gardenblog

Clematis

Our poor little clematis, which struggled last year, has not only burst forth, but has put out buds as well! Its “bursting forth” was a little conservative — it’s still half the size of our honeysuckle — but I’m still impressed that it survived the winter at all.

We also planted another honeysuckle today, and have two more to plant tomorrow. I hope I can get them in before the cold snap this week. I haven’t been feeling well lately, so it’s been tough going gung-ho in the garden.

The other thing I did in the garden today was upgrade the climbing plants’ trellis system. I didn’t want anything too obvious, so I took heavy weight fishing line and attached it to the fence in a grid pattern using thumb tacks.

I’m also letting the poor little seedlings get some sun today. Aside from the mold problem, I think my biggest mistake with my seedlings was not getting them enough light. Next year, I should put them under a grow light. Our house is just too dark inside.

Our new outdoor coffee table is working well this weekend! It was a perfect spot to organize sprinkler parts (we also redid our DIY micro sprinklers in the backyard today), have a quick break with iced tea, and let the seedlings soak up some rays.

Arabian Mystery Tulips

The tulip bulbs I bought from Costco and planted last fall bloomed this week! They’re a variety called Arabian Mystery, a purple flower with white edges. They’re so pretty! I hope they last a long time. It’s nice waking up in the morning and seeing them on the patio outside my window. And planting time won’t be for another month or so. So, grow, tulips, grow!

Everything is blooming!

Our trees have actually been blooming since the beginning of April, but I kept forgetting to take photos. I snapped a few this morning since the blooms are quickly being replaced by greenery.

The tree in the front yard. It’s always the first tree on the block to bloom, and it blooms spectacularly! I wish I knew what kind of tree it is.

The pear tree is doing well, but it’s still a little traumatized from last fall, when the nursery representative tore off some beautiful top branches while “helping” us load it into the car to bring home. We had to clip off another six branches that were dead as doornails last weekend. Hopefully it will recover well this summer.

The tulips are finally starting to send up their purple flowers! However… aren’t they supposed to be taller? Or will that come in time? I’m wondering if I planted them too deeply or too close together.

And lastly, our new patio set! Mogul Mouse was having a patio clearance sale, so we got a pretty decent deal on it. It is so incredibly nice to sit out there in the evening watching the birds in our neighbor’s tree. We’ve been seeing a lot of finches (little birds with red breasts) and another type of bird I have yet to look up (little birds with yellow breasts). The totally awesome thing about this set is that the single chairs have a slight rocking effect. So you can kick your feet up on the coffee table and just relax. I honestly think the patio is now a more comfortable spot than our living room…

We’ve also started lawn care for the season. We started watering last week, when the city started watering the grass along South Meadows. We raked the front and back yards, dropped some fertilizer, reseeded some dead patches, and gave the backyard its first good mow.

Other random garden bits:

• The honeysuckle has started growing back with a vengeance!
• Surprisingly, the clematis, which struggled last summer, has started growing back also… albeit a bit slower than the honeysuckle.
• The birds (finches, I think) that nested in our spruce tree in the front yard are back, and have tiny little blue eggs in the nest!
• The birch tree has started putting out leaf buds
• The Japanese maple is still completely dormant… hopefully not dead.
• The Rose of Sharon is also still completely dormant.
• Our sea oats and our other ornamental grass have bits of green starting to come out.
• The spirea is getting ready to explode.
• Whatever the bushes are near the front door are also getting ready to explode.
• The leafy bush that got crushed by our landscape rock is struggling a bit but is still alive.
• The lilac is leggy but apparently ok.
• The bean seedlings are HUGE. I started them way too early! Next year, I can probably just plant them straight in the garden.
• The tomato seedlings are small but healthy, and looking more like tomato plants every day.
• The hot/bell peppers haven’t changed in weeks. Not dead, but not any bigger. Very odd.
• I planted new sunflower seedlings in newspaper pots. Loving the newspaper pots. However, the seedlings aren’t growing very straight. It’s weird. They germinate so quickly, though, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just plant them straight in the garden next year too.

Survivors

Today I did a lot of repotting! The sad part was going through my seedlings. All of the sunflowers got hit by mold. They didn’t all die, but none of them could stand up straight anymore. So in the garbage they went. I might start another batch of sunflowers this weekend and see what happens. The beans did the best, so I picked the four hardiest and planted them in bigger seedling pots, since their roots were growing out the sides of their little pots! The cherry tomatoes did almost as well as the beans, except more of them got hit by mold. I was still able to get four strong-looking ones into bigger pots, though. Then, because I wanted to be done with the damping off disease once and for all, I separated four hot peppers and two bell peppers from the herd and tossed everything that had gotten mold or that had never germinated (which included every single cucumber). The peppers are still so tiny that I didn’t want to accidentally hurt them by putting them in bigger pots. So I just stuck them in their own tray, which I pre-treated with about half an inch of water with ground cinnamon mixed in, hoping to stave off more mold.

