More seedlings

More seedlings progress. The ones above are alyssum, white and pink. They are almost ready to be transplanted to their permanent place in the yard.

These are Goji Berries. It is an experiment. I extracted the seeds from dried Goji Berries. These are one year old, and I have to find a place in my yard to put them.

Coreopsis. Not sure if I already "missed the boat". I just transplanted them in the frontyard. Hopefully they will still be able to flower.

The same with the pansies. They can get very leggy when things start to get warmer here. I just transplanted them in the frontyard.

Delphiniums. I really want to see how these will do in my yard this year, if they can survive the hungry snails that live forever in my yard!

Thanks for dropping by,

Luiza

Cosmos, Zinnias, Marigolds

I started these seedlings on Feb 15. Two days later, the Cosmos were sprouting. Four days later, Zinnias and Marigolds are "joining the party" :)

In the images above, the bigger seedlings are Cosmos.

Lots of work ahead of me... I will need to transplant all the seedlings soon. I wait until they have the second set of leaves (the first true leaves set).

Luiza

Snapdragons

I am also growing Snapdragons. This one in a mixture of colors. I started them the same day that I started the tomatoes. They did take about a week to start sprouting. The seedlings are very small. Can't wait to see them flowering during the summer.

Luiza

Delphinium

Miracles happen!!! I have been trying to grow Delphiniums from seeds for more than 10 years. In all these years, I am in the cycle of try, fail, try again. I am not even sure why I keep trying. I did not try every year, but I know that I have not succeed. EVER :)

Until now.... Seedlings are popping in the little tray, as shown in the images above. I love it! They are quite small, so anything can happen.

Delphiniums... Here I go .

Luiza

Note to self - Herbs - Vegetables

Just some notes to remind me of possible plants for spring/summer.

1. High-yield Bush Bean
• Tavera
• Romano
• Lazy wife
2. Herbs
• Arugula Adagio
• Basil
• Green Ruffles
• Siam Queen
• Dill Fernleaf
• Mint Chocolate
3. Sweet Pepper
• Big Bertha (green)
• Golden Goliath (yellow)
4. Zucchini squash
• Early Prolific
5. Strawberries
• Earliglow - June bearer
• Tristar - day neutral
6. Tomatoes
• Better Boy VFN Hybrid
• disease and nematode resistance
• can weigh up to 1 lb
• Big Rainbow
• heirloom
• indet
• also known as Striped German
• may be also known as Pineapple, Flame
• yellow skin with red stripes
• can weigh up to 3 lb
• Celebrity
• det
• broad range of disease resistance
• Early Cascade Hybrid
• medium-size fruits
• clusters of 6 or more
• Polbig
• early tomato (before July 4th)
• up to 1 lb
• Sun gold
• cherry tomato
• Burpee's supersteak hybrid
• ind
• can be as big as a grapefruit
• few seeds

Note to self - Flowers

Just some notes to remind me of possible plants for spring/summer.

1. Marigolds
• Intermediate-height plant, with lots of blooms
• Lady series
• Perfection
• Discovery
• Antigua
• Inca II
• Moonstruck
2. Nasturtium
• Climbing Mixed Colors
• Whirlybird (bushy)
3. Salvia
• Salsa has the widest color range
4. Snapdragons
• Sonnet
• tall
• good flowers
5. Zinnias
• Profusion
• daisy flowered zinnias
6. Clematis
• Jackmanii
• bloom in new wood
• early summer
• Nelly Moser
• bloom in new wood
• spring
• Montana

Goji Berries

I am experimenting... trying to grow Goji Berries by seed. Well, it seems that the seeds are coming... Yay!!!!

Seedlings

I start several seeds in the beginning of March. Now they are all outside in my mini-greenhouses.

Lots of tomatoes, flowers (several zinnias). I also made several cuttings of impatiens. I will give some of the impatiens to a friend that lives in Berkeley - talk about shade!

I still have a lot of work to do. Several flowers need to be transplanted to individual pots. I start the seeds in trays - recycled from strawberries, grapes, etc. So, when the seedlings grow the first true leaf, I need to transfer them to individual pots. It is very rewarding the whole process, but it is a lot of work. You need to love plants to do that.

Thanks for visiting.

Seedlings...

I woke up with a big surprise: my domain was gone!!! The reason is a combination of all the misshapen that have happened since I created this service: google accounts cancelled wout explanation, change of phone numbers because of things that are happening in my life, etc
So, I would really appreciate if you can spread the word regarding the "change" of url to this site. I will need to come up with a new domain, so I can make life easier... in the meantime, it will work with blogspot. I am very sorry for any inconvenience. Luiza

My seedlings could not be doing better. Here are the tomatoes and the pepper that I seeded on January 29th.

Here are the Cosmos and Peony Poppy also seeded on January 29th, and the While Cosmos (the middle one) seeded on Feb 7th.

Here are the Impatiens seeded on Feb 7th.

And finally the last tomatoes that I seeded: Mortgage Lifter. I seeded on Feb 13th.

More planting...

I just planted 3 more selections (seeds).
They are:

• Impatiens Flavours Hybrid

• Impatiens Dazzler Hybrid

• Cosmos Psyche White

Thanks for dropping by.

Luiza

My Seedlings - Day 4?

I am so happy... Lots of progress already with my seedlings. Here is what is already sprouting.

Sweet Pepper

This is the pepper (the little thing pointed by the red arrow) ... I am amazed that it is sprouting so soon. May be the environment is just right!

