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Sunday, April 6, 2014

For the Birds

 

nest material
 
Back in November, I made the holder for nest material from all free material. Before I put it out today,  I pulled thread out to give the birds the idea to collect it.
 
A picture from last year when I posed it in a tree
and brought it in until now.
 
 
view from the porch
not good

view from inside
Think I need to wash the picture window?
 
Since I want to get a picture of the birds helping themselves, I need it in a better place that is still safe for them and still where I can snap a picture.  I suppose I will play around with location this afternoon. There are plenty of places out of my view when in the house or this part of the yard.

black tulip
 
Several years ago, a black tulip emerged from the yard. I was fascinated, thinking maybe a bird deposited the seed. It came back another year. Since then, people have taken delight in the fact they were mowing it so it would never bloom.  It's about six inches tall right now. I will save it this year! I am on a tulip roll...lol.
 
Okay, maybe it is not black, but it is the darkest purple or eggplant that I have ever seen.
 

 
 
Today
April 6, 2014
5 out of six is good
 

 


 
The exbf fell on this, folding it in half. It has survived better than I thought it would.  I believe that there is another tray that fits inside, not sure. Now, to fill it up with pellets.
 
Your turn
Do you put out nesting material for birds? What do you offer them? What material do they just take from you? Have you ever seen a black tulip?
 



Homestead Tomatoes


 
18 pellets in 6 sandwich bags
Homestead Tomatoes

After midnight, I started germinating tomatoes. I had the little black tray with a clear plastic lid. But, exbf fell and crunched it. I was more concerned he lost his balance and fell backwards out of the house. I had to go help him get up. I had a floor lamp on the porch, but he could not pull up on it at the angle he was having to pull. So, I brought a floor lamp I am going to work on to replace the one that blew up. I held it far from him and pulled on it as he pulled. Even though he fussed at me, it worked. He never even said "Thank you." sigh

At any rate, the tray is probably toast. So, I got busy with what I know will work just as well. I put a towel fresh from the line on the ottoman.

a heaping Tablespoon of seeds for $.99
 
seeds in a Coke cap because I would lose them on this towel
 
 
 
love them!
 
 
 
swollen pellets
 
I did not take a picture of the pellets, but they sort of look like a checker, just a bit larger. I put them into the pie plate and kept pouring warm water in until there was only a little bit of water not absorbed. I think I had to add one more to make 6 full sandwich with three each bags.
 
 
two seeds in the one pellet
 
 

tool
 
Usually, I just get a toothpick, but I did not want to have to be coordinated enough to pick it up and keep up with it on the light colored towel. So, I remodeled a plastic fork. I used this fork tool to open up the fabric on some of the more tightly closed pellets. Then, since I was putting two seeds in each pellet, I used the fork tool to push seeds where I wanted them.

pellet on its side
 
I took this picture to show you how the pellet swells up, about 1.5 inches high.
 
Each pellet has two seeds to improve the prospect of all pellets having a tomato seedling. The place I bought these has a reputation for repackaging last year's seeds. So, two is insurance. I am hoping I might get lucky and be able to transplant the extra seedling if two germinate. We will see.
 
The basket of seedlings will go into the car to germinate until I can get the greenhouse stabilized in the yard. Seeds that take 7-10 days to germinate take only 3-4 in the car. The first year I germinated seeds in the car, all went well. The next year, I germinated later and they all fried. It just got too hot and I drove them around and parked them in the sun.
 
I think it will be 80 days to fruit. Maybe. Homestead tomatoes do well in hot weather. Most people complain their tomatoes burned up last year. Homestead tomatoes will not. I did not get these from Bonnie Plants. I am really surprised Bonnie has heirloom tomatoes!
 
With my new greenhouse, I plan to germinate more of this variety. This is what my father grew when I was a child. Now, I have to start collecting more five-gallon buckets.
 
Your turn
Have you ever grown Homestead tomatoes or eaten them? What is your favorite variety? Do you use pellets for germinating? In a  tray bought to hold pellets? In sandwich bags?
 
