Not a Pretty Garden

Ultra Dwarf Nectarine Harvest

2011-08-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

I promised that I would tell you whatever happened with my nectarine. Well, here it is. I got about 10 mini nectarines. They were DELICIOUS. They were ready and falling off the dwarf tree about two weeks ago. It was such a surprise how tasty the were. I am so very pleased with this little guy. I cannot wait to see what he will do after I prune him back in the fall. I can already see little nodes developing on all the branches (actually, I am not sure at all what that means-- maybe I should do some research soon on when exactly and how I am supposed to prune this guy). I wish this photo could really show off how small the nectarines really are. The dimensions look funny. But that glass bowl they are sitting in is pretty tiny. Not even really the size of a regular cereal bowl. I'd estimate that the fruits were a bit larger than a golf ball.

Am I nuts?

2011-05-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Probably. I got this big pot from Costco (under 50 bucks!) and wasn't sure yet what kind of dwarf tree I wanted to plant in it. I am thinking pomegranate so I can have two matching blue pots with poms. Too cute, I know. Unfortunately, I haven't found any of the dwarf variety for sale and am not ready to make another online plant purchase. But, I couldn't just leave the big lovely blue planter empty could I? I needed a one season veg or fruit that would be big/tall enough to look normal in the giant planter. Corn, obviously. I planted some corn kernels (under 2 bucks) I bought from Walmart and then a 6-pack of already sprouted corns from Armstrong's (under 4 dollars).
Corn, in a pot? Will it produce? I have no idea. Corn pollinates by wind, so I hope that having so many plants in one small space, that the pollen will make it to the right places. We will see. I know of folks that have planted corn in their backyard plots and only reap a couple heads of corn. I hope I get something because I have heard about just how amazing it is to eat corn picked fresh. They tend to lose their sweetness a mere minutes after picking.
These guys grew fast. They are about 3 feet tall already. I have no idea if they will make it to their full 7 feet height, but if they do, i will certainly update.
I also just stuck some green bean seeds in with the corn. I thought perhaps they will grow up the corn like a trellis. They only just sprouted yesterday.

Ultra Dwarf Nectarine

2011-03-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

About a year ago Sandra and I went to Lowes browsing the veggie seedlings. There was a sale on dwarf and full size trees. I snagged this ultra dwarf nectarine for 5 dollars. Seriously, 5 dollars. I have no clue whether a nectarine will thrive in a pot in San Diego, but I guess we will all find out. I potted it in a lightweight pot from Walmart (cost 20 bucks) and it did nothing. It just chilled with its leaves until the fall when it dropped all its leaves and just looked like a few sticks-- a few sad sticks. Then about a month ago I noticed it was growing some nubby things. Well, those nubby things, it turns out are flower buds. I snapped a picture this morning of the first flowers and you can even see the little leaves that are about to explode.
I cannot wait to see the whole tree full of these delicate pink flowers. I will just die if I open my curtains in the morning and see hummingbirds poking around the flowers. Then I would just die again if it actually gives me some nectarines! I have pretty low expectations since I haven't ever seen a stone fruit tree anywhere in my neighborhood. Time will tell.
Oh, and just to be extra adorable, I planted four June-bearing strawberries at the base of the tree. It would be ridiculous to see big red strawberries living next to ripening nectarines. Don't worry, if that happens I will definitely post some pictures.

Mini Pomegranate

2010-11-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

The dwarf pomegranate is a-thrivin'. Though I was not expecting any fruit on the little guy for another year, this dwarf tree/bush bore three mini fruits this season. It really couldn't be cuter. Here is a picture of the fruit that was cracked open on the branch today. The seeds are hardly the red jewel color I'd expect from a pomegranate and they were extremely tart and tiny. Maybe it is because that plant is still so young. But, the flowers keep coming on this plant. I would really encourage anyone living in So Cal to find one of these dwarf plants for their house/apartment. It is so easy to care for; the flowers are pretty and attract hummingbirds. AND, as a benefit, the pomegranate fruit is so beautiful and so perfect. I am considering ordering another one of these plants because I don't think one is nearly enough ;)

PS. I bought mine at Gurneys.com if you are curious, but I think this time around, I'd just ask my local nursery for suggestions on where to buy it locally.

Growing Garlic- Boo

2010-10-31T21:49:00.000-07:00

Since its Halloween tonight, it's totally appropriate to blog about my little garlics. Let me be up front about where I am coming from: the only reason I am growing garlic is because the other seedlings at the store looked really pathetic and I wanted to start my fall garden from seedlings and not bother with seeds. So, I was not overly enthusiastic about growing garlic. I mean, why would be? Garlic is pretty cheap at the store and available year round. So what is the point of "wasting" garden space with garlic?

I have no answers yet. This garlic won't be ready for a few months. The little plants are certainly growing on me. Here is what I've learned about them:

As you probably have already figured out, each garlic clove is like a seed. Plant the little dudes (or just leave a garlic in a cupboard for too long and it will sprout) and there you go. However, there is a rub. You really shouldn't just plant what you get from the store because often the garlics are treated with stuff so that they don't sprout and because they may not be adapted to grow locally. But, if you have a sprouting garlic clove, what the heck, it never hurts to go ahead and stick in the dirt.

So, garlic is part of the onion family and is a cool weather crop-- hence, the fall garden. Garlic needs a bit of a cold season in order for it to split into multiple bulbs. Since I bought my plants from a nursery, I am unsure of whether it already had its cool season, but I am guessing, no. Usually, you plant the garlic in the fall, the ground freezes and then in spring, it grows like crazy. Now, I am totally confused because, there is very little chance that my garlic will freeze, also, it is already sprouted... hmm. So perhaps they already did have their freeze. According to my Internet search, you can trick the garlic by placing the clove in the fridge for 40 days, and then plant it. Perhaps that is what the nursery did. So many questions. Oh well, if the garlic dies, I am out 4 bucks. Time will tell.
I will be waiting anxiously for when at least 50% of the leaves turn brown. Then I dig them up. Then I dry them (yes, very important step). So people braid garlics together by their brown leaves and hang them in a cool dry place for at least 2 weeks. The garlic needs to be cured to allow some membranes to shrink and hold in all that yummy juice. And here, I thought the braided garlics were just for show and vampires. Silly me.

Here is an interesting fact. The young garlic shoots can be harvested and made into a pesto! What? I don't think I've ever seen/heard of this. Yeah, they will grow back up to 2 times.

One more thing, according to the Internet, home grown garlic is supposed to be far superior to store bought. I am very skeptical.

Fall Gardening! Whoo Hoo!

2010-10-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

Its been rainy and cool here in San Diego. When I got back from my trip for Carina's wedding, my mom had done a fabulous job of watering and keeping everything living. Unfortunately, she let an army of caterpillars destroy all my spinach, lettuce, and snap peas. They also attacked my mint plants. Ugh, I really hate caterpillars. So, it was time to do some major garden overhaul. I cleaned everything up and did some shopping. No more starting from seed for me for the rest of the year. I think the caterpillars just adore it when I plant seeds because they pretty much destroy my seedlings! I think next spring I will concoct some kind of ghetto green house to start all my plants. Think plastic comforter bag and pvc pipes. I digress.
So, I went to Armstrong's to buy a pot for my African violet (the one I grew from a sucker) and walked out with a 6-pack of beets, a 6-pack of bunching onions, and a semi dwarf Meyer lemon tree. It is full of blooms, so cross your fingers that the re-potting didn't cause too much trauma. Then the next day, I hit up Lowes and bought a 4-pack of red leaf lettuce, two 4 packs of garlic, and a 4-pack of collard greens. Yes, it was kind of pricey for all the seedlings-- seeds are most definitely cheaper.
I also bought two houseplants!

I will post some picture of the garden as soon as the sun peaks out. I couldn't be any more pleased with how things are going.
My thyme and parsley are so well established, my mints are going strong (I dried a whole bunch before I left and used it to steam my face when I had a cold, it did wonders!). My ginger is growing, gingerly. And my chives are very full. So, yay. Additionally, my 4 pomegranates are still hanging on and the kumquat is starting to bloom. Now, I am on the hunt for some amaryllis and paper white bulbs to force as lovely holiday plants.

