Sowing Ranunuculus Seeds
Hello friends,
Three weeks ago I finally got around to sowing the ranunculus seeds I bought from Bud & Bloom back in January. The seeds don't germinate in hot weather, so I had to wait until late March when we start to get cooler mornings.
I pulled out my new seed sowing tray protector and got to work. I'm so pleased that I invested in buying it earlier this year, as it cuts down on mess big time, and it's so much easier to sow seeds.
I sowed one seed per cell, and gently covered each ranunculus seed with vermiculite as suggested in the instructions that came with the seeds. I gave them a good watering and stored all the seed trays undercover in the woodshed where it is cool for most of the day.
Now came the patiently waiting part, as ranunculus are notoriously slow at germinating, usually taking 2 - 3 weeks to germinate. Each day I checked on the seed trays and kept the vermiculite damp.
Two weeks after seed sowing, a single ranunculus seedling popped it's head above the vermiculite, and then another and another over the next few weeks.
Quite a few seedlings have come up now, and they are slowly growing in their seed sowing cells. Over the coming weeks they'll grow their underground root systems, and then as the weather gets even cooler, the plants will grow more leaves. I can't want to see lots of ranunculus plants flowering in spring this year.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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The Artsy Housewife's Abalonia's Apple Tree Cross Stitch Project
Hello friends,
I hinted in a blog post a little while ago that I had started a second cross stitch project for stitching over the autumn season. Back in November for my birthday we visited Art and Frame in Christchurch, a picture framer, who also specialises in cross stitch supplies and patterns.
Since it was a significant birthday, and my family had given me money to celebrate it, I splurged and bought a cross stitch pattern, Abalonia's Apple Tree by The Artsy Housewife. I also bought most of the specialty threads needed for the project from Art and Frame as well.
Some of the specialty threads and the fabric weren't available in New Zealand, so I ordered them from 123 Stitch in the USA, and waited for them to slowly arrive by mail. I ordered a fat quarter of Fiber on a Whim 18 count Aida in the colour Old Gold, which was the smallest size available, and when it arrived I cut the fabric in half, as I only needed half of the fabric for the project. The other half of the fabric will be used in another project later this year.
As you can see from the floss toss on the fabric, the colours used in the project are very autumnal.
And I've already started cross stitching Abalonia's Apple Tree...
I'm really loving stitching with the specialty threads from Classic Colorworks and Weeks Dye Works, and Sampler Threads, and the colours go great with the Old Gold aida from Fiber on a Whim. I'm about half way through the project now, and hope to have the project finished this autumn.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Our First Apple Harvest
Hello friends,
Back in the winter of 2024 I planted two apple trees, Ballerina Waltz, and Ballerina Flamenco. I chose those two apple trees after a garden consultant suggested the Ballerina apple varieties, as they grow narrow and tall, and have an abundance of fruit, which make them perfect for smaller gardens.
Ballerina Waltz is a tart eating, cooking, and dehydrating apple, and Ballerina Flamenco is a sweet eating apple. Between both trees, we would have enough apples for hubby and I to eat fresh, and we could also use them for cooking and dehydrating when we have excess produce.
In spring they both flowered for the first time, but only Ballerina Waltz set fruit, and we've been impatiently waiting for them to ripen ever since.
By the time we got to March, only two apples remained. They slowly turned red, and over the last couple of weeks I periodically tested them to see if they were ripe.
And finally, the first apple was ready. When I tilted the apple upward, and it snapped off the tree.
I very excitedly took our first apple inside and showed it to hubby. We cut it open, and the seeds inside were a nice brown colour, showing that the apple was ripe via a another method.
The Ballerina Waltz apple was indeed sweet but tart, but it was also nice and crunchy and juicy. It also wasn't so tart that hubby refused to eat it. A couple of days later the second apple was ready to eat, and we once again cut it in half so that we could share it.
We are very happy with our purchase, and over the coming years when we'll get bigger and bigger harvests. If you are wanting an apple tree, but just don't have the space in your backyard for a full sized apple tree, I really do recommend the Ballerina apple varieties. They now have a bigger selection of varieties, so you can choose one (or more) depending on the type of apple you are interested in.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Random Farm Silver's Fleece Project - Washing and Storing
Hello friends,
Over this past summer I processed a second raw sheep's fleece. I hadn't planned on buying another fleece, with one already waiting to be washed and processed in the garage, but when I saw a new trader called Random Farm selling raw fleeces on the Felt market place, I couldn't resist supporting a new fleece producer.
I bought a raw fleece from a Finn-Romney cross lamb ram called Silver. As a lamb he produced a beautiful silvery grey-and-white fleece, with the colour changes along the staple, with dark tips, and paler shades towards the cut end.
When it arrived it had a lovely soft handle, good lustre, and locks that separated easily. The locks had an average staple length of 7-8cm, and they suggested to spin it long draw for a soft woollen yarn. It was a very clean fleece with minimal vegetable matter.
Having recently scoured and washed my Gotland Fleece, I decided to use the same method of using Unicorn Scour Power, as the resulting clean fleece was in good condition.
It wasn't too long before I'd scoured all the batches of raw fleece on a sunny day. After they'd dried, I flick carded a lock to see the final product. The lock has a dark brown/grey tip, and a silvery grey shade at the cut end. It has a very beautiful fine crimp, and the lock is quite smooth and fluffy.
I'm very happy with the final result, and once I get my current spinning project completed, and spin up a 100 gram sliver of fiber for a friend, I think I'll get started spinning this yarn.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Cosmos Flowers for the 2024/2025 Summer Season
Hello friends,
Today I thought I'd share with you some of the cosmos varieties I grew in our flower garden over the summer.
First up we have the Xsenia variety, which I grew from seed I got from Emerden last winter. This cosmos variety is just stunning and really unique, and I love the dark band of pink on the edges of the petals. The shade of pink in the petals do change as the flowers get older, so by picking them at different times, you will get a range of colours from just one variety.
Next up we have the Apricotta cosmos variety, that I got from Kings Seeds. It has a similar apricot/pink colour to Xsenia, but the flower is much more open. It wasn't really my favorite, when compared to the Xsenia variety, so I won't be sowing any new seeds next spring.
Then we have the variety, Cosmos Cupcakes White, which I bought as seed from Susie Ripley Gardening. And wow, this cosmos variety really stands out in the garden. I love the cupped flowers, that really do look like the bottoms of cupcakes. These flowers blow daintily in the breeze, making a lot of movement in the garden on windy days. I'm definitely growing these again next year.
I also bought Cosmos Cupcakes Blush seeds from Susie Ripley. They're the same as Cosmos Cupcakes White, but they're a light pink in colour. They weren't as nice as the white variety, with the pink colouring not being even on the petals, so I don't think I'll buy them again.
And finally, we have my new favorite cosmos variety, Cosmos Fizzy White, which I also bought as seed from Susie Ripley Gardening. These white cosmos flowers come in all sorts of variations of fizzy white flowers, and they're just so beautiful in the garden. Of the ten or so plants around my garden, each flower type was slightly different, but each one was just stunning. I'm definitely going to grow a lot more of these in the garden next spring. And as a bonus they were complete bee and butterfly magnets all summer long.
I hope you've enjoyed taking a look at all the cosmos varieties I grew this last summer. I can't wait to begin growing them again next spring.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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