Non Stop Begonias, in memory of my mom who loved growing these

Supertunia Bubblegum used in the Allison city pots, they really grow and grow and bloom

       ​     I was trying to post this last night after a full day in the greenhouse, but having problems with the pictures.  So I will do 2 today.   I just counted it has been 22 days in a row of working.  Without church, we have just been working.  SO I have a reason to be tired but it is paying off with all the planting we are getting done.  Super Pink Moon is a new moon name for me.  But what else I have posted is the almanac days for above ground crops and below ground crops.  Setting eggs if anyone has that to do.  How about fishing dates?  So stay safe and enjoy the weather temperature tomorrow ( Tuesday) it will be near 70's but then for the next 2 weeks down to the 50's.  April in IOWA...
 
Spot the Super Pink Moon: A Supermoon and the First Full Moon of Spring!  By Catherine Boeckmann
April Best Days 2020
Below are the Best Days for activities, based on the Moon’s sign and phase in April.
 
For Planting:
•Aboveground crops: 1, 2, 27–29
•Belowground crops: 9, 10, 18, 19
 
For Setting Eggs:
•6–8, 15, 16
 
For Fishing:
•1–7, 22–30
 
•According to folklore, the period from the full Moon through the last quarter of the Moon is the best time for killing weeds, thinning, pruning, mowing, cutting timber, and planting below-ground crops. Read more about Gardening by the Moon.
 
April’s full Moon rises on the night of Tuesday, April 7. Traditionally called the Pink Moon, this full Moon will also be a spectacular supermoon! Here’s everything you should know about the Moon this month, including facts, folklore, and Moon phase dates.
 
When to See the Full Moon in April 2020
Venture outside on the night of Tuesday, April 7, to catch a glimpse of April’s full Pink Moon. This full Moon—which is a supermoon, the first full Moon of spring, and the Paschal Full Moon—will be visible after sunset and reach peak illumination at 10:35 P.M. EDT.
 
For the best view of this lovely spring Moon, find an open area and watch as the Moon rises just above the horizon, at which point it will appear its biggest and take on a golden hue!
 
Super Pink Moon: The Biggest and Brightest Supermoon of the Year
(Note: Before you get your hopes up, this “Super Pink Moon” won’t actually look “super pink”—or any hue of pink, really. The Moon will be its usual golden color near the horizon and fade to a bright white as it glides overhead.
 
We’re currently in the midst of a series of supermoons, with the first having occurred on March 9 and the last occurring on May 7. That makes April’s full Moon the second supermoon in this series, but certainly not the one to miss.
 
Thanks to the fact that April’s full Moon will be closer to Earth than either other supermoon in the series, it will be the biggest and brightest full Moon of 2020!
 
How big and how bright, exactly? On average, supermoons are about 7% bigger and about 15% brighter than a typical full Moon. However, unless you were to see a regular full Moon and a supermoon side by side in the sky, the difference is very difficult to notice. Learn more about supermoons here!
 
The First Full Moon of Spring & the Paschal Full Moon
April’s full Moon is the first to occur after the March equinox, which makes it the first full Moon of spring and the Paschal Full Moon. The Paschal Full Moon is the full Moon that determines the date of Easter. Find out more about Easter and Paschal Full Moon here.
 
Why Is It Called the Pink Moon?
Although we wish this name had to do with the color of the Moon, the reality is not quite as mystical or awe-inspiring. In truth, April’s full Moon often corresponded with the early springtime blooms of a certain wildflower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata—commonly called creeping phlox or moss phlox—which also went by the name “moss pink.”
Thanks to this seasonal association, this full Moon came to be called the Pink Moon!
 
Other April Full Moon Names
Historically, full Moon names were used to track the seasons and, for this reason, often relate closely to nature. The Moon names that we use today stem from Native American and Colonial-era sources. Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, rather than just the full Moon itself.
 
April’s full Moon is called the Full Pink Moon, heralding the appearance of the “moss pink,” or wild creeping phlox—one of the early spring flowers.
 
Other April full Moon names include the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.
 
April Moon Facts and Folklore
A full Moon in April brings frost. If the full Moon rises pale, expect rain.
•On April 20, 1972, the lunar module of Apollo XVI landed on the moon with astronauts John Young and Charles Duke aboard. Thomas Mattingly remained in orbit around the moon aboard the command module.
•One day later, on April 21, 1972, Apollo XVI astronauts John Young and Charles Duke drove an electric car on the surface of the moon. It’s still up there along with some expensive tools and some film that they forgot.
•According to folklore, the period from the full Moon through the last quarter of the Moon is the best time for killing weeds, thinning, pruning, mowing, cutting timber, and planting below-ground crops. Read more about Gardening by the Moon.
 
taken from https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-april
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Doughety Iowa beckmall@netins.net

Happy Pansy.  Hope all of you had a happy day with the spring like weather we had today in IOWA.  It was good to be outside.  