New Plants for Free!

2010-08-12T14:14:00.001-07:00

There are so many plants out there that are just so easy to share. Sometimes I really really want a new plant, but just know it isn’t a good purchase budget decision. Many cacti are easy, you can just break off a leave and stick it in the ground. It takes months, sometimes, for the cactus to get its own roots.

Some other plants set off shoots during certain times of the year. Strawberries, for example, send out shoots that grow their own roots and, in turn become their own plant. It is easy to share plants with your friends by taking advantage of the plants own desires to have baby plants.

In the past several months, I’ve practiced propagating plants in this fashion. I’ve dabbled with chocolate mint, strawberry, (so far it sounds like I am making ice cream!), African violet, lemon verbena, and wandering jewel (also known as wandering Jew, but that just sounds wrong, so I will call it wandering jewel).

Here is what you do for plants that send out shoots, like the strawberry and chocolate mint. Just fill a small container, with holes for drainage, with some soil, or soil-less medium. Then find the shoot, and ease it onto the dirt in the new container. Do not cut it from the mother plant yet. Grab a couple hair pins, or paper clips (first unfold them so they are in a u-shape) and use them to loosely anchor the new shoot in the dirt. This way, the new roots can grow into the new dirt without moving around all the time and damaging the roots. Keep it nice and moist. Check for new root growth in a week or two. You can gently tug the plant, if it comes out of the dirt there will likely not be any roots. Once your plant has a decent number of roots, you can snip the new plant from the older plant. All done! You have a new plant.

For other plants, such as the wandering jewel, you don’t need to do all that. Just ask a friend for a few snippings. Snip off 3-4 inches of the plant (by the way, pruning the plant like this is a good thing. It encourages the plant to grow bushier rather than spindly). I’d suggest, getting 3-4 different cuttings from different branches—not sure if that is the right word. So, strip off the last two inches of leaves. If you have rooting hormone—I don’t, use it now. But if you have rooting hormone, why would you be reading this instructional? So, now, stick your shoot into some moist soil, or soil-less medium. Keep it moist and it should grow its own roots. In a couple months, look for new leaves. Then you know it is all ready for re-potting.

Hopefully, next year my plants will be mature and ready to propagate. So I’ll be ready to share ;)

No Freaking Way!

2010-08-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

This story is absolutely unbelievable! I mean, peas are super easy to grow. Just push them into some dirt and they take off. But, whoa, a pea that sprouted in a man's lung is a bit too much to handle. I know that I will be chewing very thoroughly next time I eat raw peas.....
See the story here

Holy Basil!

2010-08-05T10:16:00.001-07:00

I think I’ve been living under a rock somewhere because I have only recently been introduced to Holy Basil tea--- also called Tulsi Tea. Apparently, the leaves of the holy basil plant are steeped and become tulsi tea. This tea is tres popular! It is extolled as an Ayervedic medicine (don’t ask me what that really means) that does everything from reduce stress, common cold, diabetes, asthma, bronchitis, ear ache, headache, malaria, and many many more. Additionally, you can cook with holy basil and it is frequently added to stir-fry because it is peppery-tasting.

The holy basil plant is sacred in the Hindu religion. In a health food store you can find holy basil extract as well as in pill form. Should you take it? I have no clue, but Webmd says that not enough studies exist to fully answer this question. But, what do I know, it seems as though people have been using this herb for a very very long time!

So, naturally I wonder where I can get my hands on one of these plants? It’s an herb, so it should be easy to grow. Seeds are available on amazon.com and pretty inexpensive. I don’t see any actual plants that I can buy, only seeds.

Has anyone ever grown this plant? I see that it is a summer plant, so I guess I have to wait until next year to plant this. But, since I live in So Cal, could it be a year round plant?

Armenian Cucumbers

2010-07-29T15:31:00.001-07:00

I am only sort of into cucumbers. If you slather them with some kind of bad-for-you dip, or use them to flavor water, then I really enjoy them. But if you just hand me a bit of cucumber, I’d rather not. Trust me you, I want to love cucumbers because they are light and refreshing and make you stay skinny but, they just don’t quite do it for me plain.

So, it make sense that I am growing a giant Armenian cucumber plant, right? Not really. Sandra bought one of those six packs last winter from some nursery and gave me two of the plants. Now, I rarely, if ever, reject a plant. So, I stuffed the two plants in with my strawberries. One of the plants met an early death, but the other, well, that is a whole other story. It is mega!

What’s that? You’ve never heard of an Armenian cucumber. Well, me either. I am still trying to figure out why Sandra bought this plant in the first place. I mean, both of us live in little apartments and have very limited growing spaces. Most cucumbers need to be trellised, and that, my dear reader, is just too much work.

Now, the Armenian cucumber is actually not really a cucumber. It’s in the melon family and just tastes and sort of looks like a cucumber—a mega cucumber. These babies can be 3 feet long! According to my sources, if you have ever seen “Pickled Wild Cucumber” in a middle eastern store, you were looking at Armenian Cucumber. Anyone had this delicacy?

They are thin skinned and don’t need to be peeled. Just wash, slice, and enjoy. My plant has so far yielded one major cucumber. I think it was over a foot when I picked it. I had to give half to my mom because no way was this girl going to eat over a foot of cucumber.

Pollination Troubles-

I am a tad concerned that I have only had one mature fruit. There are loads and loads of flowers and the darn plant keeps getting bigger and bigger. It has attached itself to several of my tomato plants and is growing down and over my fencing. It doesn’t have to be trellised (if you trellis the plant, it will give you really straight fruits, if you let it go wild, the fruit will curve) but my plant is in such a place that it can cascade down several feet. So, I’ve been trying to pollinate the plant by pulling off the male flowers and rubbing them into the female flowers. Weird, I know. Especially since there is a serious ant farm living in the planter with the strawberries and cucumber. I figured with all these ants walking up and down the stalks, the flowers would surely be pollinated. Not so much.

Pest Problems-

Damn those spider mites. They are loving the Armenian cucumber, and strangely, the ants are loving the spider mites. Have you ever heard of bug-eating ants? I have been trying to organically control the spider mite population by spraying them with jets of water. It actually seems to be working.

Overall, I’d say this is a very satisfying plant to grow. It just gets so big, there is something new to look at every day. So if you are into cucumbers and giant plants, this one is for you. AND it seems to enjoy growing in a container.

I’ll try to post a picture the next time I pick one of them.

Overwhelmed

2010-04-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

As you all know, I have not posted in a long while. It certainly isn't because I have not been gardening, rather, it is because I just have so many plants, I don't know where to start with them all. My dad had this genius idea that he would use three planks of redwood fencing to create a long planter that was lovely and inexpensive. It was very successful, I have three long redwood boxes that are about 5 feet long. They are all up on the fencing outside my kitchen door. They are jammed with plants. One is full of strawberries (and a black widow spider) that are all just ripening. They are just gorgeous. Another is full of herbs: cilantro, thyme, parsley, marjoram, chives, scallions, sage, and basil seedlings. Another is a medley of snap peas, edamame, lettuce, spinach, and radishes. Then there are my planters full of Cherokee tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, which I have grown from seed. The tomatillos, the bell peppers, the Fresno chilies, the holy mole chilies, the Hungarian wax pepper, the Armenian cucumber, the mini zucchini squash, and did I mention I have snap peas growing out of every container! Then there are the trees: dwarf nectarine, dwarf kumquat, dwarf fig, and dwarf pomegranate. I also am still bringing up several tomato plants and peppers and herbs that I will soon plant at my friend's house. It has been pretty nuts. I don't know how I keep track of them all!
So, that is why I've been so slow on the blogging. Though, I think I am ready to jump back on the horse. Perhaps my next post will be about the Hungarian Wax Pepper, or maybe not.

Name that Cacti!

