I think summer's almost over!

Not a hurray for most people, but I'm glad things are cooling off. We've had a lot more rain than we have the past two years (thank goodness!), but we've started getting afternoon thunderstorms. I dearly love them, but the cat runs under the nearest couch or bed and the dog sticks to me like glue during them.

In preparation for the fall garden adventure, I've cleared a nice spot in the garden, and have started spreading guinea pig bedding. My fall seeds are in order, and I'll probably get those out in the next few days...if I manage to get my butt in gear and overcome the sapping exhaustion and aches and pains.

I also order 16 cu ft of perlite, joy of joys, and am mixing potting mix like crazy. We invested in a lovely machine for redoing the flooring in a few locations, and this magical machine cuts glass like a knife through butter. I'll post some pictures of the new, green planters I'll be posting in my shop soon.

I've got a couple new varieties of tomatoes that just went off for germ testing, so keep your eyes peeled for those!

x-posted to fluffnflowers' website blog.

Selling Elsewhere

The recent influx of seed and plant resellers to Etsy and complete dismissal of the issue by the Etsy CEO has encouraged me to find other outlets for my plant sales. While I won't be closing house entirely on Etsy, I feel that the situation has severely compromised the integrity of the Plants category and don't wish to be lumped in with blatant resellers and people lying about the origins of their seeds.

By the recommendation of greenthing, I will shortly be setting up shop on winkelf. I like the layout and general look and feel of the site, and I think it may end up being a good home.

I've had a couple of listings up on ArtFire, but I feel that the look and feel of the site is too cluttered, messy, and difficult to navigate. Supposedly, there are going to be changes made, but I'll be waiting for those before I decide whether to invest any more time in my shop there.

The second place that I will be opening up shop is Zibbet. It's still very small and developing, but the layout and listing process is very clean, tidy, and easy to navigate. They also have a strict 'no resellers' policy, which greatly, greatly appeals to me. I hope that means that, as the site grows, it will maintain its integrity in a way that Etsy seems unwilling or unable to do. My shop on Zibbet is located here.

We'll see how they do and what happens. I'll probably be checking into other selling outlets, but that's all the news that is news, for now.

Sowing small seeds

Seeds come in all shapes and sizes, and I've noticed, recently, that many people tend to shy away from small seeds. When I say 'small', you might think of tomato seeds, but I think of tiny seeds. Seeds that are so small that they can easily be balanced on the tip of a ball point pen.

You've never seen a seed this small, perhaps, because many times, these tiny tiny seeds are treated before you get them. Sometimes they're imbedded in paper or strips or coated in clay to make them easier to handle. For those of us who are small growers, these treatments are often costly and impractical for the batches we collect.

I've been told time and time again how difficult it is to start these plants from their tiny seeds, so I thought I'd provide a short list on how to successfully germinate your newest addition.

First, find your container. I know a few people who are able to sow these tiny seeds outdoors, but I always have the best luck starting them under shelter. Your container can be just about anything from a seed tray to a plastic cup.

Second, mix a soilless potting mixture with water until moist and pack it into your container. You don't want it soupy, but it should be noticeably damp, if you stick a finger into it.

Third, the moment of truth. Take a pinch of seeds and sprinkle them over the surface. If you like to see where your seeds are going, take a piece of damp paper towel and lay it over the surface of the soil before sprinkling.

Fourth, DO NOT cover these tiny seeds. Some small seeds are fine with being covered, but I've found that my germination rates are much higher when surface sown. If you are starting your seeds in a dry environment, cover your container with plastic wrap or a clear plastic cover. This will retain moisture and allow light in to your seeds. Make sure to keep the containers warm to speed up the germination process.

More Tomato Madness

I think this is going to be the last of the list for this year. I'm not going to hold my breath that the others are going to germinate, but they'll get to sit and wait for a couple of weeks before I completely give up.

