Snowy Day Seed Starting!

Well, the predicted snow has hit and it is coming down fast and furious as we speak. Yesterday morning  I shoveled a good 8 inches from our front walkway and steps (my shovel master hubby is gone on a business trip) and this morning I tackled another foot of the powdery white stuff.  It is a good workout and by the time I was done, I was hunting down some ice tea, despite it still being a mere 8:30 am.   I made my way to the chicken house, got them ladies fed and collected the eggs.  Love them fresh eggs!

I spent my morning yesterday in here...

In my handy dandy little greenhouse.

  Have you heard of winter sowing?  Do you want a bazillion flowers to put in your garden on the cheap?? Here is a great link to an article with the lowdown.  And it really does work!

WINTER SOWING

I plan on doing some of that type soon, I am running late on it but I was more interested in getting my light racks set up with the bottom heat for the more tender stuff.  I normally start seeds inside my house on racks but I thought I would give it a try out in my greenhouse, which is not insulated or heated.  I am always experimenting. 

I start my seeds in these plastic tubs that once held lunchmeat.  I have had little success in using the little six pack plastic containers recycled from the garden centers, my seeds do better when I plant them all together in one tub then transplant when they get their second set of leaves.   I wash and sanitize them before using. (of course) I drill drainage holes in the bottom with my DeWalt screw gun and a drill bit.  Works great.  

I first put down an inch or so of perlite, the seeds only need an inch of seed starting mix and it aids in good drainage.

Next is the seed starting mix.  I bought this mix as it has worked well for me in the past, there is several recipes online for making your own and I have made my own in the past, I went with convenience this year and bought a premade seed mix.  I use so little with the perlite taking up a good part of the pot that the cost is minimal. I wet the mix and perlite well with a weak chamomile tea.   

 Sprinkle on your seed, then cover lightly with some chick grit.  This helps deter the fungus that can cause damping off. (the weak chamomile tea is also supposed to help)

 My planting racks (metal industrial racks from Costco) are laced with rope lights tied down with wire twist ties (like off bread wrappers ).

 The rope lights make great bottom heat, the heat mats are so expensive, I do have one and used it last year and it did a tremendous job of getting my seeds off to a great start as can be seen in my last photo.

I place the freshly planted tubs into the plant trays, cover with the clear lids and place on the rope lights and under the grow lights.  I use regular shop lights and I try to find the OTT plant light bulbs but Home Depot stopped carrying them.  There was another brand plant bulb but I cannot remember the name. 

So we shall see if these will do as well out in my little greenhouse as they did inside my house.    I started a bit later as I normally start seeds in my house in January but this has been a crazy few months. 

I started all the seedlings along the window wall, including the tomatoes in the foreground.  I loved this greenhouse but no longer live there.    My little one here will have to do, it just does not get the winter sun like this one.

Now off to paint more signs, I have to keep stocking my website.

  Enjoy your day!!
Pamela

A Taste of Spring from California!

I wanted to share some floral joy with you.  We are expecting snow, supposedly this is going to be a doozy of a storm.   The accumulated snowpack will be welcome at the higher elevations and the fresh snow for the ski resorts is a boon for business so it is not really a bad thing.  

I have plenty of indoor chores that need doing and as long as I keep power and my woodstove going I should be just fine.

This is my Pams Choice Foxglove, grown from seed

I may even spend a day in my greenhouse getting seeds started.  The hardier flowers will germinate just fine with a little bottom heat and the grow lights, even though the temp in the greenhouse is not that warm.

Heavenly Blue Morning Glory

 My Sweet Pea

(I only grow the annual type, the perennial sweet pea is an invasive pest around these parts and I visciously yank it out when it tries to grow in my yard)

 Prince Edward Iris

(or was it Prince George, hmmm need to look that up)

One day I will share all my iris with you.  I have quite the collection.  I love flowers that propagate themselves and iris' flourish here.

One day soon I will share a trip thru a garden in McCall, Idaho called Charlie's Garden. I enjoyed my tour last August and since I found no photos online about it I figured mine would have to do.

Until we meet again.

Pamela

I thought I would join a different type party this time around

Tracys Trinkets and Treasures boekh party
Outdoor Wednesday

Spring was here....

What a lovely couple of weeks we enjoyed here in N. Calif.  Sunshine and mild temps made for a wonderful respite from winter.  We seem to get a brief taste of spring each February, a teaser before we are hit once again with cold, snow/rain with a dash of wind tossed in.  But that few days of warmth is a lovely reminder that Spring is on its way, and makes it bearable until it is here to stay. 

My husband and I spent the weekend entertaining our youngest nephews (mommy and daddy were having a weekend to themselves).    Here is Cayden and Jackson in their favorite spot as I cook, they are my little helpers.