2010-02-20T12:22:00.000-08:00

Botanical names are incredibly difficult to remember-seriously, difficult to remember. I took a trip over to the good ole public library this morning because it really isn't acceptable to spend so much money on books you can read for free. Though the library was rather disorienting and left me with a sour stomach (HURRY UP RECOVERY), I managed to find both the botany section and gardening section (they are in totally different aisles and many of the books were very similar). I have been dying to know the names of all my little cacti guys so, I checked out one of the many picture books of succulents (seriously the books were scattered between the botany and gardening and they were just a load of pretty pictures with captions). Despite the many pictures, the book I chose only identified two of my plants: Echeveria derenbergii and Pleiospilos nelii. Remember what I said about botanical names. I'll save the Echeveria for another post. This one is all about the Pleiospilos Nelii-- lets call it the Ple-Nel for short.

Not a Living Stone At All

I have been referring to this plant under the common name of Living Stone. That is just plain wrong, or so I've learned. The common name is Split Rock; Living Stone is the common name for the Lithops variety of succulents. The two look very similar and are actually in the same family. The Ple-Nel is fully above ground with pale green leaves (and by leaves, I mean two bulbous chunks of cactus) that have little raised dark speckles. It flowers in the spring (unlike the lithops which flowers in winter) and can have more than one flower, as my plant does (again unlike the lithops which only ever have a single flower per leave pair).

You have to love the internet: I search for the Ple-Nel and loads of sites pop up--and they all contradict one another. Some say it is really hard to grow this plant and people kill them left and right, while other praise the ease of growing the plant. A few talk about the difficulty in getting it to flower and some just talk about flowering as if it is nothing to worry about. Here is my take:

1. Buy one (I think mine came from Lowes, but possibly home depot)

2. I then mixed some little rocks with soil and sand (no precise measuring here, I just threw in what I had).

3. Find a container.

4. Put the plant in the container with the soil mixture

5. Stick it in the sun.

6. Ignore the plant for most of the year.

7. When it rains, it gets watered. Other than that, I water the cacti at my apartment once a blue moon (perhaps every two months)

Now, I live in So Cal, so it rarely rains. Do I fertilize you ask-- heck no! Why? because I'm not fixing what isn't broken. And that is the secret.

It Sure Has Been A While

2010-02-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

First thing is first: Just because I haven't been posting doesn't mean I haven't been busy with the container garden. Oh yeah, I had brain surgery which sure did keep me from busy and away from the computer. So many awesome friends sent me get well garden gifts! I got a surprise and mysterious (at first since there was no card!) aloe vera plant, which was so awesome and thoughtful. Check it out in the succulent scape I posted. I also scored some seeds, books, and gardening magazines (more like books themselves). And, lastly, I got a really cool african violet in a fabulous pot. So THANK YOU ALL!!! They really put a huge smile on my face and distract me from the chaos--I even giggled at some of the silly things that are suggested in the Foods Not Lawns book.

I am in full preparation for spring. I have done a ton of rearranging and even have a drip irrigation system in a box that I am going to try out. There are no less than 15 mini seed starting gizmos all over my kitchen and living room-- more on that another day. I've mapped out my plan for this season and am crossing my fingers that it will be a successful endeavor.

I want to show you a picture of the succulent scape I finally put together (the new aloe gave me inspiration!). Sorry for the poor quality pic, iphones aren't the best and neither am I.

This pot was SRCs and spent the last several years housing strawberries, pretty unsuccessfully-- the plants were always pissed off. It is perfect for cactus, wide and squat. So, I moved the strawberries into the red wood box my dad put together for me. I had about five small pots cluttering my front porch area full of mini cactus. No more! I added sand and rocks to some potting soil and stuck all the little cacti-guys in. The Living Stones are blooming-- two flowers a piece for two of them! Last year only one of them flowered and only one bud. So, they are clearly stoked to be living with me. I have two rosettes, green and black, that are just cuttings from larger plants. I already have the black rose, and the green rosette I found in my driveway after the upstairs neighbor had a plant accident (I think wind was involved). It found a home in my plants last spring and it just now seems to be growing. So, if you see a succulent that you just have to have, you can always snap a few pieces off of a large plant and just stick them in some well draining soil. Note: this could be considered theft so either ask the owner or be stealth! But coming from someone that was recently been plant-napped, its not cool to steal plants!
I'm a huge fan of these cactus scapes. They make lovely gifts and can be quite sophisticated. The best part is that you can easily make one using mostly cuttings from plants you already have (if you don't already have a few succulents go a cutting!). Or, just take a walk in the neighborhood (if you live in the Southwest) and help yourself. Jade is everywhere, take a few inches. Clip a black rose and anything else you fancy. Then stick it in a bowl shaped container with excellent drainage. Add some sand or small stones to the top and there you go!

Container Blueberries?

2010-01-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

Anderson's is having a sale on blueberry plants: they are fifteen bucks. A gardening expert at the store ensured me that several of the varietals are appropriate for containers. Not so convinced. From what I understand, blueberries are pretty fickle; they want acidic soil that drains well and can't dry out. Though I would only love to pick some blueberries off a homegrown bush, I declined to purchase (WHAT?!-- i don't think I ever decline). The reason: San Diego is just too darn hot in the summer to keep it constantly moist. Sadly, I will wait until the day I have drip irrigation.

On a separate note, my amaryllis has finally started growing. What the heck? The paperwhites already flowered! I expect the bulb will flower in 10 days.

What else is happening? Well, an ant farm shacked up in my pomegranate. I discovered this when I gave the plant a soaking this morning. I haven't decided what action to take. I suppose I can just douse the plant everyday until the ants give up. Has anyone dealt with this problem?

Garden Terror

2009-12-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

somebody has stolen one of my beloved plants. the plant that has been with me the longest. the plant the hummingbird likes to perch upon. My aloe vera has been plant napped. I am considering filing a police report.

Week 6

2009-12-16T10:53:00.001-08:00

Poinsettias, Paperwhites, and More

2009-12-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

I was at Jerome's the other day (the furniture dealership) helping my mother pick out a couch for her new SD apt, and what was right across the parking lot? Anderson's gardening center. I wandered in looking to buy some worms (to semi compost) and, of course, I about near died and went to heaven looking at the selection of holiday plants. It had lovely trees all sorted by type and standing already. An employee was watering and tending each tree (not quite the cheap prices of Home Depot or Target, but the quality far surpasses) the way it should be. Also, the store had some pretty decent sized living trees-- how about that? I flirted with the idea of buying a 2 foot living tree, but ended up leaving it behind. Probably won't have a tree this year because of some traveling I have to do. They had pretty wreaths and even garland-- the pretty kind. So, if you are pretty wealthy and can afford such pretties, check it out.

I selected a lovely pink poinsettia and paired it with a festive-yet-appropriate-for-year-round-use gold pot. The whole get up was around 15 dollars after tax. (I'll have to do a more extensive poinsettia post in the future). In addition, I purchased a tiny little ivy plant Ikea. Now, under

normal circumstances, I would not buy living plants at Ikea-- they always appear neglected and completely dried out; and that is not a great way to start your relationship with your plant. I feel as though I would be constantly trying to bring it back to life. Plus, can those plants seriously thrive under the warehouse florescent lights? However, the ivy seemed happy enough, and, well, ivy is pretty hard to kill. Likewise, I insisted that my mother get a tiny flowering Christmas cactus. So easy to keep alive!

On the other hand I was pleased to find that you can buy a flowering paperwhite bulb for only $2.50. That seems like a steal, since buying the bulb and growing it yourself is about the same price. Bulb is 99 cents, plus dirt and pot. Paperwhites are a lovely housewarming gift or party host gift during this time of year (at least for me).

Here is the progress of my paperwhite bulbs. Please ignore the cluttered background. They have made it 4 weeks. I predict that in 2 weeks I will have flowers (perfect timing for Christmas). In hindsight, I could have planted these bulbs even earlier to enjoy flowers through the whole month of December. Now I know.

You may wonder about my amaryllis. It is seemingly stunted! Very little action has taken place. You can see it in the picture with the poinsettia.

First flower of the Season

2009-11-20T11:02:00.001-08:00

Christmas Cactus! I have had this plant for about a year. I completely ignored it for the last year. It got watered on occasion and rarely, if ever, did I fertilize. Perhaps it would be bushier if I had been a better tender. No matter, the flowers are huge and lovely.

