O yes, these little egg cups are just the perfect incubator for my lettuce seeds. I put them directly outdoors for the last four or five days, during the rain and cloudy days. No matter, they have sprouted! I can count the individual plants, by color, and am so pleased, as you can tell.I loaded the shells with the potting mix that came with my bulbs, and just spritzed them with water. The rain did the rest. It was gentle at first, and soaked the tray well. I will put these in the ground soon, and may even pinch out a few, choosing the sturdiest seedling to keep. Seed starting outdoors is so much easier than setting up lights etc, indoors. 'Course it's easy with hardy stuff like lettuce.
In this tray I have six calla rhyzomes of various colors, probably yellow. And three living hosta (Olive Bailey Langdon) and one dead one. My growing zone has changed this year to 8a from 7b. Global warming I guess. In the past I have overwintered calla lilies effortlessy, just leaving them in the ground. The micro climate where I will plant these (today!!) is pretty safe for them.
This is a pink bearded Iris, one of three which were dry and brittle and looked hopeless when I opened the package. But after soaking them for over a week, look at those green shoots and long roots! I may go buy some more. 3 for $5.42 at my local Walmart. Can't beat that price. At our fancy schmancy nursery, a potted iris goes for like $9 each.
And nine more hosta ready to go into the hosta bed. Patroit and Stained Glass.
And this is the hosta that gave me hope. I ignored it since last August, never watering it and expecting it to die. But noooooo! It spouted visible nodes weeks ago and now we have green leaves. So thrilling. It is a biggie, and lime-y yellow green which will contrast nicely with the darker greens and white of the other hosta. I counted thirteen leaf nodes altogether. Woowoo!
This is a collection of just sprouted Dutch Iris. You may not be able to see their slender stalks just yet, but they are there. 
Asiatic Lilies, 2 out of five have sprouted. Disappointing, but soon they will be on sale at Lowe's, once the blooms have faded, and I will get bunches of them. I live closer than ever to Lowe's now, heehee. 
Indoors in my laundry room greenhouse, I have sweet potatoes sprouting and roots are visible. These will become slips which I will get in the raised beds once soil is made available at my local stores. On Wednesday my lawn guy, Audelio, came to look at my lawn and has agreed to dig out the sod in my future flower bed, and load it up with new compost and top it with mulch. This won't happen until next week, but I am so happy to know that this job is not gonna be the ruination of my knees. We have several places in the yard that once were tree filled and now are big empty holes. He will fill those up and make it safe to walk around without falling in or spraining an ankle. Speaking of trees, we don't have a single one. That won't last.
You are a real plant rescuer! It's amazing how you can bring them back from the edge of death!
ReplyDeletePlanting day for me too. My Callas are in nursery pots waiting to go in the front yard and are already blooming. I have some iris and I will do as you did and soak them a bit before planting. Today I'm filling one entire pot with chives, which are a perennial here. I have a small pot going but want a much larger one close to the kitchen as I use chives quite a lot. The small pot will eventually be transplanted to the front garden as a permanent part of one bed. I'm going to put more pansies in the bowl on the elephant stand, then start filling my paper pressed cups with soil and doing my lettuce and other veggies. I'll be marking them with stakes so I remember what everything is. I will repeat varieties I like and that perform well and tossing or donating those that don't or I don't like. I am considering making some home made dog food as a supplement to the kibble and sweet potatoes are one of the ingredients. Never considered planting them before but I might now. Already have green beans, peas and spinach.
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