Category Archives: Gardening

Another Try at Winter Sowing…

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Last year, I attempted winter sowing for the first time… and I wasn’t successful.

Winter Sown

The plants either didn’t germinate, or germinated then died, or was baked in the small container.

I wasn’t planning on winter sowing again, but I happen to stumble upon the journal entry “My First Winter Sowing” by HollyBee on Folia. She used a large translucent container and placed 24 square 3 1/2 inch square pots… which are similar to the pots I used a couple years ago for my overwintering Coleus. I think I’ll copy her method and plant my flower seeds this way.

I also found a photo by pestee35 on Flickr using a similar method.

February Bloom Day…

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February 15 is February Bloom Day, so I went through our garden and photographed all the plants in bloom. Despite the winter cold, I was surprised how many flowers when have in mid-February.

You can also view the photos individually on my “February 2011 Bloom Day” Flickr set.

Firecracker Begonia + Horseradish Update + Sowing a Bunch of Seeds…

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The Firecracker Begonia Folia that I sowed on Feb. 8 finally sprouted this weekend, even though I doubted that they would. They are so tiny and there are so many of them!!!

Sprouting Firecracker Begonia

Compare the sprouts to the tip of a pen.

The Horseradish Folia sprout that I found on Feb. 5 has sprouted roots. I’ll plant it in soil and slowly harden it off to go outdoor.

Rooted Horseradish

Finally, I sowed a bunch of seeds this evening.

Sown Seeds

They include:
– Tomato ‘Brandywine Red’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘Copia’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘Azoycha Yellow Russian’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘San Marzano’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘Hippy Zebra’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘Hawaiian Pineapple’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘Speckle Red Roma’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘Vntage Wine’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘Red Zebra’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘Red Pear’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato Tree
– Pepper (Sweet Mini Red G2/2007)
– Pepper (Sweet Mini Orange G2/2008)
– Pepper (Trader Joe’s Sweet Long Red G2/2010) Folia
– Butter Daisy Folia
– Cerinthe ‘Purple Bells’ Folia
– Larkspur ‘Giant Imperial Mix’
– Alyssum ‘Easter Bonnet Deep Rose’ Folia
– Bells of Ireland
– Tweedia caerulea (G2/2007) Folia
– Nasturtium ‘Alaska Mix’ (G2/2010) Folia
– Datura metal ‘Golden Queen’
– Datura metal ‘Purple Queen’ Folia
– Starfruit
– Tidy Tips (G2/2010) Folia
– Tomato ‘Woodle Orange’ Folia
– Pepper ‘Golden Marconi (G2/2010)’ Folia

2010 Fairfield Tomato Festival…

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Photos taken at the Fairfield Tomato Festival on August 15, 2010.

You can also view photos on my “Fairfield Tomato Festival” set on Flickr.

Mid January 2011 Blooms…

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Folia, a garden organization website, started giving badges for different accomplishments. One is a Bloom Day Badge which they give out monthly (on the 15th) when you post a blooming milestone with a photo in your Folia gardening journal… so I thought I would participate and also make Mid-month Blooms blog entry a regular feature on my blog.

I know it’s a month late, but here are all the plants that were in bloom last month.

Borage
Borage Folia

Cymbidium Orchid
Cymbidium Folia

You can also view the photos in the Flickr photoset “Mid Jan 2011 Blooms“.

Nicking the Pawpaw seed…

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I checked the Pawpaw seed that’s in the refrigerator and it was still rock hard and has not swelled from the moisture… so I decided to nick the edge of the seed so the moisture can reach the core and soften the shell.

Grafting 2011 Batch 1

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Our Japanese Plum (near the storage) is starting to bloom, so I started grafting some of the Japanese Plum and Apricot scion, which I believe are compatible to Japanese Plum.

– Graft 2011-01 Plum ‘Inca’ scion grafted onto Japanese Plum (near storage)
– Graft 2011-02 Plum ‘Inca’ scion grafted onto Japanese Plum (near storage)
– Graft 2011-03 Sierra Plum scion grafted onto Japanese Plum (near storage)
– Graft 2011-04 Sierra Plum scion grafted onto Japanese Plum (near storage)
– Graft 2011-05 Apricot ‘Large Early Montgamet’ scion grafted onto Apricot

Plum 'Inca' Graft

Apricot 'Large Early Montgamet' Graft

Found Horseradish + Pawpaw Stratification…

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I saw several Horseradish roots at a local grocery store and some had sprouts growing out of it. There were several sprouts broken off and I had to save this one. I hope it’ll grow, so I placed it in a little bit of water to try to get it to root.

Horseradish Sprout

I placed the Pawpaw seed I want to grow into moist sphagnum moss… which I then placed in a plastic bag and poked several small holes on top. I’ll refridgerate this for some time before I’ll grow it. I read that it must receive a 90 to 120 day stratification.

Pawpaw Weed Stratification