Actually, my friend Al got me addicted to this plant. She gave me an Easter cactus for my law school graduation. Since then I have had several cactus and have divided and given away several plants. All you must do is take a sharp knife and half the roots of the cactus and there you go: two plants.

If you are thinking of giving a gift to that person who cannot keep a plant alive, consider the Christmas cactus. They can keep it indoors during the holiday and then throw it outside until the next year (though, I wouldn't put it outdoors if you live in a harsh climate.... I'd wait until spring). It is a no brainer.

Thanks Al!

Bulbs Week 3

2009-11-20T10:09:00.001-08:00

I am a few days late in posting this, so technically it is 3 weeks and three days. The middle one is really taking off! Though, there is some kind of mold or mildew powdery white stuff growing on the soil. I am not sure how to get rid of it.

Bulbs- Week 2

2009-11-11T12:10:00.001-08:00

Paperwhite Bulbs- Week 2

Amaryllis Week 2 (sorry for the weird tilt.)

Preserving Acorn Squash Seeds

2009-11-05T10:44:00.001-08:00

KD is sick. Time to make some good soup. I saw a great recipe in my Food and Wine magazine (Nov. 09 issue) for Creamy Carrot Soup with Scallions and Poppy Seeds and I also remember another magazine recipe for Carrot-Butternut Squash soup (can't recall which magazine, I get so many!). So, inspired by these recipes, I am going to make Carrot, Leek, Acorn Squash soup with Scallions and Poppy Seeds.

A few minutes ago, I cracked open the acorn squash (using the chefs knife and rubber mallet trick) and scooped out the seeds. Though I have roasted these seeds in the past-like 4 days ago- I am not a big fan. But, I just don't want to throw them away.

I whipped on the Internet to see if I could save the seeds for the garden next spring. Of course. Of course, the Internet is teeming with info about this.

Bottom line. Clean the seeds. Put them on a newspaper, cloth, paper towel (basically something absorbent). Let them dry. Then when they are dry. Put them on new absorbent material. Stick them in a cool dry place for about a week to really dry out. Then stick them in a bag or foil and save them until next spring. Done and done. Here is a nice little article, short and sweet about it.

I'll give it a try! Can't hurt, it will be an experiment.

Meet My Winter Bulbs

2009-11-03T10:36:00.001-08:00

Several years ago, my Aunt sent me an amaryllis bulb in November. It came with a cheap plastic pot and a hockey puck shaped disc of freeze-dried soil. The instructions called for adding warm water to the puck, fluffing the soil (it grew substantially), and inserting the bulb. Easy enough. I set it on the mantle and watered it occasionally. To my surprise, it grew inches each week and eventually, around December 20th or so, it bloomed the most beautiful flowers ever.

Sadly, it met an early demise when the flimsy pot was just not strong enough for the extremely top heavy flower. It toppled and that was the end.

Though I absolutely loved the flower and the festive attitude it brought to the house, I didn't recreate the scene in the following years. You have all probably seen the amaryllis kits on sale at stores and they are, all things considered, pretty expensive. I mean, who wants to pay 15 dollars for one bulb and a crappy, cheap looking pot. So I went without. Why it didn't occur to me to just buy the bulb at a nursery, I don't know. Either way, I didn't buy the bulbs. It might be a secret fear of figuring out how to force bulbs. I tried it once and it did not work-- at all.

About a month ago, I was at Anderson's Nursery with SRC and my mom. I was in a daring mood, so I bought three bulbs. The bulbs were paperwhites and pretty cheap- I figure, if I failed at least I didn't waste too much money. Yes, there were amaryllis bulbs, but I resisted, or refused, I can't really say. I wrapped the three bulbs in a kitchen towel and promptly stuck them in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

In steps the amaryllis. I have been up in Northern Cali quite a bit in the last month or so. A little over a week ago I was strolling the Ukiah Wal-Mart (because that is just what you do), and behold, the same amaryllis kit that I received from my aunt was staring at me! You know what, it was only 5 dollars (yeah....it was wal-mart after all). I bought it, ditched the crappy pot and packed it in the luggage for the trip to SD.

Last Wednesday, I planted it. The bulb was ready for planting, I could already see the pale greenish white sprout forming on the top of the bulb. Also, I checked the paperwhites and found that two out of the three had the little sprout forming as well. One was actually developing roots. The third was not ready and was replaced in the refrigerator. I planted the paperwhites in some crappy left over soil from the summer. I figured that since these suckers could grow in just water and rocks, crappy soil would be just fine.

Here are the pictures from exactly one week later. Are you growing any winter bulbs? Please share. I will do my best to post new pictures every week to track their progress. I really hope I can get some beautiful flowers. I am thinking of starting the third bulb in some pretty rocks and a squat glass vase, perhaps it can be a gift.

Amaryllis in a pretty pot from my Grandma. Week 1.

Paperwhites in Ikea pots. Week 1.

I'm Back!

2009-10-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

I've been so silent lately. So sad. It is all because I was out of town wine tasting and such. I have some pictures to load and a nice little story about some serious gardening---no farming. As soon as I get the pictures on my computer, it is all yours.

Stay in touch.

That's a Luffa

2009-10-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Oh Yeah!

After all the fussing over this luffa plant, I actually got one luffa. There are two more small gourds growing that aren't ready. But this one had a hollow feeling, so I picked it. I was able to peal the leathery skin off and rinse out most of the seeds. I feel so accomplished.

Marjoram in the Garden

2009-10-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

As it turns out, I have no recollection of ever actually cooking with marjoram. For some reason, though, I thought it was about time have some in my fall herb (container) garden. I spent about 3 dollars on a 4 inch marjoram plant (I also bought an oregano plant because I have failed in growing it from seed). As I reflect, I am certain I made a mistake because, rather than start with new soil, I just re-used the dirt from my summer garden without adding any compost or other type of fertilizer. (I'll have to remedy the situation soon). Not a great way to start off the fall herb garden.

I have another confession to make: I also planted this small (consisting only of oregano and marjoram) herb garden in a giant pot. The pot that housed two tomato plants and a marigold.

Despite shortcomings, the plants seem to be thriving. The marjoram is all about flowering. I also planted some basil seeds, sage seeds, green onion seeds, parsley, and chive seeds... I figure, why the hell not. So far, several basil seeds have germinated. The green onions are a few inches tall and there are a few parsley sprouts. Time will tell if these guys hang on.

I digress.

Origanum Majorana. Genus Origanum (think marjoram and oregano). Family Lamiaceae (think basil, thyme, lavender, rosemary, oregano,mint). Marjoram and oregano are of the same genus and are strikingly similar, even difficult to tell apart. There are thought to be 44 species of origanum (yikes! Some plants are tall, some spreading, some are conveniently used as ground cover for their anchoring qualities) The two can be used interchangeably in cooking (if your palate isn't too discerning). Marjoram is generally milder than oregano and some people, including me, describe it as having a citrus taste with floral hints. The flowers of oregano are purple/lavender, while, marjoram has white flowers.

According to Sunset Magazine, Sweet Marjoram needs well drained soil and only moderate water (I am never sure what that means exactly). It is a perennial or annual, depending on where you live (I have a perennial). It is supposedly easy to grow and likes to be really trimmed several times a year.

Here is an interesting tidbit: what you and I think of as Italian Oregano (or the stuff in pasta and pizza sauces) usually a cross between Origanum Vulgare (oregano) and Origanum Majorana (sweet marjoram). Real oregano is commonly called 'wild marjoram.' Oh, and if some one refers to 'sweet oregano,' they are talking about marjoram. Just fantastic. If you want some regular peppery tasting oregano, try 'Greek oregano.' If you want really spicy oregano find some za'atar, a spicy Middle Eastern oregano (yes, the sauce is named after the main ingredient). I was wondering about Mexican Oregano, so I did a search. Turns out to be a whole other source of confusion (try out this article if you are curious). In a nutshell, it is not in the Origanum genus or even the Lamiaceae family, rather it is in the Verbenaceae family (think lemon verbena).

My very smart friend Samin, suggested I dry some of my marjoram and oregano by hanging stems upside down in a dry dark spot. Sounds like fun. I will take pictures of the process. I am thinking everyone gets some oregano and marjoram under the Christmas tree (hey, we are in a recession...).

