Senior Gardening

One of the Joys of Maturity


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The Old Guy's Garden Record

The idea for Senior Gardening came about from frequent postings I made about our garden on another web site. The idea was to create a place where folks could share garden lore via blogs and forums. While I'm still struggling a bit with the software that will eventually make that possible on senior-gardening.com, I thought I'd at least put up a record of our 2008 garden.

December 1, 2008 - Seed Geraniums

With a light snow and winds gusting to 25 MPH, today seemed like a great day to stay inside and get started on our geraniums for next year's garden.

Seeds germinating on paper towelGrowing Geraniums from Seed is a continuing feature here on Senior Gardening, as it will be May before the seeds planted today (on paper towels!) bloom.

It's sort of hard to believe that I was outside yesterday afternoon plugging garlic sets into the ground!

December 5, 2008 - Asparagus Seed

Asparagus berriesI got out yesterday and cut down the asparagus stalks in the garden. The stalks went onto the compost heap, preventing insects from wintering over on them in the asparagus. Removing the stalks also facilitates adding a few bags of composted cow manure to the bed to insulate the roots and give them a boost for next spring.

I couldn't help myself and stripped off the seed containing berries from the asparagus foliage. I may enlarge the patch a bit next year, and while it will fill in on its own, I may start a few new roots to transplant.

December 6, 2008

I transplanted the last of the gloxinias out of the starter "pots" today and also moved most of the ones in four packs into 4" pots. I knew I had to get this work done, as I have around 50 geranium seeds germinating over the heating pad that will need to go into four packs next week. (See: Growing Geraniums from Seed.)

Gloxinias under lights

Of course, while rattling around downstairs in the plant area, I couldn't help but notice my poor begonia was really looking bad. Upon unpotting it, I found it was rootbound. I found a larger hanging pot that gave it another inch or so on the sides and a couple of inches more in depth, cut back the spindly growth, and transplanted it. It has faded a bit since its glory days when the hummingbirds couldn't leave it alone.

Begonia

December 20, 2008

Despite my efforts to discourage it by pinching off blooms, one of the gloxinias started in August is now blooming. The blooms will be a pretty addition when I move the plant upstairs, but obviously, the plant's energy is now split between growing foliage and blooming. I'd much rather it just be growing right now for a tremendous splash of blooms in a few more months.

Glox in bloom

ParsleyI also started some parsley a week or so ago and find that it's now up. Parsley is one of those herbs that you can grow in a pot over the winter and use it by just breaking off what you need at a time. I will need to spread out this planting a bit into another 6" pot.

While it may sound like I'm "Mr. Green Thumb" so far in this update, I found that after twenty days, I only have one geranium seed that germinated. Since I sowed over 40 seeds from three different suppliers, I think the bad seed excuse is out the window, right along with any economy I'd hoped for in this project. The seed dried out a bit at one point in the baggies I'd used to hold the seed germinating on paper towels. I thought I'd caught it in time, but it looks like a total loss on the first planting!

I've replanted some seed I had stored in the freezer and also sent a panic order for a couple more varieties from one of my seed suppliers.

November, 2008

From the at Senior Gardening

 

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