Gardening Tests

I am going to use this page to record different gardening tests and their results.3

Date	Test	Results
3/1/19	Started MW with and without bottom heat
2/24/19	Started dwarf dill, cilantrol, parsley, Ammi,
2/22/19	Started Zinnia angustifolia inside – 3 seeds per cell.  Also testing fiber cells.	4 day germiantion!
2/20/19	Start thyme – mother with and w/o vermiculite on top.
2019 above	2019 above	2019 above
8/15/18	Tried Milo on yellowing salvia.	Two weeks later the salvia is dark green.
8/1/18	Cut Threadleaf coreopsis back by half to encourage blooming.	Sept. 5 – cut back portion has not bloomed. The other side is blooming slightly.
8/1/18	Cut Pearly Everlasting to ground – will it come back?	No – there do seem to be buds in other areas.
5/29/18	Rudbeckia fulgida fulgida – dug it up with a big ball of dirt vs using small pots of it I dug up.	It seems to be best if you let the seedlings grow to fist size, then dig them up with a clump of dirt and move them to their permanent location.
3/30/2018	Allium – separated and put in cells outside 2 weeks ago.	They seem to be doing ok – even in 29 degree weather.
3/30/18	Test Burnout vs Vinegar	Burnout is MUCH better.
3/30/2018	Added Osmocote to the top of some plants – will it help?	NO – plants seemed to die.
3/20/18	Planted gomphrena – 85 degrees with bottom heat versus 78 degrees no heat.	Bottom heat is only slightly better. Almost all the seeds germinated.
3/14/18	Started zinnia angustifolia in either 36 or 72 cells
3/10/18	Planted 25 Tropical MW seeds outside.	They did not do well. It is too wet and cold,
3/4/18	Planted Tropical MW seeds inside	3/20 – 90% germination in both trays with heat underneath.
2/27/18	Divided allium and left them outside.	They seem to be fine – even under the snow. I also put them around the mailbox area.
Feb. 23, 2017	Soaked some annual MW seeds for 24 hours – will that help in germination?	No difference
Feb 23, 2017	Gibberellic acid – will it aid germination of different milkweed species? Soaked some for 24 hours.	Mainly no difference, except for Common MW – I got 4 seeds to germinate.
Sept 15 2016	Planted red clover and annual rye – they germinated well. Will they over-winter? Note – Temp on Dec 18th – 4 degrees	Feb 2017 – both plants have overwintered. I need to trim rye grass.
9/16/2016	Cut seed pods off Allium Millenium – will it keep blooming?	NO, but it still blooms a long time.
9/16/2016	I cut back Profusion Zinnia to the ground because it was dying.	It did not come back.
June 30, 2016	I cut rose campion to the ground – since it’s part of the Lynchis family – will it bloom again?	NO
June 30, 2016	I cut bubblegum monarda to the ground – will it bloom again?	NO
3/2/16	Best soil temperature to germinate seeds – tropical mikweed 1. 74 degrees – tray with lid – no bottom heat 2. 80 degrees – tray with bottom heat and lid3. 90 degrees – tray with bottom heat and lid	Best results are 80 degrees and seed covered. Seed shown germinated in five days using Pro-Mix.
2/20/16	Germination Test Vermiculite – SOT Seeds on Top Ver – SC = Seeds covered Ver+Osmo-SOT Ver+Osmo-SC 1/2V +1/2PM-SOT 1/2V +1/2PM-SC 1/2V +1/2PM+Osmo-SOT 1/2V +1/2PM+Osmo-SC Ver+Mycor-SOT Ver+Mycor+Osmo-SOT ProMix-SOT	8 seeds germinating 11 6 10 8 6 9 6 7 6 7 March 2nd It doesn’t seem to make any difference if the seeds are on top or covered.
Jan 21, 2016	Moving seeds with leaves, but no TRUE leaves and putting them in 6 pack to see if they will transplant. Covered with plastic top.	They moved without any problem.
Jan 21, 2016	Propagating Incarnata three ways – alum can, glass cup, standard propagation in media and plastic bag	Aluminum can developed some roots – not as many as I’d like – plain glass did not develop roots.
Aug 10	Planted more buckwheat in gardens by house in bare areas – I did not cover this.	Does not germinate – needs dirt on top.
Aug 4	Planted buckwheat in front garden – slightly covered with soil.	Plants have germinated well.
July 10	Roundup alternative – 1 gal vinegar + 1 cup Dawn + 1 cup table salt.	Kills small plants, but larger weeds it only kills the tops and they come back from the root.
July 6	Planted Trop. MW  seeds in front. Seeds buried in the area by the Phone Line box and seeds not buried in the center garden.	Aug 5 – seeds are only about two inches high.
June 10	Try Purple MW from American Meadows?	Seems to be staying smaller. I think that the plants I have tried in the past were the standard NEA – not Purple Dome
May-June	I cut back the New England Aster to 18″on May 1 and June 1.	Plants still have gotten tall. These are aggressive growers.
2015	Test different weed/grass killers – 100% vinegar + dish detergent + oil – article 1 – Nature’s Avenger – also Ammonia –	Regular vinegar kills small young weeds – I usually spray two days in a row. It will not take down mature weeds.
