AmateurInAwe's Garden

[Amateurinawe]

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[Amateurinawe]

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[Amateurinawe]

And the vines are looking very healthy too.....

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[bower]

The only thing I recognize are the currants! ... except the tag says Hibiscus I think??
Confusing but.. it's clearly spring, whatever those thingys are.

[Growing Coastal]

Spring has sprung!
Your Mexican Mock Orange is about a week ahead of mine.
Are the pointy pink buds Magnolias? Today I saw that the ones the city planted here are just opening now, too.
We call that 1st plant California Lilac, here.

[Amateurinawe]

So they were, Chinese wisteria, euphorbia, skimmia, ceananthus (Californian lilac), Mexican orange, magnolia, blackcurrant, blueberry and lastly April fool. And although we are due an arctic blast next week, spring has sprung. And yes there is an hibiscus hidden there too.

[Amateurinawe]

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So we have had some freezing temperatures overnight for a week now, but the tomatoes and some peppers are as snug as a bug in the lean-to thanks to the kerosene heater. Plus any CO2 emitted will help a bit too. Some of the tomatoes already have flowers, and i have replanted two suckers already.

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The plants are all at different stages of growth, some i started really early and some have been late, out of those some have been very late germinators.

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On this side there are some plants that are the oldest and needed bigger pots and more height, still too cold to go out yet. And I have already found one home for SOTW and a few peppers and a few extra tomato plants.

Pleased to say that I have two more sproutings of MSITK and this confirms that they are all PL so [mention]Tormato[/mention] these must be a F6 or so as you say.
CORRECTION: I have now found another two seedlings on another window sill and these are RL

I am also really pleased as in the last day or so I had an Aunt Eula's Rockhouse yellow sprout up - here's hoping the other three sprout as well.

Hoping for warmer weather soon

[Amateurinawe]

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The Red Currant appears to be throwing out red currants already. Last year I had an outbreak of currant blister aphid which attacked the leaves, no real lasting damage but it did spread from the red to the black currant. They are now in separate gardens (front and back) so we shall see what happens this year. And I can see that some of the leaves mid way up on the right are already showing signs.

[Amateurinawe]

So, got an email reminder from "big bug hunt" (see on google) to report my currant blister aphids. Reported bugs all last year in my garden to help build their prediction service. It was not the most accurate last year as it kept telling me that red Lilly Beatles weren't likely and I saw loads, but hopefully with the data they collected it can only get better. It is an international research project so I think it is available in US and canada.

Also subscribed to the hutton alert system for blight watch alerts too.

[bower]

In my garden, yellowjacket wasps are the big pollinators of the currants. I was glad that I planted them far from the house, when I realized that the blooming currants were always busy with wasps. OTOH have not noticed a problem with aphids at all, IDK if the wasps eat them as well. We do have a lot of parasitoid wasps in the garden as well, especially around the edges. They like bushes or shrubs and spend time on the currants in the fall.
In the past I got peppers impossibly infested with aphids in the house or greenhouse. Set outside for a day, they clean right up! I'm not sure exactly who does the cleanup or why so effective, but it is the best treatment for aphids that I've got.

[Amateurinawe]

So many of the larger plants are now producing suckers. So I replanted some of them and they are taking quite nicely and are of a decent size comparable with the later planted seeds. Had a look today and there are several more so I can quickly multiple the ones which were slow or difficult to germinate. However, it has got to stop ! There is no more room at the inn.

[Amateurinawe]

First peppers and tomato

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[Amateurinawe]

So, although i had lots and lots of super plants germinating there was some difference in the germination rates, and certinaly i did not have as much success with chillies. So the time had come to recycle the plastic cups for those that did not germinate (after 2 months). I removed them from the window sills and put them outside, and bear in mind that it is frosty in the morning with the temperatures at the moment in the low single digits celsius, ready to empty them out and clean them up. I thought, one more chance, "live or die" I thought. Two days later, i am getting even more suddenly sprout, it seems the cold at night and the daytime highs have pushed the germinate button. I am pleased, but, and here is the big but, i took all the lolly stick labels out to dry out I might need some help to identify them IF they pull through.

Sometimes nature surprises me...

[MissS]

I too have found that fluctuating temperatures can motivate a seed into germinating. Sometimes mother nature just does things best.

[Amateurinawe]

So, I have run out of space in the greenhouse and indoors is no longer an option. I have 20mm steel rods coming on thursday, plastic coated. Weather looks to be just about tolerable from 8th may , can't wait any longer. Transplants seem to be taking and more to go. Counting down, stay on target....

[Amateurinawe]

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The cross

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And the menorcan long green pepper

[Amateurinawe]

You might notice some suckers, I am trying to re-pot as many as I can but I think I am just making a big fat rod.....

[GoDawgs]

I'm still amazed at how far along your tomatoes and peppers are outside in what I think of as chilly and damp England this time of year. Maybe my perception is off! Your stuff is looking great!

[Amateurinawe]

[mention]GoDawgs[/mention] believe me the nights are chilly and if it wasn't for the small greenhouse I'd be in big trouble. But the plants are getting too big for the greenhouse and I think we have a few more days before I can move them into the raised beds.

[GoDawgs]

Ah! The greenhouse. I forgot about that. Seeing the brick wall behind the plants made me think they were outside in the open. Well, you might have to let a few of "the kids" move back in with you for a bit.