 
 

 



 


Saturday, April 5, 2014

Greenhouse

my little greenhouse

Today, I put together my cheap, little greenhouse. When I assemble anything, I read all the directions, lay out the pieces and count to make sure I have what the packaging says is included. Today, I read and counted. I looked at the exploded diagram. I was all set.



See the squarish thing above on the table to the left of the umbrella? Well, I put together several of those shelves and stopped dead in my tracks. That is not a shelf for this greenhouse. The tubes are the vertical supports between shelves, NOT the horizontal pieces to hold the grid shelves! Ack!

Putting the tubes into the plastic was difficult at times; taking them out was doubly difficult...sigh...so much for carefully reading directions. I finally got all the tubes out and things proceeded smoothly. However, the project became larger and less easily handled from a sitting position.

When I called exbf today, he had hit a snag with his taxes. He printed the wrong form and the library was closed when he returned for the correct form. So, I suppose my snag was less of a deal than his.

The frame went together smoothly after I disassembled it. Then, I had to dress it with the cover and zip it. However, I became overwhelmed with insecurity.

Now, what to do with it?

I know it is not warm enough for germinating seeds. But, if it were indoors in the winter it would be warm enough to germinate seeds. Now, I have to get seedlings to put in here. Will it be warm enough for seedlings? We are having 80s in the day and low 40s at night. With the bottom open, I think it will get too cold. I am going to put heavy plastic on the bottom shelf. I know this is for little plants, not seeds.

I am off the TSC to look at chicks and will put seeds in soil to germinate tonight INSIDE.

Your turn
How do you use your greenhouse? How small can the seedlings be before their covered trays can go outdoors? I have never had this in between stage of a greenhouse before.

Thursday Night Storm

my car--the target

Faced with the prospect of violent storms aka tornadoes Thursday night, I was surprised the rain was light, light enough it did not wake me. Obviously, the winds were strong but not enough to wake me. It's sad to hear of the damage elsewhere but good it did not happen here.
 
The limb above hit my car and slid or bounced off. You cannot see it, but the limb extends to my car, little limbs that catch on my clothes. The whole limb was over 15' long. There are many lurking about to target my car. The driveway is between two huge oaks and their drip
lines overlap. If I park further back, there are huge limbs back there. So, parking on the street is my best option.

The Alabama damage was limited to the lower half of the state.

And, I still wish I had chosen to go to the Blooming Festival this Saturday (today) or Sunday instead of getting the greenhouse!

Your turn
Did the storms on Thursday night affect your area? Does your car live under cover? Under trees?
 
 


Friday, April 4, 2014

Choices

April 4, 2014
 
 
Are you bored with my tulips yet? I am thrilled beyond having any sense of knowing other people are not so thrilled.


The Choices

Yesterday, I drove about 30 miles to a mystery shop. On the way, at the last turn exbf said, "Chicks for Sale" Neither of us saw the shop but the sign was at the edge of a shopping center. I did my job and we left. He suggested we eat first and then see the chicks. Good idea.  We ate using a coupon--two burgers for $3. The chicks were at Tractor Supply (TSC). The ducks and chicks were cute.

still in the box

On the way into the store I spotted greenhouses for $19.95. (I forgot to say it was marked down from $49.95) I immediately tried to haul one into the cart. Exbf picked it up when I could not.  On the way home I asked him if he thought it was a good deal like I thought. He absolutely did not. That was a downer. But, I chose to spend my money that way. sigh. He knows I don't really have anything to spare for fun.

I had already decided to attend the Blooming Festival that is about a mile from my house. Tomorrow and Sunday are the days, April 5th and 6th.  It costs $5 to park, $6 to get in. Even a small snack is $3. If you want to get into the Grotto, that is another $3. Buying a craft costs even more! I would pay to park, pay admission, and buy a small snack (maybe). That is $14 right there!

