Frost delay

Well, our winter has been very strange this year-- warm then cold, warm then cold. We had another cold snap this weekend, so I brought the plants in. I probably didn't really need to, but I'm protective right now! I just started this whole thing, so I really don't want my efforts to be wasted just yet.

Bringing them in reminded me that I hadn't labeled my little seed pots, and I probably will want to know which one to plant by the trellis and which one will be a bush! I came up with this solution with plastic knives we have sitting around.

Deadheading

So, my marigolds were looking kind of sad and I read that you can try to see if they'll reflower by deadheading them. This basically means cutting off the flowers. I did that, but not being very experienced with gardening, I didn't know how far down to cut. So I did an experiment and on some of them I cut just below the flower and others I cut further down.

The outcome? So far, all stems are perking up. The leaves were looking wilty and soggy, but now they are all vigorous. At least that's how they look.So, maybe it doesn't matter for the vitality of the plant how much you cut off. But we'll see if any of the stems reflower.

Next question: Am I going to have to move these things into a bigger pot if I want them to keep growing? I'll let you know what I find out!

A nice little kitchen garden

I was so excited about the amaryllis, that Darling Husband bought me seeds for a kitchen garden for Valentine's Day. How thoughtful! We have talked about starting a little garden for a while and it seems that I don't have a black thumb after all. The "miracle of the amaryllis" inspired me. If I can accidentally make that thing grow, surely I can learn to make other things grow as well.

Of course, living in Phoenix means that gardening can be a challenge. I was intimidated, but since my sister's family grows squash and some other things, I know it's possible. After doing some research, I learned some very interesting things.

What color is my thumb?

Well, if I don't try too hard, it's GREEN!