I think whiteflies have attacked my seedlings. :(

I wintered over a pepper plant.  When I moved it outside this weekend, I noticed a bunch of little white flecks of something around the area where the pot was.  I didn't think much of it.

About two feet away, my vegetable seedings are on shelves next to a window.  Tonight I noticed that some of the cilantro, parsley, leek, and pepper seedlings are starting to look rather unhappy.  The leaves of the cilantro and parsley are getting pale, and they have very pale spots on the leaves.  The leeks are just droopy - so maybe they have another issue going on.  The peppers also have the pale spots, but their overall color looks OK.  

After running a few internet searches, I found a picture of the litle white specks that were apparently living on the overwintered pepper.  They were identified as whiteflies.  

The overwintered pepper is now outside.  It's not coming back in.  

I guess tomorrow I need to go look for whitefly traps.  I read somewhere about spraying infected plants with neem oil or diluted soap.  I'm a bit wary of this - they're just seedlings!  But if the bugs don't go, the plants will probably die since they cause leaf loss, and seedlings don't have many leaves to lose.

*sigh*

It's late, I guess I'll sleep on it.

I didn't plant my potatoes today because it's going to rain for 2 days and not be particularly warm.  (The high temperature tomorrow is supposed to be 50. Gah!)  I thought the potatoes would not appreciate being dumped into already soggy ground, chilled thoroughly, and then rained on again for two days.  Hopefully it will be warm and sufficiently dry next weekend.

I need to replant the carrots, definitely.  After I described how I planted them, my mom says I planted them too deep.  I was supposed to scatter the seeds, then scatter a thin layer of dirt over them.  Raking 1/2 an inch of dirt over them with a hoe was not a good plan, it seems.  Live and learn.

Also on the live-and-learn front, all of my oregano seedlings shriveled up and died in their nursery pack. They dried out too much, I guess.  I'm still trying to decide if I want to replant them or not.  If I ever do get around to planting oregano again, now I know that they need to be kept with a baggie or some other humidity-hood over them so that they won't dry out.  The other plants are fine, but the oregano seedlings were also pretty tiny and fragile compared to the others. 

The coleus and nasturtium in seed batch 2 sprouted today.  I have a bajillion chamomile seedlings - OMG!  I am NOT looking forward to transplanting them all.

I mulched all of my shrubs today after learning that there really ought to be some sort of DMZ between the shrub and the weeds when a weed-eater is involved.  One of my hydrangeas got an accidental trim today.  Whoops.  Anyway - while mulching, I discovered the first signs of life on the crape myrtle and beautyberry - so they'e not dead after all!  Yay! :D

I wonder when/if the lilac is actually going to bloom.  It looks like it has buds, but it's looked that way for several weeks now, I think.  Eh, it's still a cute little shrubbery even it isn't blooming yet. :)

Three days after being transplanted, one of the oregano passed on to the Farplane.   Eh, that's not bad.  The next great danger the seedlings face is when I finally put them outside to start the acclimation process.  I'm waiting at least a week for them to get their roots established in their new little homes before I subject them to that.

The second batch of chamomile is coming right along.  A few tulsi seeds have sprouted.  I'm starting to think that I have bad luck with shiso - which is unfortunate, because it's one of the herbs that I'm not likely to find in nurseries around here. Poo.

I'm wondering at what point I should just replant the carrots and onions.  I have some more carrots seeds - I ordered some about a week ago.  I might have to go scrounge up some onion seeds, though.

The alyssum has already sprouted.  I planted it 2 days ago.  Wow.

The transplanted seedlings have all survived their first 24 hours, so that bodes well.  I was worried that some of them would be irreparably droopy today from the shock.
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OK, I guess that IS a bit of a sensational headline. :P  I've been at Carraba's drinking tasty, tasty wine.  We got home while there was just enough light for me to see the garden.  I threw an old sheet (the one I ripped ribbons off of  last year to make tomato ties) over the mustards.  The sheet also covered the areas where I planted onions and chard.  The carrots and chrysanthemums haven't sprouted yet, and are at the mercy of the elements.

I guess they really weren't kidding about the last frost date being around April 15.  I was hoping to cheat a bit.  Meh.

