Still Raining

Day three of the monsoon season is upon us. It's been quite nice actually. It's a slow, steady drizzle with a few showers scattered here and there. It's 41 degrees. It's too cold and wet for me to get outside. So, I'm starting more tender varieties indoors.

First, I culled the plants that I started too early in late January. The zinnias have had it. Some of the rooted cuttings needed to go as well. A few Red Texas Star hibiscus seedlings looked too sad to save. I did the right thing and put them out of their misery. They'll make a nice addition to the compost pile this afternoon. I was able to keep about half of these plants.



After discussing my bottom heat contraption with another blogger over the weekend, I've decided to post some pictures of how I use it to start seeds. First, I find a container that will hold the seeds and fit within the larger container with the sand and rope lighting. I need another of the same size to use as a cover holding in the humidity until the seeds germinate. By the time all of these seeds germinate, I should be able to move the tray out to the hoophouse when the temperatures warm up next week.







In this container, I've sown sweet basil, purple ruffles basil, sage, and spearmint. These will be planted with the tomatoes and by the hammock. Basil and mint are reported to ward off mosquitoes. I'll be using pennyroyal too. The basil was sown on Thursday and have already started to germinate.



The 32 cent pack of cabbage has also germinated. It may get too warm for these before harvest, but I'll transplant them next weekend into the potager regardless of their size. Until then, they can stay in this cake container. Yes, there is some fungus. No, I'm not worried about it. I left the container closed for too long on bottom heat. I'll leave it open for a couple of days to dry out. The seedlings that don't make it weren't wanted anyway. I planted more than I can possible eat.



The cherry tomatoes are coming along slowly.





However, the other tomatoes are growing like crazy. I really need to transplant these, but I'm out of soil. I should pick up a bag today. But I am still in my pajamas.





Other indoor happenings...Datura inoxia, started from seed in late December.



Double Yellow datura stared from seed in early February.



Two rooted fig cuttings. The only survivors of 18 cuttings. I've got others in the fridge now. I'm going to be planting them out directly into the garden to see if I have better luck. Mold is a real problem rooting these indoors.



English Ivy slips were rooted for the North Bed. I plan to cover the entire side of the house with this stuff. The bed is nearly full shade and I'm not really a hydrangea fan. I rooted them with a piece of willow and a confederate rose cutting. They need to be planted out soon.





I guess that is about it. Sunday's picture was taken this morning. In my pajamas. In the middle of the street. While it was raining.



Time to get to work on the project. Today I'll be painting.

Up to my eyeballs in seedlings, plants, cuttings, and seeds.

It's 70 degrees, breezy, and sunny. A stunningly beautiful day here in NC.

I didn't feel too well this morning. Must have been all that food my parents cooked and brought last night. But I finally made it outside.

In the hoophouse, I had started my cool weather veggies. I transplanted red/green cabbage, carrots, and lettuce to the rear bed in the backyard.









Since I had the hoophouse open, I took some photos of what's inside. Not everything is actively growing. Some of these were cuttings that I rooted this past fall. There are gardenias, confederate jasmine, euonymous, roses, and privet. Some are stuck in sand or soil that I'm trying to root now like Japanese Maples, dogwood, redtwig dogwood, double mock orange, etc. There's more I know, but I didn't take the time to make a list. Instead, here are some pictures of the plants.





I have 32 Black Eyed Susans that I started from seed in October. I'm hoping they will bloom having been through a cold spell out in the hoophouse. I did the same with Shasta daisies, but they didn't all make it. I've also got 15 coreopsis "Early Sunrise" divisions from a single plant I purchased last spring. Most of these will go into the plant sale in early April. You'll notice I use plastic cups instead of nursery pots. Two reasons, I can get them locally and they don't take up as much space while providing lots of room for deep roots.







I also have plants growing inside under lights. I've got zinnia, pineapple sage, brugmansia, and other tender perennials and annuals.







I started some more seed yesterday in one of my bottom heat contraptions. This one has 1 set of 150 Christmas Lights buried in 2" of sand. I mist the sand with a spray bottle to keep the humidity level high. The lights warm the sand to just over 80 degrees. That warms the cups to about 75 degrees. I have been trying to germinate yellow datura now for 2 weeks. I think my seed have rotted at this point. I'll leave them a few more days to be sure. There are annuals like petunias and zinnia as well as a whole container of different tomatoes. I want to use the cloning machine to propagate enough plants to sell at the farmer's market this year.





I've also got rooted figs, lady banks roses, and confederate roses. These were cuttings received in trades for other plants that I have/had. It still amazes me that I can stick a twig in dirt and have it grow into a new plant within a few weeks. The areochamber will get a nice workout this summer propagating softwood cuttings.







baby figs!



I can already see and taste the fruits of my labor. Spring is just around the corner.

Starting seeds and transplanting

It's 36 degrees and sunny. Yes, sunny. Finally. It was 28 overnight with a high in the mid 50s forecast.

