Nasty Update

There must have been buds last weekend, but I didn't notice. I'd given up on checking for them weeks ago. I figured they were like the proverbial watched pot. Other than watering them, pinching off yellow leaves, and taking a photo for the monthly updates, the nasties have been mostly ignored. Suddenly, there are tiny buds like this all over. While there were buds here and there even during our record heat, before they developed past this stage, they would yellow and fall off (just like the leaves.)

Suddenly, with our much cooler weather, the buds are holding fast.

We even have blooms. I was so excited yesterday seeing them finally burst into bloom! Now that the weather has cooled off, hopefully we'll see lots more of these brilliant gems. They were worth waiting for!

September Nasties

The 'Spitfire' climbing nasturtiums have been growing in this pot since May. We enjoyed a few blooms early in the season, before the Chicago area experienced one of the hottest summers on record. I've read, and now seen first-hand that nasties aren't particularly fond of hot weather. Ours have continued to grow (slowly,) and produce new foliage to replace leaves that yellow and fall off. While they haven't bloomed much, they have cute round, bright green leaves.

In our area the average first frost happens mid-October, although for the last two years we haven't had frost until mid-November. With fall and cooler temperatures in the air, especially at night, we hope to see more blooms before frost does them in.

I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds.

Ho Hum Nasties

Not much to say about the nasturtiums this month. They don't seem to like the heat. Yellow foliage is pinched off. Flower buds form and fall off. The extra sun at the west-side veggie bed hasn't brought blooms.

I push the envelope in the shade garden, experimenting with perennials whose performance is best in full sun, but bloom respectably in part sun, adding more color with annuals. The cosmos we tried this year courtesy of Renee's Garden are little more than seedlings two months later. I appreciate the opportunity to try them for the no-risk observation that cosmos aren't a good choice for this garden.

I'm enjoying the Seed Grow project, experimenting with the nasties, and the bonus cosmos Renee's Garden provided to participants. It's fun checking out other participants' tips and progress. I wish I had more exciting nasty news to share. Maybe they'll be more fun when fall brings relief from the relentless heat and humidity. Will I grow these in future years? The cosmos - definitely not. The nasties - the jury's out until fall.

I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds.

Nasties on the Move

After producing two blooms last month, the nasties weren't budding or blooming. It's been a little challenging finding a sunny enough spot for them, and last week I moved them back to the veggie garden where those two buds were produced. Although the foliage seems less happy with the heat and sun in this spot, the nasties are budding again. Maybe we'll have a few blooms to show off for Bloom Day next week!

Sorry for the tardy post - work, the holiday, and a hospitalized relative took priority over blogging.

I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds.

The Happy Nasties

What a difference a month makes! In case you missed it, here's what this pot looked like last month. Started in the basement under lights, the first nasturtiums were spindly and sad. During the past month, three of the original sad nasties expired. The three that remain have sprouted more leaves, and look much better. The seedlings started after the pot went outdoors are much happier and healthier-looking, and even cover the spindliness of the lower stems of the older ones.

Having never grown nasturtiums before, starting them in the basement was a learning experience. What not to do: Don't try to get a jump on the season with nasturtium seeds by starting them indoors. Even my expensive, high-powered sodium grow light doesn't provide the right light to produce sturdy, happy nastie seedlings. While adequate for stocky veggie seedlings, and overwintering tropical and tender plants grow and bloom happily under the light, nasturtium seedlings seem to need natural, full-spectrum sunlight for healthy growth.

Now that that's settled, I'm enjoying the cute round leaves on the happy nasties, and looking forward to buds and blooms.

I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds.

Sad

With no frost or freezing temperatures here since early April and none in the forecast for the next ten days, I put these sad-looking, leggy "Spitfire" climbing nasturtiums outside this weekend. It makes me wonder how well nasturtiums will do even in a sunnier spot in our mostly-shady garden, since the basement light that grows beautiful veggie seedlings did such a poor job for these pathetic-looking plants.

I hope they'll be happier outside, but for extra insurance I planted several more seeds in the pot. If the new ones sprout and are sturdier, and these don't look alot better by then, they're going into the compost!

Never having grown nasturtiums before, and not knowing what climbing nasturtium seedlings are supposed to look like, I wasn't sure if these were typical of young nasturtiums. But after seeing Diane's winter-sown nasturtium seedlings, I can see that mine aren't quite right. I love experimenting in the garden, especially when my experiments turn out well. Frankly, I'm relieved that they're not supposed to look like this, and hopefully the second batch will be much nicer. In the meantime, I've resolved to avoid starting nasturtium seeds in the basement in the future!

I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds.

Seed Grow Project

I'm participating in the Seed Grow Project, sponsored by Renee's Garden. We're growing this fiery nasturtium from seed and blogging about it. For more information on the project and links to participants' posts, visit the GROW project.

I've never grown nasturtiums. I had been thinking trellis, now I'm thinking spiller. Maybe both? What do you think? A few may show up in the veggie garden, mingling with peas and cucumbers.

Seeds in the mail! That's always a thrill, even more so when they're free seeds. In the envelope with the nasturtiums, Renee included a bonus packet of cosmos. Last fall our two largest silver maples were limbed up and back from the roof of the house. The garden will receive more sun this year. It will be fun to experiment with cosmos in the sunniest spots.

We've had a warmer-than-average late March and early April. That means our heat hasn't been going on as much as usual this time of year, and the basement is a mite cool for starting seeds. Pepper seeds started almost three weeks ago were languishing unsprouted. Last March was chillier, the heat was running more and the basement was warm. Last March, peppers sprouted within days.

Peppers, and many other seeds, require warm temperatures for sprouting. I don't have a heat mat. The warm top of the fridge can be a frugal alternative. Here's a spot to experiment with . . .

Instantly, (almost,) they sprouted.

I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds.