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rainbowgardener
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Seeds started!

So here I am in zone 6 starting seeds! :) All indoors under the lights so far.

On the heat mat I planted broccoli, cabbage, summer savory, canterbury bells, parsley, dill. Without heat I planted alyssum, celery, bunny tails grass (a dwarf ornamental, very nice in containers).

They are planted with MG potting soil, because I have a 1/2 bag left over from last year. But then NO MORE! I've said that for at least a couple years. But I always got hung up on the organic component. I tried bringing my frozen compost in, but as soon as it thawed out, all kinds of creepy crawlies came out of it. Too much for me indoors. So I tried baking it to sterilize, which works, but makes the house smell nasty.

So I finally decided (DUH!) if I could buy the potting soil, I could buy something else. So I now have coconut coir, mushroom compost, perlite, waiting to be mixed in to home-made potting soil. I have a worm bin, so I could dig out some worm castings and water with leachate.

Yay!! The potting soil was the last synthetic fertilizer I used! I feel like a load of guilt has been lifted (mining peat moss! :( )

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Yay RG !!
I took the non MG soil oath a few years back.

Just watch the coir, it can hold lots of water.

I've been testing ( unscientifically :) ) seed starting with small granular DE and turface since Nov'12. I've already planted the broccoli, parsley, cilantro into the beds and have lacinto kale, escarole(frisee)in starter 6packs. its been a learning curve, but the seeds/seedlings really love the drain-ability.

Moving away from peat is hard eh?

Good luck with your new starts !!

T

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digitS'
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It is a big step to change potting soils.

About 20 years ago, I was at the hardware store and there was potting soil in white bags with a cheery, cartoon daisy on the front. I thought, "Why not?" I mean, the price was right.

That decision darn near ruined my entire season. By the time I realized that something was really wrong, it was late . . !! New bags of soil were brought in and things replanted. Substitutions had to be made because I'd already emptied several seed packets!

I have made one permanent change over the last 25 years - going from Black Gold regular to the organic. The image of the cartoon daisy on those off-brand bags still flutters uninvited in my mind's eye. Shudder!

Steve

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rainbowgardener
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Yup... still using up my bag of MG... I am a little nervous about it. I have some thing I have been doing that has been successful for me for 20 years. Now I am stepping off into uncharted territory. Hope it all goes well! :?

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digitS'
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rainbowgardener wrote:. . . I now have coconut coir, mushroom compost, perlite, waiting to be mixed in to home-made potting soil. I have a worm bin, so I could dig out some worm castings and water with leachate. . .
I think you are doing the right thing there, Rainbow. What you have done is analyze the composition of a potting soil and decided on ingredients that suit you.

Despite my skeerdy-cat thinking about starting mix, I often make soil for repotting & potting-up perennials. Doing that, saves me a load of money and I figure the plants are established well enuf that they should be able to survive if I'm a little off on the mix.

My "formula" is equal parts of peat, compost & garden soil with about 2 shovels of perlite to the wheelbarrow. Organic fertilizer goes in at about what I would place on that amount of ground surface if it was in the garden. I then screen that.

If I was making starting mix (trembling digitS'), I would go strongly with worm castings instead of my homemade compost or the bagged fertilizer.

I may also use vermiculite rather than perlite but I live not far from that asbestos-laced mine that the W. R. Grace Co used to contaminate half the country! I had all sorts of that stuff in my hands 30 years ago. I resent that and carry a grudge.

I've never yet used coconut coir and still rely on the Canadians to send us their peat. I use a good deal of it for winter storage of dahlia roots and that is what goes in the mix for the perennials.

Steve

more "Recipes for Growing Media," from ATTRA (link)

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rainbowgardener
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Planted those seeds on Sat, by yesterday afternoon, cabbage, broccoli, white alyssum, and bunny tails grass had sprouted! YAY 2013 growing season has begun!

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ElizabethB
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Rainbow - did you realy try to bake your soil :?: How wild is that.

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rainbowgardener
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Absolutely! Baked compost in the kitchen oven, at 450 for an hour. Works great for sterilizing it and killing all the creepy-crawlies. If only it didn't stink up the house so. If I had an outdoor oven, I would keep doing it. Wonder if there's something I could do with the barbeque grill.... my partner who is the griller in chief, would kill me!

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You are doing great!
I had "start seeds" on my calendar for last weekend, but I still have to clean up my garage sweed starting area, and all my indoor space is taken up by other plants right now.

:idea: Think I might kick out the fire tail chenille baskets and start some seeds under those lights. :twisted:

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I did start my onion seeds yesterday but everything is on a long hold. It was 16 below the night before last, only five below last night, so it will be at least a month before I will start the brassicas. Darn, I sure wish I lived where I could garden year round.

