Some of the garden tasks for this spring includes up-potting the various cutting, seedlings, new and last-year plants.
I collected many volunteer Black Diamond heirloom watermelon seedlings popping up in the yard to give away.
Some of the garden tasks for this spring includes up-potting the various cutting, seedlings, new and last-year plants.
I collected many volunteer Black Diamond heirloom watermelon seedlings popping up in the yard to give away.
Craving more Cosmos, I picked up large packets of seed at Wildseed Farms, along with some other annuals I hope will germinate well.
Lady Bird Dwarf Cosmos Blend ×1 1/4 Pound |
Mexican Hat ×1 1/4 Pound |
Bishop’s Flower ×1 Ounce |
Cosmos Dwarf Sensation Blend ×1 1/4 Pound |
And because I couldn’t get enough Cosmos and nasturtiums, I picked up more packets at Johnny’s Selected Seeds. I wanted to also grow my own dill in case the aphid apocalypse hits my veggie gardens again.
Double Click Mix Cosmos Double Click Mix Cosmos Seed x1 |
Double Click Cranberries Cosmos Double Click Cranberries Cosmos Seed x1 |
Lemon Mint Monarda (Bee Balm) Lemon Mint Monarda Seed x1 |
Alaska Mix Nasturtium Alaska Mix Nasturtium Seed x1 |
Bloody Mary Nasturtium Bloody Mary Nasturtium Seed x1 |
Fernleaf Herbs for Salad Mix Fernleaf Dill Seed x1 |
Red Snapper Smooth-Leaf Spinach Red Snapper (F1) Spinach Seed x1 |
Astro Arugula (Roquette) Astro Salad Arugula Seed x1 |
Finally, I had strong feelings about growing more types of basil, especially the holy basil kind, so I surfed over to Strictly Medicinal Seeds to whet my appetite for some hard-to-find seeds.
TULSI (Holy Basil) SEED SET (5 seed packets): Amrita, Krishna, Rama, Temperate & Vana, all organic | 1 |
Basil, Mtule (Ocimum suave), packet of 30 seeds, organic | 1 |
Basil, Mrihani (Ocimum basilicum) seeds, organic – Packet | 1 |
Wooly Lambs Ears (Stachys byzantina), packet of 50 seeds, organic | 1 |
Skullcap, Helmet (Scutellaria integrifolia), packet of 30 seeds | 1 |
Lime Balm (Melissa officinalis ssp. altissima) potted plant, organic – 1 | 1 |
Sage, Jerusalem (Salvia hierosolymitana), potted plant, organic | 1 |
Skullcap, Barbat (Scutellaria barbata) potted plant, organic – 1 | 1 |
I love purchasing budget friendly plants from Colonial Creek Farm. They always have a great selection of herbs and pollinator plants.
Kitten Around Catmint x1 |
John Whittlesey Salvia x1 |
Mirage Rose Bi-Color Salvia x1 |
African Blue Basil x2 |
This year, I get to grow African Blue Basil! I also purchased a dwarf catmint. Can you guess which one of the plants pictured attracted the kitties?
I also picked up Rose Bicolor Salvia. I had this plant last year but lost them to the heat. I did get another specimen from Denton Plant Factory.
Undeterred by my recent shipping disaster, I went ahead and ordered more plants online.
From one of my favorite online shops, Colonial Creek Farm:
Description | Qty |
Kitten Around Catmint | 1 |
John Whittlesey Salvia | 1 |
Mirage Rose Bi-Color Salvia | 1 |
African Blue Basil | 2 |
It’s never too late to get bulbs. I’ve been needing to replace the calla lilies that turned into mush after the freeze. I ordered lilies through Brent & Beckys. It may be too late to enjoy the gladiolus, but I’m hoping I can get them into the ground by end of April.
Description | Qty |
Zantedeschia Picasso – Calla Lily | 6 |
Lilium Lollipop – Asiatic | 5 |
Lilium Muscadet – Oriental Lily | 5 |
Gladiolus Zizanie – Sword Lily | 10 |
I received a heads up on a new nursery in Denton, so I headed over Denton Plant Factory right away and got a trunkful of plants. Four Seasons Nursery was only a short drive away so I hopped over to get some ornamental basil, strawberries and golden sage.
I’m bound and determined to grow nasturtiums this year. I had some old packets of Alaska Variegated, but turns out they were too old to germinate. So I picked up several packets at Calloway’s and online from Amazon. While seed shopping I also picked up Spinach and Lettuce seeds, along with bunching onions, chives, marigolds and coneflower seeds. I’m also looking forward to my order from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds, consisting of baby bok and Chinese broccoli, coming soon!
As it turns out, my last seed starting venture left me with a lot of unsprouted soil blocks: arugula, spinach, bok choy, and various types of basil. Cleaning out the old seeds from my collection turned out to be a simple matter of dumping packets into wet paper towels and storing them in plastic zip lock bags.
No surprise here…well except for a single spinach seed that germinated. It just wasn’t worth the effort to keep it.
I also started another flat of soil blocks. The Parris Cos lettuce germinated within a few days. I’m hoping that the basils germinate. I also broke out the fenugreek seeds and sowed them in a pot. I purchased these seeds from Amazon pantry a few years ago, which sold them as spices. But whole fenugreek can also grown from these spice seeds. Even as sprouts, they are very fragrant.
If this batch of soil blocks fails to produce any basil, I may have to run them all through the paper towel method. I’m still hopeful I’ll get some to germinate. Stay tuned.