so I'll either cover them with clear wrap, or arrange my Peat Pots in 1 of the see-thru' store-bought cake covers that I've saved. (I punch holes near the bottom for ventilation, so the soil doesn't get mildewy, & will take them out of there, once... if ...they sprout.)

Soaking some White / pink Rose Mallow seeds now will put in peat cup tomorrow afternoon or Monday morning early.
Jimmy

I can't wait for all the pictures for this year. I'm expecting much better things this year with all the compost I'm adding to the clay what is already there. I'm amazed that the miniature rose is surviving. I have such high hopes for everything. I got some seed starter soil and a ph testing kit today at lowe's. Couldn't believe they actually had these things on hand this year. Last year they really messed up with this stuff. So anyway that's going to be some of my projects for next week.

I got the biggest window shelf up today. Of course that means that I missed the Baptism cause I got busy and forgot. And after assembling that I realized that I needed to harvest some more of the cinnamon basil. That's always a pleasure. And then prune the coleus that was way to big to fit in the window with the new shelf so now I have 5 good sized coleus cuttings to root. Well with the extra space I now have I will definitely have to get the par-cel out and plant a container full. I love the ticker than is counting down to spring on our main page. It just helps the time fly by. It's so great.

Thyme, Oregano, and Brussels Sprouts.



The rest of my Herbs.

wtg amigatec it's looking good to me. I wish mine were flurishing like that. I just have a couple of sprouts. But I'll get there one way or another lol.

Ok....you all are getting me in the mood to start planting something early... Have to restrain myself, I know from experience what happens if I start to early LOL and I have a calendar of events all planned out for seed starting of all of my plants, so I HAVE TO STICK TO THE SCHEDULE, or I won't have enough space to keep everything until I transplant outdoors.

Is your schedule really big or can you post it? I would so like to know what other peoples plans are. Last year I was just getting started without the benefit of anyones guidance and the results were minimal I guess you could say lol. I'm alittle worried because Loz mentioned that she lost most of her inside starts the one year she did a whole lot of them. I'm thinking I may be headed for disappointment and so of course I'm now going to worry that to death.

So far the larkspur haven't shown up in the egg carton I thought I planted them in. But in the regular Malva I have two different kinds of sprouts comming up. So either there were a lot of volunteers in that little bit of soil or I planted two different things in the same carton.

Some more of the Malva have come up and today I planted a bunch of the miniature snapdragon. I love those little things. If enough survive my attempt at growing them I think I'm going to do them in clumps where I stake the center one and then let the outside ones fall down. That will add more height and interest I think. I also think that if this works my bulb bed is going to be spectacular lol. Not that I'm excited or anything.

Tammy..Here is how I figured out my schedule: First I downloaded a Seed Starting chart here it is for veggies only and printed out 4 copies of the blank chart. The instructions are on the chart:
Calculate (your) set out date using Frost Free date for your zone, and then it gives a guide line of how many days to add to that for safe to set out guidelines. Then you subtract weeks from sowing for each set out date and you have your seed starting schedule. I had always just done this same sort of thing on paper and had a rough guide line, and that works, but sometimes you get more going then you have room for and in my limited space I need to be able to have the proper light space available at the right times. Ok now you are totally confused I am sure, but once you look at the chart you will see what I mean. I also printed out some calendar pages and added each start time and set out time to the calendar pages for quick reference. Most of my seeds will be germinated at around 70 degrees unless they require something different, but most things will sprout at that temp. So as my ticker indicates...The first start date will be March 3 for me...so the end of February I will clean and sterilize everything and get all my lights and etc set up. I calculate I am in zone 6b-7a...so I go with the 6b since I am on the line of the two zones to be safe.

Tomatoes Start: Mar 3-17 & Mar 10-24 This will give me a set out date of April 28-May 5
Peppers Start: Mar 10-24 This will give set out date May 5
Melons Start: Mar 27-April 3 with set out date May 10-24
Cukes start: Mar 31-April 17 with set out date April 28-May 5
Squash start: April 8-15 & April 17-24 with set out date of April 30-May 14
The rest of my veggies will be direct sowed. All of the flowers will be worked in around veggie start times as will the herbs also.