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I started more seeds yesterday trying the filter/baggie method. I can't wait to see if it works.

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rainbowgardener
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prettygurl wrote:I started more seeds yesterday trying the filter/baggie method. I can't wait to see if it works.
Be sure to check out this thread about it:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... highlight=

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applestar
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Yay! --finally started some seeds too. Playing with the soil block makers....
Sowed lavender in 3/4" micro blocks as well as broccoli and onions, and sowed 2" mini blocks of more onions.

Micro blocks:
Image Image

Put outside in the snow a "winter sown" container of rue.

Celery and Cauliflower next. :D
Last edited by applestar on Sun Jan 27, 2013 1:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Rainbow, I guess I'll try starting alyssums now too. Do you start mints and anise hyssops around now too? What about German chamomile?

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rainbowgardener
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Yes, re mint and anise hyssop -- any cold hardy perennials I am doing from seed (not a lot this year) can be started now. Seems a bit early for the annual chamomile though.

Today, I'm about to plant petunias and marigolds, because for the sale I like to have good sized blooming plants like you get in the stores.

We are already into the season where I will be planting something new every week from here to April. Next week will be peppers and impatiens, maybe some other things as well, I will have to check...

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Thanks! I'll put them on the list for next in line. :D

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rainbowgardener
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So I am now ten weeks from average last frost date! Season is moving on and I am already starting to feel a little behind...

My cabbage and broccoli have true leaves and have been thinned, transplanted to individual cells and moved off the heat pad.

Planted anise hyssop (could have been planted earlier, but I forgot I had it), four varieties of petunias, basil red rubin and basil purple ruffles (but not the green basil which sprouts and grows faster), california wonder bell peppers, Anaheim chili peppers. Most of the spots on my two heat mats are full already, so I am limited in how much more I can plant until something else can move off...

Spring is coming! (even though my garden is covered in snow right now).

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rainbowgardener
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Getting in to the season where there's a lot to do with all the seeds and seedlings. All my peppers finally sprouted, while I was away over the weekend.

Today I planted impatiens and coleus. Working on up potting (to the 3.5 in pots) all the cabbage and broccoli and ornamental grass as quickly as I can. Moving the celery (way overcrowded) to one per cell, now that it has true leaves.

Six trays of seeds and seedlings under the lights, soon to be more!

I'm just about to finish off last year's MG potting soil and start making my own! :) Next step is to manage to lug 40 pounds of mushroom compost down from the screen porch, to the basement, so it can get unfrozen.

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LA47
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I'm going to be starting a number of perennials and annual flowers this spring and I was concerned over the lack of space I have inside. I've read about winter sowing before but this post just convinced me that this is the way to go. The problem is I didn't think of it till now so I haven't saved any containers. I was thinking I could purchase some of the cheap clear storage boxes. My questions is how tall they need to be? Also most of the ones I've seen has a raised ridge around the top, would that be okay?
I want would like to start cone flowers, coreopsis, jacobs ladder, gillardea, joe pye weed, penstemmom, cosmos, rudbeckia, cosmos, marigolds, sweet william, and dill and onions. Are all of these suitable for winter sowing?

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rainbowgardener
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Not something I have done before, but I expect it should work for any cold hardy perennials. Cosmos is an annual and much more tender, I'm not sure it should be on your list.

You need height enough for several inches of potting soil and then room for the plant to sprout. I would think 6" minimum. Lots of drainage holes.

Alternatively lots of cold hardy perennials can be just directed seeded in the ground in fall.

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rainbowgardener
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Planted annual chamomile. Trying to save some spots on the heat mats for when it is time to start the tomatoes. ... :) By then the peppers will be ready to move off the heat mats and the cabbage and broccoli can start hardening off outside! YAY!!

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gixxerific
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Woah I'm late to this party. :oops:

I suppose it mean I need ot get started too. I am going to finish cleaning and disinfecting my starter area this weekend. Some may not know I had a bad disease with my winter dwarfs that has 99% wiped me out. -wall-

You go though girl, I truly love your sarter setup. I am anxious to see what you do this year. You and Applestar are always on the cutting edge and do things their way not the books way.

If you are looking for a good potting soil look into Promix or Dr Earth I have good results from them. Not this winter but that was I belive from contaminated soil I brought in from my garden perhaps, that I added to my potting mix, I will not do that again.

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Planted green basil today -- the red and purple basil were started 2/1 and are just starting on their true leaves now, but in my experience the green will quickly catch up to them.

Transplanted at least 60 seedlings: more broccoli and bunny tails grass and some white alyssum in to pots and spreading most of the bell and chili peppers out from crowded in cells on the heat mats, to one per cell off the heat mat.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be 54 degrees! (Today the high may or may not get UP to freezing...). So the cabbage and broccoli will go outside for the first time.