The one thing I’m concerned about is the seed-starting soil I used. It’s so dry, and it didn’t soak up hardly any moisture. Then, the pots were really dry too. I probably should have soaked them first or something. I ended up sitting them in some water, hoping that the pots (and soil) suck it up from the bottom tonight.

The seedlings weren’t the only things that got repotted tonight. I took care of two long-overdue house plants, my spider plant and the rubber tree.

Spidey is quite a survivor herself. She’s lived through being eaten by cats and extended periods of gross neglect, and not only managed to flower, but mother two little clones of herself. One I’ve transferred between two offices, and it’s doing fantastic. The other I just planted today and stuck in an oft-neglected corner of the home office, where less hardy plants (like the second money tree that died and got thrown out this week) have met their demise. But Spidey’s got guts, so I’m hoping her tenacity will rub off on the little guy.

Last but not least, the rubber tree I got on sale at the grocery store over a year ago when I was looking for a big plant to take up space in my big, nearly empty dining room. Isn’t that a neat pot? It’s a Chinese egg pot my boyfriend’s mom gave us, one that she’s had for a really long time.  The rubber tree is simply set inside the egg pot in a plastic container. I’ve been meaning to transplant it into a bigger plastic container ever since I brought it home and never did, so I suppose it’s a sucker for neglect, too. The great thing about rubber trees is that they exude a lot of humidity for a houseplant. That does mean that you’re supposed to keep it well watered, however, which is part of why I’m so surprised that it’s not only lived, but continued to put out new leaves (which are cool looking, because they start as bright red, pepper-shaped spirals at the top of each branch of the plant). I actually have two aqua globes in there to help me remember to keep it watered… though I refill them less frequently than I should. It did suffer a little bit, though; I had to clean up quite a few dead leaves that had fallen off the tree and into the egg pot while I was in there.

In yard news, the honeysuckle is putting out shooters! It loves it out in the back yard. We also started the year’s lawn care by putting down a mulch and seed mix, and some other stuff my boyfriend got — a pellet fertilizer and something that prevents fungus and crab grass or something. I raked up all the random flotsam and jetsam that collected on our lawn this winter (leaves, bits of tumbleweed, cigarette butts from our damn neighbors, our neighbor’s trash that gets blown into our yard, and the BB pellets their kids shoot at our garage door…), got rid of all the tumbleweeds that blew in with our last storm, and swept the driveway.

Still waiting for the trees to bloom. Any day, now! Any day.

Damping Off Disease

Yup, that’s mold alright! White fuzzy patches, cuke killers, possibly sunflower assassins as well. It’s called Damping Off Disease, and it’s what happens when you let your seedlings remain too cool and moist. Over watering and lack of sunlight will cause it. Letting the seedlings dry off in some sunshine can help mitigate it. And apparently cinnamon can help cure it.

It would figure that orchid growers have a lot of uses for cinnamon, as orchids thrive in a humid, mold-friendly environment. Dust it on, apply it as a paste, spray on a liquid infused with it. And yes, food-grade cinnamon from the grocery store supposedly works just fine.

I’m about to find out how well it works, because I just dusted the hell out of the top of my seedling trays with cinnamon from my pantry. I need to sit down with the seedlings and figure out a way to get it on the sides of the peat pots, where a lot more mold is growing. I think the mold on the side of the pots is what is killing my sunflowers.

If it’s not the mold, then they’re dying off because the pots aren’t big enough. I wasn’t expecting these guys to be ready for bigger containers yet, but their roots are growing out of the bottom of the peat pots!!! Next year, I’m definitely planting the seedlings in larger pots. Probably newspaper pots, which is what I’m going to attempt to make and transplant these little guys into later this week.

Here are my babies, by the way:

The big ones are the beans. Go, beans, go!

As you can see, the beans are going freakin’ crazy. And (joy!!!) my peppers, both hot and bell, are starting to germinate too. I’m very excited about the hot pepper plants, because even though last year’s plant didn’t produce well, it was by far the prettiest thing in my garden.

In addition to planting the seeds in bigger containers next year, I also want to germinate the seeds separately and plant only one per container, so I don’t have to worry about possibly hurting one seedling to thin out its neighbor. I watched a seed germination test video on eHow, and it mentioned that you can plant the germinated seeds from your test. (The test involves placing up to 20 seeds about an inch apart on a damp paper towel, sticking it in a plastic baggie in a warm place, and checking on it every few days to see how many germinate and how many are dead.) I will also plant the seeds at least half an inch down, or cover them with a little soil, rather than sprinkle them on top of the soil and call it a day.

Actually, I will probably do all the above with my nasturtiums and cantaloupes, since I got those seeds after claiming all the real estate in my seed starting kit.

In yard news, the pear tree and whatever tree is in the front yard have buds and buds and buds! The front yard tree has, I think, two white flowers on it at the moment, which means that any day now, the whole thing will be loaded with blooms. I always get excited for it, because it’s the first tree on the block to bloom. The tulips are getting taller and pushing out more leaves. And I think I see green on the honeysuckle. I hope it’s not too late to cut the old growth back.