That's really cool. I have a chart from the gift I was given for christmas. So I've been doing pretty much the same thing except not giving 2 week safety margine for the frost. I'll know better next year. I've been sterilizing my pots and tools as I go. that way I don't have a whole bunch to do all at one time. I am easily overwhelmed lol. Thank you for taking the time to explain your system to me. That's going to help alot when I talk to Jenny.

Well I finally did it. I planted the par-cel. It's a hybred between parsley and celery. We'll see how it does as a houseplant. I have a couple of seeds left of it so I'm going to add it to my seed exchange list. I have some other things to add also.

That will be interesting to see how your par-cel turns out..Be sure to keep us updated on that.

Will do comfrey. I'm looking forward to that one myself. It's suppose to look like parsley but taste like celery. That would be cool.

I thought I had already mentioned that I planted a yellow onion the other day; but, I don't see the post. Oh well, I did plant one. I hope to grow it indoors and have it flower. Then I'll have seeds to start some much later in the year. I would love to have onions in my garden. I love onions.

Do you have a pregnant onion? Seems like I remember someone saying they had one growing??? My mom says she has one and has offered me one, so when I go to visit her in February I will come back home not only African violets, but a pregnant onion also.

I started 6 varieties of tomatoes (EARLY, EARLY) and 2 varieties of onion seeds on New Years day. By Sunday morning when I left for New England, half the tomatoes were up as well as one of the onion varieties.

WTG Terry.

Nope mine isn't a pregnant onion it's a plain old grocery store bought yellow onion. But it just kept on growing in the bag and it didn't get soft so I thought what the heck. Anything that wants to grow that badly should be given a chance. Am I wonkers?

I have another nine days before my next planting frenzy lol. Then it's just trying to keep the seedlings alive until it's time to harden them off on the way to the garden.

Looks like you guys have got things together. And I'm jealous. I still don't have the energy to get started. My yard is still full of leaves. It's good to know that WalMart has out seeds. Maybe I'll get there this weekend.

I finally got all of my seeds ordered, I figured I better get that done while I still have time to wait for them to arrive. I used 4 florescent lights last year and it really wasn't enough, so I am adding 2 more lights...I know I will still need more for my plants I plan on starting. The big chore is to dig the lights out, I stored them in a shed and then put a bunch of boxes in there and now I will have to rearrange the shed to get to my lights.

I'm thinking about getting 4 foot full spectrum bulbs for my lights this year. Does anyone know how much they cost? Cindy??

I have a lot of seeds left over, but I'll still have to order some more.

Bestofour, I still have some leaves and garden cleanup chores to do also, but I'm now getting the upper hand.

Well I have more seeds than land but I have some people that are willing to let me plant in their ground so I'm in good shape for the most part. I don't know about 4 foot full spectrum lights. But I hope you find the information you are looking for. What kinds of seeds are you all planning on buying?

TK, I wish you lived close to me. You could plant your seeds in my yard. I didn't make it to WalMart. I can only do a little at a time. I don't want to overdo it and get sick again. No way!! You've been so busy. You're gonna be ready for the first spring day for sure.

It's better to go slowly when you are recovering. Relapses are worse than the first time around. I hope to be ready. I also hope that I will have enough compost that I can start the new flowerbeds as soon as the cold weather passes. Not that we've had much of it so far but some. I've removed the clay from about half of a tier that I want to plant for next year. Now I just have to work on widening and deepening it. I like the beds to be at least 18 inches deep and it's about 12 inches right now. After I do this one there is one more lower down that I hope to be able to brick in to raise to the correct height for the last tier. It's going to be so great. I look forward to the new years garden with great hope.

I lucked out and found my lights, I had moved them before putting all of those boxes in my shed, But I will be one light short, so when I go to Wal Mart this week I will get me another one. I was disappointed though we went to Home Depot and they had these cute fence sections (last fall) which I had planned to get to edge my new flower bed with, But they didn't have them anymore, so it looks like I will be hauling rocks.

