03.15.06
Tibetan or Himalayan Poppies?
I lost the seed packet but what I do know is that this is the first year I’ve successfully managed to germinate ‘blue’ poppies. The trick was to keep the temperature really low. Much lower than you would with normal seeds. I sowed the seeds in mid february and I put a thermometer in the room to check the temperature before I started. I recon it probably reached a maximum of 15 degrees celsius on warmer winter days.
The next question is ‘when do I prick them out’…. and can I keep the temperature low enough for them to develop satisfactorarily.
The information that I’ve read suggests that they like shaded, acid, non-waterlogged soil and it is beneficial if any flowering stems are removed in their first year. Hmmmm… we’ll see if we get that far!
Dahlia Cuttings Looking Good!
I may not have been able to pot on my tomatoes but I have managed to get my Dahlias to do something! I’m a complete novice when it comes to them but so far everything is going well!
I potted up the tubers on my last post here and the tubers started producing shoots a few weeks later. This picture clearly shows the shoots emerging from the tuber.
| There are a number of shoots appearing from the top of tuber. I’ve already taken one cutting and given time it should produce a lot more. |
I read somewhere that I should be taking cuttings when there are two joints on the Dahlia shoots. Hmm, I didn’t do this. I took cuttings all at the same time. I have 3 different varieties of Dahlia tubers and the shoots were all of different heights. After I’d put them in their pots I didn’t hold out much hope as they drooped considerably within the hour.
After a couple of days they perked up and are looking quite healthy now. |
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| This is what the tubers look like now after I took the cuttings |
03.12.06
Toasted Tomatoes….
They’re dead.
Tried over the last 3 weeks to transplant the seedlings. Held them by a leaf, not stem. Was very careful not to damage the roots and very careful about potting them on. They all died. Every time.
Total disaster, never had a problem with tomatoes before. I normally have so many that some end up in the compost bin. The only thing I can think is that the temperature that I germinated them at was too high. Hmmmm.
I’ve planted some more tomato seeds. Hopefully I’ll have more luck with these, I’ll keep you posted.
