Seed Lists and mutual advice swap

[Opsa]

I'm in Plant Zone 7 and have the following seeds I hope to sow this season:

1) Marigolds (saved seed from last year)

2) Sweet Red Pepper- organic seed source

3) Luffa Sponge Vine- " " "

4) Four o'clocks (seeds given to me by a friend)

5) Sacred Tobacco (Nicotania rustica- not for recreational use!) organic

6) Flowering Tobacco (Nicotania Alata- for scent and color) organic

7) Golden poppies (Eschscholzia californica) organic

8 ) Bloomsdale Long standing Spinach- organic

9) Lettuce Burpee Bib

10) Tomato Large Red Cherry

11) Sweet Green Pepper

12) Pea Alaska

13) Radish Sparkler White Tip

14) Sweet Corn- early Golden Bantam

15) Carrot- Nantes Coreless

16) Onion- White Lisbon bunching

17) Pole Beans- Kentucky Wonder

18) Zinnias- Dahlia Flower mixed

19) Artemesia ludoviciana- Old Man Sage

20) Mullein- Verbascum thapsus

Ambitious, aint it? Especially the corn, which I haven't got much room for, but decided to play with, anyway.

I don't have a lot of experience with vegetables, but have grown some lettuce, peppers and tomatoes before. I'm tring this now because the store salads have become so expensive and I don't know where they come from.

I also have several Native American ceremonial plant seeds because I am trying a Four Winds garden and want to have some plants in with the veggies as representatives of the indigenous philosophies.

I'm going to be starting some peppers, spinach, tomato seeds indoors early so I'll have a chance to harvest them before the earm weather wears out.  I'll also be starting some Native American ceremonial plants inside because I am so unfamiliar with their seedlings that I want to be sure what not to pull later.

The spinach, lettuce, pea, radish and onion seeds will be sown outside in April, as I understand that they like cooler weather to germinate.

What're you sowing this year?

[anthrobabe]

tomatos
cucumbers
squash (both yellow crookneck and zuchini)
peas (all kinds)
green beans
sunflowers
radish
that's probably it for now--- don't have time to really keep up a garden right now

I'm going to put out the datura from Arizona(and hope no one recognizes it and steals it)- we've always called is 'sacred datura' it causes visions-- but is poison in the hands of idiots who are just trying to get a high. I've never taken it myself-- just something special and connects me to home and the past.

has anyone ever done ladybugs(ladybirds) via mail before? did it work ---etc.

[Aggie]

So far I've planted seeds for two types of sweet peas, morning glory, wild strawberries, dill and a flower who's name has slipped my mind.   I've been supplementing south-window exposure with a grow bulb at night.  The sweet peas (one variety, the other is lagging) are getting a bit ahead of themselves, but the morning glories and dill are doing quite well.  The strawberries are so tiny! - I've never tried them from seed before and am glad I got them started nice and early.

I'm stuck to balcony-gardening, so I'm going to stay mostly to flowers and ornamentals this year.  Darlica inspired me with her morning glories last year, and I have netted in the balcony to keep the pigeons out and the vines climbing - hopefully I will get good coverage with the morning glories and sweet peas.  I will be moving out a few plants that have overwintered inside as well, and probably will pick up some bedding plants too.  I'm skipping veggies, other than maybe a hybrid Super Chili (I've had good results with them).

I have seed leftovers that I'll likely plant out directly, just to see how they compare.

[Opsa]

I usually direct sow some of the seeds I start outside, too. Sometimes they just work better that way. The netting sounds like a lovely idea.

I've never sent out for ladybugs, as we have scads of them here. They do a very good job of eating aphids, especially when the ladies are in the juvenile stage. If I see a bunch of aphids on a rosebud, I go and seek out a ladybug and put her on the rose. She will go after those little suckers like a cat after tunafish!

[anthrobabe]

I have some ladybugs-- they obviously took up residence inside over the cold months and are now coming out of hiding-- but they keep commiting suicide on the stove when I am cooking  (I suppose zoning in on heat) and I keep scooping them up and taking them and dumping them on the roses in the hopes that they get it! Very silly to see a woman in her valentines boxers carrying bugs about on a plastic spoon (they will not climb onto my hand) or a sponge and then dumping the bugs out on her plants. But I need more than the few I am able to save- hopefully some are getting out on their own as I've been leaving the kitchen window up and there is a gap they could get through. So I was thinking about getting some via mail order.

[Opsa]

If you're putting them all in the same place, maybe you'll get lucky and they'll git down and make some hungry larvae for you! (Maybe you could play them some Barry White or soemthing!)

[Darlica]

If you're putting them all in the same place, maybe you'll get lucky and they'll git down and make some hungry larvae for you! (Maybe you could play them some Barry White or soemthing!)

I'm in zone III so I have to wait until at least early April to start cultivate plants in doors or they will be ready to go out doors when it's still too cold.

I haven't got a balcony any more but I do have my mothers garden and an small greenhouse to play with.

I plan to sow.
Marigolds
Scarlet Runnerbeans (I have seeds from last year).
some sort of peas with nice flowers (instead of Sweet peas).
chilli, haven't decided what kind yet.

