Well, I have just planted 350 amaryllis seedlings from the set of seeds that offered some to this swap. I hope those that got some are having good luck with germ. as well.

@lalambchop1 ive soaked them and they've been in a coffee filter for a little over a week. they haven't broken out yet, but the middle of every single one is getting big and fat!

I'll be interested to see how the coffee filter does. I know floating them had very high germ.

Again, our garden has been so blessed by the generosity of the traders on this swap. if you would like to follow the activity of our school garden and your seeds you shared with us, you can check out our Facebook page. It is called

The Garden of Hope Millersburg

Our website is called

www.gardenofhopemillersburg.com

The website is still under construction but getting closer to being ready :)

That is so exciting. Maybe you'll inspire our school group to do a FB page too.

I love the name you chose for your Facebook page! It is so appropriate. It includes the idea of hope for growth of food for the community and for hope that you grow the characters of your students. Perhaps some will grow their own plants in the future and even swap seeds on this site!

MariposaMaid,
Just wanted to thank you for the earlier instructions you posted about the hardy begonia bulbils and seeds. I placed my planted bulbils in our chilly back room instead of the refrigerator, and was thrilled to see them begin putting out tiny green leaves a couple days ago. Coincidentally, the seeds are starting to come up now too, but they were planted much more recently--just 11 days ago.

I haven't had much success in starting hardy begonias in the past, so was hedging my bets by trying both ways. Of course, getting them to survive here in Zone 5 could be tricky too!

Some of the winter sown seeds have sprouted! They are: dianthus, clarkia godetia, edging lobelia, poppies, wallflower, catmint, lupine, and lantana. There has not been a snowfall or rain recently, but a lot more sunshine lately. How wet should I keep these now, and about when do I transplant these? My guess is after chance of frost is passed, but thought I should get some experienced gardeners to reflect on this to be safe. I watered them a little yesterday, but not much. @MariposaMaid The cuttings of Mona lavender all have roots in the jar of water. What medium should I transfer the cuttings to?

It's so exciting when those first tiny seedlings arrive

I typically try to keep my WS containers just moist (depending on the type of plants in them, of course). Sometimes I divide and up-pot seedlings from their WS container before planting them out. Other times, seedlings get separated and planted out directly from the WS container. Either way, the perennial seedlings usually establish best if I can plant them out in cool spring weather. Perennials that naturally tend to emerge late (e.g. Hibiscus moscheutos, Mirabilis multiflora) do NOT appreciate this, though. For tender annuals, waiting until the chance of frost has passed is probably a good bet (or maybe be prepared to cover them in case a late frost is in the forecast).

for your advice. The weather is changing to the 50's for a bit next week. I may pot some up and plant some out. The nights here are still dropping into the 20's so this week does not look promising. Our last frost date is around May 11. After waiting so long to see these little seedlings pop up I think I am becoming an over protective mom I have been reading your plant reports since you are in a zone near mine. Thanks again for your sharing.

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Gosh, I'm in the middle of trying to figure out how to put a dent in the seeds I already have.

Have some exciting things starting to sprout and grow!!

We tried wintersowing some types of Swiss chars and other veggies and flowers and it was a disaster. Our school garden area is very windy and our milk jugs of soil and seeds kept blowing over. Nothing grew. Very disappointing. Any suggestions for us?

Next time, nestle your milk jugs together and surround the perimeter of the cluster with cinder blocks so everything is immobilized.

Anyone in my zone have a no-spray way of keeping powdery mildew down? I never had the problem until I started planting C. maximas again along with the moschatas (having figured out the secret to keeping cucumber beetles off my squashes, but that's another post).

Also, growing musk and watermelon has not been successful in years (I keep trying). I feed compost, try to water well, but get very slow growth and no real melon production.

I have never tried to control powdery mildew - I just let the plants look ugly and wait for less humidity.
BTW - You may have meant to post your question on a 4th Annual Not From the Seed Rack Seed Swap thread. This is the 3rd, from Fall 2017.

Powdery mildew shows up every so often here on the squash (typically pretty late in the season), more often on the perennial sweet peas (about which I don't care). I haven't tried any of the myriad potions, but if I ever do, I'll probably start with brewing some compost tea (from regular, garden-variety compost or from worm compost) and spraying it onto the leaves.

Edited to add: BTW, I did read that you're looking for a no-spray solution from someone in your zone I was thinking "no-spray" was in reference to chemical-type sprays. I could be wrong, though. After all, we're from two vastly different gardening worlds!

Thank you!

I don't get too many non-humid days here in summer, and when fall comes it actually gets more rainy...

I just meant no-spray referring to chemicals. Didn't think of spraying compost tea. I'll look into it.

Will repost, thanks again!

Taqiyyah, google milk for powdery mildew and see if that interest you...I used it for roses years ago and it seemed to help some. I have never tried it for anything else.
https://www.growveg.com/guides...