Tuesday's Odds 'n Ends #4

Continuing on the transplanting bandwagon!

Today I did the following chores:

1. Watered as needed. 
2. Fertilized as needed. 
3. Transplanted echinacaea. 
4. Transplanted hollyhock nigra
5. Transplanted lupines.

Following Skippy's Lead

Early this morning I shoveled a path to the hoophouse.  As expected, the door only narrowly opened.  I tried to chip away ice at the base of the door and, unfortunately, made a small cut in the plastic sheeting that will need patching this spring.  With the temperature rising above freezing most of this week, I will practice patience and wait a few days to begin organizing the hoophouse.

Kathy at Skippy's Vegetable Garden is running a little experiment.  She shoveled off snow from one of her raised beds to see if its soil becomes "workable" sooner than an unshoveled bed.  I'm curious, too, and decided to join her!

Now which outdoor raised bed to dig out?? The ones surrounding the hoophouse are definitely out of the question, having at least three feet of drifted snow above them.  The raised bed closest to the shed is a better choice.  As you can see, I will still have my work cut out for me!

The BEFORE

Too much shoveling last month left me with a tender back.  Not wanting to further delay its healing, I only did half of the "big dig" this morning. I will finish the job tomorrow.

Half-way done!

I'd like to start planting "greens" in this outdoor bed as well as in the hoophouse in early April.  If that's the case, I had better to start sowing arugula, lettuce, kale and spinach seeds indoors this week to have transplants ready on time.

UPDATE: I finally finished shoveling off the raised bed on Thursday, March 12th:

The AFTER

The Alliums Get a Haircut

The onion, leek and shallot seedlings had "haircuts" today.  I snipped off the top two inches or so.  While I was working on those containers, I decided to thin out the seedlings as well.  I must remember to sow allium seeds more sparsely next year.  They always have better germination than expected.  Yes, thinning onions in containers is tedious, but it is far less painful than thinning carrots or beets in the garden.

Postscript #1 - There were signs of germination from Wave Petunias (sowed March 2, 7 days), Petunia Mixed Colors (sowed March 2, 7 days), Tetra Ruffled Snapdragons (sowed February 28, 9 days), echinacaea (sowed February 28, 9 days), and coleus (sowed March 4, 5 days).

Shuffling Seedlings

I am a stickler for keeping things tidy and in order.  I find it very satisfying to organize seedlings according to height and size and to cluster similar types of plants. Consequently, it's a continual shuffling of containers between the kitchen table and the shelving unit in front of the slider.

Onions, oregano and flowers on the kitchen table

Looking down the line - Sweet William, vinca, and geraniums

Lupines Flexing their Muscles

Granted, all the seeds that germinated today were early, but the lupines were particularly impressive. They were expected to germinate in 25-30 days, but appeared in only 3 days!  And I didn't even pre-soak the seeds!!  I hope these lupines flourish much like those sown by Alice Rumphius, the main character in the children's book, "Miss Rumphius." Filling her pockets daily with lupine seeds, Miss Rumphius scattered the seeds wherever she went to make the world a more beautiful place.  A big thank you to my daughter-in-law for introducing this book to our sweet grandsons. 

Postscript #1-  Today I thinned lobelia and transplanted verbena and white hibiscus. 

Postscript #2 - Seeds that germinated today include black-eyed susan (sowed February 28, 7 days), echinacaea (sowed February 28, 7 days), chamomile (sowed February 28, 7 days) and lupines (sowed March 4, 3 days).  

Postscript #3 - I have a suspicion that the dusty miller seeds sowed on February 11 are not viable. The expected germination time was 21 days and it's already been 24 days.  I'm nearly ready to re-use its seed starting mix and container. 

Flowers - Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

"What a desolate place would be a world without a flower!  It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome.  Are not flowers the stars of the earth, and are not our starts the flowers of the heaven."
-  A.J. Balfour 

I planted more annual and perennial flowers today, all requiring 10 weeks of growth before the spring plant out date of mid May.  I am hoping for a dozen seedlings from each 3" pot. This year I am trying to not overseed each container; I must be more trusting that the seeds are viable.

