Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Planning for Summer Color

Today is the last day of February. Most of the Northern Hemisphere is in the grips of a freeze; Europe is looking into the mouth of a storm from the East, The Midwest and Eastern United States is looking for snow and a Nor-Easter. Here in California, we had some rain yesterday and some snow even fell on the Sierra Nevada, up to three feet should even fall there by the week-end. That is a whole lot less than the thirty odd feet that fell in the Winter of 2016-17, but hec we need as much as we can get.
A pack of nine segment plug pot seed trays and two packs of French Marigold Seeds. One Pack of seeds shows bright Lemon Yellow Flowers the othe mixed Orange, Yellow and Red Flowers.
Plug Pots and Marigold Seed Packets

But here in my valley home. I have launched myself into preparing for Summer color. Flowers. Bedding plants. Well folks I have planted some seeds in little seed pots.

Having some of my color vision back following my cataract surgery in January, I am feeling a little starved of color in my life. So over the week-end I asked my wife to take me to our local Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) store. Though the name suggests they are for mostly fruit growers, OSH is just a normal hardware chain store. But they are great for gardening equipment and seeds.

This is the first  time in several years that I have wanted to plant flower seeds. Well with the greying of my vision over recent years what was the use.

I had to buy some  seed trays. I went for the type that you can push out the individual plug of soil with the little plant growing in it. You can then plant this plug of soil in a border or larger pot to make an attractive bedding display.

I filled my little plug pots with some seed compost and then planted a couple of varieties of French Marigolds. A double flowered variety. These will give bright, highly visible flowers for a long period over the Summer and here in California possibly well into the Fall too.

I chose French Marigolds for two reasons, the bright flowers and secondly they have reasonably large seeds, so are very easy for a person with low vision to sow thinly. You can pick up individual seeds and place them in the potting mediium very easily.

I sowed several seeds in each set of plugs, one seed to each plug. Then I brought some of the plug pots inside where it is warm and left some outside in the cooler air.

Hopefully the seeds brought inside will germinate in a week or so those outside in a couple of weeks. The plants from inside might bloom a few weeks earlier than those outside. In a couple of weeks I will sow some more seeds to give a little more continuity.

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