      ​     I am back from the greenhouse work.  Planting is coming along well.  The biggest problem is always having enough room for the plants.  We have two greenhouses but I am trying to do the growing in one.  So all the flat surfaces have plants on them plus using lots of racks.  I will try to post the pansies again because their faces are very happy and blooming.  Being it is Sunday and Palm Sunday I will post a devotion to share with you.  The Power of being  Thankful by Joyce Meyer  I found this article from the Old Farmers' Almanac about Easter and the Moon. 
 
God Says, " I will be with you."
...As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.  Joshua 1:3
 
     The presence of God in our lives helps us overcome fear.  If we know by faith that God is with us, we can be grateful for His presence and we can take on any challenge with confidence & courage.  We may not always feel God's presence, but we can be thankful for His Word, remembering that He said He would never leave us or forsake us. Hebrews 13:5
     In the Bible, the basis for not fearing is simply this: God is with us.  And if we know God's character and nature, we know He is trustworthy.  We do not have to know what He is going to do, when He is going to do it or how He is going to do it.  SImply knowing He is with us in more than enough.
Lord, I am grateful that You have promises Your presence will never leave me.  Thank You that no matter what things look like around me, I don't have to fear because You are with me and You will carry me through. In your name we pray AMEN
     Interesting but can be comfusing of why the date of Easter is different every year.  
Did you know that the date of Easter—April 12 this year—is tied to the full Moon and the March equinox? Let us explain this curious connection …
Easter and the Paschal Full Moon
Easter is what’s known as a “movable feast”—in other words, a religious holiday that may fall on a different calendar date from year to year.
 
The date of Easter is tied not only to the full Moon, but to the March equinox (also called the spring or vernal equinox) and the relationship between them, too. Thanks to this, determining when Easter will be can get more than a bit confusing.
 
Here’s the basic rule for finding the date:
Easter is observed on the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first full Moon that occurs on or after the March equinox.
 
For example, if the equinox were to occur on March 21 and the full Moon were to occur two days later, on March 23, Easter would be observed on the first Sunday after March 23.
 
However, thanks to the motions of our planet and the Moon, as well as the inelasticity of calendars, calculating Easter’s date can get more complicated sometimes! Read on to learn more…
 
When Is the Paschal Full Moon in 2020?
This year, the March equinox occurs on Thursday, March 19. The first full Moon to occur after that date is April’s full Pink Moon, on Tuesday, April 7. This makes April’s full Moon the Paschal Full Moon as well. Therefore, Easter will be observed on the first Sunday after April 7: Sunday, April 12!
 
A Difference of Dates
The biggest cause of confusion regarding Easter is the tangled web of dates that are used to determine the holiday. If you take the rule given above at face value, things don’t always work out quite right.
This is exactly what happened in 2019. The March equinox occurred on March 20 at 5:58 P.M. EDT, with the full Moon reaching its peak four hours later, at 9:43 P.M. EDT. But wait—that means that the full Moon and the March equinox happened on the same date, which should have landed Easter on Sunday, March 24, right? Well, not quite.
 
The dates of the full Moon and the March equinox that are used to calculate Easter are not the astronomical dates of these events, but rather the ecclesiastical dates.
•The astronomical dates of the full Moon and the March equinox are the actual, scientifically determined dates of these events. For example, the equinox occurs at the exact moment when the Sun crosses Earth’s equator, when day and night are approximately equal. Similarly, the full Moon occurs when the Moon reaches peak illumination by the Sun.
•The ecclesiastical dates of the full Moon and the March equinox are those used by the Christian Church. They were defined long ago in order to aid in the calculation of Easter’s date, which means that they may differ from the astronomical dates of these events.
 
In A.D. 325, a full Moon calendar was created that did not take into account all the factors of lunar motion that we know about today. The Christian Church still follows this calendar, which means that the date of the ecclesiastical full Moon may be one or two days off from the date of the astronomical full Moon.
 
Additionally, the astronomical date of the equinox changes over time, but the Church has fixed the event in their calendar to March 21. This means that the ecclesiastical date of the equinox will always be March 21, even if the astronomical date is March 19 or 20.
 
Due to these rules, in 2019, the ecclesiastical full Moon occurred before the ecclesiastical Vernal Equinox, which meant that Easter would not be observed until after the next full Moon (the Paschal Full Moon) in mid-April. Thus, Easter was celebrated on Sunday, April 21, 2019.
Fun Fact: “Paschal” stems from Pascha, the Greek and Latin word for Passover.
 
