What did you do in the garden today?

[NanaK]

Oh, and I bought a silly amount of Nastursiums seeds - 8 varieties from 3 sources. I even found trailing Nastursiums at Johnny’s seeds. Nastursiums are edible, grow well, and are pretty until a hard frost.

I like nastursiums too but they do not like our heat. I have grown them early in the season but can't count on them once the heat starts. I have found planting them where they get some evening shade helps them last a bit longer. I really like the trailing types and the variety Alaska with it's variegated leaves.

Have you ever tried this company?
https://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/annuals/nasturtium.html

I've bought from them many times. They ship promptly and have $5.99 shipping. Everything I've bought from them grew very well.
They have several types and some trailing types too. The trailing one called Moonlight has yellow blooms. I really like that one.

 

[jerryse]

I'm going to try some winter sowing. Have any of you tried this?
View attachment 3730432

Yes last year. I fall sowed some wildflowers and will winter sow some more this year.

 

[WthrLady]

As someone just said, this is very like chicken math. It's plant math, and some of us get it BAD in the spring!

Plant it where you want it. Sounds obvious, but once it's there, it. is. there.

I have had a spot where it didn't get enough of a start, and didn't grow. I had another that I dug up for a friend, and last I saw, one teeny-tiny little leaf was trying to make a comeback. And that was when I really was trying to get the entire root.

I have two other comfrey "areas." One is near the driving path up the hill, and I think the roots get disturbed enough that it's not ever going to grow as well as the other area. The other one has tripled in size.

The 1000 tomato starts I do for others in the Spring don't count, do they

 

[Sally PB]

The 1000 tomato starts I do for others in the Spring don't count, do they

Nope!

 

[NanaK]

The 1000 tomato starts I do for others in the Spring don't count, do they

I think you've got it!

These 1000 tomato starts actually get 2 exemptions.
1. They are not YOUR houseplants. They belong to others!
2. They go outside. They are only inside temporarily.

Simple math.

 

[Sally PB]

I went up to the green house today. The kale sprouts are all dead. The single spinach sprout is a little bigger.

We had some sunshine today, and it was 54 degrees in there. Under the tote, it was 75.

 

[NanaK]

I went up to the green house today. The kale sprouts are all dead. The single spinach sprout is a little bigger.

We had some sunshine today, and it was 54 degrees in there. Under the tote, it was 75.

I would be tempted to start some brassicas next fall. Going into winter have some plants about half way to harvest size. Harvest leaves as they mature and see how long they will continue to grow into winter. Collards and mustards do best for me. Broccoli does okay. I have grown spinach and kale this way too.

I have to have plants up some size before we start to get freezes to have the best luck. They grow slowly when it is very cold but grow better when we have warm ups.

One year we were expecting below 10f so I just harvested everything I could. Some things still made it. They were planted in the ground not in a greenhouse.

Just a thought. I like to experiment.

 

[Smokerbill]

I put some of the native Western Columbine seeds I saved last summer into an envelope to send to my daughter in law. And I need to get the ones I have left planted outside soon, because I'm pretty sure they require cold stratification in order to germinate.

This is what they look like. Pretty cool for a roadside weed. LOL

 

[NanaK]

I put some of the native Western Columbine seeds I saved last summer into an envelope to send to my daughter in law. And I need to get the ones I have left planted outside soon, because I'm pretty sure they require cold stratification in order to germinate.

This is what they look like. Pretty cool for a roadside weed. LOL

View attachment 3730608

I have a yellow one that seems to pop back up every year. I planted some from seed several years ago but only this yellow seems to return each year. It's only one and comes up in the foxgloves. I believe I winter sowed the original seeds.

 

[Smokerbill]

I have a yellow one that seems to pop back up every year. I planted some from seed several years ago but only this yellow seems to return each year. It's only one and comes up in the foxgloves. I believe I winter sowed the original seeds.

I just read that you can do a controlled stratification of columbine seeds in the refrigerator. There are a few different methods. The one I'm going to try is planting the seeds in seed starter cells filled with seed starting mix, then keeping the cells in the fridge for 4 to 6 weeks. They're taken outside for germination when the weather is right. Sounds easy enough.