Now I just need a few vegetarian suggestions for casual uses for marjoram and I am in business. Anyone?

Some Links:

Check out the Herb Society of America's Guide to the Genus Origanum.

A great article about marjoram and oregano from Sunset Mag.

Growing Marjoram

Black Caterpillar in Marigold

2009-10-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the silence for the last two weeks or so. I was off visiting my granny in RI. So, thanks KD for watering. Everything is looking good over here. I have much to report about new garden items and several that I had to let go. Check back in soon!

I saw what looked like animal refuse on the petals of my marigold. Upon closer inspection I found that it was actually a jet black caterpillar. I tried to take a good picture, but ended up with this one. I wonder what kind of moth/butterfly it would have been.

P.S. You may remember my story about the 20 cent packet of seeds I bought from Wal Mart. Yes, this is the result of those seed packets. I have many wild looking marigolds!

How Tropical!

2009-09-16T09:12:00.001-07:00

The local swap meet in SD is named Kobey's. I have no idea why our swap meet has a proper name, but it does. I used to go to Kobey's when I was a kid. It contained loads of perfect finds for teenage girls. Tons of cheap hair-thingies, bags, and backpacks. I think I got a knock-off Esprit bag when I was in elementary school. Ha.

KD and I took a trip to Kobey's last weekend. She had spotted these wrap dresses two weeks earlier when she was there. We decided that we couldn't live without these dresses, so off we went to the swap meet. It certainly hadn't changed much: still loads of hair-thingies. There were some really cool booths with handmade purses and other handmade items, and there were some booths that looked like really bad yard sales- crap, crap, and crap.

And, there were booths and booths of plants. KD was not interested in strolling and shopping, so I could really only glance from afar. But, I did manage to get one purchase in: a cutting from a dragon fruit for a buck.

It is likely that I will mess this up somehow. The foot long spiny and prickly cutting is very handsome (as you can see in the pic). But, I stuck the spine in some dirt and watered.

Has anyone ever tasted a dragon fruit? After a terse search, I learned that these plants are quite tropical and grow in Hawaii, Thailand, and Vietnam. Also, the flowers bloom at night so they are not pollinated by bees, but by other insects and moths. Depending on how well my cutting does, I can expect fruit in 6-9 months.

P.S. I also broke down and bought an Italian Oregano plant (not at Kobey's). Planting from seed did not work out. Has anyone had success growing oregano from seed?

Gardening With the Stars

2009-09-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

I was in Sacramento not too long ago and picked up a local publication. It was the type of newspaper/magazine that had pages of "massage" advertisements and a story about the history of the term D-Bag; clearly high class. I flipped through the paper while I sat with KD in Pyramid Brewery eating a brownie and sipping on a Haywire Hefeweizen (for those of you wondering about the name 'Haywire', new owners = new beer names). I stumbled upon the horoscopes and took a peak. Here it is:

Let's take inventory of your harvest, Scorpio. What blossomed for you these past months? Which of the seeds you planted last March and April sprouted into ripe, succulent blossoms? Which seeds grew into hard spiky clumps? And what about weeds, pests and predators? Were you tireless about keeping them away from your beauties? Finally, what did you learn about growing things that could give you a green thumb when you cultivate your seeds in the next cycle?

How appropriate! And deep.

The Summer Squash Is Not My Friend

2009-09-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

In April I bought a Patty Pan squash. Al told me that her mother insisted that squashes need friends and will not grow as a single. But I didn't buy a companion. Needless to say, the patty pan squash was a failure. I got two squashes out of it. The rest shriveled and died. So, I bought and planted seeds for another mini summer squash. This time, I planted two seeds and got two plants. Both plants give constant blossoms. Blossoms every morning. Yet, no squash. All the little squash turn yellow, shrivel and die. I believe this is because they flowers did not get pollinated. Well, gosh, I just don't know how to remedy this problem. Any ideas?

PS. There are loads of bees around my house. They seem to shun the squash.

Marigolds & Tomato

2009-09-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my marigolds. I planted a few in with my tomatoes
and as you can see they are as tall the tomatoes!

The Importance of Pruning

2009-09-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Remember my post about marigolds? I bought the 20 cent packet of marigolds from walmart, so did KD. We both planted them and they sprung up. But, neither KD, nor I snipped the stems when they started to grow tall. Well, KDs garden looks like a rain forest. The marigolds are so tall, and there aren't that many buds. (not to mention that the caterpillars seem to love the flower buds). They look unrefined and haphazard. Not at all what you want to look at.

What we should have done was snip the growing stem of the marigold when it reached the desired height. This would have encourage the plant to send out side stems and eventually have more flowers. I will post a picture soon.

Next time...

Tip: I read that September is a great time to buy plants in nurseries- lots of sales. I will be hitting up the Armstrong to see if this is true. Do you know?

Lunch!

2009-09-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Wasp and the Luffa

2009-08-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

The luffa: where did I leave off? The story of the luffa in a few sentences for those of you who do not remember. Surprise-- a luffa is a squash! I bought some seeds from Target and planted them several months ago. Two big leaves popped out right away. Then, nothing. The two seemingly enormous leaves just sat there for weeks. Very boring. Finally, a third leave (very different shape) shot out from the center of the two leaves. Then, again, nothing for several weeks. The leaves began to look scraggly and tattered. It seemed that the experiment to grow a luffa would be unsuccessful.

Expecting failure at this point, I was shocked when, in what seemed like two weeks, the plant experienced a sudden growth spurt. It climbed its way up and past the 2' thin bamboo sticks tee-peed around it. Every morning there were at least two new perfect yellow flowers, the color of butter. The vines teemed with baby (about 1/2 a centimeter long) squashes in the shape of male genitalia (not joking). It seemed like we were in for a very bountiful harvest of luffas. Sadly, all but one of the babies turned yellow, shriveled, and fell off the plant. The luffa retained only one pollinated squash. As it turns out, squash have both female and male flowers and require a visit from bees and insects in order to grow. All those sad shriveled yellow mini squashes died because they were never properly pollinated.

But all was not lost; one luffa remained. For several weeks it just got bigger and bigger. The plant looked quite humorous-- a pretty large green squash hanging from a pitiful looking vine with no other squash to keep it company. What must the neighbors think?

I thought it would look cool if I could train the vines around a hula hoop. The luffa is not too keen on the hoop and it is hardly snaking around the thing. Rather, its tendrils are wrapping around other vines. There is hope, however, since the luffa seems to sit around for weeks before deciding its next course of action. So, I imagine, I will wake up one morning to find the luffa has wrapped itself around the hula hoop. Won't that be a sight? A circle with giant gourds hanging all around it! A neighbor even complimented my hula hoop, though it could have been one of those, "that-girl-is-insane-but-I-don't-know-what-else-to-say-so-I-will-just-tell-her-I-like-her-hula-hoop compliments."

Last week, for several days, a clan of wasps settled into Pacific Beach. Maybe they were taking a mini vacation from Tuesday to Friday. Perhaps there was a wasp convention or something. The wasps seemed to adore the luffa. Always one or two crawling all around the vines. I am sensitive to bee stings (I am not sure about wasps, but I did not feel like finding out) so watering was scary-- who wants to piss off a vacationing wasp?

It might be just a coincidence, but this week, there are four more pollinated luffas growing at a lively pace. I might get a bath sponge after all!

So, thank you wasps for refraining from stinging me and for pollinating my luffas. (If only you also pollinated my summer squash! Those plants refuse to give me anything- Where is Demeter when you need her?). And thank you mother earth.

A Brief Aside

2009-08-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

I am going to take a moment to discuss something other than plants. I want to share with you all an experience I had last night and give you a little warning should you ever go through what I did. Because of the problems with my hearing and ear, my doctor ordered me to have a MRI done of my head. The order said that I would be getting an MRI both with and without contrast.

I arrived at my appointment yesterday and all was seemingly well. I laid down and the technician placed a helmet type thing over my head and cushioned me in there with towels so my head wouldn't move during the procedure. I was given a panic button and had ear plugs in. The first part was fine. I mean, there were very loud noises and the MRI capsule was tight, but nothing so bad.

