at first I thought my cat had gotten into the picture. You mean my granddaughter! Yep, got her out there before she was even walking (pic) Now she loves to help me. Helped me dig a 50' row of potatoes last year at 2 yrs. old. but she LOVES the flowers, just like Grandma. Helps weed and pot up geranium cuttings and plants seeds to watch them POP!

I don't know what I did when I lived in Michigan! My daughter is chomping at the bit, I know she's been tromping through the snow to see what's under it!

We've had so much rain this winter/spring that I haven't been able to get the beds ready so I am holding a lot of things. THIS WEEKEND! I hope! We'll still cover with floating row cover some nights. I'll be taking pictures when I start planting the garden.

Arlene,

>> marked tray number on the side then number for each row

Great idea! Then the tray is already marked for next year.

When I make mini-blind markers for each row in a tray, IK know I will have some markers handy for when I plant them out.

>> I also have a headband magnifier and a broken dental curette to prod with!

Very cool! You know we would love pictures! Especially if you stood your hair up on end, lowered the magnifier into place, and then brandished your dental prod and subtitled the photo "Is it SAFE??"

(Reference to the Dustin Hoffman movie "Marathon Man")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Rick, you are making me laugh this morning!

Thank you very much!

I had forgotten (on Monday Morning) what I had posted (on Friday night).

Did I say something funny? (scroll up scroll up scroll up)

I almost spit my coffee when I saw Dustin having his tooth extracted by Arlene!

So I replanted some coleus since I didn't have very good germination. 16 Black Dragon (all I had left). so far, only one has germinated. Don't know what the deal is this year with coleus being so troublesome. I should have had a couple of flats of them. A few yellows germinated and few Tartan. All fresh seed...

I may have to just buy some interesting ones and make sure I take cuttings to over winter. Hey, Jennifer, are you getting any coleus this year from Hilltop. Oh, that's right, you are spending all your money on semps!

I will find some money somewhere to get Hilltop Coleus! Even if I have to sell my succulent planters

Thank you!

Agastache & salivia babies!!

Cool!

Karen

Looking great Allison! What kind of salvia?

Here's my babes that I started early January and have been in the greenhouse for the last couple of weeks. Dealing with cold cloudy snowy days though. The seed starting racks in the house are full of tomatoes & petunias





Mimulas indoors has an extremely early bloom

Oh my! I feel like such a sloth! All I have are a few tomato seedlings plus some basil, alyssum, lobelia, pansies, and petunias that are just starting to break ground. Barely even visible!
Wow! I love that little mimulus!

Woofie,

I started some stuff extra early so I had fragrant blooms for Apr 12. The kid and I are going to do up a container for a people choice competition at a local garden show. I would not have big plants like that this time of year normally. I'm a bit concerned about my space for the late Apr and early May.

Aw, I'm just feeling guilty because I've waited so late to get things started. Usually I start waaaaaay too early and end up with the GH so crowded that I can barely see to water! I should have started a bit earlier, tho, cause the older I get, the slower I get!

amazing how the blooms can be larger than the plant sometimes
can almost smell those petunias already!!!!... I did coral & white nymph Joanne.. the hummers love em

Looking good, Allison!

Joanne, that is amazing! My stuff is MUCH smaller. Is that stock?

I have had perennials and a few hardy annuals (snapdragon) in the GH for awhile now, but other annuals I still have in the house. And I have no room for them in GH until I plant some of the perennials. But my tomatoes are out already, getting hardened off. Some are good, some are not. But all in all, my stuff is a lot smaller this year. I think once the warmer weather hangs around they will take off (fingers crossed)

These are the tomatoes not doing so well...



These are better...




And some of my agastache so far

Arlene,
Yes, it is 10 week Stock. A few have flower buds and I can't wait. I love to have them blooming early in the greenhouse since they are so fragrant. Did you sow all your tomatoes at the same time? The ones in the paper pots look awesome. I usually move the tomatoes in the greenhouse after they get their true 1st set of leaves. That stage has just started, so maybe they will be out there next weekend. I also started a bunch of bulbs and dahlia tubers. Not sure how I'm going to fit everything. I hope I can sell some pansies, alyssum and stock in April

No, I have had three different sowings of tomatoes. The ones in the gallon pots are probably as big as the ones in the paper pots but look smaller cause of the larger container AND they are buried DEEP. But the ones in the 4" square pots are really behind. I think they were second sowing, but still, should be larger than they are. I'm hoping taking them out of the paper pots will speed things along

I had a few that didn't germinate well (Brad's Black Heart, Opalka) so I had to do a second sowing of them which was my fourth sowing all together.

I have two different kinds of stock also, Quartet Mix and Vintate Mix. I love them for the fragrance as well.

I put my tomatoes out as soon as I potted up from the plug trays, usually with first true set, but sometimes not even that. (I'm always in a hurry)

Basically I did about 14 (288 ct) plug trays not counting tomatoes and peppers at 24 of each variety average (lobelia and a few other things I did more rows) but approximately 160 different things. Some, like agastache and coleus, probably four or five varieties. My daughter and I go crazy picking out seeds and this year we went overboard. I do sell some though and I use a lot for cut flowers, but my mainstays, zinnia and celosia I usually direct sow. So we're trying a lot of new things this year. It should be an interesting year. I will try and take LOTS of pictures!!!