HEHEHEHEH.... I am less concerned about the "post office" than the REAL police.

I germinate in a warm room with a small table top light (one of the ones shown in my photo with the gold top).

Then when the seeds have just begun to germinate, I move them to my studio table top which is also a South exposure window, because it is cooler in there. Cooler temps after germination are required by most seedlings (this approximates spring cool temps). When seedlings are kept too warm after germination they tend to get weak and leggy and not robust.

But those grow lights can be seen from outside...and I wonder sometimes if people think I am growing Marajuana instead! LOL

So far no one has knocked on my door yet!

(if I have lots of seeds and less room for them, I'll run the lights 24/7. I remove 1/2 of the flats and do 1/2 at night and then rotate the other 1/2 in the day. So the grow lights which have a purplish cast/tint will be visible to the street. But so far no one has commented.)

well, I came up with a 'different' border around the garden areas ... I have those metal brackets (used to hang on the wall, then put up shelves) ... so, I'm taking a bracket - and screwing it to the backside of some old barnboard boards ... they are different heights ... and they don't have to be right up against each other ... I have about 10 boards - came up with this idea late this afternoon ... and didn't feel like digging out the drill and screws - plus, the boards were wet from all the rain ... this may prove interesting ...

hoping to pick up some of those solar lights ($12 for 4) and get 2 or 3 sets ... and place them around the garden - I suppose, I don't need to put them out now - seeing that it's going to be snowing one of these days!

trying to come up with unconventional ways to have a fun and easy garden .. .one of my friends from school (her family was the vegetable farmers that turned to flowers ... and has greenhouses where I learned to plant beds) ... she emailed me to stop by her mom's (the old neighborhood) and visit ... and get some bedding plants .... oh joy!

Your garden plans sound wonderful Vonn, and bedding plants? How exciting!

Spring has sprung here and my garden is already a mass of colour. I have camilias, rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom, as well as polyanthas and pansies, daffodils, jonquils and freesias.... to name a few.

Once my spring bulbs finish my roses should be thinking about flowering. I have lots of seeds to plant.....carnations, daisies, lobelia and petunias. If I still have some bare spots after all that, then I'll be making another visit to the nursery.

I hung beads and christmas lights on the boards ... looks pretty cool in the dark, dark woods!!

AND I dug up some small pine trees and planted them in the other section - I got 7 planted before I was hurting and it was getting too warm!!

okay - I changed and added those white 'falling' lights .. but need 2 more sets ...

NOW - what do I need to plant NOW for spring?? and should I put down some black plastic to kill off the grass??

thx!

It's time for you to plant sweet peas, strawberry runners, spring bulbs, trees, shrubs and vegetables according to climate. The following vegetables are what we plant in our autumn/fall:

All Zones – beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, lettuce, radish & spring onion
Tropical - capsicum, cucumber, eggplant, French beans, garlic, kohl rabi, leeks, lettuce, potatoes, pumpkin, silver beet, spring onion, squash, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini
Subtropical - Brussels sprout, capsicum, endive, French beans, garlic, kohl rabi, leeks, onions, potatoes, silver beet, spinach, sweet potato & tomato
Cool Temperate –broad beans, kohl rabi, parsnip, silverbeet & turnip
http://www.annettemcfarlane.com/calendar.htm

Check out the seedlings in your local nursery. Any they have now will be suitable to plant.

Other fall garden chores include trimming of any plants that have become rampant over summer as well as lifting, dividing, propagating and replanting of any herbaceous perennials.

As for black plastic, I guess that's a personal choice. I've been busy over the years ripping it out of every garden that I've found it in but if you hate the idea of weeding, then use it. Make sure it's thick enough to prevent the stronger weeds pushing through and cover it with your choice of pine bark or white pebbles. Pine bark being the cheaper option.

Happy gardening.

awesome!! thanks, Koala!!

my friend who is an avid gardener - said to plant spinach, too ...which I LOVE raw ...

the plastic is just to kill off the grass for next spring ... I hate those ground things like you do, too ...

well, off I go .. see what sorta trouble I can get into today!

Did I say recently that "Spring has sprung?"

Oh boy, we've had about 19 days of Spring and Summer has hit us where I am. That's 2 and 1/2 months early.
Scary really. Couldn't see the ships out off the beach today it was so hazy from fires.

[Layers and layers of newspaper make a really good grass/weed control.]

caught up with a friend last weekend - and her garden is awesome! her hubby has irrigation pipes set up ...

will be getting some GARLIC to plan now ...

staked out my garden area yesterday ... 4ft x 8ft or so ... now for some top soil ...

the newspaper idea, Lara, is good - plus, using it to work into my composting ...

going to have lots of seeds left over after planting in spring - because I'm not going to USE the whole packet ... so, I can send them your way with the extra seed ... then you can plan your winter for your spring come next september!

Your 4x8 garden might not sound huge Vonn but that's about the size DH had at our last house for vegetables and with what he planted, he was able to produce enough to keep us in fresh veges the whole year around.

Seed exchange is such a lovely idea Vonn but sadly it could send you behind bars, or at least ensure that you get a sharp rap across the knuckles from the Customs Dept of our country, if not your own.