Hi again,

Well after months of getting to grips with gardening I've discovered two
things:

1) ... I still don't know anything, but ...
2) ... I seem to have a natural talent

With the exception of Coleus, which seems to *hate* me (keeps dying) and
the sad case of the potted Pin Oak (un-watered for 3 years), I seem to
have the Midas touch with plants.

Aloe's (which I initially referred to as Cacti) that were at deaths door
at the beginning of the year, have been re-potted, spawned offspring,
flowered, and returned to their all-time best condition.

The annuals exploded with life and colour, indeed the Nasturtiums turned
into rampaging thugs that threatened the rest of the Garden, despite being
eaten by those abseiling caterpillar thingies.

The newly planted perennials, many of which seemed to be duds, suddenly
shot outwards and upwards during the recent hot spell. This same heatwave
nearly killed my lawn, however, since I've been oversees for 4 weeks and
don't have an irrigation system.

I split up a Spider Plant, and due to a temporary shortage of pots, stuck
the bits into a long planter filled with compost, that was outdoors. This
was a few months ago (when we had a lot of cold, wet weather), and I
thought I'd killed the poor things. Now, however, (suitable re-potted and
situated indoors), they are in beautiful condition, and stray roots left
in the planter keeps spawning more plants - I've got hundreds of the
things !!! Spider plant, anyone? Oh and someone told me that spider plants
are good for sitting next to TV's and Computers, since they absorb,
neutralise and thrive on electromagnetic energy, which is harmful to us
humans. Cool

I'm getting brave now, and playing around with harvested seeds, but I am
mainly ignorant of such things. So far I think I've figured out that you
can't propagate F1's since they are sterile, but anything else should
work, right? I'd like to grow Laburnums from seed (they seed naturally at
the base of the tree in my garden anyway) but I'm not sure how to handle
the process. I've split the (now dry) pods, and planted them in seed
trays, but what now? Do I keep it hot or cold, wet or dry, indoors or
outdoors?

The arable area (an embankment) that I cleared to make into a kind of
hillside meadow, is now completely free of couch grass and other weeds,
and I've been improving the soil (a bit) with garden compost. Should I be
planting wildflower seeds now or in the early spring? I never did get
around to buying a soil-test kit, so I suppose I should do that first
before committing to any particular species. Reminder - it is exposed, NE
facing, coastal, dry/silty (improved), high nitrogen, unknown Ph, in
Cruden Bay (NE Scotland).

Oh, and I finally bought that greenhouse (from Access). It's a 5ft
long lean-to, perfect for my small garden. My first greenhouse!!!

And I've erected 3 bird boxes, with different size openings. I feed the
little buggers, so I might as well give them full board too

-
[H]omer

"[H]omer" wrote in newsan.2004.09.09.12.25.32.940135
@ftc.gov:

I'm getting brave now, and playing around with harvested seeds, but I am
mainly ignorant of such things. So far I think I've figured out that you
can't propagate F1's since they are sterile, but anything else should
work, right?

No - F1 plants may well have fertile seeds. They are just unlikely to grow
up exactly like their parents. F1 plants are usually very similar and
consistent, unlike ordinary mixed seed which may produce plants that are
taller, shorter, fastgrowing, slower, paler, darker, and so on.

Some plants are always propagated by cuttings, and don't produce seeds, but
most things that get as far as producing full-grown healthy seeds will use
them to reproduce.

Just don't expect the 'children' to look exactly like their parents! (this
particularly applies to things like squashes, marrows and pumpkins - a vary
promiscuous set of plants!)


Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--

In article , [H]omer
writes
Hi again,

Well after months of getting to grips with gardening I've discovered two
things:

1) ... I still don't know anything, but ...
2) ... I seem to have a natural talent

With the exception of Coleus, which seems to *hate* me (keeps dying) and
the sad case of the potted Pin Oak (un-watered for 3 years), I seem to
have the Midas touch with plants.

They all turn into a lifeless metal? ;-)

Oh and someone told me that spider plants
are good for sitting next to TV's and Computers, since they absorb,
neutralise and thrive on electromagnetic energy, which is harmful to us
humans. Cool

Franz will prbably have something to say here ;-


I'm getting brave now, and playing around with harvested seeds, but I am
mainly ignorant of such things. So far I think I've figured out that you
can't propagate F1's since they are sterile,

No. They're not sterile.
F1 merely means the first generation of a cross. The reason you don't
propagate from them is that they don't breed true. Simplifying
enormously, the F1 generation will have inherited half its genes from
one parent and half from the other. So taking a particular gene, it may
have A from one parent and B from the other, and what you see on the
plant is the result of this AB combination.