How Late Can Easter Be?
For the western Christian churches and others that use the Gregorian calendar for their calculations, Easter can occur as early as March 22 and as late as April 25.
For the Eastern Orthodox churches and others that use the Julian calendar for their calculations, the observance can occur between April 4 and May 8 in the Gregorian calendar.
 
Which Full Moon is Nearest to Easter?
The full Moon nearest to Easter can change. Sometimes, it’s the full Moon that occurs in March and sometimes it’s the full Moon that occurs in April.
 
In 2020, April’s full Moon will be nearest to Easter (April 12), occurring just five days earlier, on Tuesday, April 7.
 
https://www.almanac.com/news/everything-almanac-news/easter-motions-moon
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net

Hope the pansy makes you smile, even if it is sideways.  

herbs planted this week.  Sorry for the sideways picture.

​     Here I am back in from the greenhouse.  What you see in the picture is the herbs that were planted this week.  There was sun out today, so the plants are happy and they are growing.  What I show you as small plants today in a few weeks will be alot bigger. 
     So why you should plant annuals?  Here are the answers.
 
Why You Should Plant Annual Flowers
Choosing the Best Flowers—An Annual Debate!
By Robin Sweetser
Annual flowers are like Rodney Dangerfield: They “don’t get no respect.” However, if you have no annuals in your garden at all, you are missing out on one of life’s joys and a whole lot of color. Let’s discover some of the best and easiest annual flowers—including beautiful pictures!
 
Annuals provide gardens with all-season color, but they have to be replanted every year, so they often get the cold shoulder. Perennials are the garden divas; they give one outstanding performance a year and retire to the background to bloom against some time next year. Annuals are the hardworking chorus line, kicking up their heels all summer long.
At our farmers’ market, I have seen shoppers fall in love with an interesting annual in bloom, all ready to take it home until they hear that it is “only” an annual and then they drop it like it was on fire. However, there are many reasons to have annual flowers. 
Life without zinnias? Not worth living! Bumblebees and butterflies will also enjoy your zinnias.
 
The Benefits of Annual Flowers
Annuals have many advantages and compliment perennials well. Here’s how I use annuals:
1.Filling in bare spots
2.Experimenting with new color combinations
3.Adding color to containers
4.Providing cut flowers for bouquets all season long.
5.Changing the look of the garden every year by growing different annuals
 
Go from bold and bright to soft pastel or from cottage garden to tropical paradise by switching out your annual plants.
 
Tall Architectural Plants
Tall plants look great as centerpieces, against a wall, or to add a touch of drama to the landscape. Examples are Nicotiana sylvestris, sunflowers, and elephant head amaranth.
 
Edible Flowers
Expand your palate with some edible flowers like nasturtiums, bachelor buttons, and calendula.
 
Annuals That Double-Duty as Beautiful Dried Flowers
•Grow some everlastings like celosia, globe amaranth, and statice to dry for winter arrangements.
 
Statice aka Limonium is a great accent plant for landscape borders and flower gardens. It loves full sun and sandier soil.
 
Annuals for Different Situations
Most annuals do best in full sun with well-drained soil, but there are annuals for every situation.
 
Annuals for Hot, Dry Soil
•Hot, dry soil a problem? Try growing portulaca, tithonia (Mexican sunflower), or gomphrena. They are pictured in order below.
 
Annuals for Shade
•Shady sites can be brightened up with impatiens, begonias, lobelia, and browallia
•For shady areas, also look to foliage plants like coleus, iresine, and Persian shield
 
Annuals for Moist Soils
•Moist soil is no problem for cleome (spider flower), torenia (wishbone flower), or monkey flower.
Or, plant a mixed border—a mixture of plants including perennials, shrubs, bulbs, vines, and annuals. Don’t be afraid to mix it up!
 
Get inspired by Robin Sweetser’s backyard gardening tips and tricks. Robin has been a contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the All-Seasons Garden Guide for many years. She and her partner Tom have a small greenhouse business and also sell plants, cut flowers, and vegetables at their local Farmer’s Market.
taken from https://www.almanac.com/plant-annual-flowers-varieties-pictures
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net 

I took the seed trays off the hot pad today.  Seeds were started 10 days ago.  Now let them grwo and get a little more thicker stocks before I transplant. 

Here is our testing our bulk seeds to make sure they will grow in your garden.  This is working too. 

Planting snapdragon twinny peach they will grow I promise you.  

image of Snapdragon Twinny Peach from all-americaselections.org

 ​     Here are some pictures of what I am doing in the greenhouse.  I took off the heating pad these seed trays which I planted 10 days ago.  Now I will wait for them to get a little thicker stock for transplanting.  I have put the seeds into a tray that we are selling as bulk seeds to check that they will come up in your garden.  That is working well.  Planting Snapdragons called Twinny peach and they are a fun one to grow in your garden.  Do you know what a kitchen garden is?  Read and find out.
 
