steelnut

If you have any trouble they can live in my greenhouse for awhile. I didn't plant any this year so the window ledge is open. I have another idea for those downtown pots. Last year the black-eyed-Susan vines grew up instead of down. The year before they vined beautifully. Mother Nature is quirky.

Thanks so much! I think I'll be okay, I have a big window with great sunlight. I'm thinking that if my seeds produce well, I want to plant some in the ground and put up a trellis so they can climb up it? I was reading some sights about them and it seems to work well for a lot of folks. 

Stick them in now and you will have flowering vines to put in your pots. They flower rather quickly. I put them in 4 inch pots and they were blooming by the end of May.

Thanks, I'm planning on next week, I can't wait 'til spring!

can't wait until this is true

 

I love this!

Are you talking about the native Rudbeckia type Black Eyed Susans or the vining plant?  

 

Some natives you can plant in the snow, but the vines are tender and need to be started in doors.  This is week 12 before the last predicted spring frost so those would go into the soil on the week of April 2 which is the 8th week.

I saved the Back Eyed Susan vine seeds.

Here is a planting chart for zone 5 for veggies. I'm putting it in at the end because when I paste links in nothing registers after them. Check your seed packets and see if they say open pollinated (heirloom) or hybrid. The former are ok to save seed from. You might get some cross pollination if you grow more than one variety of the same thing close together. Hybrids won't come true but you will get something. It might be great or it might not. If you are just saying that you saved bought seed from last year plant away. Most seeds are viable for a couple of years at least. You are good to go on the black eyed Susan vines if those are the ones you got from me. They were from saved seed.

I've always had good luck with non-hybrid tomato seeds saved from the garden as they tend to be self pollinating. Peppers are self pollinating too. Ditto cucumbers. It isn't that they can't cross pollinate but they don't usually unless you intermingle them. Squash and pumpkins are a whole nother story. Don't save seed unless you only plant one variety. The second generation will produce weird stuff.

I like to get my flower seeds in by the middle of March ( indoors of course). That way they are nearer to blooming when I put them out. There are no hard and fast rules just guidelines. Much depends on the weather.

 

http://www.ufseeds.com/Zone-5-Planting-Calendar.html

Thank you once again. I got my soil and am so ready to get going. As to the Black Eyed Susan seeds, is it too early to start them? I've searched sites on starting them from seed and can't find anything. TIA!

How about a "recipe" for this....

Kitty Mommy posted it years ago:

KittyMommy, on 10 Jul 2008 - 09:16 AM, said:

The powder version I would say is VERY easy, the liquid version takes a little more doing.....tell you what...I'll post both...

 

The Liquid version will do about 80 loads.

 

You need:

 

1 bar of Fels Naptha Soap grated.

1 cup A&H Washing Soda

1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax.

 

Place grated soap in a pot.

Cover with water and simmer over medium heat until all soap is melted, stirring occasionally.

Pour into 5 gallon bucket.

Add washing soda and borax.

Add enough hot water to fill the bucket.

Stir (I use a long measuring stick, but any long stick will work)

Let sit overnight to gel.

Use 1 cup per load.

You can pour this into old detergent containers or leave in the bucket.

Cover with a lid if leaving in the bucket to protect children and pets.

 

The powder version:

 

2/3 bar of Fels Naptha grated fine.  ( I use the whole bar though)

1 cup of A&H washing soda

1 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax

 

Put in a container that will hold 2 cups of laundry detergent. Shake, or stir well, and store in closed container.

 

Now, the best part:  use only 1 tablespoon per load.  OR, use a scoop from an old box of powder, you won't get as many loads, no, but a lot of folks like those handy little scoops.

 

These soaps are very low sudsing, so they are perfect for front loaders.   I use them in my HE machine, but I put the soap directly into the washer drum before loading clothes.  I don't like powder soap in the dispenser, its always leaves a little cakey mess!

 

Cost:

 

    * 20 Mule Team Borax: $2.50 for 70 oz. - Cost per batch: .14 (4 oz needed for recipe)

    * Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda: $2.50 for 55 oz. Cost per batch .18.(4 oz needed for recipe)

    * Fels Naphtha: $1.24 per bar. Cost per batch: .83 (2/3 bar of soap needed for recipe) *

 

One tablespoon of detergent is sufficient per load of wash. If you have a high-efficiency machine, you might want to experiment with using a little less detergent for normal loads. If your clothes come out feeling stiff, lower the amount of detergent. For clothes that are heavily soiled, add a teaspoon more of the detergent..

 

The powder version makes 2 cups.  If you stick to the 1 tablespoon per load, you get 32 loads.  

 

I use this and love it, its very fresh smelling, and works great.

I make it too and love it!

I still have pepper seeds from a few years ago. I am sure they will grow. I will have to buy the others. I would like to try onions and celery from seed. I have had very good luck with celery I bought and planted. They always come up great. I was surprised to talk to people and they never heard of anyone growing celery in there garden. They are sensitive to heat and cold. I don't wrap the bottoms in rubber bands or use the bottom of milk cartons to get the white effect on them which basically does nothing except turn the bottom white and maybe a little more tender and less vitamins from i have read in the past.