Cool on getting the lights out of the shed. I always love it when a project ends up being easier than I anticipate. Sorry they didn't have the edging that you were planning to use. Maybe they will have it a little later in the year. What do you think?

Well I am hoping that it is just too early on the little fence edging I wanted, and if I start hauling rocks now even if I get the fence later I can use the rocks else where. I just ordered and got it in the mail Saturday a new book it is called "The Medicine Wheel Garden" It is based on The American Indian medicine wheel. On the back of the book it says: "It was an ancient way of creating scared space and calling forth the healing energies of nature." The front cover says: "Creating Scared Space for Healing, Celebration, and Tranquillity." I want to make one of these, the plants are all healing plants of course and will require rocks to line the paths and around the wheel shape. I haven't had enough time to read and study the book yet, but it is on the top of the list for things to do.

That sounds like a lovely way to use garden space. I would still like a knot garden on a miniature scale one of these days. But right now I'll just be glad to have a garden full of flowers this year. I'm so easy to please.

The thing I like about this medicine wheel garden is that it all healing plants, So I can have a separate space just for them. I have started reading the book and I can see this not something I am just going to be able to go out and make in one season, So I will lay out the circle and work on one section at a time. The sections are laid out in color schemes, so decideding which color to start with first will be another problem. I'll do a seed search in my boxes and see which color I have the most of.

It sounds like you have a plan. It's a nice rainy spring day here today weatherwise; and since, the yellow onion may need a cold spell before it will bloom, today seemed like the perfect day to plant it out. So that's what I just finished doing. It has some nice long white healthy roots so I'm going to assume it is possible to grow them this way. I just hope I get some seeds from it.

Woohoo!!!

Some of the mixed petunias have sprouted and a couple of the mixed miniature snapdragon. I new if I complained they'd come up just to spite me lol. But they are up and that's the main thing. I guess I ought to wonder outside and see if the onion survived. It was suppose to get good and cold last night.

Yep the yellow onion is doing good. It even has to stocks. I'm not at all sure what that means but maybe 2 flowers and 2 seedheads? That would be cool.

Sounds as if you are have lots of fun starting all of your stuff. I can't wait to get started on mine...But now as the time ticks away I am almost in a panic hoping that I can get everything together, organized and cleaned before it gets time to start my seeds.

I know what you mean. I've been organizing almost from the beginning. There is so much that that needs doing. I bring the pots up a couple of days before I plan to use them so that I can bleach them really well and rinse them so that the plants don't get any yuckies from last year. Needless to say I did actually save way to many egg cartons this year but that's ok. I'll have them for next year lol.

And getting one of those plastic drawers about 4"x6" was a really good idea. So I have the seeds alphabetized and they aren't to hard to find when it's time to plant them. And the plant profiles and germination tables are a real boon. So that I plant them at the right time in the right location and all that type of stuff. Last year I lost and then had to move a bunch of stuff because I put it in the wrong place. I didn't even know where the sunny and shady parts of the lawn were. And I've lived here for several years lol. Well Good luck getting everything organized. 2 more days and I start planting the 8 to 10 week stuff. I can't wait of course. I still haven't seen one impatient come up. I guess I'll have to see if they have any plants this spring that I can get at the garden center. They are really hard to find because I like the double bloom impatient. The single bloom don't interest me in the least lol. Leave it to me to be hard to get along with lol.

Well I broke down and bought some seed starting trays today, and seed starting soil....and of course I just had to buy some seeds--not as if I need them or anything, I just really wanted them!

Red hot pokers, Seashell Cosmos, Love-lies-bleeding, Giant Cactus Zinnias, Red Sun Sunflowers, and Double Sun Gold Sunflowers.

I can't wait.....I have a little longer, but I'm starting to get excited now!

Loz, did you go to WalMart? I'm going to try to get out tomorrow and find some seeds. We really need a cold snap. Some of my plants, like the peones need cold to get started. It was 60 degrees today.

Wish you guys lived close to me.

Yep good old Walmart.....some are Burpee brand, some are Walamrt Gardens brand....97 cents a pack....I could've stood there looking at them for an hour if I were alone, but I had Mark with me so I had to do a quick grab and go.

