All the Dirt on Gardening

One hundred ten days from seed to flower, Black Knight Ammi is actually a carrot that bolts to make a 4-foot tall plant topped with over a dozen mauve heads. Each flower head is up to 5-inches across here, though the seed companies say they are 1 to 3 inches across. Black Knight Ammi Umbels (parsley family) include: Bishop's weed, Large Bullwort, Caraway, Chervil, Fennel, Helmock, Laceflower, Greater Ammi (Ammi majus), Toothpickweed (Ammi visnaga). There are 418 genera and 3100 species so it is not surprising that there are so many that are unfamiliar to us. I bought the seeds a few years ago from Renee's Garden Seeds and planted them in pots, then into the garden. I had no idea they had dropped seeds or that they would return. Needless to say, they are welcome. Renee's doesn't list them anymore but Johnny's Selected Seeds does and they are sold out. These seeds are not easy to find so I'll have to save some for next year's garden. Now that t...

ROBIN IN THE APPLE TREE A rainy cold day like today is perfect for spending several hours in the shed. I had the camera out there to take a few photos. When I looked up from planting, a robin was in the apple tree outside the window. THE POTTING SHED This photo of the potting shed was taken last week but it gives you an idea what we are up to - we are up to our eyeballs in baby plants that we hope will succeed! One of the re-potting pleasures was taking Bishop's Lace seedlings out of their starter pots and moving them to 1-inch cell trays. The seeds (and the photo shown here) were from Renee's Garden Seeds. BISHOP'S LACE I used seed starting mix and sprinkled the seeds on 4-inch pots. Out of that one pack of seeds, I transplanted 125 seedlings today. Every seed must have germinated. For the most part that is the experience I have had with Renee's seeds: terrific germination. Rest assured, I can kill the plants after they come up so I still have a mediocre live plant ...