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Continuing to pot up and transplant. Planted more petunias today, because my old petunia seeds turned out not to be any good.

Coleus and chamomile have sprouted.

Went through all the tomato seeds I have on hand from webmaster and other friends here and ones I bought and decided what I have room for (not even thinking about garden room, just room on the heat mats and plant starting area). Before I started hanging around here, I always used to plant two varieties of tomato, an early one and a mid season large beefsteak. This year I will be up to starting 7 varieties (I know, sounds like nothing to people like applestar and gixx, with their big long lists :) ).

But here's the list I decided on:

Wayahead - early determinate, medium red

Sophie's choice - extra early (55 days!) determinate, dwarf, tolerates cool weather, medium red

Amos coli - red paste tomato

Goose creek pink - 75 day indeterminate, medium pink-red

Better Boy hybrid - 78 day large red beefsteak indeterminate - makes me nervous to do all these heirlooms, so the BB is included for disease resistance insurance.

Red barn - 80 -90 day large red beefsteak indeterminate

Big cheef - black indeterminate

Don't know where I will put them all, I about have room for one plant of each variety! :) But I may try to find room for a couple extra...

All the rest of the seeds I have will find good homes with my gardening friends.

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Sounds great! You are way ahead of me -- mostly because you are so well organized or I might try to start more tomatoes already (see, being disorganized has its benefits LOL). But realy, I have to tell myself that my season starts later than yours. I'm behind planting some things though.... :roll:

But, maybe I'll start some alyssums today 8)

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rainbowgardener
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Now that our climate zones thread inspired me to find the Sunset zones for the rest of the country, not just the west, we can see that you are in Sunset zone 32:

ZONE 32. Interior Plains of Mid-Atlantic States; Chesapeake Bay, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey
Growing season: late Mar. to early Nov. Rain falls year-round (40" to 50" annually); winter lows (moving through the zone from south to north) are 30 degrees to 20 degrees F/-1 degree to -7 degrees C. Humidity is less oppressive here than in Zone 31.

while I am in zone 35:


ZONE 35. Ouachita Mountains, Northern Oklahoma and Arkansas, Southern Kansas to North-Central Kentucky and Southern Ohio
Growing season: late April to late Oct. Rain comes in all seasons. Summers can be truly hot and humid. Without arctic fronts, winter lows are around 18 degrees F/-8 degrees C; with them, the coldest weather may bring lows of -20 degrees F/-29 degrees C.
https://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zo ... 000036421/

even though I think we are both in USDA zone 6. According to Sunset, your winters are a little milder and your growing season a little longer than mine. Sunset didn't specify, but it looks like we average similar rainfall. Cincinnati averages 40" of rain a year, distributed pretty evenly through the months.

I learn things here all the time!!! I never knew my Sunset zone before.

I haven't planted any tomatoes yet, just decided what of all I had in mind I am going to plant, this coming weekend.

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applestar
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Well... The winter temps have been warmer last two years, but typically we have few to several nights that go down to negative single digits and at least 2 or 3 weeks with lows in the teens are the norm. I think we are subject to the Nor'easter extremes.

Looking at the map, it doesn't look like Sunset has had the chance to detailed micro mapping NJ yet. No way you can lump the Atlantic Ocean coastal areas and Delaware Bay basin and tidally influenced Delaware R. bank areas -- which extend all the way up to Trenton -- together with the inland Pine Barrens (sandy and chilly).

On the average, my garden's last frost is last week of April and first frost is mid to third week of October. According to NOAA, there is a colder pocket where I live. But overall, it would be difficult to get a good data since none of the local weather stations seem to quite match what is actually Happening in my garden :roll: -- not just in terms of temp reading, which could be attributed to in accuracy in my thermometers, but whether there is actual frost, freeze, etc. :?

What's it like for you? Did they get it about right? :?:
I think I sometimes see your area getting hit by the more severe dips that sometimes occur in central states that come down from Canada.

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rainbowgardener wrote:Absolutely! Baked compost in the kitchen oven, at 450 for an hour. Works great for sterilizing it and killing all the creepy-crawlies. If only it didn't stink up the house so. If I had an outdoor oven, I would keep doing it. Wonder if there's something I could do with the barbeque grill.... my partner who is the griller in chief, would kill me!
I picked up a microwave at a yard sale for $5. Used plastic shoe boxes filled with compost. I left it in the microwave on high for 15 Min's. I never seen a critter or weed seed. You could use it anywhere there is electricity.

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I think I'll be looking for a used micowave just for that. Thanks for the tip.