But when you cross with another AB plant, the first plant can give
either A or B to the seed, and so can the second plant.
So the seed can be AA, AB or BB - in other words a mixture.

but anything else should
work, right? I'd like to grow Laburnums from seed (they seed naturally at
the base of the tree in my garden anyway) but I'm not sure how to handle
the process. I've split the (now dry) pods, and planted them in seed
trays, but what now? Do I keep it hot or cold, wet or dry, indoors or
outdoors?

A rule of thumb is use the same rule as for bulbs - plant at twice the
depth of the seed - so big seeds might have half an inch of soil above,
tiny ones scattered on surface. Keep the soil moist at all times, and
keep at around 68 deg F. If nothing happens after a couple of months,
and the seed is not from a tropical plant, it might need a 'winter'
before it will germinate - either leave it outside all winter, or wrap
the seed tray in a plastic bag and leave it in the fridge for about 6
weeks.

There's lots of exceptions. Some seeds need to be buried, others (like
poppies) will only germinate in the light. Some need to have been
through smoke or a fire, some need to have been through an animal's gut.

But most seeds are reasonably trouble free, and it is fascinating to see
the life cycle from seedling through to flower. The tricky stage is
after they have germinated - they're very susceptible to drought, so
important to keep the soil moist (but not waterlogged), and they have a
high light requirement - if it's too dark, they will grow long, weak
and leggy. That's why most seeds are sown in the spring rather than just
after harvest in the autumn.

The arable area (an embankment) that I cleared to make into a kind of
hillside meadow, is now completely free of couch grass and other weeds,
and I've been improving the soil (a bit) with garden compost. Should I be
planting wildflower seeds now or in the early spring?

Is it bare soil or grass? If bare soil, then seeds in spring are fine.
If grass, you'd be better growing the seeds in pots and planting out
plants into the grass.

Think about whether you want annual or perennial flowers. Annuals - the
cornflowers and poppies that spring into mind - will need you to dig
over the area every winter.

I never did get
around to buying a soil-test kit, so I suppose I should do that first
before committing to any particular species. Reminder - it is exposed, NE
facing, coastal, dry/silty (improved), high nitrogen,

that's your problem! With high nitrogen, the grass will compete
successfully with the flowers. You need to reduce the nitrogen level by
mowing and removing the clippings, otherwise you'll have to do a lot of
cossetting of the flowers.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article ,
Kay wrote:

Oh and someone told me that spider plants
are good for sitting next to TV's and Computers, since they absorb,
neutralise and thrive on electromagnetic energy, which is harmful to us
humans. Cool

Franz will prbably have something to say here ;-

As someone who has been a computer professional for nearly 40 years,
I quite agree that the best thing to do with them is feed them to
spider plants. Regrettably, I think that the spider plants will
reject them as unpalatable.

That statement was clearly made by someone who sharpens razor blades
by leaving them in pyramids overnight. I assume the word "cool"
was meant as in hide and seek :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"[H]omer" wrote in message
news
Hi again,

SNIP
Oh and someone told me that spider plants
are good for sitting next to TV's and Computers, since they absorb,
neutralise and thrive on electromagnetic energy, which is harmful to us
humans. Cool

Who told you that, Uri Gelller?

The reason spider plants are suited for next to the TV etc is that they are
one of the plants most tolerant of abuse/neglect, which is what they get
next to the TV or PC.

As for all the other stuff, good on you. Enjoy.

Steve

On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 18:54:12 +0000, Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
Kay wrote:

Oh and someone told me that spider plants
are good for sitting next to TV's and Computers, since they absorb,
neutralise and thrive on electromagnetic energy, which is harmful to us
humans. Cool

Franz will prbably have something to say here ;-

As someone who has been a computer professional for nearly 40 years,
I quite agree that the best thing to do with them is feed them to
spider plants. Regrettably, I think that the spider plants will
reject them as unpalatable.

That statement was clearly made by someone who sharpens razor blades
by leaving them in pyramids overnight. I assume the word "cool"
was meant as in hide and seek :-)

It was a guy I know at work, who used to run a nursery (I'll ask him which
one next time I see him). He did strike me as a bit of a hippie, but
otherwise harmless. Coincidentally, I think he really *is* into pyramid
power, lay-lines, etc.

The only "hippie" thing *I* do with my plants (currently) is play music to
them. My old "greenhouse" is actually the windowsill in the potting shed,
and I've got a portable CD in there. The Aloe's like Chris Isaak, but the
young Carnations prefer Moby and the Chemical Brothers. I'll try my new
Snow Patrol album on them later today, since they all seem to share a
taste in Travis, which is similar. I did see the Venus Fly Trap dancing
to music once, or maybe it was just yawning.

-
[H]omer

In article ,
([H]omer) wrote:

I've been improving the soil (a bit) with garden compost. Should I be
planting wildflower seeds now or in the early spring

Wildflowers prefer poor soil because grass doesn't. If you've only just
put the compost on. take it off again

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/