hmmm.... bitter cucumbers.. Are there any sweet cucumbers also? All types of cucumbers that we have here are bitter initially but we remove their bitterness and they become sweet.

Lupines seed pods bursting and launching seeds up to 15 feet. Wow..... that looks very interesting.

Thank you Samuel yes, that is what I needed to know... wonderful way to plant seeds... thanks for that info :-)

what magnificent plants Lupines are...

I grow them on my fence and we are going to eat them together and stuff them with ground pork. He says the ones from India are more bitter than the ones we got.

Tomatoes have moved into their Interim Home , they still have another month to go in the ground.

Lupines update. 1 month to go in the ground.

they are so big & healthy .. you took good care of them. Do you cover those peat pellets 24/7? And how often you water them. They look really good, esp. the tomato. And there's a heating mat below right ? What temp. do you keep your house at? Thanks.

The house is 67° , they are in the totes with the top raised a inch. I had a heater to get them started but no heater now except for the fluorescent grow light gives off a little heat. I water them with a squirt bottle when the soil is dry. They are covered for the first few days to keep them moist during germination , then you crack the dome over the tray. Then when all seed are germinated then take the tray dome off but they are still in the totes.

https://youtu.be/6e4P53TdW-8 Gary's video of tote

Does the plastic ever get warped from the heat of the light?

It's a cork screw compact fluorescent light. It doesn't get very hot. It's much less than a incandescent.

absolutely fantastic Samuel!

I would have wanted to write more but need to lie down again...painful back...but will be back as soon as it feels better. So happy to see these great photo's with such strong plants!

Thank you for sharing. I stopped propegating seeds as our cats seem to think they are for them. This will be perfect for keeping them out!

i hope you find some lasting relief, Jess. we're praying for you.

carol

Nothing new in roses for me. Zero dieback good. Still too cold for roses to start.

If there's bare earth around the roses mother nature will grow something there. I am just getting my tomatoes and Lupines to fill the gap between roses.

Update on tomatoes and Lupines.

I am glad that Khalid is getting roses. We are so lucky to see his Pictures while we wait for all of ours the rest of everyone. Thanks Khalid and Straw and Jess Too.

Here is 1000 Lupine seeds Plus bacterial inoculant and Rose milkweed to fill in the garden.

Sam: Thanks for the pics. of baby-lupine-plants .. such pretty leaves. Rose Milkweed would be pretty. I looked up, found this excerpt: "Asclepias incarnata, Rose Milkweed, is also commonly called Red Milkweed, Marsh Milkweed, or Swamp Milkweed. That lovely vanilla fragrance you detect coming from large rosy pink flowers possibly hosting several Monarch or Swallowtail butterflies is Rose Milkweed. This deer-resistant plant grows in moist to average soils, and blooms in July and August. Later, large pods form which will break open to reveal seeds that will float away in the wind."

a 1000 new Lupine seeds... this is unreal... your garden is going to be so beautiful Samuel....can't wait to see them flower.. (we don't get milkweed over here...sigh)..imagine all those butterflies in your garden....! Your Lupines and tomatoes look like such strong plants already...thanks for sharing this Samuel...it is very exciting to watch how they grow...I'm counting of the days with you....

Sam: Your Lupines look so beautiful, even the foliage of young plants. I would love to grow them in Islamabad but I guess I am drastically late this year. Will definitely do it next year. But I think I can start a roof top vegetable garden immediately. Vegetables in pots (I don't have any space left in my lawn, roses everywhere).

best regards

Lupines catch rain in the leaves.!! Those are little beads of water drops in the center of each leaves set.

Sam: You got buds on them !! I can see the blue inside. Can't wait until they open. the leaves are so pretty.

I got strawberry and Lupines that made it from last year to go with the roses. I feel it is helpful to grow many other plants to go with the roses. The ground cover helps.

You grow strawberries with your roses? Mine spread everywhere so I have been ripping them out of my rose/perennial bed...

Kelly: Your strawberries are vigorous helps to know that your clay is slightly acidic. I can't even grow strawberries in my heavy clay, pH near 8 .. but my brother in MI with acidic clay grows a bumper crop. My last house was acidic clay, with blue hydrangea, and roses got waterlogged & BS due to poor-drainage. Decades ago I didn't know about liming, nor Dr. Huey-rootstock likes it alkaline. Some info. from below link:

"A pH level of 6.0 to 6.5 is the best soil for growing strawberries, but a range of 5.5 to 7.0 is also acceptable."

http://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-the-Soil-for-Strawberries

Thank you Straw. You are a wealth of information. I have the strawberries planted in the bed that I completely dug out the clay and bought in several yards of dirt. Took me much longer than I thought it would, but we couldn't even get a rotatiler through it. I was very pregnant at the time and very determined. It was a veggie garden up until this year. Now I have some raised beds for my veggies and this has been turned into a rose- perennial bed that will (hopefully) be able to grow some of the plants that really struggle in the clay. I have been moving the strawberries and pineberries (white strawberries) to a raised bed as I was afraid they may strangle the roses I planted. I may have to up the ph of this bed now that I think about it. It will be fun to compare the different performance in the different spots! I have done soil tests and hydrangeas are always pink in my clay so the clay is alkiline but perhaps this bed is slightly acidic. Do you know kordes roses general preference regarding soil acidity ?