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rainbowgardener
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Sunset's summary for my zone is brief, but seems about accurate. I moved here in 1971. Back then we had blizzards, 35 degrees below zero, the OHio river freezing. But we don't have winters like that any more. It is rare these days for us to get below zero, I think it's been several years. But temps in the teens are still common in winter and we've had a little bit of single digit nights this winter.

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rainbowgardener
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Tomatoes planted!! Yesterday I planted my 7 varieties of tomatoes, plus lobelia and aegeratum. The tomatoes are VERY crowded in the little cells and will need to be moved off the heat mat soon after they sprout, at which point they will fill up a lot of space under my lights...

It's all your fault, you know, THG friends :) you keep feeding my addiction!

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applestar
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My Stump of te World tomato out of the very late-late group are the first ones up. :()
On the right are Carpet of Snow white and Royal Carpet purple alyssums in the back and Snow Crown hybrid Cauliflower in the front. The OP Early Snowball in the same pan haven't sprouted yet -- old (2009) seeds 100% failure :?:

Image

Let's all be a little bit nutz:
(I'm keeping track of when you are sowing your seeds, rainbow. Can't argue with success! :wink: )

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rainbowgardener
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That's a complement, applestar, but I'm not sure how scientific my starting dates are. It depends somewhat on such non-plant related variables as when I have space on the heat mats to put them or (like the anise hyssop that got planted late) when I happen to find the seeds ... :)

I did deliberately slow the tomatoes down a little. I used to plant them on Valentine's day and although that had a nice little bit of symbolism, I decided it was a little too early. Also the Quaker Meeting where sell off a lot of my extras, has started the last few years having a big plant sale the first Sunday in May. So I slowed some things down to have them not ready too early before that.

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gixxerific
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Good point RBG on starting early. We have all done it heck I have been wathcing you and Apple for years, APple and I were discussing astarting early a few years ago and how everything was too big in house and very ready to go out.

I am starting dwarf tomatoes now. Soon all esle will follow. Just got onions in the other day, as soon as it is warm and dry enough they will go in. That is the only thing I bought this year seed wise.

Do you need anything RBG? I have a ton of stuff you may want, veggies and all that, ask Apple. :P I was given a HUGE box of seeds to distribute.

Good luck RBG

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rainbowgardener
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Making progress! Started potting up celery and the first peppers (the bells seem to be a bit ahead of the chili peppers, though they were planted at the same time). Planted nicotiana.

Next weekend I will plant roselle and malabar spinach, neither of which I have grown before, so I'm not too certain of the timing. Then everything I start indoors will be planted except all the squashes. (I seem to have acquired more varieties of squash than I usually do also, but that's to try to find something the vine borers won't kill.) Squash doesn't get planted for at least a month, so I am good, except I have no idea where all this stuff will go once it is all sprouted and needing more space! :)

Generous offer, gixx, but I have very limited garden space and already don't know where I am going to put everything.

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Ask him for "a little packet of carrot seeds" and see what happens. :kidding:

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gixxerific
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applestar wrote:Ask him for "a little packet of carrot seeds" and see what happens. :kidding:
LMFAO Just ty me! nutz:

Man you already have peppers up. I need to get out and get another heat mat today. My old one died and almost took my house with it. Gonaa be crazy here soon.

Good luck RBG though knowing you, your garden will be spectacular as usual. 8)

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rainbowgardener
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Currently have 11 trays of seeds and seedlings under the lights and 3 more going in and out getting hardened off. Soon to be more... :)

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rainbowgardener
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Just wanted to link this in here, it's my last year's seed starting thread, which I finally managed to find just by paging through the Seed Starting index pages.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... 798#238798

So what I wrote here from last year says

1/29/12 planted parsley, dill, fennel, coleus, canterbury bells, spearmint, broccoli, rosemary, thyme

2/1 petunia, celery, snapdragon

2/5 peppers, impatiens, red basil, salvia, parsley

2/11 marigold

2/17 tomatoes, nicotiana, summer savory, cardinal climber

2/19 OUTDOORS planted onions, scallions, radish, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard (very early warm up last year, nothing planted outdoors yet this year)

2/24 alyssum, sage

3/4 nasturtium, millet, hyacinth bean vine

3/22 squash

3/24 more squash varieties, moonflower, statice

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rainbowgardener
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For comparison this year:

1/19/13 planted broccoli, cabbage, summer savory, canterbury bells, parsley, dill, alyssum, celery, bunny tails grass

1/27 petunias and marigolds

2/1 anise hyssop, red and purple basil, bell and chili peppers

2/11 impatiens and coleus

2/15 chamomile and green basil

2/22 tomatoes, lobelia, ageratum

2/24 nicotiana

(planned) 3/2 roselle and malabar spinach

end of march, beginning of April various squashes, cardinal climber, hyacinth bean vine, moonflower.

Turn the lights off by the first of May! :)



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