Then I was slid out of the machine and was to get an injection of contrast. This is where the problems began. I remained in the prone position with my head in the helmet. The technician told me that I would feel a little pinch when he put the needle in. I did, and it was fine. However, something went wrong. The contrast was not going into my arm. He started moving the needle and re-tying the band on my bicep. It was very uncomfortable. Burning even. Eventually, I took the needle out and said enough got in. I bent my arm to squeeze it and was slid right back in the MRI machine for another 12 minutes.

That is when the agonizing, stinging and burning pain began in my arm. I was fully crying because of the pain in my arm. The longest 12 minutes ever. I could have pressed the panic button, but I didn't want to start the whole process over. When I was finally slid out of the machine (still crying) the technician asked me if he got a little contrast outside. Was that what that was? A little contrast in the wrong spot in my arm? He went to get me an ice pack and another man came over and explained that it happened to him once and would wear off in 10 minutes or so.

He was right, it did wear off in 10 minutes. At least the burning and agonizing pain wore off. However, my arm is still extremely sore and tender. It hurts to extend my arm and feel like someone beat on me.

If you are having an MRI with contrast and you start to feel a burn where the needle was, ask for an ice pack right away!! Don't be like me because the burning will only get worse once you are slid into the machine, then you can't move. Serious pain.

Now I have to wait 7 days for results. GRRRRR.

So HOT!

2009-08-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

It has been hot these last several days; the kind of hot where you realize life is going by in slow motion. I have about a hour left in my apartment before the temps reach the upper 80s in here. Needless to say, my garden is not happy with this dry soaring heat. I pulled up the tomatoes I planted in the spring. They were only producing small tomatoes and the plant just looked sickly. I repotted my pomegranate to a larger pot, but it seems the heat is taking a toll on it as well. Where it was lush and green with dozens of buds a month ago, now it is scraggly with loads of yellowing leaves.

Despite all this death in the garden, I am a bit comforted since I took a walk to the local community garden last week. Normally, I am incredible envious of all those plots filled with lush dense veggies three times the size of my container varieties. But the dog days of summer have had their way with the community garden. The plants look like pure weeds and decay. Tomatoes rotting on the ground and still attached to their withered brown stems. Straggly herbs, dead flowers. It was like a horror movie. So, naturally, I felt better about my situation.

I am greatly looking forward to the new cooler season. I have been pondering which fall crops to plant. I am toying with the idea of growing some chard or kale but I am not even sure that I like the taste of those two plants. Has anyone grown either of these two plants in a container?

Though I love growing from seed, I think for the fall I will buy some already established plants (like oregano- that darn thing will not grow from seeds!!!). I read in the Sunset Magazine that nurseries have sales in September, so I will wait until then to do some shopping.

Until then, I would love to hear how any of my readers summer planting went.

First Figs of the Season!

2009-08-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well, here they are: Figs. There were only about 15 on the tree, so there are not too many to go around. They are pretty tasty, though, I wish they were a tad sweeter. I figure, next year the tree with be teeming and the tree will be 2.5 years old.

So, after I eat the rest of the figs, I will prune the tree(!) and hope to encourage a bushier tree next year. I have read some posts about how to prune, but it seems a bit crazy to me. However, since there are only 5 branches, I suppose I can't screw it up too bad...

Has anyone ever pruned a fig, dwarf fig, or any other dwarf tree varietal. Should I do it after I pick all the fruit, or next spring?

New Ginger Plant

2009-08-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

My Orchid Flowers Died, And a Few More

2009-08-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

Ginger

That lovely orchid that I posted a while back is no longer looking beautiful. The petals began to get brown and wilty along the edges, then the flowers came off. After a brief inquiry, I have learned that it is likely my fault. Duh, right.

I thought that my apartment was just too hot for the delicate flowers. Not the case. Rather, I probably misted it too late in the day and water remained on the petals overnight. Apparently, something as basic as that can cause the flowers to fall. Don't fret, I will not give up on orchids quite yet.

I trimmed it back and placed the foliage in the bathroom. I hope I can keep it nice and see if it will bloom again.

To compensate, I picked up a 6 dollar ginger plant from Home Depot. It looks beautiful. I will post a picture after this post. I would like to do a complete post on all that is ginger, but for now I will just give a few thoughts.

One website said that you could just buy a knob of ginger at the store. Soak it over night and then plant it in potting soil (mix it with peat moss if it is heavy-- you want to make sure there is plenty of drainage). Other people have reported sticking toothpicks in the side and immersing one part in water and letting it sit until roots develop. This sounds a lot like what I remember doing with an avocado seed. You should start this process indoors so you will be ready to plant outside in the spring. The plant needs a lot of humidity, so give her a mist. Then you can dig it up and eat it! Or just stealthily cut off pieces of root as needed.

Note, I have not tried any of this, it is all hearsay. I will just try to keep my plant alive! But if the flower dies, you know I will be digging up that root!

On a side note, I have been a bit delayed with blog postings since I have been pretty preoccupied with my current medical mystery. Sorry for all of you checking to see if I have updated! As soon as the weather cools down and I figure out what the heck is going on, I will get back posting several times a week.

peace,

Melissa

When to Harvest Carrots

2009-08-12T09:54:00.001-07:00

My favorite Seattle gardener wondered when she will know when her carrots are ready. When do you know that root veggies are ready? I did a bit of research and here is the deal.

1. You really don’t know until you pull out a trial carrot. BUT, there are some signs that are indicative of grown carrots. More on that in a minute.

2. Carrots will not go bad underground if you don’t harvest them right away. One site even noted that a light frost is thought to make carrots even sweeter. So, if your carrots were ready last week, or a month ago, they are still good to eat.

Indicators of Carrot Ripeness

Go find your seed packet. You need to find out the average length and diameter of the carrot varietal you planted. When the carrots are ready or near ready to harvest, you will see a bit of the carrot poking up from the ground. I haven’t seen it personally, but I imagine it would be similar to what the radishes looked like. You can then measure the diameter of the carrot top. Compare that measurement to what the seed packet says the diameter should be.

It is likely that the carrot length will be appropriate if the diameter is appropriate. But, when in doubt, just pull one of them up and see.

Harvesting Carrot Seeds

In May, I wrote a post about carrots and focused a bit on the lore and scientific evidence about using carrot seeds as a birth control. Whether you believe it or not, if you are trying to get preggers, I would be careful to not ingest a bunch of carrot seeds—just in case!

However, why buy carrot seeds if you can keep your own? Stay tuned for more about harvesting carrot seeds.

Starting Your Fall Garden

August is the time to start planting your fall garden. Carrots are perfect cool weather plants. Several varietals are great for all areas of the west: Purple Haze, Yellowstone, and White Satin. Sunset Magazine has a great article about what to plant in your garden in August. Check it out here.

A Few More Garden Snap Shots

2009-08-06T14:37:00.001-07:00

The Horror.

Don't You Just Love Orchids

2009-08-04T10:15:00.001-07:00

I bought this lovely at Trader Joes yesterday. It really brightens the
room. Do you have any secrets to maintain an orchid?

Growing Lettuce

2009-08-03T11:41:00.001-07:00

I believe that assembling a delicious salad is a form of art. I love ordering salad at a restaurant but rarely make salad at home. Even after I grew a few of my own heads of lettuce, I still was reluctant to use them for a salad (rather I used them in sandwiches and veggie burgers). The great thing about growing lettuce is that any container will do. I have grown lettuce successfully in smallish terra cotta planters.

A Bit of History

For those of you interested in history, this section is for you. People have been eating these leafy greens for a very long time. It is thought to originate from the Mediterranean area. Some sources claim that Ancient Egyptians ate lettuce and the oil from lettuce seeds. Lettuce is thought to have been served to Persian Kings in the 6th Century; additionally Greeks ate lettuce in the 5th and 4th Centuries. The Chinese were eating lettuce by the 5th Century and possibly earlier. Columbus is thought to have brought lettuce over to the New World.

Iceberg lettuce was originally called “Crisphead” in the US and held that name until the 1920’s when the lettuce was buried in ice during transportation from California to other states.