Since last post:

Cherokee Chocolate
Chocolate Stripe
Costoluto Genovese
Coyote
Great White
Italian Tree
Kosovo
Marglobe
Marlowe Charleston
Mr Stripey
Nepal
Old Brooks
Old German
Omar's Lebanese
Opalka
Paul Robeson
Pink Ruffled
Polish
Red Zebra
Roma
Ruby Gold
Silvery Fir Tree
Speckled Roman
Super Snow White
Tigrovy

Hopefully, the rain will stop and I'll be able to start my squishes and corn and melons. Woohoo!

Gotta get moving.

Spring is officially here! Only a couple more nights are expected to be below freezing, and I've got soooo much stuff to do. I'm a bit behind this year, but that's what I get for always finding a new way to get sick.

I've got a handful of seed orders that are still in the mail and I want them NOW! I said I wasn't going to do any orders, but I broke down and decided, with the newly expanded space, that I must have new stuff to fill it in. My tomato trading group seeds should be here Tuesday, and that's what I'm most excited about. I'd love to top 90 varieties grown this year, but we shall see.

Now for the master list:

- clean up property; bricks to the back, unusable corner, hay raked in
- start more seeds!
- get a roll (or two!) of concrete reinforcement wire for more tomato cages
- get water hooked up

'Black Pearl' Pepper

I've had this plant listed in my shop under it's botanical name, Capsicum annuum 'Black Pearl'. I changed it to 'Black Pearl' Pepper when I thought about it and realized that most people aren't going to know what the botanical name is. I've had more hits after changing it, so I'm patting myself for being clever. :)

This has been my favorite plant for several years, but I fall even more in love with it every autumn when I bring it in. The black, sparkly foliage is enough to make most people take a second glance and ask about it, and it's even more eye catching when it's covered with bright, red peppers.

It does wonderfully indoors in the winter and blooms and peppers all winter in my bright, south-facing window. That means that those tasty little balls end up in my soups and other dishes all winter!

End of harvest.

It's nearing the end of my harvest season, and I've been spending a lot of time sorting seeds, packaging seeds, and planning out next year.

New things for the week:

Seedpods! I sent some of these off to a friend to see what magic she could work with them. If anyone else wants them for whatever reason, I'd be happy to send some off to you. :)

My lawyer gave me the free-and-clear (and a handful of free templates found online with the same layout), so I also placed another business card order, today. I added another flavor to my stash, so I now have five different images. I hope to be able to continue adding variety.

Health news, my heart appears to be clear from obvious defects, so here's to hoping there'll be no exciting surprises during the surgery. I should be scheduling the procedure next week.

Summer is winding down.

The nights are now in the 60s and the days are cooler (only reaching the mid 80s), and summer is obviously winding down. Leaves are starting to fall and a second rush of seed collection is happening.

I wasn't sure whether I was going to list seeds from my Northern Sea Oats plant this year or not, but I decided to go ahead and go for it. It's a fantastic plant, but I don't know how well ornamental grasses go over on etsy. You can see the listing here. It's one of the more attractive grasses I own, and I have plans for expanding it's growing area next year.

I also spent some time today breaking up another one of my monster lemongrass plants that was trying to anchor itself to the ground through its pot. People seem to find them appealing, which I think is fantastic. Not only are they attractive, but they're a joy to cook with. I'd love to know how people use them! :)

My kava got split up, but I don't know if it'll be listed this year. I'm trying to make up my mind, but that's sometimes difficult.

Tomorrow is my dreaded follow up appointment with a doctor that I've never met, so keep your fingers crossed that things aren't as bad as I fear! :) Hopefully, I won't have any blip in my online time.

Just because it says 'mist'...

I got a new hose nozzle a couple of weeks ago and I'm loving it! It's very heavy duty, has great heft, and all of the settings are different and work like as they should. Even better, it was rather inexpensive!

Today, I went out to check on my flats of winter veggies and found that they needed a bit of moisture. I dragged over my hose, knocked my handy-dandy nozzle to mist, and went at it.