We planted celery one year and it was great. I don't know why we didn't do it again, but I added it to my 2017 list!

 

I thought I would try this chart this year. 

Thank you!

I have found out after several years of failures, don't use DuBois city water. For several years, using DuBois water has resulted in an extremely low genination rate. Rates on vegetable seeds close to 10%. When I switched to stream water, nearly 100%.

We have a well out

here, and very grateful for it!

Here is a planting chart for zone 5 for veggies. I'm putting it in at the end because when I paste links in nothing registers after them. Check your seed packets and see if they say open pollinated (heirloom) or hybrid. The former are ok to save seed from. You might get some cross pollination if you grow more than one variety of the same thing close together. Hybrids won't come true but you will get something. It might be great or it might not. If you are just saying that you saved bought seed from last year plant away. Most seeds are viable for a couple of years at least. You are good to go on the black eyed Susan vines if those are the ones you got from me. They were from saved seed.

I've always had good luck with non-hybrid tomato seeds saved from the garden as they tend to be self pollinating. Peppers are self pollinating too. Ditto cucumbers. It isn't that they can't cross pollinate but they don't usually unless you intermingle them. Squash and pumpkins are a whole nother story. Don't save seed unless you only plant one variety. The second generation will produce weird stuff.

I like to get my flower seeds in by the middle of March ( indoors of course). That way they are nearer to blooming when I put them out. There are no hard and fast rules just guidelines. Much depends on the weather.

 

http://www.ufseeds.com/Zone-5-Planting-Calendar.html

Thank you!

If any of the plants you saved seeds from were hybrids then you can still plant them but heaven only knows what it will be like.

I don't think any were? I bought my seeds last year along with plants. Then I saved some of the seeds.

I saved seeds from the Black Eyed Susan vines. Also, three varieties of tomato seeds, all kinds of pepper seeds, three kinds of cukes, I know there are more, I just need to pull out my garden tablet that I save to keep a record of what I plant every year and the garden outline. Too tired to get it tonight, I'll pull it out tomorrow after work. Thanks for the response!

I am hoping to plant seeds for my gardens this year. For those that are knowledgeable about it, any suggestions of just when to start the seeds? Can they all be planted around the same time, or do certain veggies or flowers need to be planted at different times?

I am soooo eager for spring to get here! Thanks for any info you can give me!

This explains the rarity of mice now in our barn. Hubby used to set traps all over the barn to catch them. A couple of years ago, a friend gave me some and we planted it right by the barn and it spread a lot. 

I love these pictures, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for posting, I love pix of birds! As to Cape Cod, we went once on vacation and I want to go back, we loved it! 

Fugitive pig 'Kevin Bacon' tracked down by Canadian police

 

  Nov. 3, 2016 at 10:59 AM

 

 

DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Police in Canada managed to track down an escaped pig in a local neighborhood before returning it to its owner.

Halifax Regional Police shared photos of Cst. Cody Schultz as he knelt down with the fugitive potbellied pig.

"So this happened yesterday...We were called to the Russell Street area of Dartmouth to help return 'Kevin Bacon,' a potbellied pig who had strayed from his home," police said.

Schultz told the CBC his encounter with "Kevin Bacon" was the first time he dealt with a pig on the job and he enjoyed the opportunity to have a laugh.

"We located him in the north-end area and he was happy to see us. We had a little fun with him there," he said. "We got a few pictures with him and off he went with his owner."

SEE FACEBOOK PICTURE;   http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2016/11/03/Fugitive-pig-Kevin-Bacon-tracked-down-by-Canadian-police/6841478182214/?spt=sec&or=on

Lol, thanks for the laugh Mr. D!

This is my grandparents Edward & Mildred Wank of DuBois.

They are both gone, God Bless them.

 

I was enlarging a smaller photo to a larger one and had it on my computer so I decided to share.

 

No idea what the year was .... but if you know my mom Joline, you'll see the resemblance on Grandma's face. 

 

grandma_grandpa_edited-1.jpg

Great picture, thanks for sharing!

My hubby says I don't keep quiet when I should, & keep quiet when I shouldn't.

LOL, my hubby just said almost the same thing to me on Friday, but that's his opinion, not mine

Many, many times!!

Me too, lol!

I like it both ways, gravy and mushrooms or ketchup, but if I use ketchup, I spice it up.

When I was making dinner yesterday, I made the mistake of looking at the television screen when this report came on, it brought tears. I just don't understand how this happens. If you have an animal and aren't able to take care of it, reach out to someone, anyone to re-home them so that they can have a decent life. Animals are  reliant on their owners, they have no voice.

Our white one got it's first bloom yesterday.

Beautiful!

Here it is Bon. I posted Bartzella peony last summer. I bought a big pot for an outrageous price (for me anyway) and it did bloom the first year. Later I picked up a single dried up root of Canary Brilliants from a sale table and after 2 years it has bloomed. It has a lot more pink in it than Bartzella. It is more apparent in the bud. The rain has messed up the shape but the buds are all kind of squished. The first picture is of Bartzella, the second of Canary Brilliants and the third of the bud.

Beautiful! My first blooms were yesterday.