Mold

Well drat!! I’ve never grown these seeds before, so when I saw fuzzy stuff on the cucumber sprouts, I figured it was normal. Well, the sprouts are mostly shriveled now, so I think I lost most of my cukes.

However, the sunflowers and cherry tomatoes are doing well, and the beans look like they’re going to be ok too.

The bell peppers and hot peppers haven’t really changed at all.

Tomatos germinating

Yesterday I noticed the tomato seeds putting out roots! Just waiting on the bell peppers. And for the beans to pop up above the soil. The sunflowers are starting to put up stalks (instead of just putting down roots) so I moved the germinating sheet off of them.

I need one of those clear plastic lids like you get at the bakery to keep them warm while they start poking above the surface…

Sprouts!

I think the beans are starting to sprout, because the soil in the bean cells is always disturbed. And if it was the cats, the whole seed starter would be on the floor, so I’m inclined to blame it on the beans!

But the first real sprouting happened today!! I’m seeing signs of life in the sunflowers:

And the cucumbers are putting down roots too:

I also found Heart of Gold cantaloupe seeds at Whole Foods today. I just had to get them; along with alfalfa, Heart of Gold cantaloupes are what the local city of Fallon was founded on back in the 1800s. I don’t know whether to start them indoors now or just plant the seeds in a few weeks. The package says that they don’t really like being transplanted, although they can survive it if you plant them in peat or paper pots. They’re a short-season cantaloupe, so maybe seeds in the garden will be ok.

Seeds are so amazing. It’s hard to believe that you just add water and they start to grow. Then to keep them strong, you just need to give them water and sunshine and keep the bugs away. This process totally reminds me of when I was a kid, I wanted to see what happened if you planted bird seed. So I did. And it grew! I’m pretty sure it was all weeds (and maybe some grasses), but it was cool then, and it’s still cool now.

Starting Seeds Indoors

I hope it’s not too late! I started my seeds tonight.

I pulled out the Burpee Eco Friendly Seed Starting Kits we bought at Lowe’s or Home Depot or something last December. They include fiber planting cells, a biodegradable bamboo tray, germination sheets, some fertilizer packets, wooden plant tags and a bunch of those cool just-add-water instant dirt pellets.

After planting and watering them, I put them on the dresser in the bedroom, because it calls for a warm place that doesn’t receive direct sunlight for this part of the seeds’ journey. The bedroom is the only warm place in the house, and since they’re about 12 feet away from the window, they won’t get any direct sunlight. All they have to fight with now are the cats!

I hope the seeds sprout ok. We bought them last December too, and most of them were stamped 2009.What’s the shelf life on a seed anyway?

I did two rows each of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and green beans, then one row each of hot peppers and sunflowers. We won’t have room in our garden for all these seedlings, but maybe I can pawn them off on friends! And if I do manage to plant most of them, then maybe I can make pickles out of the cukes and green beans. I’m sure I can think of something creative for the cherry tomatoes, and we use bell peppers in a favorite family recipe. The hot peppers are supposed to be for massive amounts of salsa, and sunflowers? They’re just cool.

Of course, all these plans depend on the little seedlings, and on me getting a planter box ready for them this spring!

Go, seeds, go!

PS, On a random note, the cucumber seeds totally remind me of Harvest Moon for Gameboy for some reason. The other seeds? Not so much.

Tulips!

I look out the door, and what do I see? Tulips are sprouting back at me!

We got the bulbs from Costco and planted them last fall. They’ve been wintering pleasantly in their little container ever since.

Yes, this is the same container that we used for our “salsa garden” last year. I’m  not sure what I’m going to do with it after the tulips are through. Leave them there for next year? Pull them out and put something else in? I still would like to do a raised garden bed in our sideyard for vegetables.

Which reminds me, today I was going to (belatedly?) start some seeds indoors. The packages say to plant them outside in April, May or June (depending on which veggie you’re looking at), so maybe I’m not too late to start them indoors this week.

Also, I was excited to grab a copy of the brand-new magazine edible Reno-Tahoe yesterday at Whole Foods, where Mark Estee (of Moody’s Bistro in Truckee) was doing a cooking demo and wooing the crowd as part of Edible’s launch weekend events. They’ve got some great local folks working on the magazine, including Amanda Burden from Reno Magazine as Publisher/Editor, contributing author Jessica Santina (who I met through R-Life), and photographer Jeff Ross.

I’m particularly looking forward to reading the local farmer features in upcoming issues. It also makes me really want to go hang out in Fallon, where a lot of our local produce comes from!

Oh, I also discovered that Great Basin Basket CSA is offering “lite” shares this year. Produce for 1-2 people, and each season ranges between $20-$25 a week. There’s a pickup location option at Whole Foods too, which would be convenient for us.

I’m so excited that hibernation is finally over!!! I know it may still snow between now and the truly warm weather — in fact, I can almost guarantee it (love you, Nevada) — but gardening days are officially upon us. Yay!