I'm full & I even culled this year!

OK, I'll admit it. It hurts me to toss even the tiniest of seedlings. I want to give them a chance since I lovingly planted them & (in my mind) they are trying so hard. But, I realized that this year I just had waay too many seedlings & not enough room, so I culled. I had saved tomato & pepper seeds & also had leftover seeds in the packets.

Sorry for the bad pic. Southern light streaming in!

My plan is to plant one from the seed packet & one from saved seed (SS) to compare the plants & harvests. I have German Cherry, Reinstaldt Grape, & Park's Whopper tomatoes. Along with California Wonder Pepper that I am experimenting with. Plus, I planted a couple of new (to me) peppers (an Orange & a Yellow from Baker Creek). Plus one new tomato - Homestead from local seed supply store.

Even with culling I still wound up with well over 90 plants! I'll give most to friends since I don't have enough room here in the City & not ready for the Country. I've got to keep experimenting, right?

Full growing rack!

Not so much luck with my herbs. The only thing that came up were a few Cilantro & Flat Leaf parsley plants which got transplanted. No basil or thyme even came up. I'll take another stab at those.

I let my broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage & romaine from the 'fall' garden, go to seed but wasn't having any luck actually getting seeds ... until yesterday. I finally had the romaine get a few of the dead flower heads get that puffy white stuff & sure enough there were seeds in there! Boy, I need better light & better sight to do much lettuce seed harvesting. I think I got about 1/8 of a teaspoon from 4 or 5 heads.

The broccoli was flowering but I couldn't tell if it had 'gone to seed' until yesterday when one of the separated plants had these on the top. Are these broccoli seed pods?

Sure look like it to me. Note: My Seed to Seed Saving Book is at the Country House & I keep forgetting to bring it home. And, I just haven't made the time to search the internet.

Nothing is happening with the Chinese cabbage or cauliflower & I may have to give up on those as I need to prepare the beds for the spring planting. Plus, I've read that you shouldn't let too many Brassicas(sp?) go to seed at one time.

Our cat (Rister) decided to lay in the area of one of the beds that I had covered due to the cold weather this past weekend. Carrots, onions & leeks under the cover, w/garlic in the uncovered area.

Just taking a nap

What do I hear?

Since we were going to have a hard freeze, I decided to cut back my already growing herbs - Rosemary, Oregano, Sage & Thyme (very little). I dehydrated them on Saturday, Sunday & Monday & wound up w/ 1 qt. + 1 pint Rosemary, 1 1/2 pt Oregano, 1/2 pt Sage & 1 few tablespoons of Thyme.

Also had a couple of bananas that were reaching ripeness & decided to make banana bread using the small pans I had recently bought at an Estate Sale (4$ for 20 of them!).

On another note, moving In-Law's porch & extra buildings is proving to be more difficult than expected. But it is, so we'll deal with it. Should have everything (even the Crepe Myrtles) out of their current location this coming weekend, crossing fingers & toes.

The Driveway at the Country House was cleared but it has been raining almost every day since. Too wet to work. There are 2 VERY wet spots that will need to be filled in & the one over the actual branch will also need a large culvert installed. Plus, they are estimating 30 - 50 loads of dirt will need to be brought in! It all just sounds like much more than we had estimated cost wise. But, it has to be done, so something will be pushed aside until later.

Fall garden & this week's bargain(s)

Well, as usual I hit a few Estate Sales this past week. I got a mini crock pot & coffee grinder. I will use the crock pot for cheese waxing when I make hard cheeses & the grinder for smelly things like dried onions, celery & garlic. I had stopped at another sale on my way home Friday & saw a potting bench that I thought I would like. But, they wanted $40 & weren't willing to come down yet.

I have been wanting one for quite some time. I could have asked my husband to make me one but he's got so much going on & it isn't a priority right now. To start plants, I usually pull out a garbage can & put a small plywood table top & have a small rolling shelf I put things that I reach for as I go along. The garbage can is just low enough that it strains my back. A full morning or afternoon of potting makes me reach for the Advil.

Anyway, I had to run to the grocery store this morning so I decided to run by the Estate Sale. The company that put this one on usually has everything 1/2 off on the last day. It was still there! So I got it for $20.

She isn't the prettiest thing in the world but it's the PERFECT height and will definitely work until I get a pretty wooden one in the distant future. Sure wish I had had this a few weeks ago when I started my fall sets.

Speaking of which, here's what I use to start my seeds:

Paper towel or toilet paper rolls cut in approximately 2" lengths. I use take out containers from fancy restaurants or Fresh Market to hold them. I put as many will fit without crowding, and then fill 3/4 w/potting soil. 

I then put seeds in & cover with more soil. I put the clear lid back, label on & place on the bottom shelf of my grow shelf that husband built me earlier this year. Once sprouted & after the 1st true leaves appear, I transplant to 4" pots that my FIL saves for me. I keep them on the grow shelf until they get a few more leaves & they start to look like they're true plants. I then start conditioning them by placing them outside each afternoon for about an hour.

I left them out for about 3 hours yesterday & about 4 today. Taking in & out is really a pain. So, I think I'm going to leave these on the patio table under the umbrella until ready to plant. They get a bit of morning & afternoon sun but are fairly shaded during the day.

Here's what I've got for my fall garden that I will plant in 2 weeks. Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Romaine, Copenhagen Cabbage & Chinese Cabbage.



I've got waaay to many plants for my little city garden so I'll be giving most of these away. Plus I'm going to plant peas, beans, carrots & other lettuces directly from seed.

This will be my 1st fall garden ever! Wish me luck.