Home and Garden Friday - Mushroom Bed Mulched and More!

We are supposed to have a couple of days of rain. And this is after a week of much warmer than it should be weather. I FINALLY remembered to grab a couple of bags of hardwood mulch (love the 'busted bags' and the discount on them) to layer over the Wine Cap Mushroom bed. The mulch was pretty broken down already, so my mushrooms should love it. 

Note: I didn't take a picture as I carried the bags straight from the car to the back and dumped it on them. Pictures will come shortly.

But I did take some pictures of my 'babies' coming along inside.

This is one tray of 4 containing mainly ginger. One of the trays does have turmeric in it. They are happily sprouting along. I will put them into grow bags shortly and leave them inside for a while longer. Some will ultimately go in-ground, but some will remain in the bags as I need them for demonstrations for a couple of library gardening programs.

These are my pimento and paprika peppers with a couple of artichokes in the very back. Won't be long before they are potted on into a small pot. I am concentrating on pimentos and paprika peppers because I want to canned the pimentos and dry, then grind up, the paprika peppers. The artichokes I really want because they are an interested plant for the garden. 

 

The lighting is a bit weird because I have them sitting under my hydroponics lights. But this is some lavender which is coming along nicely. I stratified them in the fridge and then potted them on after 3 weeks and they were starting to sprout. So far, knock on wood, they seem to be doing ok - as long as I don't drop the container in the parking lot after taking them to a gardening program. 

I have great hopes for these as they are supposed be a compact lavender and would love them to be the border on the bed where I want to put the artichokes.

When the sweet potatoes I had in a cardboard tray on a bottom shelf start sprouting, what does a person do? You try your hands at making sweet potato slips to plant out later. I now have 3 jars of slips because they were getting so tall - I divided them up and they seem not to mind being chopped up. Some of these might have to find another home.

 

This is the first of three flats I have currently going. There is basil - 14 varieties in fact! And other herbs. Once again, some will go into my garden - both in-ground and in containers. Others will be taken to the library for a couple of programs. A bit of the basil will go to friends - but you can never grow too much basil. I have my eyes on the echinacea and salvias I have going. The basils especially will be divided up and potted on into larger containers.

More peppers - mainly sweet or only mildly hot peppers. Some onions and Chinese celeries. 

My Roselle and other miscellaneous plants. The roselle will be potted on in the coming week. I am really hoping I can get at least 6 bushes going well this year. Will be trying out both large containers and in ground. 

With the rain expected this weekend, I will probably go ahead and start my tomatoes. And pot up some basils.