What to Grow in a Kitchen Garden
Kitchen garden design and plant ideas  By Robin Sweetser
 
Kitchen gardens are making a comeback! We all want the freshest and most nutritious, flavorful food possible. What could be easier than having the fixin’s for tonight’s supper growing right outside the back door?
 
Imagine waking up in the morning and breakfasting on your own garden—gathering gold orange cherry tomatoes or strawberries for breakfast.  Cultivating a garden full of your favorite vegetables is a practical way to save a bundle on your grocery bill and it also makes meal planning a snap.
 
What’s great about a kitchen garden is that it can be manageable, not overwhelming.  Start small! How about a simple raised bed that’s 12 x 12 feet? Plan your kitchen garden with your favorite foods in mind. Here are some ideas!
 
Delicious Dishes
•Love Italian cuisine? Plant lots of ‘San Marzano’ paste tomatoes, ‘Corno di Toro’ peppers, ‘Genovese’ basil, and ‘Cocozelle’ squash.
•Crave spring salads? Who could resist tender lettuces you’d never find in the grocery store such as ‘Blushed Butter’, ‘Flashy Trout Back’, or ‘Little Gem’ and don’t forget thin-skinned ‘Diva’ cukes, crispy radishes, and ‘Sungold’ cherry tomatoes.
•Planning on canning? You’ll want to grow plenty of ‘Boston Pickling’ cucumbers, ‘Bouquet’ dill, and ‘Blue Lake’ pole beans for making pickles and dilly beans.
•Salsa a staple on your table? Tailor your garden to your taste by growing peppers with just the right amount of spice. Try ‘Ancho’ for slight heat, ‘Early Jalapeno’ for medium fire, or crazy-hot ‘Ghost’ peppers for the true chile-heads.
•Do you detect a theme? Just as meal planning is easier when you work around a theme, gardens can have themes too. Think ethnic—Thai, Greek, French, Mexican, Russian—whatever family your favorite  foods belong to. Those specialty vegetables that would cost you dearly at the store can be easily grown at home.
•Go Gourmet! To really save money, try growing the pricey gourmet foods that you love but can’t afford to buy. Arugula, endive, edamame, filet beans, purple asparagus, white eggplant, shallots, and mesclun are easy to grow.
 
Planning a Kitchen Garden
If you lack a good sunny location for your garden in the backyard, your kitchen garden will look good enough to grow out front. Ideally, it’s close enough to the house that you can access a hose or a spigot.
 
Your soil should have good drainage. You’ll probably need to amend most soils with compost or organic matter. If your soil is really poor, consider raised beds and buying soil and organic composted manure.
 
Remember, many vegetables can be decorative as well as nourishing. Frilly, red-leaved lettuces make a colorful edible edging, scarlet runner beans or purple-podded pole beans are beautiful as well as tasty, and ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard comes in an array of eye-catching neon colors. If garden space is at a premium, just plant what you love most and enjoy it at its peak.
 
Get inspired by Robin Sweetser’s backyard gardening tips and tricks. Robin has been a contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the All-Seasons Garden Guide for many years. She and her partner Tom have a small greenhouse business and also sell plants, cut flowers, and vegetables at their local Farmer’s Market.
taken from https://www.almanac.com/news/gardening/gardening-advice/what-grow-kitchen-garden
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net

image from Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty

Here is the  work we need to do yet...plant
​image from Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty

image from Old Farmers. almanac.com 

       ​     WOW I am tired.  Wanda and I moved all the succulents to racks, and the perennials out from behind the tables that we had moved in the fall, and the succulents that I had repotted this winter.  NOW we have room to put the new plants for growing.  But lots of mending and getting things from those bottom shelves.  But now they are out.  We have a nice selection for you the gardener to see succulents from .50 to $10.00 
    Here is what the Old Farmer's Almanac is saying about April and May.  Doesn't look too bad, but there is some cool days in there and of course rain.  See how all of this works with our gardening.  I know some of you have used the last couple of days to work and clean up flower beds. That is good.  Looks like 29 as a low this weekend, so for you that asked about uncovering roses, I would wait a little bit yet.  If they have started to grow the cold temperature will hurt them.  Thanks for asking questions.  LOVE that....stay well, stay safe God Bless all of you.  Becky
 
April 2020 Long Range Weather Forecast for Heartland

Dates
Weather Conditions
Apr 1-5
Rain, then sunny, cool

Apr 6-17
Showers, turning warm

Apr 18-23
Scattered t-storms, warm

Apr 24-30
Scattered t-storms; cool, then warm

April
temperature 55° (1° above avg.)
precipitation 3.5" (avg.)

