Friday, March 27, 2009

Germination of new planting in 60 hours or less
















































We planted a new 72 cell of seeds on the 23rd and we checked them yesterday afternoon to discover most of the Cosmos, some of Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory Vine, English Daisy, Morning Glory Bush, and White Button Daisy had all germinated.

Adventures with Rockwool part 2
























We checked the root situation of the pepper and tomato seedlings yesterday and look what we found! We moved them from the cells to larger coir pots. The rockwool cubes made checking the roots easy and moving them to a larger container was a snap.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Seeds sown 3.23.09


Cosmos Bright Lights Blend
Impatiens
Onion- Flat of Italy
Onion- Ringmaster
Sunberry
Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory Vine
Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate
White Button Daisies
English Daisies
Globe Aramanth Strawberry Fields
Calendula Triangle Flashback
Morning Glory Bush Ensign Blend
Bunny Tail Grass
S.G. Basil
Nicotiana Sensation Blend

Progress of 3.7.09 planting



Pepper and Tomato Seedlings


Our New Plant Stand


So the DIY PVC plant stand idea didn't happen. Instead we opted for this shelving unit, which provides us with the option to expand later on with more lights, adjustable shelves, and lots of space! We decided to save time and money by biting the bullet and purchasing this stand for around $72. It will be more than worth it in the long run when our garden is producing beautiful flowers and tasty treats.

Friday, March 20, 2009

DIY light stand for starting seeds

We went through the trouble of driving to the store and purchasing a shelving unit which was MADE IN CHINA and defective, so now we must return it and we have decided to make our own light stand.

We found these plans and we are going to make two of these this weekend. We hope the materials are not too pricey. We have never purchased PVC before, so this will be an adventure. We will give you the total cost of the materials when we return from the store.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Before Last Frost Flower Planting List


Poppies, Verbena, and Hollyhocks, OH MY!

Green and Blue


Blue for water

Green for organic fertilizer

Another Tray on its Way

Look at the difference from one week ago! So many things have germinated.

Bunny Tail Grass- 3 days
Basil- 3 days
Calendula Triangle Flashback-3 days
Salvia Blue Victoria- 5 days
Globe Aramanth Strawberry Fields-
5 days (this one is our favorite seedling; so pretty!)
Lobelia Crystal Palace- 6 days
Pansy Swiss Giant Blend- 7 days

Still waiting on Rosemary, Forget-me-nots, Black-eyed Susan Vine, and few Pansies






Sunday, March 15, 2009

Thursday, March 12, 2009

The Three Sisters Technique


"A Three Sisters garden is usually a mound of soil with corn planted at the center. Beans ring the corn, and squash is planted at the edges. The corn stalks create a natural trellis for the beans to climb, while the beans fix nitrogen in the soil, which nourishes the corn. The leaves of the squash vines ramble around the mound, preventing the spread of weeds and providing shade for the shallow roots of the corn. The symbiotic interaction of the three plants allow them to produce more food using less water and fertilizer." - Earth Friendly Gardening


Information Here and Here


Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Bean Teepee

We have also purchased some scarlet runner bean seeds and instead of constructing a boring old trellis, we are considering building a bean teepee.

Create a Bean Teepee with Children

Planting a Sunflower House

One fun garden project we are looking forward to is planting a sunflower house. We have found useful information on a few different sites.

Growing a Sunflower House for Your Kids

Garden Themes for Kids

Sunflower House...a magical summer place

How to Plant Potates



We are just using some organic potatoes we bought from the store that are sprouting. Buying potatoes from seed magazines is expensive and other gardeners seem to have luck using store bought varieties that are sprouting in their pantry.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Tomatoes and Peppers

We placed two-four seeds in each hole of the rockwool cubes and so many of the seeds have germinated. Many of the holes have more than one seedling growing at a time. We did not know we would have such a high germination rate. We are not sure if we should thin seedlings now or later.

