Thank you! Was just going to post the countdown....guess we are getting itchy, lol

Thank you, river_crossroads. It's a very nice banner, but too bad there wasn't one with jugs!

I've been trading/buying seeds and saving jugs. I think I saved every milk jug we used all year. I have no idea how many that is, I just throw them in a corner of my basement. I moved into a house just over a year ago and I have a wonderful, huge laundry/work room that I use for wintersowing. I have a light set up that is currently holding coleus that I rooted from plants I grew over the summer.

I've found in past years that I get my perennials sown early and then I have nothing to do until spring when tender annuals can be sown. So, I'm not going to stock up on more potting mix until spring. I think I have two large bags of Miracle Gro unopened and half of a bag already opened.

I've just sent out my seeds for the Wintersowing Swap. So, when I get those seeds I'll start making a list of what I plan to sow. I'm going to try to limit myself to one container of each perennial so I don't end up with overwhelming numbers of sprouts to plant out. I also may do more direct sowing of Cosmos, Zinnias and Verbena Boniarensis for the butterflies.

Hope I didn't bore anyone, but I know I'm desperate for contact with fellow gardeners, no matter how trivial. Hope everyone else is as excited as me. I look forward to hearing about everyone else's plans.

Martha

Thanks Daisy, Barbe & Martha. It's always so great to be in touch with kindred spirits & people who up to the same thing. We are all ready to go!

Martha, what I like about this forum is that just as the other forums are going into hibernation for the winter & no one is talking to each other, period, this forum is revving up. Not bored, interested in what you are up to. I brought a coleus inside, too. Can you estimate temp & humidity percent that coleus needs inside? No space for lights. I am the one going on, Martha, b/c I want to include my little ditty that I made up this morning:

To the tune of "Santa Clause is coming to town"

With the idea that I receive more in life from God/The Universe/Mother Earth when I'm good (giving and loving and caring and kind), and the scenario that my seed order, which I have been tracking, might not arrive tonight as scheduled if I'm bad!

Everyone invited to improve on this, as long as you allow me to call it a group effort & keep & use your input, ok?

I better watch out
I better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
My seed order's coming tonight!

I'm making a list
And checking it twice,
Gonna dumpster dive all those jugs that are nice
My seed order's coming tonight!

He sees me when I am sleeping
He knows when I'm awake
He knows if I've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!

O! I better watch out!
I better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
I want my seed order tonight!
I want my seed order tonight!

(c) 2012 by river_crossroads (& maybe others who improve on it?)

If this post gets moved to "Conversations" b/c I'm being OT, that's ok, I'm fine with it, but I see it as getting ready for Winter Solstice!

I am going to be very heavy handed on the perennials this season. I got this huge bag of stuff to sow. One in am particularly excited is the Lynchis Maltese Cross the company sent me a lot of seeds. If anyone grows this will be most grateful for any information. I hope they attract hummers. I am sowing Sedum, I'm excited about them, but I am wondering can they handle shade? Got 3 more weeks before the semester ends, can't wait to get started WS'ing. I still have a lot of jugs to put drainage holes.

I still have unused jugs from last year, so I don't need to ask around for them. I haven't done much shopping for seeds. Although, I am pretty excited to plant the seeds from the one lone seedpod from my Butterfly Weed :-).
Lots to do as far as preparing goes. Waiting on two seed arrivals.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

I have been saving tons of diffrent containers.
Bought the other day 8 big bags of soil for $1.76 each
Getting an area ready in hubbys shop to start sowing
Dec 21.
Will be getting conatiners cut and drain holes put in before the 21st.
I am starting to sort who gets sown first to many to chose from.

I have no idea what I'm going to sow this year. My beds were stuffed full last spring. But in the awful heat and drought, bugs were awful, and the leafhoppers went wild. Many of my echinaceas croaked from aster yellows. So I'm definitely going to try some echinacea Cheyenne Spirit.

The heat and drought took it's toll. I had a gaura, a salvia, and an astilbe which might be goners. I'll probably start a fair amount of annuals this year to fill in holes where any perennials are lost. I grew some begonia dragon wing under lights last year, first time. I loved them. I'm planning a few of those this year for sure.

I do have a bale of ProMix and pretty many jugs saved. So I guess I'll play it by ear. After the perennials emerge in spring, if I have a lot of holes in the garden, I'll sow some more in summer.

Karen

Hi River, what happened to the banner??

Hi Terrene, hi all. Ain't it awful? Shortly after I got the countdown banner up & running, co. developed financial difficulties & when you click on the banner it displays the following message:

"Sorry, due to the expense of the server needed to host the countdown banners, I have eliminated them and downgraded to a lower costing server plan." I clicked on some of the other banners but the same message comes up on the same url: http://ult-tex.net/counts/index.cgi

Disappointing b/c the Spring countdown banner is used in this forum and we know it works on gardenweb. Other companies have these banners, free & easy to use, so I will work on a new one. Just hope it displays nicely in a gardenweb post. I'm on it! And thanks to all who have shared what they are up to - I really enjoy reading your posts. River

This post was edited by river_crossroads on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 23:03

Please click here for Winter Solstice countdown banner!

Seems to use your local time - reads your time zone off your computer. So some of us get extra minutes!

Gardenweb, quite rightly, does not allow scripts or flash technology to run on their website. An embedded virus could infect gw & infect your own computer - all for a little countdown banner! Hence the link. The lst banner was also running on the other company's server but in a different way & the space got too expensive for the co. to give away. If anyone has problems with this, pls tell me. Counting down & getting ready! River

This post was edited by river_crossroads on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 1:20

Aw, that's okay, River. We don't need no stinkin' banner! We can count down without it, lol!

I've been crossing off the days on my calendar. I find this last week is always the hardest to get through, but the thought of the beginning of longer days in another week gets me through.

Thanks for your efforts. It's fun to watch the seconds tick down!

:)
Dee

River,
You asked about temperature and humidity needed for indoor coleus. I have no idea. I have mine under lights which are under a plastic cover, so the humidity of the soil and plants is some what contained and not as dry as the surrounding atmosphere. I've heard from others that a common mistake made with coleus is overwatering. So, make sure you let those roots get a little dry so they don't rot on you. Some coleus "experts" even take cuttings and leave them in water all winter. I'm trying a mixture of methods. Good luck.

Martha

Thanks, Martha! My pot of coleus is doing well inside probably b/c of updated greener lifestyle: running central heat only when absolutely necessary. Using electric radiators & only turn one on when staying in that area. Appreciate the warning not to overwater. Tell me later on how yours do in the glass of water. No space for lights and my climate is too hot & sunny to make lights worth it. Thanks again!