 
May 2020 Long Range Weather Forecast for Heartland

Dates
Weather Conditions
May 1-10
Isolated t-storms, cool

May 11-12
Sunny, hot

May 13-23
A few t-storms, warm

May 24-31
Scattered t-storms; cool, then warm

May
temperature 66° (2° above avg.)
precipitation 3.5" (1" below avg.)

 
taken from https://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/region/us/10
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net

image from FunkyJunk.interiors

      ​     I had a question asked when to prune hydrangeas?  Here is information about that but you will need to know what kind you have.  I would play it safe and just let it grow this spring and then identify with the blooms this season then you know when to prune.  Good luck with handling hydrangeas.  ALSO say healthy and safe.
 
When and How Should Hydrangeas Be Pruned?  By Robin Sweetser
 
Hydrangeas can sometimes be a tricky plant to care for, so it is important to learn when to prune different hydrangea varieties, as well as how to prune them. Consult our handy cheat sheet to figure out the best time to prune yours.
 
Properly pruning hydrangeas based on your hydrangea’s type will allow you to have more blooms next year. However, before you start pruning, it’s important to figure out which type of hydrangea you have. If you prune at the wrong time, you could be cutting off next year’s blooms!
 
Hydrangea Pruning Cheat Sheet
Use this table to determine when to best prune the hydrangeas in your garden. Some types should be pruned in late winter, while others should be left alone until after they bloom in the summer.
 
Hydrangea Type
When to Prune
Where Flowers Appear
Bigleaf (H. macrophylla) Summer, after flowering On old growth
Oakleaf (H. quercifolia) Summer, after flowering On old growth
Panicle (H. paniculata) Late winter, before spring growth On new growth
Smooth (H. arborescens) Late winter, before spring growth On new growth
Mountain (H. serrata) Summer, after flowering On old growth
Climbing (H. anomala subsp. petiolaris) Summer, after flowering On old growth
 
Bigleaf Hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla)
Even though I’m located in Zone 5, my ‘Endless Summer’ mophead hydrangea—which usually has huge blue blossoms all summer long—was killed to the ground. Luckily, it has the wonderful ability to bloom on both old and new wood, so even though they were a bit later than usual, there were still many blooms.
 
My other blue hydrangea is a lacecap-type, called ‘Let’s Dance Starlight’, but instead of the huge, mophead-type of flower cluster that ‘Endless Summer’ has, the lacecap hydrangea bears a flat blossom made up of many small, fertile flowers surrounded by a few showy, sterile flowers. It is also hardy to Zone 5 and blooms on both old and new wood.
 
Both mophead and lacecap hydrangeas are considered bigleaf or macrophylla hydrangeas, so they can be pruned right after flowering by cutting back the flowering shoots to the next bud. If you have older plants that aren’t blooming well, you can cut up to a third of the stems off at the base in late summer to encourage new growth.
 
Panicle Hydrangeas (H. paniculata)
The hydrangeas grown most often in New England gardens are the panicle-types, since they are not only beautiful, but also very hardy, surviving Zone 3 winters with no problems. One of the oldest and most reliable favorites is ‘Grandiflora’, also known as Pee Gee hydrangea. Native to China and Japan, it was the first Asian hydrangea cultivar introduced to the United States, in 1862. They were a big hit during the Victorian era. The flowers start out a creamy white and turn a rosy pink as they age. They can be dried and look lovely in a winter arrangement. Find out how to dry these lovely hydrangeas here.
 
There are many panicle-types to choose from. I have one called ‘Pinky Winky’ that has long, cone-shaped white and pink flowers, and also ‘Vanilla Strawberry’, which has panicles that color from white at the tip to pink in the middle and red at the base. For something different, try ‘Limelight,’ which has chartreuse flowers that gradually turn pink in autumn.
Panicle-type hydrangeas should be pruned in late winter to keep them from becoming overgrown.
 
Smooth hydrangeas are North American natives, originally found growing wild in Pennsylvania. They tolerate light shade, begin to bloom in June, and continue to blossom until fall. Their white flowers are round and can reach 12 inches in diameter.
 
The popular cultivar ‘Annabelle’ grows to be 3-5 feet tall and can be used to light up a shady path or as a mass planting at the edge of the woods. It is hardy to Zone 3.
 
Smooth hydrangeas can be pruned back to the ground in the fall or early spring.
 
Also called swamp snowball, it is hardy to zone 5 and though it prefers full sun, it can take some shade and still blossom well. It blooms a little later than the other hydrangeas, beginning in August. Its flowers are large panicles that start out white and turn dark pink as they age. The leaves, which are deeply lobed like an oak leaf, turn a rich maroon red in the fall.
 
Oak-leaf hydrangeas don’t need a lot of pruning, but if you want to tidy yours up, prune out the dead stems at the base in early spring.
 