Hi Kelly: In my heavy clay and 38" of rain and 23" of snow, the top few inches of clay is less alkaline (around pH 7.5), but the bottom is near 8.

Since strawberries are shallow root, the top inches of your clay has lowered pH due to acidic rain (pH 5.6). Organic matter added like leaves will also be acidic at 1st, but become neutral once composted.

If you plant roses in that raised bed .. roses are deep-rooted which go down into alkaline deeper layer. No need to lime unless you have blue hydrangea like my last house of acidic clay.

French Meilland Romantica roses were bred in alkaline clay so their roots are aggressive in secreting acid. I limed a few during heavy rain, like Romantica Sweet Promise with GLOSSY DARK-GREEN foliage. With Kordes roses, it depends: if the leaves are glossy and dark-green like my Kordes FlowerCarpet, that does great in rock-hard clay at pH 8. But the matted leaves and lighter-green Kordes Deep Purple was a disaster in my clay.

Same with Austin Evelyn, it has DARK GREEN GLOSSY FOLIAGE, same with Romantica Bolero, has DARK GREEN GLOSSY FOLIAGE .. both need lime during heavy rain, to neutralize aggressive roots that secret acid. These roses do great with my alkaline tap water near 9, same with Intrigue rose: fantastic with tap water, but a black-spot fest in acidic rain.

I have Kordes Barcelona with dull leaves, lighter green. It's very wimpy in my heavy clay, I had to make the soil fluffy with coarse sand and chopped leaves. That's why I prefer glossy & dark-green foliage like Arthur Bell .. their roots are very good in secreting acid to go through heavy clay.

I am wondering how Viking Queen does for you, Samuel? How old is yours pictured? From where did you purchase it? Everyone is out of it except Direct gardening. This one was bred by the U or M so may be a good one to try here...

2nd year Lupines.

Your Lupines look very healthy. I agree that growing other plants with the roses is the best way

Some quick pics from my garden of interplanting with roses.

Cosmos with rose Lamarque

Roses with strawberry groundcover and lots of perennials.

Rose Birthday Girl in front of Vitex.

Peonies as companion plant for roses.

Oooooh!!! Strawberry!!! Those peonies are gorgeous!!!

Samuel - lovely lupines!

Carol

Wow..... these Peonies look stunning Straw. I wish I could grow them but they don't grow well in my hot climate, 9b.

Baby Cosmos and baby Lupines from seeds last year.

those self-sown seeds are so nice .. my snapdragons didn't self-sow much ... last winter was harsh. I have only 3 snapdragons from last year, and I have to buy new ones. How's your Heritage rose doing? Is it later blooming that others?

Lots of blooms on Heritage.

Alnwick,quietness strawberry,champlain,wedgwood,ebbtide,heritage

Sam: Cute lady bugs !! I like your garden with roses & groundcover. Below are snapdragons which self-sow themselves yearly in my heavy clay. Snapdragon and alyssum, and white Marie Pavie rose:

Snapdragon and cluster of purple Old Port rose:

Snapdragon taking over pink Gene Boerner rose.

Sam, that's the smallest ladybug I've ever seen!! How sweet!!

Everything looks lush and fab in your Garden Straw!

Here's what's finally started here.

Here are some new roses from today. My starsof the garden today are Evelyn and Tiffany, although the sun is wrong for photos of Tiffany.

Peter Mayle

Strawberry Hill

Evelyn

Alec's Red, not looking red.

And my favorite rooster next to my hail damaged house.

Carol: That rooster made me smile .. so pretty !!

Peter Mayle is better-looking than my Pink Peace (too gaudy). Alec's Red is nice dark pink and such shiny & glossy foliage .. is that from the Rock-dust you used?

Your Evelyn has tons of petals & love apricot color ... your Peter Mayle has way-more petals than what's shown in HMF. Strawberryhill has way-more petals than the nearby rose-park. Your roses look great . thanks for sharing !!

Carol: My Alec's Red is pink too and I haven't seen that true red in it so far for which I bought this rose. The fragrance is also just mild. Overall, not very impressed with this rose in my garden....

best regards

Thank you, Khalid, so glad I took Alec's Red off my buy-list when it was on sale.

I love my Alec's Red. The flowers last a really long time. Fragrance is strong here. I think it's meant for cooler weather. :)

Carol

I have been in summer slow down for rose blooms. Here is the first cosmos and bee balm to hold over.

I just bought some bee balm today. I love yours!! And isn't Cosmos a great plant!! Apparently leaf cutter bees love to use the petals for cocoons.

Carol

Sam: Love those perennials !! I have red-bee-balm but I don't have the pinkish one you post (so pretty).

I found this Lady bug on My Black Tartarian Cherry tree.

Ladybugs can be so different! I've only seen the two spot ladybug here. I'm sure we have more. I've never seen such a pale one.

Here's something about why we shouldn't order ladybugs from companies:

http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/why-you-shouldnt-buy-ladybugs-natural-pest-control-your-garden.html

Carol

only flowers in my garden now.

Very nice lilies .. used to have lots of them, but my 20+ trees got big and too much shade for perennials.