:dance: I am doing the happy dance! :dance: I tried sewing tomato & pepper seeds this year instead of buying the plants and both my Beefsteak & Roma Tomatoes have come up. I am so happy!! Whew Whoo!! Yee Haw and Hoorah! Those lil sprouts will keep a smile on my face all day long!! Michele
Isn't it amazing--the power of a seedling! My daughter bought one of those little Bonsai kits at the bookstore. It contained an instruction booklet, a tiny pot, a peat pellet, and a packet of 5 pine tree seeds. She had to soak the seeds for 1 day, then put them in the fridge for 7 days, then --Oh happy day!-- she got to plant them, then she had to wait for them to sprout. FINALLY, 3 weeks later, they've come up. She's been smiling ever since!
Ok, I have to ask: you are getting your tomatoes up now? In January? Where are you? Is this a greenhouse thing? (Yep! I'm a brand new garderer. Bet you couldn't tell, huh?)
LVMorgan, Welcome to the wonderful world of gardening! This year is the first time I have sewn my own pepper & tomato plants. Normally I buy them. For both of them you have to sew them inside 6 to 8 weeks before you can plant them in the ground. I took a bunch of flower pots and the bottom halves of milk jugs and 2 lt. drink bottles (with holes punched in them) and just scattered a bunch of seeds in them. I have them in my kitchen window that has lots of southern exposure (I keep the house around 70 degrees inside). I live in NC so my climate is fairly mild. Some days it is even mild enough to leave the windows cracked so that we all receive fresh air. My tomatoes have come up in droves but I am not having any luck what so ever with my peppers. I am going to post about that in just a little bit. After the tomatoes get to a certain point you have to thin them out and repot the individual plants into their own cup. I have some individual 6 hole tray's (got my squash plants in them last year) that I am going to use. This is my first attempt at this and I hope that it is successful! :dance: Ok Happy dance time again! :dance: I just went to take a peek at my lil darlins this morning and I am now getting banana pepper sprouts! YEAH!! There are plenty of successful gardeners here on this site and if you have any questions they are great about answering them! I am learning quite a bit from them and from the library. I am just so happy this morning!! Go out and buy you some seeds and sew em! Lots of luck! Michele
Thank you! I feel so ready to go out and get muddy (and here in southwestern Washington, that's ALL I would get!) I am ordering all open-pollinated seeds, so I can have a brand-new challenge next fall! Does anyone out there have good idea's how to deter elk? I'm suspecting that they will be my biggest problem. My husband says that he'll set up a lawn chair outside our living room window, and sit out there with his rifle; and we'll have meat AND potatoes. Last year, I bought bulk and did some u-picking, and tried to preserve enough food to last us the entire year, I'm hoping this is cheaper and less work. God bless! Linda
Linda I have no clue about the elk but I wish you lots of luck. My mom has a bad problem with deer. She has her garden surrounded by a fence to deter them and has a dog. I am in a surburban area and I don't have to worry about them. A few rabbits once in a while and moles get me. The cats take care of the rabbits and a piece of chewing gum took care of the the mole. Feel free to to ask more questions. It might help if you post the elk question in the garden and homesteading section of the board. Michele
Yep chewing gum for the moles. Put the stick of gum in one of their holes they will eat it and have bad indigestion. Some say that it actually sticks their insides together and they die? I am not sure but I have not had the same problem since I did this last spring. Now can anyone give me advice on turtles sampling my maters? They seem to love my Roma tomatos, bite several of them every year. Michele
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, All of my peppers and tomato plants have sprouted up now. :dance: Happy Dance Happy Dance :dance: ! YEAH!! Michele