Get inspired by Robin Sweetser’s backyard gardening tips and tricks. Robin has been a contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the All-Seasons Garden Guide for many years. She and her partner Tom have a small greenhouse business and also sell plants, cut flowers, and vegetables at their local Farmer’s Market.
taken from https://www.almanac.com/news/gardening/gardening-advice/when-prune-different-kinds-hydrangeas
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net
 

Not the usually succulent picture.  Look closely this leaf was just on top of the dirt and growing little ones from that.  This makes you know that there is faith in new growth.  

Repotted succulents and looking good

If you can see these succulents are really growing well.

These succulents just came in, so will need to be planted.  300 of these

     ​     So start of another week.  Another week of this virus and staying home.  Hope all of you are well and keeping busy with this new way of life for awhile it looks like.  I haven't told you but I have been repotting succulents since the end of January.  I am a little tired of doing that but when I look at the results it is so worth it.  The aloe vera plants were brown but with repotting them they have turned to a beautiful green.  I am posting pictures of some of the succulents I repotted.  You can see I have more new plants to plant these trays hold 300 succulents. That is what we are doing.  PLANTING.  Stay healthy and safe.  Becky
 
Succulents are popular for two simple reasons: they are beautiful and nearly indestructible.
 
Technically, a succulent is any plant with thick, fleshy (succulent) water storage organs. Succulents store water in their leaves, stems, or roots. These plants have adapted to survive arid conditions throughout the world from Africa to the deserts of North America.
 
Fortunately, this adaptive mechanism has resulted in an incredible variety of interesting leaf forms and plant shapes, including paddle leaves, tight rosettes, and bushy or trailing columns of teardrop leaves.
 
As a group, succulents include some of the most well-known plants, such as the aloe and agave, and many almost unknown plants. Cacti are a unique subset of the succulent group. Succulents make excellent display plants in dish gardens.
 
No matter what kind of succulent you're growing, the rules are pretty similar among the different species. Here are the general rules for growing top-quality succulents.
 Southern Light 
Succulents prefer bright light, such as found on a south-facing window. Watch the leaves for indications that the light level is correct. Some species will scorch if suddenly exposed to direct sunlight; the leaves will turn brown or white as the plant bleaches out and the soft tissues are destroyed.
 
On the other hand, an underlit succulent will begin to stretch, with an elongated stem and widely spaced leaves. This condition is known as etiolation. The solution is to provide better light and prune the plant back to its original shape. Many kinds of succulents will thrive outdoors in the summer.
 
Temperatures for Growing Succulents 
Succulents are much more cold-tolerant than many people assume. In the desert, where there is often a marked contrast between night and day, succulents thrive in colder nights, down to even 40 F. Ideally, succulents prefer daytime temperatures between 70 and about 85 F and nighttime temperatures between 50 and 55 F.
 
Watering Succulents 
Succulents should be watered generously in the summer. The potting mix should be allowed to dry between waterings, but do not underwater.
 
During the winter, when the plants go dormant, cut watering back to once every other month.
 
Warning
Overwatering and ensuing plant rot are the most common causes of plant failure. Be aware, though, that an overwatered succulent might at first plump up and look very healthy. However, the cause of death may have already set in underground, with rot spreading upward from the root system.
 
A succulent should never be allowed to sit in water. Overwatered plants are soft and discolored. The leaves may be yellow or white and lose their color. A plant in this condition may be beyond repair, but you can still remove it from its pot and inspect the roots. If they are brown and rotted, cut away dead roots and repot into drier potting media, or take a cutting and propagate the parent plant.
An underwatered plant will first stop growing, then begin to shed leaves. Alternatively, the plant may develop brown spots on the leaves.
 
 Choosing Potting Soil and Fertilizer 
Succulents should be potted in a fast-draining mixture that's specifically designed for cacti and succulents. If you don't have access to a specialized mix, consider modifying a normal potting mix with an inorganic agent such as perlite to increase aeration and drainage. These plants have shallow roots that form a dense mat just under the soil surface.  ( I don't use a special potting mixture but I just use what I plant all my plants in.  The difference it isn't potting soil but potting mixture which has more perlite and peat moss in it all ready.) 
 
taken from https://www.thespruce.com/grow-healthy-succulent-plants-1902806
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net

image from stories.rbge.org.uk

      ​    So soon you can plant lettuce.  If you need some seeds, we have a wide selection of bulk lettuce seed.  It has been tested and it will geraminated.  Call me 641-794-3337, email at beckmall@netins.net and we can arrange a curb side purchase.  I am over in the greenhouse all the time planting so no problem to help you with your gardening needs. We have seed potatoes and onion sets that can be planted soon.  Cabbage is growing as is the broccoli.  They will be more ready when the ground is ready is a couple of weeks.  I will post a list of the lettuce soon on this blog.  Stay healthy.  Becky
 
Growing your own salad greens will put a world of fresh ingredients at your fingertips. Whether you are a gourmet salad lover who likes to experiment with interesting greens or someone who just wants to have your own homegrown lettuce, your choices are only limited by the seeds you can find and the space you have.
 
