What Happens When a Seed Germinates

 Spring has sprung in Central Florida.  As I opened the door to go outside this morning, the humidity hit me in the face.  WOW it went from winter to spring really fast.  Last week we were experiencing lows in the 40's with no humidity and now we are in high humidity with mid 80's...

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Start lettuce from seed

Every year I say I'd like to grow my own lettuce from seed, but never get around to it.  I was reminded again by an article on the Birds and Blooms website. Growing from seed really takes little effort.  You just need the right place to get them going Click here for the article from...

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How To Grow Plants From Seeds and Cuttings

Although I love to go shopping for beautiful blooming plants, there is something about the challenge and wonder of nature that growing from seeds and cuttings brings.  My love for propagating plants goes back to my childhood days! Click here for a very informative article on seeds and cuttings,...

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Best Plants for Harvesting Seeds

As a little girl growing up, my dad taught me the joys of growing plants from seed.  For as long as I could remember, I had a little patch of my own to plant whatever I wanted . . . I always picked red zinnias.  He also taught me to check my zinnias often, cutting off the spent flowers...

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Peppers ~ Southern Summer Favorites to Plant This Week

The following tips are courtesy of Home Depot's Garden Club.  Click on the source link at the end of the post to join. Peppers are easy to grow in the garden and containers and thrive in long, hot summers with a weekly watering of 1-2”. Huge, sweet red bells, mildly hot Anaheims, petite...

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Paper Pulp Seed Starters

It is that time of year when we can't wait to plant our seeds and get a head start on Spring.   I've been looking for inexpensive ways to start seeds and especially love it is something that can be recycled. Would you believe these seed starters were made out of junk mail that you would normally...

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Recycling in the garden

Don't throw away those toilet paper or paper towel rolls! This has got to be one of the best ideas I've seen for recycling items for starting seedlings.  My favorite is egg cartons! How to make it: 1. Using scissors, cut six to eight small slits in the end of your toilet paper roll...

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Winter Sowing

Moving our clocks forward is around the corner which means so is spring!  Here in Florida, there is already a change in the air and it has been very pleasant to get out there and do pre-spring clean up. Get an early start on spring by starting your seeds indoors.  There are so...

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Plant a Spring Container Garden . . . Lettuces

It is never too early in the season to start thinking about spring plantings, especially if you live in a subtropical climate as I do.   I found the following article very interesting since I love container gardening and have been meaning to give growing lettuces a try.  You may want...

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Growing tomatoes in winter

Although we experienced our first night of freezing temps last night, my thoughts are on starting tomato and pepper seeds early this winter.  It has been a mild winter for us in Zone 9 Florida and I've done it before, but it has been a long time since I experimented with this theory.   Once...

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More seed starting ideas

Recycle those old ice trays you aren't using anymore!  Click here for an awesome article with tips and tutorial. I love using the method of newspaper pots, another seed starting method using recycled items.  Lindy at Cottage Hill gives directions for a very easy method of making...

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Creative seed starting containers

Looks like Spring has arrived in Central Florida and I couldn't be happier!  Time to start planting seeds in my part of the world! In my travels around Bloggerville, I found this creative self-watering seed starting container idea from Brandy at Savin' Some using recycled soda bottles!...

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Growing Basil

One of the benefits of gardening in central Florida (zone 9) is no time is a bad time to start basil from seed . . . and a benefit of growing basil after not doing any serious gardening for several years is the instant gratification. It is one of the most foolproof herbs in this area.Growing basil...

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Saving money on garden supplies

It has been quite some time since I have posted to my blogs . . . this blog was started somewhere else and I am still in the process of moving blogs and getting on with my life at the same time. I've still not gotten out in the garden yet and my intentions have been good regarding my carport jungle, however, real life has taken precedence over plants. Even Martha Stewart would say that it is a "good thing" . . .The following...

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