Friday they helped me outside raking the pine needles and feeding the chickens.  Auntie Pam was making sure they were good and tired come bed time.   

Saturday we took them to the zoo.   We enjoyed walking thru the small zoo.  Here is a couple of wild ones ready to be adopted….



Lot's of fun critters to see...

Photo ops

That Uncle Dave, he is on his phone again!

 

Then is was time for LUNCH!

The sun was fabulous, the temp about 70 degrees and the green grass so vibrant. One thing I love about California is it is so green, even in winter.  As we drove down into the San Joaquin valley I was on the lookout for the almond trees.  They are one of the first things to bloom, it almost never fails, by the second week of February you see white blossoms popping out all over.  

We had fun, we wore the boys to a nub, they slept for a good portion of Sunday afternoon and were glad to see mom and dad later in the evening.

Today we are back to winter weather, cold snow this morning and then rain and some wind. Sigh, our peek at Spring is over but soon enough it will be here to stay!

woo hoo.

Needless to say I got no projects done but enjoying the sunshine and the boys was more fun anyways.

Ta ta...Pamela

 



Get the INSIDE scoop!



Well, I got brave and photographed the inside of the studio.  So many expressed their wish to see it and yet I know this is not what they were expecting.  I am sure they have visions of great decor, smancy lighting and froo froo's.  But the reality is I am MESSY when creating and this is a working studio.   I have been just running in, painting up a few signs at a time then closing the door behind me as I go about my day. Plus during the cold winter months I had to set up building my dining room table in here.

This is when it was getting stained.

I do plan on revamping this all soon and it will look so much nicer.  I will save my plans for another post and I will need feedback to get suggestions.  Here is my lovely cottage...on the inside.

This is from the French Doors looking in..

 Looking to the left from the French Doors.  I have many of my geraniums I started from seed overwintering in here since it is a heated space. My greenhouse is not heated and gets little sun in the dead of winter.

 This shot is looking to the right from the French doors.  My paint table is a thrift store find that I painted white. I tape down butcher paper on the top so I don't get paint on it.

 A shot towards the French Doors.  You can see my little sink that I rinse my brushes out in. I need to fnish painting the legs and right now it is not working, the pipes to it outside froze last year, in fact my entire back yard water system is toast.  Something on our 'to do' list for this spring and summer.  So, in the meantime I haul 1 gallon milk jugs full of water in from the house.

 A shot of the loft.  My daughter used to love to lay up there and read while I painted.  She has since grown up and moved away but I left her feather mattress up there.  I will use this for storage soon.

This is where I work on painting the signs for my website and for special orders that people request.

Now that you have all gasped in dismay over what it REALLY looks like inside, I will bid you adieu.

 

The step by step plans/eBook are now available.  Click on the website button above to find out more!

Trying to Learn Photoshop!

Today has been gorgeous!  Sunny and a high of 65 degrees, can't get much better than this in the mountains in February.  The past week has been spent on painting signs,  special order signs and a few just to put up on my website.

 I still need to work on the inside photos of my studio.  So many have requested it but I am half afraid to show what it looks like now.  On the other hand I am motivated to get it arranged as I would wish so I can show "before" and "after" photos.  I will need help in getting it done and am waiting for my husband to finish.  He has been working on the step by step building plans for the studio and price list for materials so any who wish can build it for themselves.

The other item on my list is learn photoshop.  My blog definitely needs a face lift and organization but the things I want to do will be easier if I learn how to use it. I have wanted to use Photoshop for my photography forever and a day so it is time to buckle down to it, there are so many easy tutorials to smooth the way, I just need to set aside time for it.  But getting the signs painted that have been ordered has taken priority! 

Here are some of the signs I worked on this week...

A blue cottage sign with pink roses.  I am working on doing some beachy signs getting ready for summer.

My rosebud laundry signs are always a hit.

A gal special ordered one like this back in December..I liked it so well after completing it I wanted to do another.  I am also working on a Frog Pond sign that is driving me insane!  I can't seem to get the frogs down.  But I usually have a point in many of my special order signs that have me yanking my hair out. 

Today I refused to even look at signs! With the gorgeous temps I had a hard time staying indoors,  so I gave in to the desire to be outside and worked in my greenhouse.  I set up rope lights on the metal rack to use as a heat mat for my seedlings and next I will set up the growlights. I soaked, scrubbed and sanitized tons of plastic pots.  I had to break off long enough to run to the grocery store and Post Office but that was about it, the rest of the time was spent getting ready for spring!  I checked my peach trees out back and they are starting to bud. 
I love being outside, it soothes the soul. Well, I should qualify that, I love being outside when it is warm. I don't handle cold well, unless it is on the short term.
Time to go lock up the chickens, I let the out of their pen to peck the green shoots peeking out of the snow free ground. 

Pamela