Posts under ‘dirty fingernails’

Having just given away a skosh of tomato seedlings, I’ma write up some tomato knowledge for posterity. Tomatoes need all the sunshine you can give them. They also love water, but hate to be soggy. Seedlings, in small pots, might need to be watered twice a day, but not so much they are sodden. The […]

It froze here last week. Three times. It froze here the two weeks before that, too. Tomato seedlings shouldn’t be this color, you know:   But they’re still standing, and there’s new growth, so maybe – just maybe – I won’t have to restart them…three MONTHS past the optimum starting time. Meanwhile, the Meyer lemon […]

The bathroom is just no place to start seeds. Well, the starting goes ok…it’s the growing thereafter that’s problematic. Not enough light produces leggy seedlings…all stem and very few leaves, as they try desperately to get closer to the light source. This shoves the leaves into contact with the moisture-laden ceiling of the seed tray […]

Everything (that has been started thusfar) is up except the watermelons and two of the peppers. What possessed me to start the watermelons indoors? In January??? I’m going to put it down to spring fever and leave it at that. More seeds incoming, from Local Harvest and RH Shumway. HURRY UP!!

That’s how long it takes to sprout seeds with a bottom-heating seedling mat: Those are several tomatoes and a cantaloupe variety. Looks like I’ll have to install grow-lights in the bathroom! Seeds started: Blacktail Watermelon Ruby Watermelon Dancing/Spinning Gourd Ancho Pepper Paprika Pepper Red Bell Pepper Principe Borghese Tomato Orange Sherbet Cantaloupe Sweet Million Tomato […]

Poor neglected garden blog! It’s been an interesting few years in my absence here. Well, “interesting” in the Chinese curse sense of the word, naturally. We’ve had medical and financial issues to deal with, as well as the sheer psychoticness that is raising a pair of teen-agers. But this year I want my garden back, […]

Sorry for the long silence here, but a “strained ligament” in my right knee around Mother’s Day has turned into 6 weeks of anti-inflammatories, constant ice packs, painful stretching and finally a cortisone shot directly behind the kneecap… — giving you a moment to envision that — …which in turn translates into near-total neglect of […]

And not just because it’s hot, sticky, weed-choked and otherwise nasty. That’s an enormous argiope making a meal of an equally enormous green dragonfly.  I know argiopes gotta eat too, but I draw the line at butterflies/dragonflies.  Time to get out the Lousiville Slugger. Did I mention it’s hot, sticky, weed-choked and nasty out there?  […]

Yeesh, almost a month since the last post…good thing you’re not paying for this, eh? Well, it’s hot, as I may have mentioned, and with the kids not here for the summer our routine is shot all to hell.  We did take off for a week in Sanibel right after the 4th holiday, and while […]

As those of you who read a lot of Florida bloggers know…it’s frickin’ hot out there.  This tends to make us not go out there nearly as often as we did in the spring/early summer, so everything in the garden is officially on it’s own. This is fine with the volunteer tomato, who inexplicably is […]