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Well, the little dudes are living in new homes now. :)  It took me an hour and a half to move them all! Argh! 

I'm not really  a fan of transplanting seedlings from the initial pot to nursery packs, but I haven't thought of a better way.  I tried starting the pansy seeds in nursery pots, but that turned out being pretty wasteful.  

The problem with transplanting seedlings is the danger of snapping their stems or ripping too many of the roots off.   Poor little dudes - I hope I didn't break any of them.

And now I am going to go try to get all of this dirt out from under my fingernails ...

Oh - I did remember to plant the nasturtiums.  I almost forgot, but I spotted them before I'd finished putting all the transplanting supplies away.  Those seeds are huge!  They're only slightly smaller than an M&M.  

All of the transplanting work took place inside since it's weirdly cold again.  Oh well - the mustards that are outside are tough, and the others haven't sprouted yet.   It's a good thing I did do the transplanting inside - it was well after dark when I finished.
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Today I planted more seeds.  Some of them are repeats of batch #1.

• Platycodon (balloon flower) var. Mariesii  - 10
• Alysum, Aphrodite Bold Mix - dunno, seeds are very small!
• Coleus, Wizard Mix - 10
• Chamomile - tiny seeds!, second planting
• Aka Shiso - 12
• Tusli - tiny seeds, second planting
• Dill - didn't count these either, second planting

While planting the flowers, I noticed that the seed packets said MUST HAVE SUNLIGHT TO GERMINATE.  Huh.  Since I didn't get great results with the chamomile, tulsi, or dill that were trying to sprout in the dark, I decided to put them in the sun this time, too.  

I also planted Swiss Chard (Rainbow Five Color Silverbeet) and chrysanthemum greens in the garden.  The carrots and onions still haven't sprouted.  Apparently, I was supposed to be watering them. Oops. *sheepish* 

And I have some nasturtium seeds soaking in water.  Apparently you're supposed to soak them in water overnight.  I found that out when I read the back of the seed packet this afternoon. :P  Oh well, so they'll get planted tomorrow ...

I have potatoes to plant, too.  I'm waiting until the dark of the moon, which is next weekend. 

And the batch 1 seedlings need to be transplanted.  I wanted to give the newer sprouts time to get their stuff together before I move them, but the older ones are starting to topple over under their own weight.
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Most of my little seedlings are happily growing in the dining room window now.

The leeks are quite strange.  They don't have two little seed-leaves like all of the other seedlings.  They're just tiny little stalks.  The stalk pokes out of the soil with a sharp bend in it, and then it gradually unfolds and straightens out.

I have to replant some of my seeds.  Only two of the Amish Paste tomatoes sprouted.  I also only got two dill sprouts.  When I checked yesterday, only a few chamomile had sprouted.  None of the catnip came up. ( I think I didn't get a good germination rate on them last year, either.) I also think that we might need more than four tulsi plants - assuming that I actually do make tea out of them this year. 

I think that I may have covered the seedlings with too much dirt.  I'm actually worried about the same problem for the outdoor seedlings.  

Regarding the outdoor seedlings, I think I saw some mustard sprouts when I looked yesterday, but I'm not sure.  There are little weeds sprouting too, so it's hard to tell.  When the sprouts (hopefully) appear in a mostly straight line, then I'll know that I'm definitely looking at mustards. :P  I just slogged out in the rain and looked, and I'm fairly certain that there are mustard sprouts.  They have two leaves, and each leaf is kind of heart-shaped.  Without the point bit on the end. Each leaf has a dip in the middle like the top part of a heart.

I'm not sure I like this whole direct-sowing thing.  I've been batting around the idea of planting plants that are supposed to be direct sown into starter containers that are outside and somewhat sheltered.  That way I'd know how many seedlings I'm dealing with and can then transplant them, and the seeds would sprout in regular outdoor conditions - so there would be no need for acclimating them.   Now I'm concerned that I'm going to have bedraggled patches of veggies with lots of gaps instead of evenly planted rows. *sigh*

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Some of my indoor seeds have already sprouted!  Here's what is up already:

• leeks - 3 of 20
• Lollipop tomatoes 3 of 5
• tulsi - 1 of 8
• Amish Paste tomatoes 2 of 8
• Gold Medal tomatoes 8 of 10

The Gold Medal seedlings look like especially robust little seedlings.  The leek seedlings are strange-looking - there's no sign of leaves!  They look like tiny little naked stalks. 