April 18	Put out mulch in the front and it covered a lot of seedlings. Will these seedlings die or will they grow through?	Results
3/16/15	Mycorrhiza Test – Pro-Mix has some, MG has none – Plus/Minus Micorr	Results
3/14/15	Pro-Mix versus Miracle Gro Organic and test Osmocote on top of soil versus in the soil.	Pro Mix BX wins – osmocote in the soil may be slightly better.https://butterflygardening.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/pro-mix-plus-osmocote-the-winner/
3/9/15	1. Spray Poa annua with 5% Vinegar – it’s still cool. so I’m not sure if this will work. 3/11 – I can see definite damage to the plants – sprayed again, but also included all the edging areas.  2. I added 4 oz Murphys Oil Soap to 28 ounces of plain Vinegar. 3. Note – I found Cleaning Vinegar at Home Depot. It does not state the percentage, but the MSDS says approximately 5% – how is this any different then plain vinegar?	1. Does ok on the Poa, but will need two or more applications – other weeds are not affected or will take multiple applications.
2/27/15	Start tropical milkweed – one with bottom heat and one without. Both have a shop light on top of them.	Bottom heat wins – right now I’ve got 40 plants in the bottom heat and none on the other.
2/19/15	Soak milkweed seed in 190 degree water for 12 hours before planting – they also mention doing this three times for a 50% germination rate. I’m going to give this a try with Incarnata, Hop Tree and Echnacea.	March 14 – nothing is germinating.
2/17/15	I’m checking to see if Asclepias incarnata will root from cuttings using my standard method.	Yes – it’s doing well – I’ve taken a 2nd cutting also.
2/10/15	Testing different type of potting medium to see how it affects germination. I’ve had good luck with vermiculite in the past and I’m testing that versus 50/50 mix vermiculite/potting soil and also a version with Osmocote+.	3 plants – Potting soil  plants – 50/50 mix-4plants – 50/50 mix and osmocote5 plants – 100% VermiculiteWinner – 7 plants and they are stronger looking – 100 Vermiculite + osmocote
2/9/15	As I clean the gardens, I am digging up some plants, anise hyssop, and putting them in pots, but leaving them outside. I wonder how they will do?	After I set these plants out the weather has turned extremely cold in February. Hyssop did survive!
1/31/15	Starting milkweed seeds in 100% Vermiculite. Testing whether watering from the top or watering from the bottom makes any difference. I’m using Jacks liquid fertilizer in the water.	No Difference
1/23/15	Started Ech. paradoxa inside – seeds are VERY tightly packed on the seed head. According to PrairieMoon, this species is used to hybridize with other Echinacea species. Theory – if this germinates, then I can plant it all over the garden and come up with my own species?	ZERO Germination!
1/25/14	Cold Stratification – Test #2 – Tried a different formula – 1/4 cup sand + 1/4 tsp hot water + seeds. Some in frig and some outside. Feb. 26th – brought seeds inside and planted them.	Table Cell
1/20/15	Cold Stratification Tests 30 days – silica sand, regular sand, vermiculite and one pot of potting soil. 1/3 cup of each + 2 tsp of water. Left outside instead of refrigerator. I did put some seeds in the refrigerator to see if there was any difference. Note – I also started some seeds inside where it’s warm also.Feb. 26th – brought seeds inside and planted them.	Note – from my class at SNR – 1 month is too short a time. 3 months would be better.
1/18/15	I am starting the process of cleaning up my beds and one of my coreopsis had some small green sprigs on its long arms. I wondered if these would root and give me new plants if I planted them?I got about 14 possible new plants.	90% of these plants seem to be living.
1/19.15	Can I get common milkweed to root via layering the stem in soil?	Table Cell
9/9/14	Test 05 – Planted Common Milkweed in 6 pack containers on top of soil.From Everwilde – says it doesnt need cold stratification. 2 or more seeds per cell.	I tested 36 seeds and only got 2 to live. These might be better off germinating outside.
8/3/14	Test 04 – Some Incarnata is looking terrible and looks as if it’s dying. – I dug it up, cut off the tops, split it and put it in pots in water. Other plants in the area have died.	Results -Most of the plants survived and are doing better.
8/2/14	Test 03 – tried cutting out parts of Echinacea that are diseased. Will this stop the disease or has it already spread to all parts of the plant?	Results – NO – disease seems to be in the whole plant,
7/23/14	Curassavica – brand new seeds – seem to be germinating on the ground. Testing new seeds on top of soil vs seeds planted under soil.	Seeds on top of the soil germinate in approximately one week – very amazing. These are brand new seeds taken from growing plants.
7/15/14	Test 001 – Cut down New Eng Aster to ground – will it come back and when?	Aug 2 – plant is only 1″ off the ground.Sept 10 – plant is about 12″ tall, no blooms. Most of the other NEA is just starting to bloom.Conclusion – 7/15 is too late to cut to ground. Only cut back part way.
7/9/2014	Cheyenne Echinacea – started from seed.	Two plants blooming yellow – low growing. Bees seems to like it. Sept. 10 – not doing as well now,
7/9/2014	Sprayed Nut Grass with Ortho WeedbGone Max in area by trash cans	Seems to be killing nut grass
7/8/2014	Cut Daisy May to ground, it was done blooming – it bloomed all at once,  and added some fertilizer – I wonder how it will come back?	Plant is coming back – Sept 10 plants are starting a 2nd bloom – low grower.