It has taken me a bit to get started
A few weeks ago I mentioned that my seedbed heat mat in the greenhouse went out, and that I had some cuttings still in the bed waiting for them to take root. Most of them did and I potted them up. What was left I was hoping to work around.
I was able to remove a lot of them it and made it possible to remove some of the medium I am using for seedlings and cuttings. The medium I am using is lava sand and vermiculite. I dug out three 5 gal. buckets of the material, which left me with a four foot plus empty space. My thought was that if I left the old mat in place and laid the shorter heat mat on top I then did not need to disturb the other cuttings in the bed. It worked. The mat was plugged in and the thermostat was set and the medium started to get warm. I am a happy camper.
On the 26th of January I planted four types of tomato seeds. One is for friends; they saved their favorite tomato that they grew last summer and are hoping that they can have it again. (me too, hope I do a good job raising the seedlings) The others are mine from fruit that I had grown the previous summer.
I know it is hard for us to keep tract of each other’s weather, but California’s weather has been on the strange side. Really cold, dry then warming up a bit then making a change for cold and dry again not enough rain, a lot of fog.
After seeding and watering I left the greenhouse and tried to concentrate on other things. The other day I went in to the house and uncovered the seed bed (I put a tent over the seed bed) and was shocked how beautiful the seedlings were doing. It was a lovely surprise. 
My first thought was “Wow what else can I plant.” Then I told myself not to get so excited and take care of what I have, after all it is only the beginning of February. Although, I am going to plant some snow peas J as they can go into the garden early. I will make a plan and plant seeds as soon as I can.
After checking the outdoor garden called the Cafeteria Garden, I am pleased with who the onion, lettuce leeks, and radishes are doing. Now to get on to other chores.
Hope you are having a wonderful time planning your new gardens, whether 
it is flowers or vegetables. When it is spring, we in the colder climates need to be well rested for the clean up after winter. Those of you in the warmer climates please tell me what your garden life is?
My wishes are that you have had a good holiday and that you and your families are well.
Mine was a very good holiday, although during the holiday I found that my garden greenhouse had problems. It will just take work, darn, I was hoping that it would be ok and maybe the plug was just an un-plugged plug. My seed bed heat mat is not heating. Luckily, I have most of my seedlings out of it, although there are some cuttings still there. They have not been the bed long enough to develop a strong root system yet, if I remove them I am afraid that I will lose most of them.
I must have been grumpy
In re-reading my last entry, it shows that I was grumpy. Thank goodness I could go back and see the lovely color of my Japanese maple, wasn’t it a pretty color? The leaves have fallen now and almost everything is bare. I have just come in from blowing up the leaves in the driveway. Tomorrow I will go out into the Memory Garden and rake the piles of leaves and bag them for composting, and then bag up the pile of leaves in the drive. I am really counting on the composted leaves to keep the weeds down in the garden beds. (more…)
Addendum to my note
I have an addendum to my note on my hunt for the grow bag. I received a letter this afternoon from Scotts. They were sorry that I could not find the Mirical-Gro Gro Bag. Then goes on to suggest that I use the larger bag that they offer. It is apparent that they do not understand the convenience of using the smaller bag.
Color for Fall Fashion
Color for Fall Fashion
Fall, to me means color in the garden that is lovely and peaceful.
I need to enjoy it before the leaves fall and leave me with shades of grey and brown. The majority of my trees leaves have been picked up and bagged or in my compost
pile , although with the wind and rain yesterday as I look at the window I can see there are more on the ground. This could be my decorative look for the yard if I leave them. What do you think? (I hope you are smiling) (more…)
