Seedlings, Birds

March 24th, I got some seeds planted.  I used Planter's Pride biodegradable pellets.   The first batch I planted weren't expanding like the ones I've used in the past, so, I looked up how long it should take for them to get the proper size, and how big that is.  I came across a February, 2010 blog post by Joan, from I'm in the Garden Today that was helpful. She's in the Seattle area, by the way.  (The first link is to the post I was referring to, the second, to her home page.  She has another post about seedlings you can see if you scroll down.)

This is second batch, planted a day or two after the first.  This photo was taken after the pellets had soaked around 30 minutes. 

 

I had noticed that the first group of pellets expanded more as I handled them while planting.  I reread Joan's post where she mentioned gently squeezing the pellets helped them expand, so I went ahead and did each one, then planted them.  I didn't worry about the tops tearing a bit.  

Here are the first two that were my first batch.  I put them on the refrigerator to germinate because I have some idea that it may be warmer there.  I'm not sure if it really is, though.  I don't use heating pads, but would consider it.

Once some of the seeds germinated, I had planned on putting them in the garden window, but decided to put them under the lights in the kitchen for awhile, because not all of the seeds were up, and it was warmer there.

I'm thinking these came up after only two days.  The Mexican Sunflower package said not to start them inside, because sunflowers don't transplant well, but I started some inside a couple years ago, and had blooms sooner than those planted in the ground last year.  The little seedlings next to them are Night Scented Stocks.

The plants on the left here are hybrid super bush tomatoes.  The ones on the right are German Red Strawberry Tomatoes.

I can't find the legend I wrote for this tray, but those are Genovese Basil plants on the left.  I've been pulling a few extras when it won't disturb the other plants, but I've also been pinching some at the bases of them.  I'll need to do it some more soon.  I prefer to only have one plant per pellet.

This morning, I went ahead and put the seedlings in the garden window, because they were starting to get a bit leggy.  I took these photos after work.  The bottom row has the Hybrid Super Bush, the next, Canary Bell Peppers, then the German Red Strawberry Tomato plants.

I'm thinking the 2 little plants coming up on the left are a pepper of some kind.  Whatever is next to the basil plants is not up yet.

The tall plants are the Mexican Sunflowers.  The American Bull Nose Peppers and Sioux Tomatoes are not up yet.  The friend from work whose Baker's Creek catalog I ordered from said his Sioux Tomatoes are not up yet, either.  I didn't get a closer photo of the stock, but they are growing.

I normally don't like to plant mixtures of seeds, because I want to know what color something is, or what kind it is when I plant it, but on a whim, got a mixture of 7 kinds of basils from Botanical Interests.  I figured when they came up, I would try to see if I could see differences in them.  So far, I can tell the darker ones are whatever red kind was in there, and some of the seedlings are larger than others.  I hope I can let them get some more leaves before thinning them out so I can smell them to see if I can tell them apart.

 We are expecting one more estimate for cutting our tree down, then we need to be making a decision this week so we can get it over with.  Brian,  the co-worker who I bought seeds with has a friend who makes spoons and things with wood.  I am hoping we can afford to hire him, if he is available, to make some spoons to give Larry's siblings and our kids, and one for ourselves from the tree, and then we would give him some of the wood if he wants it.  (Hi Bryan and Lily.)

It was supposed to get up to 50 today, but only made it to 42ish.  They say 59 for the next couple of days, then up to 66 on Sunday, with Monday back to 47.  Well, I hope my seedlings continue to grow well and don't get leggy.  I won't be able to take good bird photos now that the top shelf is back in the garden window.  Here are a few I took the other day.

I still haven't been able to get a photo of the female cardinal.  She flies off as soon as I move even the tiniest bit.  The male isn't as shy, but doesn't hang out as long as the house finches.  The chickadees have been around, too, but for some reason I didn't include any newer photos of them.

The male house finches are on the friendly side.  I sure enjoy them.  I can move around the room, and they don't fly off.

I've seen this scenario with two females eating, and a male waiting for his turn a few times.

While I'm showing birds, I'll include a few from the same day taken from other places.  Here's a male and female house finch enjoying sunflower seeds.  I'm surprised the squirrels haven't knocked it down yet.

I enjoyed watching the robin landi in a few different spots, deciding if it was going to join the squirrel, or wait until it left.  Some of these photos didn't turn out very good, and there is a new feature on my updated iphoto where you can click, "enhance" and it will turn out like the next couple of photos.  It's not great, but it's better than it was.

I haven't seen the doves around as much as usual, but probably will more now that the weather is warming up.  I made this photo larger so the flowers showed up better.

Well, it's spring, and soon we will be having lots of outdoor fun.  I hope things are going well in your homes and gardens.

Some Seedlings in the Veggie Garden

When I was taking photos for my veggie garden update, I noticed cilantro and other volunteers coming up, but had taken so many other photos, I decided to do a separate post. It has been raining since early yesterday morning, so once again, I went out in the rain after work today, and enjoyed my hunt for seedlings to photograph.

This afternoon I was trying to remember what I'd learned about whether all of the larkspur and bachelor buttons that I saw in the spring were new seedlings that waited for the right season to sprout, or if some of them were brave ones that had survived the winter. When I did a search, I found a post on a blog, How the Gardener's Workshop Garden Grows, that was quite informative. This person actually plants seeds to come up in the fall. It was stated that up to zone 6, the seedlings that come up in the fall are developing roots for spring. I am 5b, but I have a feeling some of the seedlings I have in the fall make it through to spring. I know there have been some plants survive that are grown as annuals here, such as a few daturas, and verbena bonariensis. Also, at least some of the flowers that come up, are newly sprouted, because we get more than the ones that come up in the fall.

I have a feeling the cilantro, shown in the first photo won't survive the winter, so I should use it soon.

This is larkspur, an annual. There are a number coming up.

I've had some hollyhocks that were supposed to be perennials. I'm not sure if this one is, or if it's a biennial. The ones that come up here seem to be yellow, even though the first ones I planted were blacks and reds.

This is bachelor button, an annual. It's the only one I've noticed so far.

The annual, cleome will send up lots more seedlings in the spring. I read that I should wait until spring to thin these to see which ones will survive winter.

Verbena bonariensis comes up at all times of the season.

This is a perennial sweet pea, coming up in the middle of the garden, next to some cilantro.

Once dill starts blooming, I have trouble keeping it deadheaded to prolong the season. I have been using the dill I dried, but maybe there will be enough to use some fresh before the snow flies.

I think this is catmint. If not, it could be anise hyssop.

I still have borage blooming, but some seeds evidently matured in time to start a new plant.

There are a number of young weeds enjoying the rain, as well.