Alert!

"Your Burpee Order is About to Ship!"

That was the title of an email I received today, and that would be the strawberries. They didn't give exact dates but I expect that means I will have to deal with the 25 bare roots and one plant in a week or so. I don't remember where I saw this, but one of the YouTubers I watch (maybe the GrowVeg guy) said to pot up the bare roots for a couple weeks before putting them in their final location. I have enough 6-inch plastic pots to do this. It is an extra step but it makes some sense to me. I'm going to do planter beds, grow pots and hanging baskets, and I might do it only for the baskets.

I'm in the middle of everything now. I finished moving almost all of the plants to the greenhouse that I wanted to move now. The garage closet is completely empty and the grow lights are turned off. Actually there are two plants in there, a zinnia with extreme bug damage, and last year's poinsettia. The former will be pitched, and the latter will be cut back and stuck somewhere until September or so. There's also a lot more room in front of the garage windows where most of the succulents are, under grow lights.

At the greenhouse, I planted the Epic 6-cells today, six each of Alyssum, Coleus and Marigold, and three each of Marjoram, Basil, two kinds of tomatoes, Stevia, and Broccoli. Those only fill up half of one tray on the heat mat, so I have a second heat mat I probably will not use.

If I am going to install a row cover over the vegetable (west) bed to keep the bugs off, I need to do it now. While I have the drill out, I will reposition the trail camera I use for surveillance. Then, at some point I am going to have to cull the peppermint, Cuban Oregano, petunias, geraniums, even the Aloe Vera. It's not that I have too much aloe, it's that some of it got ravaged by aphids a few months ago and doesn't look good. On Feb. 4, I made 4-inch pots of Cuban Oregano and aloe, six each, and I guesstimated that 100% of the CO and 50% of the aloe would prosper. Two months later, 100% of the CO and 50% of the aloe have made it this far.

After analyzing the first two nights of temperature data from the Elitech devices, it is apparent the new heater either is not kicking in at 48 degrees or is not keeping up. Both nights, the charts indicate the backup heater started at 40 degrees and shut off at 45 as it was supposed to in case of failure by the primary heater, and cycled through this several times. When I fiddle with the new heater, it works. The problem, I think, is the new heater is not designed for a greenhouse and does not have a separate temperature probe located a distance away. It will not work with an external controller so I am returning it and will get one that does.

After greenhouse chores I went to the Post Office to pick up The Next Gardener's replacement for 'Apricot Beauty.' Unlike the previous one, this one doesn't look like it got hit with a grenade. I know I'm not supposed to water anything for few days after unboxing and potting, but this one was so dry and so wobbly in the pot that I watered it just to anchor it. Here it is alongside most of the shattered remains of the previous order. There is another one-inch rosette that I chopped off and previously posted, and it seems to be doing fine.

Now I'm building up the courage to repot the Sempervivum trio. I repotted 'Berry Blues' twice in two days (grower pot to 6" to 8"), and I think it suffered a bit. In a day or two I will do it because 'Gold Nugget' needs its own pot.