This afternoon I planted Dragon carrots, Red Wethersfield Onions from Monticello, and Southern Curled Mustard.  It's supposed to rain here for the rest of the week, so I decided that I'd better go ahead and plant the little dudes while I can. 

Here is a list of the seeds I planted in cute little neon green 3oz. Solo cups yesterday:

1. Bellingrath Pepper 8
2. Jalepeno Pepper 15
3. Cilantro 8
4. Chives 6
5. King Richard Leek 20
6. Dill 8
7. Oregano 10
8. Forest Green Parsley 12
9. Chinese Five Color Pepper 5
10. Amish Paste Tomato 8
11. Lollipop Tomato 5
12. Tulsi 8
13. Chamomile 20
14. Gold Medal Tomato 10
15. Catnip 6
16. Hungarian Hot Wax Banana Peppers 8
17. Thai Hot Peppers 8

I planted them in Ferry-Morse organic seed starter mix.  The little cups are in the kind of tray that you keep nursery flats in, covered with the clear lid, covered with a black trash bag.  They're on a shelf near a window in the laundry room.

We tilled the garden yesterday.  Some time this week I'll get around to planting the onions, carrots, chard, mustard, and blue potatoes, I hope.  I'm still tired from yesterday. Woo.

Against all odds, there was some garlic still hanging on in the garden.  I moved them to some flower pots on the back deck.  The garden needed to be tilled, and the poor garlic was in the way!  At least this way it has a fighting chance to finish out its lifecycle ...
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Last night I noticed that the bloody dock and dwarf bleeding heart have returned!  (Wow, with those names, my garden sounds ... like it might need some band-aids, huh? :P)  My tiny little lilac is covered with buds as well.  I'm still waiting for my Rip Van Winkle daffodils to actually bloom - they have buds that have been slowly opening for about a week.  The hydrangeas are starting to grow leaves as well. Well, two of them are.  I'm a bit concerned about the third one. The beautyberry and Muskogee crape myrtle still look like dead sticks poking out of the ground.  No more crocuses have emerged, so I guess the squirrels ate them all. :(  And I need to dig up the muscari while I can still tell where they are, before I start mowing the grass again.  

The daffodils are just starting to peek out of the ground. :)  They're about half an inch high at this point.  They're planted around the outer edge of my concrete walkway.  I'm very excited about them, yay! :D

I think the saffron crocuses that I planted around the mailbox are gone.  I'm currently pondering ways to keep the squirrels and other yard mammals from munching on the next set of bulbs that I plant.

The pansies that I started from seed are slowly puttering along.  Most of them are too "leggy" as my mom calls it - they grew weak, spindly stems that can't really support the weight of the leaves.  Ah well.  I apparently planted them at the wrong time.  Now I know.

While doing my end-of-year accounting of events and accomplishments, I discovered that I planted enough plants in 2008 to warrant their own list! 

Plants Succesfully Grown in the Garden

• Lollipop Tomatoes
• Striped Cavern Tomatoes
• Amish Paste Tomatoes
• Thai Hot Peppers

Plants Successfully Grown in the Front Flower Bed

• Tulsi
• Dicentra
• Heliotrope
• Echinacea
• Rosemary
• Green Basil
• Purple Basil
• Chives
• Parsley

Shrubberies Planted in 2008

• Nikko Blue Hydrangea
• 2 other hydrangeas that I can't recall the names of!
• Beautyberry (hopefully dormant?)
• Miss Kim Lilac (not sure if it's dead or just dormant)

Plants in Pots

• Scented geraniums
• Shiso
• Pansies
• Oregano
• Creeping Rosemary
• Coleus
• Chrysanthemum
• Lamb's Ears
• Lemongrass

It looks like most of my little mustard and chrysanthemum greens seedlings were eroded away.  I set the rows perpendicular to the slope of the land, and I don't think I made them high enough to divert the flow of rain down the slope.  I didn't think about erosion when I made the rows ... whoops.

