Salty Thumb wrote:

My eggsperience is the egg cartons work okay if you turn them upside down
so that the soil is in the top. If you do them right side up, I also
found they dry out too quickly, the soil volume is lacking and they blow
away easily if it is windy. You can cut up little pieces of milk/juice
carton plastic for dividers if you really need/want to seperate the
seeds.

My favorite seed starter is a clear plastic 64 oz. juice bottle. Drill
holes in the bottom and in the sides near the top. If you cut a mouth
wash bottle in half, it makes a good funnel for the soil. Cut the juice
ottle open when it's time to get the plant(s) out. It's practically
idiot-proof.

I had to ponder this for a while. Luckily, I accrue a fair number of
the water bottles, so I can try this. Thanks!

--
Jean B.

Jenny wrote:

My recent Bluestone order arrived with one completely dead plant (not
bare root, just dead. And two of the three "spotty" dianthus I ordered
turned out to be a different variety and not anywhere near as pretty.

I was underwhelmed with the packing they arrived in--long twisted plants
packed in a box with plastic peanuts. More than half the stems of my
Trollius were completely crimped and had to be cut off.

My experience with Spring Hill was much better, though I quickly learned
that I could buy the same plants in much larger versions in local
nurseries for the same money.

I only mail order now to get things I can't find locally.

I'm experimenting with rooting bits of things I already have and want
more of now. Too soon to tell if it will work.

I started a bunch of perennials from seed this spring using a little kit
from Christmas Tree Shops that came with the tiny plastic greenhouse and
six packets of seed (For less than $5. Who could resist?). I've now got
6 columbines, 2 lupines, and a bunch of shasta daisies and foxglove
growing quite happily in my woodland garden. I moved them to peat pots
once they germinated and gave them a lot of time in the shelter of my
deck before planting them in the garden.

I just hope they're pretty. All too often when I buy plants where it
isn't clear what color they're going to be, they turn out to be
something ugly. I just pulled out four of the most disgusting Siberian
irises I've ever seen--brown with greenish yellow highlights-that came
in a mixed iris collection I bought last fall.

Hmmm. Sounds like Springhill might deserve a chance--that they have
changed their ways. I'll check them out--and try to see what recent
comments are like (as vs. a compilation over the years).
--
Jean B.

"Jean B." wrote in message
...
Vox Humana wrote:



Well, I want small plants, but I also want to know they will be small.
It is pretty hot here, so I wonder how wise it would be to order any
plants now? It sort-of sounds like I am going to have to wait until
Spring (or maybe try to grow some things myself), so I have quite a
while to gather information. While one can plant in the fall, the
plants would obviously have grown a lot bigger over the summer, and
hence they would be harder for me to plant.

Mail-order houses grow two crops, one for spring shipment and one for fall.
That is why both Bluestone and Springhill have clearance sales in June.
They empty their greenhouses and start over. If you order plants for fall
planting, you won't be getting plants that have grown over the summer, you
will get plants that are being started in the next couple of weeks.

Vox Humana wrote:

Mail-order houses grow two crops, one for spring shipment and one for fall.
That is why both Bluestone and Springhill have clearance sales in June.
They empty their greenhouses and start over. If you order plants for fall
planting, you won't be getting plants that have grown over the summer, you
will get plants that are being started in the next couple of weeks.


Great! I'll keep my eye on the offerings, then.

--
Jean B.

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 05:48:49 GMT, Salty Thumb
wrote:

"Jean B." wrote in :

My favorite seed starter is a clear plastic 64 oz. juice bottle. Drill
holes in the bottom and in the sides near the top. If you cut a mouth
wash bottle in half, it makes a good funnel for the soil. Cut the juice
ottle open when it's time to get the plant(s) out. It's practically
idiot-proof.
Well idiots are extremely clever, I can vouch for that.

I cut around most of the juice bottle about 4" from the bottle,
leaving just a little that I can hinge back. That makes it easy to
hinge back and add the soil and seeds. I then seal the bottle with
duct tape until the seedlings are ready to get used to the outdoors.
Then I take the tape off and let it hinge back more and more with
time.

Swyck