Latin name is Lactuca Sativa. Culitivated lettuce is closely related to wild lettuce L. Scariola. Because lettuce went bad so quickly, scientists in the U.S. developed the Imperial strain of lettuce. It is mildew resistant and resists other diseases. Today, most of the lettuce grown in the Southwestern US are of the Imperial-type strain.

Growing Lettuce

As I mentioned before growing lettuce is a cinch. It needs a slightly cool climate because hot weather will cause the lettuce to bolt and seed too soon. As with what happened to Jen’s lettuce, the stem grows tall and the lettuce leaves get all bitter, a seed stalk.

I bought a packet of seeds from Burpee last year. It was a mixed greens packet. I planted the seeds in a random plastic container. They grew very nicely! I would suggest growing lettuce for anybody interested. Just remember to do your growing in the spring and fall because the summer is just too hot for them.

If you are thinking of growing lettuce, check out this page from Marthastewart.com.

Jen, if want to know how to harvest the seeds off of your lettuce, check this link out. It seems pretty simple!

The Rot Toll Continues To Rise

2009-07-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

Strawberries

2009-07-30T13:33:00.001-07:00

I have several strawberry plants. Several months ago, I bought two Chef Jeff June Bearing Strawberry plants from Anderson’s. I planted one of the plants in a hanging basket (the kind with the coconut husk basket) and the other in a 10 inch plastic pot. Then I absorbed three of Sandra’s plants that were planted in a shallow but very wide terra cotta pot.

The plant in the hanging basket has been sending out runners for the last two months. Runners are basically long vine-like shoots that will grow into individual plants after then root in the ground. The strange thing is that only the plant in the hanging basket is sending out runners, the sister plant in the regular pot has not had a single runner. I did cut off two runners and put them in a separate pot. They seem to have adapted well and are growing new leaves. But I decided to do some research because I am unsure of whether I should be cutting the runners off of my parent plant more frequently- particularly, do the runners stop the plant from producing fruit. The following are the answers I found:

An article on ehow.com explains the proper method of preserving strawberry runners. I apparently did not do it correctly when I simply put the runner in the pot…Apparently I am supposed to chill the runners after they root to encourage vigorous growth. Though, I am not too keen on this article because it does not give information about how long the runner should chill. But be wary of this chilling method because this was the only site that suggested chilling.

The Bonnie Plants website confirmed my theory that I should be snipping the runners to encourage more berry development. The June bearing plant I have, puts out a crop in early summer and then does not bear again for a while. However, there are everbearing plants that continuously produce strawberries, but have larger yields in Spring and late summer. Look for Ozark Beauty, Quinault, and Sequoia varieties for everbearing.

Predators!

Slugs like to eat strawberries and the leaves. But, my main problem is the darn birds!! I left for a weekend in June and some bird ate all my berries (I could tell from the peck marks!). So, sadly, I have only enjoyed a few of my strawberries. But those few were delicious. When you see strawberries beginning to ripen, use a lightweight bird net to avoid loosing your lovelies to birds. I lined the lip of my pot with foil to avoid more birds, but I am not sure if this was proper.

Fun Facts:

Plants will last 3-4 years!
You must keep the soil moist. Strawberries need lots of water to grow big juicy berries.
Strawberries need at least 8 hours of full sun.
Strawberry plants make great ground cover.
Don’t try growing strawberries indoors, because they need to be pollinated by bees and other insects.
Avoid growing Strawbs in soil that previously held other berries or tomatoes to avoid viral disease.
Mulch with straw. Strawberries will rot on the ground, use mulch to avoid rotting and to hinder weeds.

Links

Bonnie Plants

Green Harvest

Learn about all the varieties of Strawberries here and here and here

Another Tomato Casualty

2009-07-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

I continue to lose young tomatoes. I believe it is a by product of the
4 days I was not able to water. So sad.

Luffa

2009-07-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

The luffa has been very busy growing and such. Here is a picture of the first flower and a full view of the plant. As you can see, the pot is likely too small for this guy. But, there are so many baby luffas growing I literally cannot believe it! The flowers are so cute, it is such a nice surprise.

Some Fallen Romas

2009-07-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Casualties

2009-07-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

I have very sad news to report. I left last Friday morning until last night. I had no one to water my plants, so they were on there own over the weekend. Well, I lost several plants. Nearly all my marigolds are wiped out. I lost many of the leaves on my basil (I hope it will make it back). I am pretty certain that I will loose my topsy turvy Roma tomatoes. Several small under ripe tomatoes have fallen off with black bottom. I will post picture soon.

My older tomatoes have now lost nearly all their leaves, but the remaining tomatoes seem to be intact. The tomatoes out back in the giant pot made it through unscathed, however, I had to throw out a pepper plant.

Also, my sage seedling died. And several strawberries shriveled and turned brown.

So, does anyone have any vacation watering tips for container apartment gardens? The inventor inside me will be thinking up methods for watering.

It is really heartbreaking. To top it off, for very good reasons, two of my friends I was supposed to see tomorrow for the opening day at the races, cannot make it... What a downer way to start the week. However, I am going to pick up my Comic Con tickets, so at least I have something to look forward to.

Garden Broadleaf Sage- Salvia Officinalis

2009-07-15T15:44:00.001-07:00

When I think about sage, so many thoughts come to mind. First, I think of autumn and squash ravioli. It makes me think of spirituality. Just the smell of it burning... It also bring visions of hippies at farmers markets. So much.

Sage is from the Lamiaceae family, also the Mint family which includes lavender, thyme and basil. Apparently all these guys have square stems. Though, I am reflecting upon basil and cannot seem to picture this square stem.

I bought some seeds and planted them in with my patty pan squash. The squash has grown in a single direction and has gone over the side of the pot. So there is plenty of room in the pot for other plants and it gets a lot of sun. I am concerned because the seed package tells me that it is easy to grow from seed, but some other random website says it is tough from seed and should be grown from cuttings. I have tried to keep it especially moist to encourage sprouting and even planted some more seeds in with my strawberries. So far, after only 8 days one seed has sprouted.

Fun Facts About Sage

The latin name for sage is salvia, which means to heal.
At some point, sage has been said to heal every ailment including warding off evil and encouraging women's fertility.
It is one of the historical ingredients of "Four Thieves Vinegar" which was thought to help people ward off the plague.
You should prune your sage regularly to encourage more growth of leaves rather than flowers.
Germans apparently use sage in their eel dishes. Anyone tasted this?

The Brown Thumb Myth

2009-07-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

I used to be a firm believer in the idea of the brown thumb- those individuals who cannot keep a plant alive to save their life. I thought I had a brown thumb for a very long time. Throughout college and high school I did not even try to garden- actually it never occurred to me to garden. I have actually tried to kill other peoples plants (well, I only actually tried to kill one plant. A plant I believe Amber may still have). Aside: pouring lots of beer in a plant over a period of a year will not kill those awful hanging plants, I tried.
In reality, I had never really desired a plant. I just didn't care for the plants, so I over-watered or never watered, or didn't re-pot. Also, when someone buys you a plant from the store, it is not supposed to live in whatever container it came in. Most of the time, you need to repot that baby because the roots are going to need some more room to breath. I never understood that, so I just was unsuccessful.
As you know, the gardening-crazy has developed in the last two years, but notably since I moved to SD with all the great sun. At the same time, I began to spend a lot of time with a self proclaimed brown thumb (KD). She lives next door and has several spots to grow plants. Next to her front door there is a great raised window box (it is several feet deep!) and there are several places by the door that just begs for flowers. Most of the year, she has dirt and weeds. Seriously, right by the front door- just dirt with weeds. It wasn't as if she never tried to make it beautiful. She had bought several Sweet Alyssum plants (that are practically weeds with cute little white flowers) and other cute flowers. They pretty much all died within 2 months. And she was discouraged. Her idea that she had a brown thumb continued to grow.
Living next door and constantly seeing the dirt and weed box, I constantly suggested plants. The big problem was cost. Why should she spend another 15 dollars to plant a bunch of things that would just slowly die? I get it, it is just a waste of money and very sad to continually fail to keep them alive.
Several months ago, KD bought a packet of seeds from botanical interests. They were johnny up um flowers. She ripped open the packet and just poured the seeds out over the dirt. -- She didn't even pull up the old weeds before doing this maneuver. What I didn't understand was why she didn't ask for my assistance (since I have been fairly successful growing from seed). She then failed to water regularly. As you can imagine, the seeds never sprouted. Yet another disappointment.
After I was successful growing the 20 cent Marigolds, KD decided to invest 20 cents and try out the seeds. This time I was not going to allow her to do her pouring maneuver. She was in a hurry to plant the seeds because she had an appointment an hour later. So I came over to help her prepare the box for planting. I pulled out the weeds. There were a few struggling mini Alyssum plants. I moved the Alyssum to the edges of the box.