Getting our hands dirty and sowing seed


Seeds Sown Today


Pansy Swiss Giant Blend
Lobelia Crystal Palace
Globe Amaranth Strawberry Fields
Salvia Blue Victoria
Calendula Triangle Flashback
Bunny Tail Grass
Black Eyed Susan Vine
Forget-me-nots BoBo Blue
Rosemary
Sweet Genovese Basil


Friday, March 6, 2009

Germination Station


Cherry and Brandywine Tomatoes

Humidity Dome

Seedling Incubation Commenced

Adventures with Rockwool

Started a 72 cell tray with peppers and 3 different kinds of tomatoes on Monday night. We are trying rockwool cubes for our first shot at this. We soaked the rockwool in water then dropped 2-3 seeds in each pre-punched hole in each rockwool cube. We put a little water in the bottom of the large flat tray which holds the 72 cell tray for beneficial humidity. We labeled each cell with the name of the seed. We then placed the tray into the oven with the humidity dome on. We turned on the oven light, to create some moderate heat.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Seeds we have purchased

We need to narrow it down a little. We haven't decided what all we want to plant. We like having plenty of choices!


FLOWERS
Marigold (French) Dwarf Lemon Drop Seed
Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden-Gate
Trailing Nasturtium Mix
Sunflower, Giant Primrose
Sunflower, Mixture Spcs/Fms
Bobo Blue forget-me-not
Strawberry Fields globe amaranth
Mountain Snow
Triangle Flashback (OG) calendula
Scarlet Runner Bean
Outhouse Hollyhock OG
Lobelia Crystal Palace Seed
Love In A Mist Miss Jekyll Blend Seed
Black Eyed Susan Vine Seed
Morning Glory Bush Ensign Blend Seed
Daisy African Zulu Prince Seed
Morning Glory Grandpa Otts Seed
Cosmos Sensation Blend Seed
Cosmos Bright Lights Blend Seed
Alyssum Sweet Tiny Tim Seed
Alyssum Sweet Oriental Night
Salvia Blue Victoria Seed
Rudbeckia Goldsturm Seed
Zinnia Scarlet Flame
Pansy Swiss Giant Blend
Sunflower Vanilla Ice Seed

Ornamental Corn:
Corn, Japonica OG

children's garden:
Daisy White Button
Prickly Caterpillar
Grass Bunny Tails Seed
Pumpkin Sugar Pie
Sunflower Teddy Bear

Veggies:
Tomato, Brandywine (Sudduth's Strain)
Taxi (OG) tomato
Tomato Cherry Gardeners Delight
Tomato Pole San Marzano Organic
Pepper, Chervena Chushka OG
Pepper, Fatali Pepper,
Hot Portugal Pepper,
Jimmy Nardello's OGPepper,
Buran Pepper,
Orange BellPepper,
Quadrato Asti Giallo Pepper
Chile Jalapeno
Spinach, Monnopa OG,
Bean, Empress
Onion, Australian Brown
Onion (Intermediate Day) Flat of Italy Seed
Onion (Long Day) Ringmaster
Cucumber, Parade
Cucumber Armenian Seed
Cucumber Japanese Burpless Organic
Broccoli Di Cicco Organic Seed
Squash Winter Butternut Waltham
Squash Summer Straightneck Organic
Squash Summer Blk Organic Zucchini
Carrot Royal Chantenay Seed
Carrot Asian New Kuroda Seed
Carrot Baby Little Finger
Bok Choy Tatsoi

Fruits:
Goldie (OG) ground cherry
Sunberry OG,
Watermelon Ice Box Mickylee


Herbs:
Giant from Italy Parsley
Genovese Basil OG
Jantar cilantro
Rosemary

Planting and Harvesting Chart

Our Zone: ZONE 5

Designing a Vegetable Garden

This is a nice little guide.

List of Companion Plants

We are planning our Garden and have been doing a lot of research. We came across this site and are finding it to be a great guide when considering the actual layout of our garden beds.

List of Companion Plants

Another List of Companion Plants

Can Squash Cross Pollinate with Cucumbers?

True or False? Click Here