Balsam seedlings

Planted a double variety of Impatiens Balsamina on the 28th and they are already germinating. Put them in a south facing window in the living room (its the warmest room in the house believe it or not...). The optimal temp for them is 60 degrees so i figured it was about time to see if they would go for me and they sure did. They even sprouted faster than the package said they would (7-10 days). If they come out well i think i'll give some out b/c they are a heat tolerant variety and should do well with some abuse :) plus i planted a whole 72 cell pack worth and really have no where to put them!

Bought some coleus and some crackerjack marigold but i have to wait till the weather warms up (optimal germination at ~70 degrees).

Notes on which window to place plants in:

East-facing windows receive cool morning sun, and are good choices for most houseplants. However, in the winter, east windows receive more sunlight than the rest of the year. This would be my pick for the Christmas cactus.

North-facing windows receive almost no direct light. North windows are great choices for houseplants that thrive on indirect light. The cyclamen that is a popular Christmas plant would love this window, as would the peace lily, Chinese evergreen or pothos ivy.

South-facing windows receive a lot of sunlight in the winter but less in the summer. Special care may be needed in using south-facing windows or you may simply need to move the plant in the summer. The poinsettia would look good for a couple of more months in this location as would the parlor palm.

West-facing windows receive the most sunlight of all. Plants on the west side of your home may need to be protected from the sun. Plants like the Norfolk Island pine and weeping fig would find this window most ideal.

 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11015/1118145-47.stm#ixzz1CdH1XAAv

Free garden classes (Houston)

I think I'm going to start going to these free classes that A&M has a part in called the "green thumb" series. Real bummer is that they are all on Thursday from 6:30pm-8:30pm and i get off class at 7 on Thursdays... Hopefully class will let out early and i can make some of them. The one i really want to go to is over spring break so i'm totally in for that one. i just have to find some nice victim to go along with me : )

you can see the flyer here. i've already marked my calendar.
http://harris-tx.tamu.edu/hort/docs/11GreenThumb.pdf

I'll probably start keeping up with this site too: http://herselfshoustongarden.com/local-goings-on
Plus she's got an MS in physics and a BS in computer science. bookmarked.

First Peas, new(ish) happenings

I got my first set of snow peas a week ago.

Started some new SIP containers. the two on the left are Gardenia jasminoides (the common ones) and the right one is Verbascum. I might turn one of the gardenia into a bonsai, not sure yet. I'm gonna see how they turn out. They've been very slow to grow...

I've also found something i've done wrong with the SIP containers - make sure that the holes you make for drains are sufficiently big enough to let water pass back out. i thought mine were big enough originally but they were not. I lost my 3rd gardenia plant like that, and i'm betting its the reason one is so spindle-y.

if you look at this one full size you can see how well everything is decomposing and turning to compost. Pretty happy about getting to plant veggies in it.











The tomatoes are growing so slow. The only ones that have ever shown any color are the sweet 100s. Sigh... I don't think that i'll be planting them again next fall season, and if i do than i'll have to get them into the ground much much earlier than i did this time. I think it was a good learning experience though. I'm gonna leave them out to see what they do

Roma

Sweet 100

Better Boy