I sowed some seeds on the bottom heat contraption this morning. Yvonne's salvia, double yellow datura, buddelia 'white profusion', and an impatien mix I got from a trade. I'm starting these early so that I can use the aerochamber to propagate more in the spring. Some may be sold in the plant sale this year. Others will be used to fill in the bare spots between perennials that won't bloom their first year.

I'm also transplanting some of the willow that's been sitting in a glass with water for the past few days. The roots are large enough to move to soil on 4 or 5 of the cuttings. I want to get them into soil sooner rather than later to avoid transplant shock.

The rest of the day is up for grabs. I need to work on a cover letter for a job I intend to apply for early in the morning. I need to feed the compost bin and might even turn it over. I also want to transplant some of the cool weather crops like cabbage that have germinated in the hoophouse.

Two cups of coffee down and I'm thinking I need another. Still waiting on answers from the new client regarding his project. He's waiting on the higher-ups. In any case, I intend to put my hands in some outdoor dirt today.

January 28, 1986

It was a cool, crisp day and I was in the 8th grade. It was Earth Science class and all the students were watching as the first teacher headed into space. Obviously, there was a major malfunction as 7 NASA astronauts "slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God."



That night, President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation during what would have been his State of the Union Address.



That was 23 years ago.

Today it's 52 and foggy. Rain likely. I'm working through drawings from a new client trying to put together pricing and a schedule for a new project.



12:20pm - Three days ago I started some Red Texas Star hibiscus seeds on my homemade bottom heat contraption. Today I found at least a dozen seeds that had germinated. I moved 10 of them to individual containers. I want to raise these from seed and clone as many as I can. The Cherry Brandy Rudbeckia I started last week has disappointed me. Only one of 6 seeds germinated.

A Day Full of Possibilities

Yesterday afternoon, I spent over two hours on the phone catching up with a friend I haven't seen since Halloween. I may have implied that I was possibly considering maybe starting the renovation of my dining room this morning. It's still an option, but I'm thinking that won't happen today. I still have a lot of little projects that I started between cleaning the basement and reorganizing the kitchen that ought to be wrapped up first. Let's not even mention the bathroom molding and two pieces of tile that I still haven't gotten around to, four full weeks after the room was "finished".

Another night of NyQuil and I slept like a log. I woke up this morning feeling like myself again. There's a little crud in the chest, but the cold appears to be last week's news.

Speaking of little projects, I decided to move my propagation rack in the basement. It's a simple metal shelf that holds my chambers and my new aero chamber. I've also got a holding area for plants that have been taken out of the chambers but need some rest before heading out to the hoophouse. In the new location, I was able to add another light hanging from the floor joists above for the top shelf. I'll use this as my seed starting shelf in a couple months to get a jump on spring planting.

Seed starting, for many flowers and some veggies, requires heat. My basement is usually between 60 and 70 degrees depending on how often I reload the wood heater. I haven't been downstairs this morning so the temperature is probably on the lower end of the scale. I needed a way to keep my seeds warm and give them the proper temperature to ensure germination. Based on a technique I found online, I used some items I already had here at the cottage to create some cheap, yet effective, bottom heat.

First, I found a large enough container to hold 3 nursery flats and several smaller pots.



I cleaned it out and filled it with a layer of sand from my parent's yard. It's free sand and was cleaned by pouring boiling water over it. I let it sit until it was cool enough to work with. It didn't take long on the cold concrete floor. Then I arranged an 18' section of OUTDOOR GRADE rope lighting across the soil trying to keep the spacing even.



Since the rope lighting is flexible and tends to move around, I used aluminum wire to tie it together in a few places.



I added the rest of the sand to cover the rope lighting. About 2" above and below the coil should protect it from any possible damage. I used the trowel I had bought for the bathroom grout to smooth the sand into a uniform layer that's about 4" thick.



With my moment of zen completed, I moved the container to my propagation rack and plugged it in. Well, now I have to dig into the sand to make sure my rope lighting is actually working since this stuff is fragile and the wiring inside can break if it's bent in too tight a curve. I should have done this before I smoothed my sand, but I was too focused on all those little grooves the trowel was leaving.



I smoothed everything out again. Plugged in, it should take a day or so to reach optimum temperature.



If it's not warm enough, I can always cover it with a second container of the same size and add a set of 50 Christmas lights I used on my tree this year. The color won't matter since the heat is the purpose of the lights. Hopefully, I'll only need the rope lighting so there's more room for containers. I'll have to monitor the temperature through the use of an oven thermometer. You can usually pick one up at a dollar store for cheap. If it rusts, don't worry. You're not using it to cook.

The possibilities for this container are endless. I can use it now to continue my hardwood cuttings. I put them in a separate smaller container using a larger grade sand. I've already started mock orange, saucer magnolia, lavender crepe myrtle, flowering quince, and a few random cuttings from other plants in the yard.

Now, what to do today?

It's 39 degrees, overcast, foggy, and not a good day for me to be outside. I do need to sneak out to collect some more firewood at some point. Maybe I'll clean off my desk. I'm going to start by washing dishes. But first, I need to finish my coffee.

1:46pm: 50 degrees, sunny, the basement has been reorganized, again, but still isn't finished. What's for lunch?