Amaryllis Seeds-Update

This weekend my seed pod on my Amaryllis split open and I was able to collect the seeds. As you can see from the photos the seeds are very thin almost paper like and dark. Amaryllis seeds always remind me of Hosta seeds and from my experience they're very easy to germinate.

If you're interested in propagating your Amaryllis or pollinating your Amaryllis you can see this entry on Amaryllis pollination here in the Garden Hacker blog. I don't know what I'm going to do with so many Amaryllis seedlings but I'm sure I'll find room for them somewhere.

Here's a video I made showing you how to pot an Amaryllis Bulb.



and one showing you how to pollinate an Amaryllis flower.

You can also visit my Amaryllis Bulbs blog where the content is exclusively about growing Amaryllis bulbs. 

Plant Labels Hack

I was in the greenhouse of a local garden center and came across these plant labels from Ferry Morse the other day. The price is pretty steep when you consider that they're just thin pieces of plastic and you could easily make your own plant labels to keep track of your growing houseplant collection or the seeds you start making mini greenhouses out of used soda bottles. You can make something similar and just as useful by cutting the tops and bottoms off of your gallons of milk or soda bottles and cutting the sides into strips.

If you have kids around then you probably buy a lot of Popsicles and throw away a lot of the wooden sticks. Rinse the sticks off and set them aside to dry and then you can use them as plant labels. Or you could buy a bag of the wooden sticks in crafts stores or dollar stores in your area. A local dollar store sell them 100 sticks for a dollar which is a lot cheaper than these cost.

Don't throw away your mini-blinds as they can also be cut up into strips and be used as plant labels. One mini-blind can produce hundreds of plant labels that could last you for a very long time. If you aren't redecorating your home check out any junk shops or garage sales near you for used mini-blinds, they can easily be cleaned and serve a purpose in your garden instead of taking up space in landfills.

Instant Soup Cups-Hack

I've found myself throwing away a lot of these instant soup cups lately because we have guests and they eat these like crazy. It's not unusual to throw away 10 or more of these cups in one day around here. The other day as I was taking out the garbage and they kept falling out of the bag and it dawned on me that these sturdy cups have a use for gardening.

Take a sharp pencil and poke holes in the bottom and you can use these to start your gardening seeds until they grow big enough to transplant into larger gardening pots or into your garden. If you're propagating plants fill it with your favorite brand of potting soil and stick your cuttings in these and cover them with a clear plastic bag to trap humidity. They're sturdy enough to use for starting seeds under grow lights if you have an indoor garden light set up.

If you're an indoor gardener and have small potted plants in a window that may be too cold in the winter place the potted plant inside (make sure you poke holes in the bottom) this cup. The Styrofoam will act as an insulator and keep the roots warmer as the temperature near your window drops at night