Limnanthes douglasii

  | 50 Seeds|

Native to the American West, the Poached-Egg Plant is just 6-12 inches tall and 6 inches wide, yet is sweetly fragrant, a magnet for butterflies and bees, and terrifically floriferous over a long summer-to-fall season.  Attracts Butterflies. Profusion of yellow centered on a white flower that will appear all summer on fern-like yellow-green leaves. Highly attractive to beneficial insects including hoverflies, that will reduce pest colonies in the vegetable garden. Find a sunny spot for this annual held in a shallow cup shape -- on slender stems. It is delightful in containers of all kinds, but I prefer it in a large planting at the front of the border or bed, where it can share its fragrance with less-fortunate plants.Because it's a native plant, expect great resistance to weather, poor soil, and other hardships that slow down "imports"! Limnanthes is easy to grow, and makes an exceptionally nice edging along walkways. It will self-seed very freely, so you may want it in a meadowland or informal setting where it can pop up unexpectedly next spring. Hardy to Zone 5 and is not frost tender. Flowers from May to August, seeds ripen from July to August. Poached Egg Plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. It cannot grow in the shade. Poached Egg Seedlings are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by bees. Sow seed in fall or spring where you want it to grow. You may need to protect the seeds from birds with screen or other mesh.

50 Seeds per package.

To be sure about pH, test the soil with a pH meter. Apply fertilizer and lime using the results of the soil test as a guide.

• Soil pH is a measurement of the number of Hydrogen ions present in the soil solution along with as the acidity of the soil. When the soil pH is too acidic the nutrients that are present in the soil become locked-up or unavailable (low pH) or alkaline (high pH).

• Correcting the pH has the same effect as applying fertilizer as it unlocks plant nutrients already present.

• In the garden some garden plants thrive in acidic soils while others prefer an alkaline soil.

• The acidity or alkalinity of soil is a measurement by pH (potential Hydrogen ions). pH is a way to measure the amount of lime (calcium) contained in your soil, and the type of soil that you have.

To Measure Soil pH.

It is recommended that you use a relatively inexpensive, and follow the manufacturers instructions when testing the pH Level of your Gardens soil.

To raise or lower the pH level in the soil either Limestone or Sulfur is utilized.

Other materials will accomplish the same results; however the two that are listed are the most commonly used.
Limestone is added to the soil to raise the pH level because limestone is essentially calcium and calcium reacts with water in the soil to yield hydroxyl ions .. a process known as, hydrolysis = thus the pH level in the soil is raised.
Sulfur reacts with bacteria in the soil and produces sulfuric acid, which releases hydrogen ions thus causing the soil to become more acidic =the pH level is lowered.

Application Of Lime (To Raise Soil pH)

To increase your pH by 1.0 point and make your soil more alkaline.

• Add 4 ounces of hydrated lime per square yard in sandy soils

• Add 8 ounces of hydrated lime per square yard in loamy soils

• Add 12 ounces of hydrated lime per square yard in clay soils

• Add 25 ounces of hydrated lime per square yard in peaty soils

• The addition of ash, bone meal, or crushed oyster shells will also help to raise soil pH levels.

Application of Sulfur (To Lower Soil pH)

If your soil needs to be more acidic, sulfur will lower the pH if it is available.

To reduce the soil pH by 1.0 point

• Mix in 1.2 oz of ground rock sulfur per square yard if the soil is sandy

• Mix in 3.6 oz per square yard for all other soils.

• Composted leaves, wood chips, sawdust, leaf mold and peat moss, will also help to lower the soil pH.

• PPM=Parts Per Million

This unit of measure is relatively unique to the greenhouse industry and often there is some confusion on how ppm is calculated.
I. To calculate the ppm contained in 1 ounce of material first solve for B:
A x 75 = B
A = the % active ingredient (AI) in the fertilizer
B = ppm contained in 1 ounce of the material in 100 gallons of water
Example: Calcium nitrate contains 15% N (0.15 x 75 = 11.25). If 1 ounce of calcium nitrate is dissolved in 100 gallons of water the solution will contain a II. To calculate the number of ounces of material required to make up a desired ppm concentration solve for C:
C = Desired ppm conc. / B
B = ppm contained in 1 ounce of the material in 100 gallons of water (from above).
C = number of ounces of material to add to 100 gallons of water to achieve the desired concentration.
Example: To make up a 250 ppm solution of calcium nitrate first multiply the AI x 75 (.15 x 75 = 11.25). Next divide the desired concentration by 11.25 (250/11.25 = 22). To make up a 250 ppm solution of calcium nitrate you would add 22 ounces to 100 gallons of water.
aproximately 11.25 ppm N.