Hi everyone! My name is Lyuba and I moved to Tulsa, Ok from Ukraine in November 2007. I used to work as a translator until I met and married my husband. I had my condo filled with every color of African violets, but I couldn't bring any of them over. My mom and dad, grandma and grandpa gardened. It is in my blood to continue the tradition. I planted my first 3 bare root Lowes climbing roses this April. By now I've joined the Tulsa Rose Society, have 5 climbers, 5 English roses, and the rest are HTs and floribundas, so far 21 total, but it is not final. I have big plans and wish lists and my husband warns me about addiction every time I bring home a new rose bush : ) I've never been on any forums in my life, so I learn as I go. Sometimes make my share of mistakes like posting my pictures in another person's blog, not knowing and with best intentions. I did this on the Rose Gallery Forum while trying to learn how to post follow-ups. I want to thank every one of the Rose Masters for their gorgeous pictures, they are of such inspiration to all of us. I find myself checking the Rose Gallery for new pictures every morning. Thank you so much! I will post a few of mine. This particular rose is very special to me. My grandmother in Ukraine used to have a similar rose in front of the kitchen window, we collected the petals to make jam. When I saw the Spirit of Freedom in the local nursery I had tears in my eyes, it reminded me of grandma and childhood, and everything good and sweet. Pat Austin was purchased to commemorate my orange cat named Carson, he is a street kitty from Donetsk, Ukraine, that grew into the Feline King. We joke that Carson could teach Garfield a few tricks : ) His life here is great, except for one mocking bird that my dear husband named Deathwish. The bird follows him to every window, screeches offences and flaps its wings. Carson has to sleep with the blinds down : ) Life is never boring around here. I'm looking forward to learning more about growing roses and thanks again for sharing your great pictures. Lyuba

Hi Whiteoakian - gardening brings me much solace and joy too. A few thoughts on your questions... 1) Mostly I avoid tape. Duct tape is difficult to get off; clear plastic tape works okay when container is bone dry, but is still difficult to remove; masking tape probably wouldn't stay adhered to plastic containers. 2) My best guess is that the only seeds that need to be sowed early, are seeds that require cold stratification (or warm-cold). I can't think of any annuals that require it, so there's no need to sow any earlier than the temps they would normally sprout. Some annuals are very cold hardy, like Poppies and Snapdragons, so you can sow those pretty early 4) I've tried many different ways of making holes - an awl, ice pick, drill, and soldering iron. Haven't really found any easy way yet! 5) I have a Sowing Chart - I keep records on seed germination tests, Winter sowing, & Direct sowing...this year I've already sowed 3 containers (2 trees and 1 shrub) I guess that would be fall sowing. It is an Excel chart and looks like this. I've made a few edits since this pic. You or anyone else is welcome to a copy of blank chart -

Hey Equinox; Haven't been here in awhile. This darned internet, ever expanding - ever interesting; like the world's biggest library. Maybe if I'd just never learned to read, I would've been ok, Ah Well.. Yep, I'm one of those people who freezes and blenderizes. For those who don't know me, I have two large (16 Gal.) Rubbermaid-type plastic bins which I originally started in Nov. 2009 with EF's. Part of the problem, is that we produce a lot more waste than the worms can consume and even though the town where I now live has a city-wide organic waste recycling program, it just feels wrong to be tossing stuff that I know the worms (microbes) will enjoy. The freezing and thawing process really helps to break down cell structure, leaving a nice, soft mess. This then goes into my (not my wife's) food processor, to which I add composted rabbit poop, coffee grounds, powdered eggshells, etc. The resulting mash which usually tends to the wetter side, I mix with shredded cardboard and then feed on one side of the bin. It usually takes the microbes a week or so to start working on the food. Within two weeks the worms have migrated to the food, leaving the other side worm-free and making it easier to harvest the castings. As for air flow, I finally solved my problem. I drilled 1/2" holes all around the sides in the upper half of the bin. Sure, the worms could escape if they wanted to, but with ample moisture, plenty of food, good airflow and proper bedding; they just don't seem to want to leave. Of course when the weather is nasty, I'll always find a few gone exploring, but the majority seem to stay put. In the past I lined the inside of the bins with fine mosquito netting, hoping to keep out the fruit flies and fungus gnats while providing air flow through the netting, as well as keeping the worms from escaping and making it easier to harvest the castings (because all the castings are within the netting and not stuck to the walls of the bin). In reality it didn't quite work out that way. The flies and gnats got in regardless. I found the best thing is to hang sheets of yellow sticky fly paper above the bins and then to encourage the flies to join their friends at the big yellow picnic table. It usually works. When the mosquito netting got wet, it stopped the airflow rather than helped it, so that didn't work either. But here was the worst of it: when the worms hatched, they were so tiny that they could actually pass through the fine mesh of the mosquito netting into the space between the netting and the wall of the bin. Once there, they couldn't get back. Food particles and moisture would filter down through the netting and I always found worms there whenever I harvested out the main bin. Now, my bins are outside. I have a large porch/patio area, but no actual ground. The winter of 2011-2012 was particularly wet (in my area) and so I didn't really have a chance to harvest out the bins properly, until Mar.2012. In Dec. 2011 after about a week of constant rain, I had a major worm escape (though mostly from the worms living in that limbo place between the netting and the bin)and lost around 500 worms. After that experience, I tossed the mosquito netting and drilled large 1/2" holes all around. So far, even with heavy rains, they seem to stay put. Shaul

Jasminerose, I’m SO glad I just looked at this thread again! The picture you took of ‘Sweet Mademoiselle’ makes me feel much better about mine. I’ve been feeling a bit alarmed since the buds have shown color. I was afraid they would open too orange for my taste, but that picture is great! I have a Green Thumb Nursery, here in San Marcos, as well. Don’t you just love that place? Here’s my Sweet Mademoiselle buds today. While I’m at it, Moonlight Romantica has lots of buds. Princess Charlene de Monaco is too pretty to pass up. Both bushes are on their second flushes. I just love her. Violet’s Pride is blooming today, too. I really should do some cutting for bouquets. Lisa