I'm Back With Renewed Enthusiasm

[Swallowstitch]

I'm Back With Renewed Enthusiasm

21 Oct '05 5:50 pm

Hello fellow mooseyscountrygarden lovers, it's been a long while since I last posted but I have been coming to read and catch up on what has been happening and have decided to stop lurking in the undergrowth and come out and join you again. I went through another one of those "I've stopped wanting to garden" phases, but happily have emerged from the doldrums and have rekindled my interest by the clever device known as Adult Education. In my case it is attending a Propagation course run twice a month over a year, one lesson is Theory and the second one(the fun part) is getting our hands into the dirt and making things grow.We are studying all aspects of propagation, with the aid of some excellent tutors, it is all done in a non competitive enviroment, it is up to each student as to what he or she is prepared to get out of it.
I have had a lot of fun setting up an area in the vege garden to care for the plants that I'll be attempting to grow over the next 10 months or so,if they succeed then I'll make a lot of people happy by supplying them with the overflow....
Between that and trying to get on top of the weeds when the weather permits my garden seems to have once again taken control of me, ah well,I might as well accept being a slave to it... there will no doubt come a day when I am sitting in my chair in a resthome somewhere wishing with all my heart that I was down on my knees pulling weeds instead of becoming a vegetable myself.

[pumpkin]

25 Oct '05 5:38 am

Howdy Swallowstitch!

Nice to see you again.

One can only go so long before the garden beckons ...working life and huge muddy, rainy weekends have kept me out of the garden too

However! with Spring comes a renewed energy and determination!
The glasshouse is full of trays of seeds and the veg patch has been dug over and composted. Lurking thistles are out of here and the swallows are looking at straightening up their nesting site

The course you are attending sounds great, reading things in books doesn't quite inspire the same way hands on does. Good Luck with it and feel free to pass on any hints and tips

[moosey]

9 Nov '05 7:30 am

I love propogating my own little things - even if I only tackle the really easy plants like daisies and pelargoniums. It always fills me with amazement when I manage to fool my cuttings into taking root. Isn't nature generous!

Good luck Swallowstitch with your renewed garden energy. And Pumpkin, don't you work too hard! Where are all your lovely late spring photographs? I'd love to see the new growth in the paddock - and I don't mean grass!
Cheers

[Swallowstitch]

Propagating Tip

13 Nov '05 4:45 pm

One of the most useful bits of information I've picked up on this course so far is, when taking cuttings,fill your tray with as many pieces as you can. Don't space them out, they much prefer to be in close proximity to their fellow cuttings.This creates it's own mini hothouse effect of keeping the humidity up which is so important. A dried out cutting is almost always sure to die unless you notice and take action quickly. The only exceptions would be if you were using large-leaved plants, then they would do better if the leaves were not overlapping, primarily because this can make watering difficult, the moisture may not get through the mix evenly. I have also set up a mini irrigation system using some of the black poly tubing and two little sprinklers, I can snaplock my hose onto it and leave it going for however long I wish.(I am cunning, my kitchen timer sits in my pocket and rings at the end of the alloted time....it is not unknown for this Old Fogey gardener to wander off leaving the hose running...and running ... and running.)
I am taking quite a few cuttings, some of which will no doubt be at quite the wrong time of year, but as the tutors tell us, experiment, take notes and learn from your experiences. It is a wee bit like being back at school, filling in my homework folder, but in this instance it is enjoyable and not the horrible tyranny it was way back then... and don't ask me how long ago thatwas either.

[moosey]

17 Nov '05 7:39 pm

A plant which I have really random luck with is the humble penstemon. Trouble is, I can't remember when I took the 'successful' cuttings - and I like to have fresh plants growing. I might actually try some tomorrow, thinking that soft cuttings at this time of the year might work. Blast! I wish I'd written this stuff down.

And wallflowers. I also can't remember when they worked properly! I have had lots of failures with wallflowers.

Your course sounds really great. You can become our resident advisor! Take care, and happy gardening