Sunday, March 27, 2005

Seed Starting Part Deux

Happy Easter, everyone. My dear hubby and I are about to enjoy a little private champagne brunch, but I wanted to update you on the latest garden happenings, since readership is starting to pick up a bit and I haven't written for several days. (By the way, a Big Thanks to everyone who is linking to Can You Dig It? Please let me know if I can add your link to my ever-growing list.)

Last Sunday, I started the following seeds. The dryer technique described in my recent Suite101.com article caused some seeds to germinate in just one day! The Lemon cuke seedlings are already 3" high.

Seeds Started:

Cuke:
Lemon
White Wonder

Squash:
Round French
Zephyr
Luffa

Watermelon:
Festival F1

Cantaloupe:
Superstar

Peppers:
Caribbean Red
Super Heavyweight Hybrid
Purple Marconi
Gypsy
Nu-Mex Twilight Chile
Fish

Eggplant:
Rosa Bianca

Today, I planted a long narrow windowbox-type planter with Melody Hybrid Spinach seeds. Melody is supposed to be more heat tolerant than most other spinachs, and I'm all about heat tolerance down here in Zone 7b/8.

Although...it's a nasty 43° today with more rain than you can shake an umbrella at. It started around 5 a.m. Saturday morning and hasn't let up since. I'm sort of glad, though; I sprayed beneficial nematodes on the lawn late Friday afternoon and they are supposed to remain wet after that. Boy, are they ever!

I've gotten very lucky with the lawn treatments overall. Last weekend, I applied corn gluten meal just before a big rain, which worked out well. We then had a nice dry period for several days before I received the nematodes in the mail and had to apply them Friday (they don't last long in their little plastic packet).

Also on Friday, the chimney guys who had placed a screen over our caps to keep the birds out came out to the house again, as they had forgotten to mount my bat house like I asked. I don't think they were very happy about it, but hey. I had agreed to pay them an extra $20 just to nail the thing onto the chimney, which I think is a pretty easy task. Took 'em about 30 seconds. Anyway, the bat house is now in place -- facing east to get good morning sun -- and we'll see if I get any bats. (I'm sure the chimney guys thought I had plenty of "bats in the belfry" already).

For those who don't know, bats are a wonderful mosquito controller. I just think they're cool! Big thanks to my brother for giving me the bat house as a gift in the first place.

I've added a Gurney's link to the vendors along the side. (Don't worry, I'm going to be cleaning up that area soon...I know it looks like the online version of Gardening Las Vegas-style.) I got a Gurney's catalog in the mail yesterday advertising a big sale, but none of the sale prices were registering when I got on the site to buy some stuff today. Hmm. Will give them a day or two to get it together, I guess. Some great prices on plants in the sale, including Pink Pampass Grass or Butterfly Bushes for only $4.95 each.

Well, that's about it...I'm off to drink some bubbly and eat chocolate with my sweetie.

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