New seeds sprouting

OK I got carried away again last weekend.  I started more herbs and some zinnias, marigolds and portulaca.  Everything has started to germinate.  I see more patio pots in my future.  I have potted up my basil and chives and monarda.  I am trying to get everything hardened off.  If I can't have a large garden plot than I can at least have plenty of pots on our patio.

No sunflower seeds

I haven't gotten my sunflower seeds yet for the bee counting project.  I am hoping they come soon.  We are already having 90 degree weather here in Austin.  I need to pot up my basil seedlings.  A task for this weekend.  I need to come up with some cheap pots.  I have more seeds to start so I need to get going on that project too.  Job hunting and practicing my Word and Excel skills have taken this week over.  Had one job interview.  Hope to hear back by next week.

Finally some action from the rosemary and parsley

The parsley and rosemary just started to germinate.  According to the seed packets they are about a week behind the basil and chives.  They started coming up right on time.  I got some more seeds this weekend.  They were on sale.  More herbs.  I also got a variegated lemon thyme.  My husband has been wanting one and I found it at Lowes.  I haven't planted the seeds yet.  Waiting for my basil to grow out a little so I will have room under my plant lights.  I have been enjoying other blogspot gardening blogs.  Mr. Brown Thumb always makes me chuckle.

Green and Purple Basil

Well I am getting some growth on my basil seedlings.  I have a few monarda seedings but not as good a germination rate as the basil.  I also started some purple basil.  They are so cute.  I have a few chives but no rosemary or parsley yet.  Having my seedlings is keeping me sane.  Job hunting is not fun.    Have to show some pix of my babies.  I need some better plant lights, however,  I will have to make due for the time being.  My poor babies are stretching toward the light.

Gardening in Austin

I recently moved to Austin, TX quite unexpectedly.  I was planning on moving here when I sold our house in St. Louis, however, my husband fell and broke his femur and had to have surgery so I came down immediately.  

I am planning on starting some seeds today.  I went to the local gardening center and they had Thompson and Morgan seeds.  I always order from them online but had not seen their seeds at a garden center since Frank's went out of business.  Got some basil and monarda seeds.  Both require light to germinate.  I have a patio to garden in.  Hopefully I get enough light.   I had already ordered a seed starting system from Gardener's Supply.  It is made of styrofoam with a wicking system.  I have used them before and really like how my seeds turn out.  I had to compost my St. Louis seedlings before I left.  Goodbye zinnias and marigolds.  

I am looking forward to getting a house here with a sunny place to garden in.

Bee counting project

I recently signed up to be part of the bee counting project. There is a group called the Great Sunflower that is drafting ordinary gardeners like myself to help count bees this summer. You sign up and receive a free packet of Lemon Queen sunflower seeds. You then grow these seeds and when your plants flower you count the bees that come to your sunflowers. There are instructions on how to do this at their website. If every gardener in the U.S. did this, then we could get a better idea of what damage the Colony Collapse Disorder has done to the bee population of the U.S. and Canada.

If you are interested in joining up, their website is: greatsunflower.org.

This sounds like it could be a great project to do with kids or grandkids.

Paper Journal

I have started a paper gardening journal. I am trying to get more practice in creative writing and make my posts longer. When I am on the computer I seem to make my posts short but sweet. When writing in my paper journal I go for a longer post. Hopefully, I can make my computer posts longer and more interesting.

Well on to gardening. My seedlings are sprouting happily. I am surprised that I have had better germination rates with some inexpensive Burpee zinnia seeds and less than stellar germination rates from my expensive Thompson and Morgan marigold seeds ( okay they were free, but if I had to buy them then they would have been expensive). So far the total is 14 marigolds to 43 zinnias. Hopefully they marigolds will start popping up soon. My husband likes Marigolds and I would like to have some in my small border.

I am going to start some lavender seeds next week. They are lavendula augustifola "Blue Sky Elegance". They are supposed to flower the first year from seed. I shall find out. I am hoping to take some cuttings from some "Provence" and "Grosso" plants this fall. I am planning on buying some nice sized plants at the Lavender Festival in Blanco in June. I am so looking forward to going to the lavender festival this year. Last year my husband went and got some great pictures.

Marigolds and Zinnia

I just started some marigold and zinnia seeds in a seed starting medium in six packs. I was totally surprised to have started them on Monday morning and by Tuesday evening I had some seeds that had already germinated. I was not ready for this. I did not have my light put together and ready. I had to scramble this morning to get the light over the emerging seedlings. Now the excitement begins. I plan on setting these out in the garden in a few weeks. I should have at least one set of true leaves by then. I read MrBrownThumb's blog and got inspired. I already have a blog on Vox but this is mostly for my photography and general life stuff. Didn't have a home for my gardening side.

I got the marigold seeds from Thompson and Morgan as a bonus with the rest of my order. I always have good luck with their seeds. The zinnia seeds I picked up at Home Depot. Hope I have a good germination rate.

Propagation is the most fun anyone can have, in my opinion. That is why I went back to school and took horticulture classes. Propagation was my favorite. When those first seed leaves come popping out of the soil I really get excited. Now that my seeds are starting to germinate, I will be watching closely. That is the fun of gardening for me.