Talitha Purdy

Seedling Census

– Posted in: Garden chores, What's up/blooming

Well, today I watered all my little babies. With some plants, you feel like you should be nominated for "Gardener of the Year" for how beautifully they're doing. With other plants, you are just grateful that there is no Society Against Cruelty to Plants, because otherwise you'd have black helicopters circling the house! That is [...]

Trying to keep up

– Posted in: Plant info, Uncategorized

Yesterday I potted on 140 assorted zinnias, most of which I had assumed would not be sprouting. The newest seed was 2 years old, the older seed went back as far as 1996, I think. The zinnias don't really want to be potted on, they want to be planted. I refuse, though, to plant something [...]

Peas

– Posted in: Garden chores, Seeds and Seed Starting, Vegetables

What have people heard about soaking peas the night before planting? Dad always did, and I had assumed it was necessary for germination. However, I recently read that pre-soaking peas supposedly causes "legume seeds to absorb water too quickly, split their outer coatings and spill out essential nutrients, which encourages damping off seed rot." (The [...]

Impatiens

– Posted in: Book reviews, Plant info, What's up/blooming

Mom can tell you the Latin name of almost any plant there is, but my knowledge of Latin names is still awful spotty. Sometimes I can't tell the difference between common names and Latin names. I was rather shocked to find out that "Balsam" was a common name for "Impatiens." (For one thing, I hadn't [...]

Leeks

– Posted in: Garden chores, Vegetables

Most plants, if they're started indoors, should be started 6-8 weeks before your last frost date. Since our last frost date isn't until the end of the first week of June, 6-8 weeks is about mid-April. Leeks are the earliest thing I start--mostly right now I am doing planning. I'm trying very hard to strike [...]