The seeds sown today were as follows:

Baby's Breath (Covent Garden, Gypsophilia elegans): American Seed, 2015. Planted two 3" pots. Expected germination time, N/A. Characteristics: annual, needs darkness to germinate according to packet, but internet says light is needed, dainty, small, misty white flowers, blooms in summer, 18" tall, use as filler in floral bouquets, can be invasive, pick off seed heads, cut and come again, good for successive plantings.
See: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/62/#b

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia Hirta): Livingston Seeds, 2014. Planted two 3" pots. Expected germination time, 10-15 days. Characteristics: perennial, needs light to germinate, bright yellow blooms, good in mass plantings, cut flower.
See: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/germinate-blackeyed-susan-seeds-43284.html

Chamomile (German, Matricaria recutita): Burpee, 2015. Planted one 3" pot.  Expected germination time, N/A. Days to maturity, 56. Characteristics: annual, needs darkness to germinate,-like flowers, used for tea, full sun, 24" tall, aromatic daisy, self-seeds, invasive habit (container planting best), used in tea, potpourri, continually blooming until first frost, member of the Asteraceae family,
See: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/long-german-chamomile-bloom-seed-81857.html

Coreopsis (Early Sunrise, Grandiflora): Seed swap, 2009. Planted two 3" pots.  Expected germination time, N/A.  Characteristics: perennial, needs light to germinate (sprinkled more on top of soil after recognizing my mistake of planting 1/4" deep), also known as Double Butter Daisy and Tickseed, 20" tall, full sun/partial shade, golden, semi-double yellow flowers, prolific, blooms early summer to mid fall, easy to grow, All-American Selections Award winner in 1989.
See: http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/COES.html

Coreopsis (Full Moon): Seed swap, 2009. Planted two 3" pots.  Expected germination time, N/A. Characteristics: perennial, needs light to germinate (sprinkled more on top of soil after recognizing my mistake of planting 1/4" deep), 18"-24" tall, showy hybrid, large, canary yellow flowers, 3" flowers, long blooming, blooms early summer into early fall, easy to grow, cut flowers.
See: http://www.waltersgardens.com/plants/view/?plant=1627

Foxglove (Digitalis Purpurea, Variety, N/A): Seed swap, 2009. Planted two 3" pots.  Expected germination time, N/A.  Characteristics: biennial, needs light to germinate (sprinkled more on top of soil after recognizing my mistake of planting 1/4" deep), bell-shaped flowers, blooms early to mid-summer, good in mass plantings, 2'-5' tall, easily self-seeds.
See: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/plant-foxglove-seeds-72729.html

Grecian Rose (Red Dragon, Geum chiloense): Livingston Seeds, 2014. Planted two 3" pots.  Expected germination time, 10-14 days. Characteristics: perennial, needs darkness to germinate, frilly scarlet-red to orange blooms, flashy, blooms first year, deadhead regularly, 16-20" tall, sun/dappled sun, summer blooms.
See: http://myfolia.com/plants/3427-grecian-rose-geum-geum-chiloense/varieties/103328-red-dragon

Purple Coneflower (Echinacaea purpurea): Harvested, 2014. Planted three 3" pots.  Expected germination time, N/A. Seeds originally purchased from Burpee, 2013. Characteristics: perennial, needs darkness to germinate, member of Asteraceae family, butterfly magnet, easy to grow, flowers are large orange, gold spiky centers with strong rose pink petals, blooms in July and August, drought tolerant, good in mass plantings, full sun/partial shade, 2'-4' tall.
See: http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/plantName/Echinacea-purpurea-

Snapdragons (Tetra Ruffled Supreme Mix, Antirrhinum majus): Livingston Seeds, 2014. Planted two 3" pots with pelletized seeds. Expected germination time, 3-8 days. Characteristics: perennial, needs light to germinate, (sprinkled more on top of soil after recognizing my mistake of planting 1/4" deep), full sun, 24"-30" tall, blooms spring through fall, full spectrum of color, good for cutting gardens, containers or borders.
See: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/germinate-giant-tetra-snapdragon-seeds-44684.html

Postscript #1 - One seedling has germinated in the Salvia Blue Bedder container (sown on February 25, 2 days)
Postscript #2 - A few of the vinca seeds in the twenty-five pot seed tray have germinated (sowed on February 17, 11 days).