Types of Salad Greens
We always think of spinach and lettuce as the main spring greens, but there are many more to choose from. Look to the east—Asian greens such as napa cabbage, tatsoi, pac choi (or “bok choy”), mibuna, santoh, and hon tsai tai are especially suited to growing in cool spring weather. If you have never tasted any of these greens, then you are in for a treat. Some are hot and spicy, while others are quite mild. They can be eaten raw or cooked and will add flavor to any salad or stir-fry.
 
Depending on your taste buds, you can grow mild, tender greens like claytonia, chard, and mache, or bitter greens like endive, escarole, and radicchio. If you want to add a peppery tang to your salads, try mustard, mizuna, broadleaf cress, or arugula.
 
Lettuce is the obvious choice for a salad garden and there are many spring lettuces to choose from. Try a delicate butterhead, tasty heirloom crisphead, or colorful leaf lettuce. Plant them as soon as the ground can be worked. Lettuce seeds will germinate in soil as cold as 40°F (5°C).
 
There are ready-made salad mixes that offer a wide variety of textures, colors, and flavors. Look for mesclun or misticanza mixes, or make up your own custom blend using seeds for your family’s favorite greens. Lettuces and greens that will continue to grow after being given a haircut are called “cut-and-come-again” in many catalogs.
 
Growing and Harvesting Salad Greens
The key to having perfect greens is to grow them under row covers, which help to keep them relatively clean and bug-free.
 
Many row covers are made from spun-bonded polypropylene, a material that is light-, water-, and air-permeable, and very lightweight. Most allow 70%-90% light transmission. Covers help to moderate temperature and give a few degrees of frost protection, too. They can be supported by wire hoops or just laid over the plants and held in place with rocks and soil. Unlike plastic, this breathable material won’t cook your plants on a hot sunny day.
 
To keep a continuous supply of greens, plant a small section of the bed every two weeks. Cover the seeds lightly with soil and tamp down. Keeping the seedbed moist while the seeds are germinating is important and the row covers will help to keep moisture in. Greens are mostly water and will suffer a setback if allowed to wilt. When the plants emerge, keep the row covers in place and well-anchored on all sides. Only remove them when harvesting. This is a very effective way to foil flea beetles, the bane of the early spring garden. Tiny, black hopping specks no more than 2mm long, they will leave your lettuce riddled with small holes.
 
To pick your greens, carefully shear the young plants with scissors, leaving the growing center of the plant intact. Water and lightly fertilize the plants, cover them up with the row cover, and in no time at all, they will regrow and be ready for another harvest.
 
If you don’t have a lot of room, try growing salad greens in a pallet garden (pictured above). Wrap landscape fabric around the back and sides of a wooden pallet, then fill the openings with soil and plant your seeds or starter plants. When the plants have taken root and begun to grow, simply stand the pallet upright in a sunny location.
 
Turn just a small part of your backyard into a salad-lover’s dream garden and soon you’ll be harvesting a bounty of flavorful greens.
 
About This Blog
Get inspired by Robin Sweetser’s backyard gardening tips and tricks. Robin has been a contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the All-Seasons Garden Guide for many years. She and her partner Tom have a small greenhouse business and also sell plants, cut flowers, and vegetables at their local Farmer’s Market.
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/news/gardening/gardening-advice/how-grow-your-own-salad-greens
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net

image from PBSLearningMedia

       ​I am going to post this right away this morning, and then later tonight I will post again what I am doing in the greenhouse.  This might give you some ideas of meals to fix while we are home all the time.  Hope all of you are well, safe and healthy.  Becky
 
Some ideas for meals now that you are home all the time....
by Margaret Boyles 
 
As of this writing, one in three families are at home. It’s an uncertain period of self-quarantine and physical distancing (staying six feet from another person or persons.)
 
So you’re not going out. Perhaps you’ve eaten all the fresh salad greens, broccoli, eggs, fresh meat, poultry, and fish. Perhaps your area doesn’t offer food-delivery services.
 
Maybe you’ve been creeping out to shop in the early morning, hoping to get in and out without encountering many others, but you’ve found limited supplies of most of the items on your list.
 Instead, you hastily pick up some canned and frozen foods you’ve never tried.  (When it comes to COVID-19, see a few food safety precautions.)
 
Or maybe, like us, you’ve decide to stay in a while longer and manage with what you still have on hand.
 
So, what to cook? 10 Simple Recipes
My siblings and I grew up with frugal parents who’d lived through both the Great Depression and World War II. They brought a lot of the family menus of their day to our family table. I’ll share some here.
 
