Happy St. Patricks Day! I'm doing it AGAIN..................

Happy St. Patricks Day!
                           Wear the Green!

The weather this week has been better than fabulous so yes "I'm doing it again!" I am starting seeds. A while back Samantha G asked me to write a post about my baggie method for seed starting.... Here it is:

I soak the seeds first in hot water. Water about the heat that you would hand wash dishes in is fine. Too hot and it can kill the seeds. I sometimes soak them overnight, but I have also soaked them for just about an hour at the time.  These are cat food cups that I have an abundance of and they only have about 1-1.5 ounces of water in them.

I then fill a cheap  ( from the dollar store)quart sized ziplock baggie. 1/3 full with my seed starting mix. ( usually miracle grow potting soil because it is easiest to come by and it is light weight.)

Then I dump the seeds and the water they are soaking in all into the baggie. I seal it up and label it and then put it in a warm spot and wait...........and wait...........and wait...... ( I am not very patient sometimes.)

Most seeds like temperatures in the low 70's-80's for germination and some like light and others dark. Most of the seeds I am planting will take anywhere from 7 days to 2 months to germinate.
I then check on them at least every couple of days. As long as there is condensation in the baggie, there is enough moisture and humidity for them to do just fine. You don't even have to open the bag. When I use quart sized bags and the seedlings reach the top or have at least 2 pairs of true leaves, I know it is time to take them out and transplant them into pots, or their growing spot. Depending on where you grow them, you may need to harden them off for a few days before planting out in full sun.
This week I have started : coneflowers, rudbeckias, stokesia, jasmines, vines, and tons of other things. When they all come up I may need help getting them planted.
There are many many methods of seed starting, but this one works best for me. Since I have started growing in bags, my germination percentages have increased exponentially.
Good Luck.

If you have a way to start seeds that really works well for you, leave me a comment and let me know. I love to experiment.

Playing Catch Up

Wow! I truly do not know what happened to the past two weeks. It is almost as if they didn't happen. I have missed both of the last two challenges from Laura, I haven't posted, in fact I haven't done any of the things I had planned. Oh Well, tomorrow is a new week and my todo list starts again. I am working in the studio a bit and making a sterling bangle bracelet with a gorgeous copper rose ( that my very creative husband sculpted) and some very pretty cobalt blue chalcedony earrings. I promise to post pictures as soon as they are complete.
Samantha G sent me a special request for a post about my seed starting method. Samantha, I hope I am not too late, I will write that post for you ASAP.
In the meantime, I will continue to Zentangle/doodle and get back to the challenges and regular postings.
Hello and thank you to all of my followers.

Thought for the week.....
Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, 
 for they shall never cease to be amused.


I hope you all have a wonderful Week.

It's Time to start the SEEDS!

Have you thought about how quickly this year is already moving? I know most of the country is blanketed in snow and there seems to be more coming, but here in the fanatical gardeners world, it is time to start the seeds. Even if you have to start them indoors.
Most seeds that you start indoors need to be sown 8-10 weeks before the last frost date for your area. In my little world that was 2 weeks ago, but there is a reason I am behind.  Anyway it is now time to gather your seeds and containers and plant markers and start sowing!
Here are some great ideas I have found for starting them.
Mr.Brownthumb shows you how to make "ghetto greenhouses" with 2 litre bottles ( I have a seemingly endless supply of those) and there is also a great article on Robs page for seed starting.
My favorite method is to start them in a baggie with soil. It works the best for me and takes up a lot less space than the other methods I have found.This week, I am starting Madasgcar Jasmine, fortnight lily, passion flowers and lots of others. My kitchen will be filled with little cat food cups that I soak my seeds in and baggies everywhere! I can hardly wait. But then I am always happier when I am playing in the dirt!  Here are a preview of some things I have planned. Hope you are planning your spring garden too.
Coneflowers Echinacea

Fortnight lily ( dietes iridioides) 

Madagascar Jasmine ( Stephanoitis Floribunda)

Passionflower ( passiflora incarnata)

And Rudbeckia! I just love flowers.

Monday's Motivation.... nowhere to be found

Happy New Year Everyone!, I know I am late, it is just that I took off all the days the schools were closed and now I don't want to go back to normal.
Am I the only one fighting it? My Routine really needs to be re-instated, but I just don't seem to have the motivation................

Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday. ~Author Unknown

Hopefully my motivation will return in a little while. There is work to be done, jewelry to be designed, seeds to be sown, and garden plans to be drawn.

Hope you aren't facing the loss of monday's motivation too.

Tightwad Tuesday's Tips

Some people are born organized, not me. Some people are born spenders and some are born savers. I am definitely the latter. I have yet to convince my teenager that frugality is fun, but where there is life there is hope right. I love to do things the easiest, cheapest way possible and so I thought I would share my frugal tip for seed starting today. You have probably seen them everywhere. There are hundreds of posts on the internet for making newspaper pots. The problem with newspaper pots is that I can never seem to regulate the moisture and keep the newspaper from becoming a weak soggy mess.
The easiest way for me to start seeds is to use ziplock baggies. I know a lot of gardeners germinate in baggies with coffee filters or paper towels, but for me it seemed to take twice as long. ( Have I mentioned in the past that I am not the most patient person.)
My method is to use ziplock sandwich bags that I buy from the dollar store. I fill the bag about 1/3 full with my moist seed starting mix. Then I dump the seeds that I have soaked overnight ( I soak them all) with about 1.5 ounces water that the seeds soaked in right into the baggie. I seal it up making sure there is air in it and set it in a warm bright spot, indoors in winter and outdoors in the shade in the warmer parts of the year. I don't open it again until I see some germination beginning. Then I leave the little plants in the bags until they have reached the top. By this time, the seedlings are ready to pot up into their starter pots.


Learning this trick increased my germination success tremendously. The frugal part is that I buy the cheapest bags at the dollar store roughly 25 bags for $1.50 and the baggies are re-usable.
When I want to root things that need a lot of humidity, I use the larger baggies and set the container right into the bag. As long as there is condensation on the inside of the bags, the medium is moist enough. This method is ideal for starting plumeria, daylily and basically all seeds.
Hope this works wonders for your propagation potential.