Jubilee

The Jubilee tomatoes...

Small Yellow Tomatoes

The yellow tomatoes given by a friend (the one that most likely will not be true to the "mother")

Black Krim Tomatoes

And another good surprise (totally unexpected...): the Poppies (Giant Peony type)

Giant Peonny Poppies

I will keep you posted. I am so happy!!!

Thanks for dropping by,

Luiza

My seedlings...

It has been less than 2 days since I planted some seeds! I already have some showing their faces... Cosmos is already sprouting. I love to see Nature's miracles alive!!!!

Some of you asked me about my setup. I have a very simple setup, and it worked for me since last year. I plant the seeds in supermarket containers (Costco). These containers are from grapes and cherries (I believe). I do have a heating mat, but I do not think they are that important... Later, I will transplant the seedlings in individual pots.

Thanks for dropping by,
Luiza

Starting seeds....

Today I started to plant seeds for the summer.
Here is what I started today:
Tomatoes:

• Jubilee: Germination - 5-10 days; Maturity: 72-85 days; Indeterminate

• Black Krim : Maturity: 75; Indeterminate; Purple-Black; Mid-Season; Heirloom

• Brandywine; Maturity: 80 days; Indeterminate; Pink fruit; Heirloom

• Juliet (grape tomato) : Early Season; Fruit Weight: 1  ounces; Indeterminate; Maturity: 60  days

• Small yellow - I will call Jill's yellow tomato (Jill is my friend and she introduced me to this wonderful tomato) - ... hummm this one might be a hybrid. Should try to buy seeds.

Pepper:

• Sweet Ruby Pepper (more info: http://www.illinoissupply.com/Burpee-69661-Spanish-Pepper-Hybrid/dp/B00771SJU8 )

Flowers:

• Poppy Giant Peony

• Delphinium Fantasy

• Cosmos Gazebo

I also planted 2 roots:

• Clematis Nelly Moser

• Peony Margaret Truman

Seed Catalogs

Oh... it is that time of the year!!! I love to get the seed catalogs in the mail, and check the new seeds.
Don't get me wrong: I do go to the local nurseries and check out the plants. But the catalogs have several unusual vegetables and flowers that you will not get to buy locally, even in the seed section of the local stores.
I receive catalogs from:

• Seed Savers - the first time I ordered the catalog was 2 years ago. I started to get very interested in the Heirloom tomatoes.
• Thompson and Morgan - Talk about beautiful flowers!!! I  love this catalog. They have the most amazing seeds for flowers.
• Johnny Seeds - I started getting these after Martha Stewart mentioned in one of her shows several years ago.
• Burpee - who does not know Burpee... Unfortunately, the first time I ordered some seeds from them, I did not succeed. It could be the seed, but most likely I lack any experience at that time. I browse the tomato section a lot.
• Park Seed - love to see the flowers, and some of the special tomatoes.
• Renee's Garden - I love her seeds. I been having a very successful rate germinating them. The  Sweet Peas that I planted are from her company.

So, which catalogs to you receive? Which ones have you ordered from?

Here is a pick at some of the things I am already growing:

California Poppies

Sweet Peas

Thyme and Rosemary

Thanks,

Luiza

December Northern California - Things To Do #5 - It is never too late...

We just talked about the fall vegetable garden. There is also flowers that can be planted during the fall in this area for next spring. I am trying for several years  to grow Sweet peas. I love the flowers and their fragrance.

I forgot to plant earlier... So, I hope it is not too late to do it. I also decided to plant them in a container and transplant them. I know... I know... I read it too: Sweet peas do not like to be transplanted. I decided to try that because my rate of success with growing on site was not good. Actually, for the last three years, it was zero :-) So, what do I have to loose?

I planted the way I usually do. I take a little "bite" from the seed. The books recommend to file with paper file. I tried to file with a nail filer before, but I thought I was spending too much time doing it. So, I decided to try to take a little nip with a cuticle scissor, being careful not to damage the "green" part of the seed. After doing that, I soak the seed overnight in warm water.

I planted in one of the grape containers that I get from Costco. Here is a picture:

And here is a picture of one already showing some sign of life:

I just love to see my seedlings coming out...

Thanks for looking,
Luiza

a compass was there to get you thinking

My Volunteers - Nasturtium

I have an interesting experience growing Nasturtium. I started four years ago Nasturtium from seeds. The seeds grew, but I barely saw the plant: it was small, and had one flower! I remember that I bought some kind of mixture, may be this one - Nasturtium, Fordhook Favorites Mix. The reason I wanted this plant was to be a climber, as I have a small structure for a climber plant. I had no climber, I can tell you.

So, the year next, that is three years ago, I decided to try this kind, Nasturtium 'Princess of India'. I love the intense red of the flower. I started from seeds, and I do not even remember if I had a single flower!

Since last year, the Nasturtiums decided to come as volunteers in the same spot that I planted the seedlings three and four years ago! Don't ask me: I have no clue what happened. One reason might be because of my ex-gardener: he use to put too much herbicide (that was the reason I let him go).

Now, I have a lush, beautiful collection of Nasturtium. All sort of colors. The snails and slugs love the plant, but there are so many that I do not mind sharing with them. Even the leaves are so beautiful, and so big.

Because I do not apply anything to the plants, I can eat the flowers. I've tried, and they are a little peppery, but not much. 

This is another plant to give it a try. Do not give up: I almost did, and my garden rewarded me with lots of beautiful plants, reminding me not to give up.

Luiza