(Apologies for the New England bias here; you can probably find similar family recipes from your own region.)
1.Welsh rabbit (rarebit): Cheddar cheese sauce with a dash of Worcestershire sauce over toast or saltines.
2.Tuna wiggle: Cheese sauce with canned tuna and fresh or canned peas over crackers or toast.
3.Mac and cheese: Of course! Many variations. Ours was pretty simple. Small elbow noodles mixed with a thick cheese sauce
4.Succotash: Shell beans and sweet corn—our local version of succotash— was my dad’s favorite food. We had a big garden, and did lots of home canning.You could easily replicate it by mixing a can of shell beans with a can or frozen package of corn. Salt and pepper to taste.
5.American chop suey: This stovetop dish of ambiguous origin generally combines ground beef sauteed with a chopped onion (and maybe a green pepper), some kind of cooked pasta, and a well-seasoned tomato sauce.
6.Scalloped potatoes: Our family dish featured unpeeled potatoes sliced thin (not peeled) tossed with a handful of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, then added to a baking dish in layers, topping each layer with a cheesy sauce. Bake at 350° until potatoes get soft and brown on top and around the edges.
7.Pea soup: Extremely simple: Split green or yellow peas, mixed with sauteed diced carrot, onion, maybe a stalk of celery, then simmered—often with a meaty ham or shoulder bone—on low heat until thick; salt and pepper to taste. Note: If you’re new to pea soup, watch for allergies.
8.Meat loaf: Ours usually contained half hamburger, half other ingredients: e.g., bread crumbs or half a cup of rolled oats, a chopped onion, an egg, a grated carrot/beet/potato, or leftover cooked vegetables. You can find many vegetarian/vegan options on the web.
9.Clam chowder: Our recipe called for diced potatoes and onions—sauteed until tender—a can or two of clams with juice, and enough milk to serve everyone a full bowl. Sometimes, mom made a roux to thicken the milk. She seasoned the chowder with salt and pepper before serving.
10.Sausage and White Beans:  Drain can of cannelloni beans but keep half liquid. Brown sausage in oil; Cook half bean liquid and garlic, onions, canned tomatoes, some herbs for five minutes. Add beans and a can of tomato paste, and simmer a little longer.
 
A few hot (and cold) tips
1.While stores near you may lack fresh vegetables, meat and poultry, most of them, especially convenience stores in rural areas, will still have eggs and milk. The local hens keep laying eggs, and the cows keep giving milk.
2.Around here at least, even convenience stores usually sell fresh bananas. They’re cheap and nutritious. Peel and eat, whirl into a banana and peanut butter smoothie, use in a simple dessert, or freeze them. Freeze bananas? Yes! Peel and freeze in chunks or slices. Slimy when thawed, but so what. Thaw and add frozen banana slices to your morning oatmeal. Following the instructions for the oatmeal you’re using, mix oats with half water/half milk, add a bit of maple syrup or brown sugar, and a few frozen banana slices, and cook it over slow heat.
3.Speaking of oatmeal, it’s also cheap and nutritious, not to mention filling and extremely versatile. It keeps well for a long time. Have it for breakfast with frozen bananas stirred in. Add it to pancake batter. Among frugal cooks, it’s a well-known “extender,” filling in for bread crumbs, bulking up a meatloaf or a casserole.
4.If you do have fresh food you think might go bad before you can finish it, try freezing it (yes, even cooking and salad greens). Cut well-washed food into uniform-sized pieces, blanch in boiling water for two or three minutes, drain and cool immediately, then package and freeze. Don’t fuss over which containers to use: washed yogurt, cottage cheese, or butter containers with covers, doubled up plastic storage bags. Also don’t worry about the precise blanching times; just add your frozen veggies to your next soup or casserole.
5.By the way, you can also freeze hard cheese. And butter, too! If it’s packaged in plastic, just toss a block of cheese into the freezer as is. Remove to the refrigerator a couple of days before you want to use it. You probably won’t be able to tell that it was frozen. As for butter, remove the quarter-pound sticks from the package, leaving the paper wrapping on. Then wrap each stick tightly in foil, or put them all in an airtight freezer bag, and freeze.
6.Got pinto beans? I discovered this recipe for pinto-bean pie, inspired by the numerous Depression-era “mock pies. I think you could eat it for any meal.
 
"Living Naturally" is all about living a naturally healthy lifestyle. Margaret Boyles covers health tips, ways to avoid illness, natural remedies, food that's good for body and soul, recipes for homemade beauty products, ideas to make your home a healthy and safe haven, and the latest news on health. Our goal is also to encourage self-sufficiency, whether it's relearning some age-old skills or getting informed on modern improvements that help us live better, healthier lives.
taken from https://www.almanac.com/easy-recipes-cooking-coronavirus-quarantine
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net