Entertainment is top notch. Several years, we had Three on a String before they became famous. They may be only famous in the South and PBS. I have forgotten the names you might remember.


A greenhouse was my choice. Now, to get it assembled! I will really miss going to the Blooming Festival. Oh, Blooming Festival is an Arts and Crafts show on the grounds of a Benedictine Monastery. Ave Maria Grotto is advertised world-wide.

UPDATE: I wished I had not bought the greenhouse so that I could have gone to the Blooming Festival tomorrow and Sunday! sigh

Your turn
What hard choices have you had to make? What did you regret? Bored with my tulips yet? LOL



Thursday, April 3, 2014

I Have Been Busy, Sort Of

 
Sedum came back after spending the winter in a pot. Above is after I pruned it. Now, three days later, it is twice as tall. But, I did not take another picture.
 
 
 
This is how it spent the winter. Notice the pretty top, brown now, but it stayed a dark reddish brown during the winter. The new foliage started turning green back in December. I have been fascinated that it survived the frigid weather we have had.
 
 
 
The sedum was in the small pot and top-heavy, so it kept falling over. To prevent that I set the pot of sedum into a large pot. It still kept falling over, so I stuffed these Styrofoam cups inside the larger pot to stabilize the smaller pot. I will put the sedum into a larger pot to solve the falling over problem and improve the aesthetics. I have no idea where those Styrofoam cups came from because I certainly did not purchase them. ???
 
tulips, April 2, 2014
 
It looks as though these bulbs spending the winter in the house in the package did not hurt them.
 
 
tulips, April 3, 2014
 
I went out at 11:00 pm tonight and took the picture above. I hope the storms tomorrow do not ruin the blooms. You know, I would rather garden at night. If I did not live with such close neighbors, I would go out and pot at night. Actually, if I had lights out there, I would work at night, anyway. Gardening they way I do it, all alone and with no noisy equipment is not a noisy endeavor. However, I do talk to the plants and dirt and pots. "How did you get so dirty?" "So, I think you need a drink of water." One neighbor has one of the lights, sodium--I think it is called. His yard is like daylight. I doubt anyone would even notice me.
 
 
Does anyone know what the plant above is called? I asked you before when it was smaller. It has this peculiar look, like an umbrella. I was in a state park, saw these plants and liked them. The guy I was with just pulled up some for me. Okay, I asked him to get them for me. I did not know that it was illegal to do so. For ten years they have emerged and die off when the weather is too warm for them. They are in the shade like they were in the forest, but it still seems that heat is the factor that makes them die. They will have a blossom underneath these petals. I am fascinated by them and cannot figure out what they are. They never get taller than about two feet or less.
 
 
So this is not much busy, you think. I have been trying to catch up on laundry and dishes since I was so ill. Plus, I had six mystery shops to do. Like I said, I make nothing off the mystery shopping once I figure in gas I use, but things are shipped free to my children. I have another post on my foray today that I will put up later.
 
At last, I feel better, just tire easily. But, my head and chest are clear even though I still have ear aches. Actually, it seems my head has not been so clear in my whole life. Yay Zyrtec and nose sprays added to my pseudoephedrine! 
 
Exbf was here today to help with a few things, so I was too tired to even eat dinner. We had a hearty salad. I ate my salad at 11 pm and followed it up with mango and strawberries. I slept from 6:30 pm until 10:30 pm. When I have a banana and a glass of milk, I will go back to bed. Predicted early morning storms will prevent me from sleeping late. Uggh!
 
I found a package with one bulb that did not get planted last fall. Sooo, I wonder if it will actually grow.
 
Your turn
What plants have you been working with lately? Are you getting any storms from the latest outbreak? Do you know the name of my mystery plant? Do you ever lose/misplace plants, seeds, bulbs? Do you talk to your plants?




 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

A Spring Giveaway from Slugmama

 
 
 
You can enter her giveaway right HERE. She is giving away a box of miscellaneous items that all of us can use, plus something she canned.