It's too windy for morning glory or moon flower (I would love to have moon flowers because of the fragrance) I know it will just wither and die as soon it get out side

My mother and I will probably buy some plants from a local garden mainly herbs and such, we do that every year and there's a big garden exhibition coming up in mid April they always have quite good prices on seeds and bulbs (Lillies and other summer flowers) so I plan to do some shopping then. 

I tried Mirabilis jalapa or four o'clock's some years ago I think I might try them again I would love one with broken colours.

Also,I will buy a Flowering Tobacco plant I tried to cultivate them last year but didn't succeed and I love the smell it's not summer without them.

[Opsa]

Can you grow delphinium up there, Darlica? I love delphinium but our summers are just too hot and humid for them. We can do the annual version larkspur, which are very pretty, but not those fabulous blue towers like you can grow in the north.

[anthrobabe]

I would like to try the beans (vine types) and peas on a tent like trellis this year-- to make a sort of hidey place in the beans. My grandmother would put them like this -- and then pick from the inside and out and of course it made a nice place to play as well.

I was thinking of just getting long poles-- maybe bamboo-- lots of people have it and have let it go insane in their yards (what are people thinking when they plant bamboo in their yards anyway?) and tying them at one end ala plains indian style and setting the bottoms in soil fairly deeply-- I think that is what gran always did---- she has some sort of poles she kept year after year to reuse--- knowing her they were very likely smallish lodge pole pines (very straight tree). Then I could just put some netting or even chicken wire around it for the runners to grow on.

I've got a black walnut tree in the back yard and I can't wait for it to bloom- I picked up a fair amount of nuts from last year-- the squirrels had a field day as well! They are hard to crack and don't have as much meat as an English walnut but they are so delicious.

Seed Savers Exchange  non-hybrid seed source

[Opsa]

Nice link, A! I went in and ordered their catalog.

I've been thinking about how to support my climbers, too. We have some bamboo from my Mom's Japanses garden to work with. (People who like Japaese gardens like bamboo, even if it is invasive. There are ways to contain it, but not everyone bothers.)

One year I did gourds and I put them in a small bed near our shed and leaned/tied the poles to the shed roof. That made a fun sort of tunnel along the shed wall. I may do that again, or maybe I'll do the tepees. The Opsalette would probably enjoy the tepees quite alot.

[Darlica]

Yes, we have one delphinium (at least) together with the pink Lilies.

Among the other perennial plants we have are Peony's Lilies, Lilac's, different types of Orpine's, roses, and a strawberry Philadelphus, Ivy, perennial herbs/spice among others. There are much much more but I'm not sure I know the proper names so I can't really identify them and translate to English.

[Aggie]

Does anyone know a vigorous climber that can take a bit of dryness?  It's very low humidity here and with the south-exposed balcony (plus occasional absences) I'm looking for something that will take a bit of heat and (short periods of) drought.  Also, since I'd like something to grow up my anti-pigeon netting it shouldn't mind a bit of wind (Darlica's got me worried on the morning glories; I will try to keep those closer to the wall, where it's wind-protected). It's got to be annual plants, because I don't think any perennials will keep over the winter (too hot inside, too many temperature extremes outside and extremely dry).  Otherwise I'd love some hops....

I didn't have very good luck with scarlet runners last year; they did grow for a while, but then they stopped.  Very few flowers or beans.  Could have been the wind factor.

[Opsa]

That sounds like a beautiful garden, Darlica. I had to look up "Orpine"- we call them Sedum, here.

I grow pink sedum, lots of iris and daylily varieties, golden and gooseneck loosestrife, lily-of-the-valley, Shasta daisy, daffoldil, crocus, tulip, roses, astlbe, hosta, azalea, rhododendron, mahonia, lilac, plume grass, and others in my perennial garden.

Yesterday I tilled the new raised annual beds. They still need more soil, though, which I hope to get this weekend with the help of a Home Depot gift card I got for Christmas.

Oops, posted with Aggie. I'm under the impression that most vigorous vines need plenty of water. I wouldn't worry about the morning glories in the wind, though. They should be fine, once they get a grip.

[anthrobabe]

right- should have been more clear about bamboo-- I should have said- what are they thinking if they don't plan on containment! if it is contained (my fav is a buried old bathtub with about a 3 inch lip sticking above ground and be sure all holes are positively plugged!) it is a nice addition.

I think if we get our children involved in gardening- no matter how small- it will stick with them and connect them to our earth-- making little greenies if you will. I can remeber the girls being little in their great grandmothers garden in Arizona and meeting and greeting not only growing things (like beans and cukes right off the vines) but various bugs as well and learning about how the bugs do the garden good (except grubs-- SMASH grubs). And how you can plant the pumpkins in the corn and when it's time to pick the corn the pumpkins are already growing well on their way. Ok now I'm going to have a mommy cry..... where does the time go.

Darli------ how cold does it get where you are? I would think that you have lots of tough perennials about.

Wow multi posts at once --- YEAH

[anthrobabe]

here is a link to drought tolerant vines  and here as well --- look at cardinal climber-- it is an annual that will make enough tiny seeds to keep every one you ever know in it, very vigorous and lovely as well, green feathery foliage, would look good on a balcony, will grow in pots.

whatever you do--- never ever ever ever plant or get any sort of Kudzu vine started anywhere-- I don't care what people say-- it is evil, it will get out of the pot, it will take over.