2008 seed starting (a little late start)

i finally got around to starting my seeds this year! it's been a little crazy lately...i lost my grandmother about a week and a half ago. she lived in the philippines, so my family and i were sort of scrambling to find my parents flights to manila. also, since the last time i blogged, we've added a new member to the family. my sister got a new puppy named diva. she's the cutest thing ever, but of course she needs a lot of attention and training right now. she's a miniature long-haired dachshund.

while i did recently lose my lola ("lola" means "grandmother" in tagalog), i find comfort in knowing that she is in a better place. my wonderful co-workers gave me a beautiful plant arrangment which included a peace lily, african violets, and a type of dracaena. there are a couple other plants that i'm not able to identify, so i hope to contact the florist so i can make sure they are identified - that way i can try to take care of them based on their needs. my grandma and grandpa loved gardening. when they lived with us, they spent many days setting up and caring for the vegetable garden in my parents' backyard. the garden was a labor of love for the entire family. i supposed that's where i also caught the plant bug.



while i'm a bit late in starting my seeds, the weather has been cool on and off. we had a 79 degree day and also a day in the 30s within the past couple of weeks. i truly hope that i'm not too late starting some seeds and that the seeds that i did plant are still viable. i also had a request from my dad to start a few of his seeds while he and my mom are away. here's the list:



dad's plants:

1. okra - seeds dried in the fruit (i'll try to post a photo soon) - 3 cells
2. red hot chili peppers (seeds from last year's harvest) - 3 cells
3. red bell pepper (seeds from last year's harvest) - 6 cells
4. orange bell pepper (seeds from last year's harvest) - 6 cells
5. yellow bell pepper (seeds from last year's harvest) - 6 cells
6. eggplant, oriental long purple heirloom ('05 from ygg seed exchange) - 6 cells

herbs:

1. basil, cinnamon ('05) - 6 cells
2. basil, italian large leaf ('05) - 6 cells
3. basil, sweet ('06) - 6 cells
4. dill ('05) - 6 cells
5. chamomile, german ('05) - 6 cells
6. parsley, italian flat leaf ('05) - 6 cells
   

vegetables:

1. tomato, brandywine, organic ('05) - 6 cells
2. tomato, red currant ('06) - 3 cells
3. tomato, roma, heirloom ('04) - 6 cells
4. tomato, yellow pear, heirloom ('05) - 6 cells

flowers:

1. aster, annual sea star mix ('06) - 12 cells
2. coneflower, purple ('06) - 3 cells
3. daisies, shasta (from ygg swap) - 3 cells
4. hollyhock, black, ('06)
5. marigold, french vanilla hybrid - 3 cells
6. moss rose, (from ygg swap) - 12 cells
7. zinnia, cut & come again ('06) - 3 cells
8. zinnia, giant dahlia ('04) - 4 cells
9. zinnia, cactus flowered ('04) - 3 cells

everything is currently in humidity trays under cool and warm plant lights. i also moved my cattleya orchid from the window to the lights. i have a couple incandescent lights for heat. everything is plugged into a power strip which is plugged into a timer set to turn everything on between 5a and 8p to get 15 hours of light and warmth.

have a great week, everyone! be sure to take some time out to renew.

chinese lanterns (physalis alkekengi)

happy easter! lots to do today, so just a quick photo update on the chinese lanterns for the ygg grow-a-long...

these were started from seed on april 23, 2006 under grow lights and then were moved outside on may 29, 2006.

i transplanted a few of the plants into the pot below and they came back in 2007. today, they're still outside and seem to be doing just fine.

it's important to remember that chinese lanterns are invasive (have a tendency to spread throughout the garden and beyond), so choose your location wisely and perhaps contain them in pots as show above.

palm sunday orchid show

today i attended the michigan orchid society's annual "palm sunday orchid show." there were many vendors and knowledgeable lecturers.


it's been a while since the plant bug bit me, but with signs of spring these past few days, i can't help but think of gardening and plants this time of the year. for me, it's good to have winter come around for a few months. after winter, springtime brings renewal and excitement to my gardening adventures! here are a few more photos of the beautiful orchids i saw today...for anyone who knows me, you'll be amazed that i actually held back and didn't purchase a plant today. orchids are addicting, but i need to find space for new plants!