Thank you very much, Dooley. You said some nice things there. I don't know where you would have ended up either , but I understand what you mean. It was so kind of you.
well put dooley! sjoerd, why couldn't one use the paper towel method like the 'seed tape' method. you know the seed tapes that are sold in the stores with carrots, lettuce, radishes, flowers, etc...? it is a string of paper with seeds glued on it and one lays it down in the trench in the soil and buries it. i think they are supposed to be useful for distancing one's plants in rows. anyway, i wonder if one could make a tape like this with the parsnip seed, soak it as you said and let it sprout and then put it in the soil? just a thought. i was so discouraged when nothing germinated this year. i do not want a repeat of that next year! righto, too, about them not being perennials!
Well BUNKIE--that is an interesting proposition (the "tape" with seeds). I shall have a close look at the Parsnip seeds next year and see if they have any sort of nodule, notch or scar where the root will protrude from. I shall think about this idea over the winter. The Parsnip sees are so persnikkety when it comes to germination--I don't know how they would react to the tape idea...on the other hand carrots are planted in this way with reasonable germination rates, so who knows. I am not sure what the benefit would be planting them in this manner other than to be sure that you have a straight row of the, though. I mean, do you think that the placing them on a tape would in some way increase or help germination. As I said, I shall contemplate this over the winter. I find it an interesting idea. I sure hope that you will have a better attempt next year.
Bunkie I have planted those tapes at least 5 time and never got one plant up.Good luck who ever tries them. Thanks for the invite Sjoerd but I barely get to Montana.It sure is fun to think about getting to your lottie
glandann, i was given some of those tapes, carrots and radishes, and they worked pretty good, tho i wouldn't buy them. sjoerd, i was thinking of moistening the tapes like you did with the paper towels, and trying to germinate the seed before i put them in the ground. the tapes would make a nice row, aand i could cut out the seeds that didn't germinate! now to check out how to make seed tapes!
Well Bunkie, I think that it is worth a try; however, I wouild still use those seeds that don't germinate with the rest...they may still germinate in the ground. You could clip them out and put them at the end of your row so that there wouldn't be any gaps in the rows, and thus wasted space. Now, you let me know how this experimant works out, OK? I find it sort of exciting.
What gorgeous pictures. I can't wait to see what your plot looks like next spring! Even after years of trying with my vege patch, I really do feel like a newbie at gardening. Every success is a surprise, and every failure so hard to take. I'll have to keep an eye out for more of your pictures.
Thanks very much, Deb--It was a good year here on the lotties. The freezer's full as is the jam larder. It seems like every year is different than the one that preceeded it, so each new seasom brings new challenges and it's part of the enjoyment to try and think of how to meet the new growing conditions. I see that you are in Busselton. I know that place because I have been there a few years ago when I was on a big world trip. I had flown into Darwin from Indonesia and bought a VW camper there. I spent six months and drove more than 30,000 Km's. It was a great adventure in a unique country.
Sjoerd, tell me more about the Runner Beans. How do you make the towers for them to grow on. Do they taste the same as regular snap beans? You and your bride are really dedicated gardeners and your lottie pictures are always a delight to see.
Hello there, miss Sharon. How y'all are? (I bin practicin' m' "southern"). Forgive me if it sounds silly--I meant well. Truly I did. Anyway--About Runner Beans: They do not taste exactly like snap beans. They have their own taste, but it is definitely a 'bean taste'...there is no mistaking that. The towers are nothing more than a tee-pee made from five Tonkin sticks (bamboo sticks) arranged in a circle and tied at the top. If I make more than one of these so-called wigwams in the same area, I always span a single bamboo stick between the wigwams. I do this for stability. Now where one places the wigwams is always debateable. It is probably best to have the row run from north to south so that all the bean plants get sun from the east in the morning ...sun overhead at mid-day and then sun again from the west in the afternoon. Having said that, CajunBelle; I do not do it this way. Typical, huh? The reason that I do not do this is because the prevailing wind on my allotment is from the west during the summer--that means that a row of thickly overgrown wigwams would be like a a big sail and eventually blow over perhaps, damaging the vines. So, you see what I mean about how to plant them not being a straight-forward proposition. I am not sure how much info you want on this subject, so I shall stop here and wait to see what you have to say. I hope that this helps.
Howdy Sjoerd I do enjoy ya'lls try at our southern drawel from way over yonder in ya'lls beautiful country. 8) :-D
Well, I surely did appreciate the wigwam lesson... very interesting consideration of the wind. Something I wouldn't have thought about but it makes so much sense.
Glad you liked the bit about the bean tee-pees, DAISY. Hopefully C'belle will find it useful next season if she elects to give the runners a go. But she could use the T-Pee idea for any sort of climbing plant. I use a single wigwam for my Lathyrus, for instance...and I use a "chain" of them for the climbing French beans as well.
Thanks for the info Sjoerd, it certainly helps. I am planning new veggie garden, so I will need to check out the prevailing winds situation, frankly I hadn't thought about that part. I love your attempt at the Southern drawl, pretty darn good for a first try. Keep practicing. In fact I think I posted a few lessons over in my blog. You might want to check them out: http://www.gardenstew.com/blog/e529-12- ... words.html You should be able to find the other posts when you get to this one.