I wish we were all closer too...We should all open a little town, with all of us living in it. I bet it would be the most beautiful town in the entire country!

I despise going to the WalMart here so I'm going to hit some of the hardware stores in the morning. Buy me up some seeds.

Hey all, I planted a bunch of love lies bleeding today and also some cinnamon basil. I hope they both sprout. I was going to hold off until Monday but "the nosey neighbor" came over and wanted to try sprouting them in his window since I am sprouting them in mine. So I prepared an egg carton for him and put the love lies bleeding in that for him. Then he put up two plant hooks for me. Hopefully they don't fall out of the wall on me anytime soon lol. The cinnamon basil I couldn't resist. I have two matching pots and have my one cinnamon basil in one so I pulled out the other one and planted more of the cinnamon basil in the other one.

The Wal Mart seed is from Ferry Morse, so that should be good seed. I also looked at the seeds at Wal Mart Thursday and picked up a couple of packs and them put them back....I already have more seeds then I can possible plant. I got my first batch of three seed orders today in the mail, so I getting more and more excited everyday. Tammy what I usually do is spend all of one afternoon cleaning all of my pots, trays etc. I fill the bathtub with hot water pour in a little bleach and put some in to soak and then come back and scrub them and rinse and then add some more...It really turns into an all day affair before it's over...And my bathtub turns really white and clean.

Add me to the starting seeds bandwagon. I got the stuff I need to start them tomorrow. I will be starting 12 varieties of hibiscus, 6 of each in a 72 pot seed starter kit. I will also be starting some herbs though I have not figured out which ones or in what quantity.

Ha! Broccoli - I planted them about 4 days ago and put them in the window - one sprouted!

WTG Carly, Triss, and Comfrey,

My nosey neighbor has decided that he doesn't want to garden he just wants to have plants lol. So he brought me a huge bag of Miracle Gro and lots of little pots of different designs. So I'm set for indoor stuff permanently I think.

Tomorrow I'll be starting a bunch of seeds. I should probably moisten the starter soil today it's hard to keep moist in the beginning. Maybe I'll do that a little later.

Good news Carly, 4 days is a fast turn around!

Good luck with your starts tomorrow Tammy, what are you getting going?

Hi everyone

i have never started my seeds this early but i think i am going to give it a try this year.
i am not sure yet what, but i think some marigolds and verbena.
we have barely had a winter here but it seems to have gone on forever, one day we have green grass and the next we are shoveling and its -20, so as you can tell this is the reason i am getting anxious.
happy gardening everyone
Penny

Pennie I think it's to early with you being in Ontario. Unless you have some stuff that requires planting 12 weeks before last frost. For me tomorrow will be 8 weeks before last frost date in my area which is why it's a big planter.

You know I've been planning on pulling out the list and getting the seeds out in case there are any soakers in there but I took a nap instead lol.

Ok here is the list for tomorrow:

How about 6 different types of celosia
Physalis franchetii 'Chinese Lanterns'
Orange Flamebush
Heuchera 'americana' and 'Ruby Bells'

I don't know why but I was thinking there were a lot more than this for the 8 week mark. Me and my pour memory lol. Well wish me luck all the same please.

Good luck Tammy. I got sweet basil, cinnamon basil and varigated green and purple basil startedso far this morning.

Good luck with your basils. Other than italian food what else do you use your sweet basil for? Just curious.

Spaghetti, salads, and pesto. Then dried I use it to cook all kinds of things, it is great on chicken and pork.

i use a small tupperwear contaner and place my seeds between layers of paper towels....72 hours @ 65-70 degress and i get little sprouts to put in the contaners.
i have a few marigolds started in a quick hydroponic set up they already have their
second set of leaves...started jan 7

I started some Geranium Red Elite Hybrid this week, they are already popping up out of the soil. Will be moving them to the grow lights soon. I have Dahlias, Zinnias, Petunias, tomatoes, kale, and squash to plant later on.

I have to get more supplies and set up the grow light under the bathroom sink. Then I can start all my flowers and the rest of my herbs. I want to do things in stages so I do not run out of space.