Ah well, at least the garlic seems to be coming along. 

I sorted through my seeds for next year last night and put them into batches according to ideal planting date. Yay!

Yesterday G said to me, "Um, are the flowers you planted around the mailbox purple?"

I thought for a minute and replied. "Yes - why?"

"Because one is blooming."

This conversation occurred at night, so this morning I charged outside to see the flower.  It's definitely one of my saffron crocuses.  I wasn't expecting it to bloom until like ... February, but whatever - now is cool. :)

I recall that one of the bulbs was already sprouting a root when I planted it, so I suspect that's the one that bloomed.

I just checked on the tiny fall garden, and much to my delight, I see that all three greens and one of the garlics is peeking through the soil. Yay!  :D  Now I just hope it doesn't snow on them before they have a chance to get established ...

So it's the week of Thanksgiving and I'm just now planting my Fall garden. Well, we'll see what happens. :P

Bulbs

• 6 saffron crocuses around the mailbox
• around 20 Rip Van Winkle daffodils around the outside of my walkway
• One Red Hawk iris in the main flower bed in front of the house

Garden (from right to left)

• Southern Curled mustard
• Georgian Crystal garlic
• crysanthemum greens (for nabe)
• Italian Softneck garlic
• Indian Black Winter mustard

We like mustard greens and garlic!  The greens were direct sown.  My parents insist that they grow better that way. ;)

Some of my tomato plants are starting to turn brown and yellow.  Several of the plants have green tomatoes still, and a few even have blossoms.  I'm not sure what the problem is.  G suggested that maybe I didn't water them enough. *shrug*

Anyway, the Lolipop tomatoes continue to be cute and kick ass.  They're G's favorite.  The plant is holding up well, and the amount of tomatoes we've picked from it is amazing. 

The Amish Pastes are doing OK - they're the ones that are starting to have foliage issues.  I believe that they're also the ones that are still blooming.  Anyway - the tomatoes that we have picked and eaten from those plants have been quite yummy. :)

I dont' think that I'm going to plant the Striped Cavern tomatoes next year. (Which means I can pick out another variety to try - yay!)  The fruits are all scarred, and today I noticed that several of the fruits have overripe/rotten spots before the rest of the fruit finishes ripening!  I got them for the novelty of it, but we still haven't stuffed a single one.  It's hard to find some that are edible.  Ah well, it was an experiment. :)

Today I noticed that one of the Thai Red Peppers of Death is ripe.  It looks like a couple more will be ripe in a few days.

I'm all set to plant my fall garden.  I have seeds, soil, and reusable plastic nursery flats. Now I just need to make time to plant the seeds and then turn up an new garden patch in the back yard.

Some of my tomatoes are ripe! *hops up and down*

Pictures of the tomatoes and a few other bonus plants here.

The tomatoes were tasty with some fresh basil acquired from the front yard and a dash of salt. Mmm, mmm. :D

I am counting down the hours until I get to go home and finish mulching my flower bed.  *taps foot impatiently*

I bought some more echinacea for that flower bed yesterday - these are white.  When I got them home, I realized that was perhaps not the best choice for flowers that will be near the white columns of my front porch, but whatever. I also bought a mostly dead bleeding heart that I'm hoping will perk up if not this year, then next year.

I also need to restake my tomatoes.  Everyone I've talked to about it says that one stake per plant will not do. :P  I've noticed that they really do seem to topple over in thunderstorms.

I just ordered some saffron crocuses - I'm very excited about them! :D  And while I was ordering the crocuses, I ordered some sassy purpley heirloom mustard greens. (I love mustard greens!)

I also need to order some irises.  G's one flower request was for red irises. (They were a quest item in Guild Wars.)  Figuring out where to put the red irises, that's a whole other problem.  I was thinking about putting them in the back of my front flower bed, but we really need to install a gutter on the porch first, and I'm not sure they'll get enough sun there.  G suggested around the mailbox, so I'm thinking about that ...

Tonight I told G that he has to help me pick out garlic. :P

Also on the to-buy list: daffodils and non-saffron crocuses.  Maybe some hyacinths. But it's not quite time to plant those yet, so I have some time to figure out exactly where to put them.  The goal is late winter/early spring color.
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