Just because it says 'mist', I learned, doesn't mean that it's a gentle mist. Yes, it mists, but I'm short and being only a couple feet away with the nozzle is a bit too much for tender little seedlings. I've been working on my technique and found that aiming the nozzle over, rather than at, the flats works much better and the little seedlings maintain their heads.

So far, arugula, some spinach, broccoli raab, buttercrunch lettuce, swiss chard, kohl rabi, and kale are all making an appearance. I wish the fennel was showing, but the seeds I found were old and hadn't been properly stored. I may go get some fresh seeds for this winter, if I'm feeling motivated!

Some fun newness!

I haven't been feeling well over the past week or so (cardiologist appointment on Tuesday, woot!), so I haven't been up and about in the yard as much. Yesterday, though, my guy was cleaning up the office and was trying to figure out what to do with his old 14" long 3.5" floppy file. I looked at it and was inspired!

It's a HUGE step up from my prior 'organizational' method -- the seed baggies were just tossed in a box. Now, each flavor of seeds has it's own pocket and the pre-packed bags that are ready to be shipped out are easy to find and I've got MUCH better inventory control.

Having everything so organized made me realize how many seeds I've actually collected this year! This 14" long file is completely stuffed, and I still have vials of bulk seeds not packaged yet.

Other than that, my winter basil is coming up. My Red Rubin didn't go to seed this summer after my guy conveniently mowed it down, so I started another pot with last year's seeds to keep indoors this winter. The little sprouts are so cute! I love the color that these have and they make such a great addition to pestos. Purple pesto rocks!

If all goes as planned, I should have plenty of seeds from these lovelies available on etsy for next spring.

The fun never ends.

Sometimes, I think there are little elves in my home set to torture me.

I had two orders to get out Tuesday, or they would have had to wait until next week. I pulled out my roll of tape...and it had two feet left! That's not enough when you need to reassemble boxes, tape plants in, seal, and attach labels. I knew I'd seen a roll lurking around somewhere, so I frantically searched the house for three hours before deciding that I was going to have to tell the people who ordered that I was going to have to delay the shipments. If I could legally drive, it wouldn't be a problem, but I can't.

I was lamenting this to the dog when she suddenly took off up the stairs...which got me thinking. Lo and behold, there was a partially masticated roll underneath the dog's blanket. Hurrah! The packages went out (with tape lacking chew marks) and life was good.

I wasn't feeling well, so I spent most of the day sorting seeds. I had about four cups of Rose of Sharon seeds on my lap and reached over to grab something off of the table. That yanked the blanket that the tray was on and all of the seeds dumped onto the floor. Yay. I'm just very glad that I have an indefinite supply of these and that they aren't the rolly kind of seeds.

More veggies

My okra has really had a struggle this year. First, ants were colonizing aphids at an impressive rate on the flowers and tender, new growth. Then, the chipmunks got it:



I loathe chipmunks.

Finally, the few surviving plants are beginning to bloom:



I really love okra. It's an amazingly versatile plant that's got great flowers. I grow it for an ornamental annual and for my SO who loves to eat it. It's easy to grow and I direct sow it a couple of weeks after the last frost. It loves our crappy soil and I can't find anything to dislike about that!

If the flower reminds you of a Hibiscus, that's probably because it should. :) Okra and Hibiscus are cousins, of sorts, but okra definitely win in terms of flavor.

Seed collection has begun!

It's that time of the year!

Thursday, I harvested my first batch of Gomphrena seedheads and spent a lot of the day sorting them. I also cut my dwarf Teddy Bear sunflower heads and sorted them.

Today, I collected more Malva, Callirhoe, and pruned off my first set of Monarda seedheads. I don't have very good luck collecting the beebalm, but I try every year, anyway.

Hopefully, I'll have some more hosta seed to share, shortly, too! I just noticed some of my seed-grown 'mutts' beginning to bloom. They're so rewarding to grow from seed and it's amazing what variety you can get from plants prized simply for their leaves.