Muyhan please expand on your set up. It sounds really interesting.

Hi ironsides WTG with the Geranium Red Elite Hybrid. What kind of squash? Does it have time to get big in your zone if you wait?

Triss I think the running out of space is a given lol. I am going to be out of space as soon as the eight week-ers are started. Everything else will have to be started outside or the real warm weather ones I'll start inside after these early inside plants go outside for hardening.

I have a plan tammy. I am using the top of the fridge for the initial seed starting for the warmth. then under the bathroom sink they will go, under lights, to grow, then the first stage of hardening will be on the bathroom counter, then to the back porch where I will be building them a "greenhouse" of sorts with a bookshelf and some plexiglass.

I figure the first set that is on the fridge now will be there two weeks, I can put 2-3 sets in the bathroom for 4 weeks each, 2-4 weeks on the counter adn then outside. By that time it will be plenty warm for them to be out there.

I started geraniums from seed and they are coming up already. I had good success last year with them for the first time. i would show the pictures, but don't know how to do it here.

Ironside, sent you a PM...

Ironside, I saved quite a few geranium seeds but I was told they did not grow true from seed. How was your experience with that? Would love to see pics so I hope Weezie's PM helps with that.

I bought a new shelf it is like a bakers rack and very sturdy..It has wire type shelves and I thought that it would give me some extra growing space. LOL I don't think any of us could ever have the amount of space we need, the more space we have the more we need to plant

Sounds great! I wish I had space in the house for something like that. I am gonna put shelves on the porch to harden off stuff, but that is the only space I hav for shelves.

Tammy, I haven't done my seed inventory yet, but I know I'll need 2 or 3 varieties of corn and some lima beans and some Eclipse and Caselode peas as well as eggplant seeds and some Wins All tomato seeds.

That sounds like a good start on your victory garden. I'm short bush beans for mine but I think they will have to wait until next year. I really need to get the soil a little more broken down and find a way to water before I plant the number of bush beans I would want.

Hi Everyone

I got the gardening bug and started some seeds on the weekend. I planted geraniums, lobelia, marigolds and wave petunia's, as well as some tomato plants . I would like to plant a couple of more things but i will wait and see how these go over the next few days, i have cats who love the windows, although they are all enclosed, so here's hoping Penny

Cats and seedlings usually aren't a very good mix but you might get lucky. I hope so anyway. That sounds like a really good start on your garden. I wish you the best.

That is so true!

i agree,
but you're right, we never have enough room to start them inside do we
Happy Gardening Everyone Penny

I found the room last year to grow many but when it was time to harden them off...what a pain transferring them up and down the stairs!!! I have to find the room closer to the door this year!!
I'm making the trip to Walmart today for the seeds I need. I made a list and I promised myself I'd only buy what's on the list!! Yeah right!!!
I've already drawn a map of my yard where everything new will be going. I just can't wait!!!

Christina, isn't that one of the best parts? Going to buy the seeds...I just love it! I tend to like more unusual flowers that Walmart doesn't offer...and flowers that I can't always afford to buy at the nursery, so seed starting is the way to go....

Let us know what you pick up okay?

thats what i did was buy only on my list (lol) and i still came home with more, and i am sure before long i will be back getting more
i am sure once i see them growing i will be off to get more, so far so good with the kitties, Penny

Oh I am excited today. I checked my seeds and to my amazement the Cinnamon basil is already starting to peek up out of the soil. YEAH!!!

Lucky lucky Triss, WTG. I love cinnamon basil. I bet I've already mentioned that about a million times right?

Today I only started one seed but I'm really hoping that it goes well. It's a Woodrose and they are fantastic seedpods. It needs 80 degree temperatures so I have it in the kitchen in a terrarium covered with plastic. I have fingers and toes crossed on this one because I only have 3 seeds total. The seeds seem to have a furry soft velvety type coat on them and they are satiny looking. Very pretty and unusual. Wish me lots and lots of luck with this please. I so want it to grow.

The first of my replanted tomato seedlings came up yesterday. There was no sign of my peppers yet, but they take longer. I couldn't stand it though, so this morning, I dug around and did find one pepper variety that was just starting to germinate.

Oh I hope it grows for you Tammy! Good luck!

And Terry, I am eager to get my peppers going. Have to get the bail off the top of the fridge first in a couple of weeks though.

I have received all of my seed orders now...and I sorted and resorted and made list and made more list of what I am growing from all of the seed i have, mainly the hard part is the flower list....There are so many I want to grow and I have space for a limited amount outdoors, unless I want to build another new flower bed...Which I am sure I won't have the time for. The veggies are my priority and that will be a full time job in the beginning. If this new shelf I bought works out the way I am thinking it will, I am going to buy at least two more for next year...maybe three if I can swing.

I know what you mean about the flowers. I'm going for a specimen type garden but even with just a few of each kind I'm going to be out of space before I am out of seeds. Right now I am working on what I can overplant. Like the miniature snapdragons, impatient and chinese houses. These will go on top of the bulb beds and fill in before and after the bulbs bloom. Other things aren't going to be nearly so easy to figure out. I transplanted the lillies and the canna over by the drain spout where they will get afternoon sun rather than all day. I'm hoping they will put up with that.

After that I'm pretty well overwhelmed. And haven't been able to plan anything to my satisfaction in spite of trying and getting lots of help from other members.

Oh I forgot I planted my wild garlic bulblets today woohoo. I love garlic so this is going to be great. It means I'll have some late this year and some next year. So I think I'm set woohoo.

Some stuff has started to come up today. Two Cinnamon Basil, one Chinese Lanterns and one of the Orange Flamebush the coral bells are still working on it and I may have killed them. Today when I looked at their planter it was totally dry. These egg cartons really soak up the water and then get rid of it. I guess I'm going to have to work on better tenting for them. That or make humidity trays to float them on.

Hi All.

Well i went and bought more seeds I wasnt going to but i couldnt resist .
I have bought some new ones and was wondering if anyone has ever tried them, "scarlet runner(flower bean) and "chilean glory vine" and the last is :nemophilla or penny black.
I planted them last night and have never tried them but they looked great on the package.
Happy Gardening all
Penny

Have never tried those Penny.

My stuff is starting to come up too Tammy. Here is a pic of my baby hibiscus.

and of my sweet basil

Here's a suggestion with the egg cartons, I am assuming you are using the cardboard type. Take a plastic bag and sit the carton down into the bag, so they don't dry out as quickly. That is one reason I don't like those peat pots things is that they dry out to quick and also they are suppose to break down, but I have found large pieces of them in the ground after tearing them and planting the whole thing.

That's Great Triss
Are the hibiscus all the same color or different colors???

Eack of the 6-packs is a different one. I have Rose of Sharon: lavendar with red center, pink hibiscus, lemon eyes rose mallow, pink and white hardy hibiscus, white hibiscus with pink center, pink hardy hibuscus, Rose of Sharon: white with red center and mixed ones, and Texas Star Hibiscus.

The funny thing is I thought I planted them all but I found 2 more packs today including more pink and manihot. So those will be started in the next batch of seeds.

I hope all make it and bloom for you, be sure to post pictures if they do. I had a couple sprout for me last year, but only one plant made it and I never did anything with it, so it never made it either.

Hi Triss,

That is a lot of hibiscus. What are you going to do with that many bushes. I mean they get like 6 feet high each and a couple of feet wide. Do you have bunches and bunches of room?

I overplanted the Cinnamon Basil. So now I'm going to have plants fighting one another for pot space. Hopefully they will stay sort of small until they can be planted outside. I only want to keep two of them inside. And I did the same thing with the par-cel. I guess I'll have to get a magnifing glass when I work with seeds. I can't see well enough with just glasses to avoid overplanting. Today I have another chinese lantern sprout which is way cool. I don't believe the woodrose is going to sprout. I can't keep it warm enough in the apartment. One of many reasons that I don't like this apartment is that he controls the heat rather than me. I'm waiting for the malva to sprout a second set of leaves and then I'm thinking that it will be time to transplant them into large pots. I'm thinking about making some newspaper cups for that stage of growth. Does that sound like a good idea?