WATER!!! WATER!!!! WATER!!!!!
Then she poured two gallons of water on to the dirt. You wouldn't believe this, but the soil was so bone dry that even after pouring two gallons in when we scraped the surface, it was still completely dry underneath. So, we began the great water of 2009. We got out the hose and soaked the box, waited 10 minutes, mixed the soil and re-watered. We must have put at least 12 gallons -- 12 GALLONS-- of water into her window box.
As it turned out, KD had so much failure with her plants because she didn't know how to water. It takes more than 2 seconds to water. You have to allow the water to soak in and then, sometimes water again, especially in San Diego where the weather gets pretty hot and dry.
The picture above is what KD's garden looks like. The marigolds are taking off! And, some of the Johnny Up Ums seemed to have survived. The real surprise was the Sweet Alyssums that sprouted everywhere! The ones she killed last summer apparently left behind a ton of seeds that were just waiting for some good water!
Now KD is successfully growing Sweet Peas, Marigolds, Sweet Alyssum, Johnny Up Ums, Parsley, and Basil. YAY KD!!!! I can't wait for the day those Marigolds bloom!!!

MORAL 1:
Make sure your plants are getting enough water. You need to stick your finger into the soil to find out whether the plant needs water and then, to check that the water you are giving the plant is actually soaking in. At times, you will want to do a deep soak by watering and then re watering 10 minutes later to really get the water in deep.

MORAL 2:
Everyone can have success growing plants. It just requires a bit of attention to detail, mainly water! The brown thumb concept is just a myth! You can do it! Just keep trying and research what a plant wants before you start.

PS. I accidentally ripped out this carrot when I harvest my radishes! Isn't it adorable!
PPS. I went away for the weekend and came back and had to pick all these lovelies!

2009-07-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

I had a difficult time getting a decent picture of the luffa, so I added my lettuce instead. It turns out it is really easy to grow lettuce.

As for the radish, I have noticed that the basic red radish is smaller and has smaller leaves than the white radish. You can't quite see it in the picture, but the one on the right is a white radish and it looks pretty big. I am also getting a purple one on the left. I really wish I liked the taste of these guys! I will likely bring them to my mom next week when I am heading back to Hopland.

Behind the lettuce you can see a sad litte pepper. I really don't understand how some of my plants are loving life, while others just fizzle.

Caterpillar Season:

I have been lucky enough for the last several months to be somewhat caterpillar-free. All of that has changed in the last two weeks. The caterpillars are in full effect, yesterday I must have pulled 25 off my plants and today I have already picked off about 10. It is ridiculous. They are awful. I haven't had to engage in chemical warfare yet, but no doubt I will have to. There is just no way to keep these nuisances out! Anyone have any other ideas for getting rid of them? Maybe spray my plants with garlic or something!

Updates!

2009-07-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

Luffa!

So I have really abused my luffa plant. I have known for weeks that I should put the thing in a larger pot. The problem is that I was discouraged because the luffa seemed to be frozen in time for over a month-- just the two leaves and no growth. Then, it seemed to explode. I will post a picture tomorrow morning. But it is growing all up the stakes and I think I am going to have a very difficult time re-potting it now. If I don't put it in a bigger pot, nothing is sure to happen and I will just have a sad story to tell about trying to grow luffas. As you will see from the pictures, the luffa has those little tendril thingies (this is my first time really trying to grow something that is like a vine) to support its climb. I will be shocked if this things grow at all. Cross your fingers.

Radishes!

I will also post a pic of the radishes tomorrow. But I have picked one radish and so very proud that the little guys grew. I cut it up and tried to eat the thing. GROSS!!!!! It smelled like mildew and the first few tastes (before the peppery aftertaste) tasted like mildew. Seriously people, radishes are pretty disgusting. I still have about 5 more in the pots getting ready to ripen. Yuck!

Gnats- Grrrr.

So I bought some sand and put it all over my gnat infested pots. It seems to have worked to deter gnats. On the downside, the water does not seem to soak in as fast, I water and it sits on top of the sand before soaking in. So, I am concerned that it may affect the health of the plant. Time with tell.

Stay tuned for my next post about Sage!

Potting Soil

2009-06-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

I have noticed some strange happening that are most notable with my marigolds. In a previous post I discussed my 20 cent seed packet of marigolds that I purchased at the Wal-mart. I planted the seeds in three different containers. Several seeds were planted in a medium sized clay pot, while others were planted in the two identical smaller clay pots in the picture.

They were planted at the same time, with the same packet of seeds, and placed in the same spot outside, and watered at them the same. Everything identical, I though. But, somehow, the two on the left are more than twice as big as those on the right. Also, the marigolds I planted in the medium sized pot are about in between the size of the two in the picture. So, what gives?

Sandra and I have been talking about it and the only thing we can come up with is: soil. I have not been consistent with my soil purchasing. I have bought the low budget potting soil, Miracle Gro Moisture Control, and some other brand. I did not differentiate and tend to mix the cheap soil with the more expensive. So, one plant pot must have more of the high-quality soil, and the other pot must have the cheap stuff. I just don't recall how they were loaded up.

So, I have learned a good lesson. It is very worth it to spend the extra bucks for the top rate soil if you want the bigger and larger plants.

Scallions

2009-06-28T18:24:00.001-07:00

A few years ago, my wonderful friend Lindsey invited me to have Passover dinner with her family. Though I was fairly familiar the story of Passover, I was taken completely unaware by the prominent role of the scallion in Passover dinner. Now, some of you may be feeling a little silly right now because you too were unaware of the great role of green onions. Don't you worry; it is likely true that many folks are equally in the dark.

First, let me say that not only was the T-F family awesome for hosting a wonderful dinner, but they even had dishes for the vegetarians. Amen to that.

I digress. I forgot to mention that somehow, the theme of the Passover was Harry Potter (I think... I remember that there were games and there was a theme but not certain about Harry Potter. Linds?). This silly Gentile didn't know that Passover could be so creative. Back to the onions. As you know, Passover is a celebration honoring and remembering the great Exodus from Egypt, which freed the Jews from slavery; led by none other than Moses himself. At various points during the dinner, passages are read aloud and songs sung. One particular part of the ceremony focuses on slavery and what it was like to be a slave that was whipped by the master. Now is where the onions come in: the onions represent the whips. So, during the re-telling of this part of the story, the guests at the passover dinner were instructed to hit the person next them with the onions. I recalled being confused and a bit nervous to smack the stranger next to me with Alluim cepa (you guessed it, another word for scallion).

I think it might be a tradition that some people enjoy while others are not so comfortable. It can be somewhat disturbing to picture the juxtaposition of children whacking one another in laughter, and the actual violence of slavery. Though, no judgment here, I think laughter is good for the soul.

Great! Now, I Want To Grow Some In For Next Year's Passover

I have been growing scallions for several months now. First I bought a six pack at Lowes for a few dollars. I put them in several pots and waited. The onions I planted in the largest pot did the best. It appears that pot size is directly proportional to the height of the onions. They took a while to grow in the early spring. But they were generally pest free (only found a caterpillar once) and not at all fussy. I was able to cut out a scallion or two whenever I wanted some. However, I allowed one pot to grow for months. It eventually grew a flower. I picked all the remaining ones today. The green parts where pretty huge and thick, like three scallions wide. The bulbs were somewhat bulbous, but by no means a full shaped onion. I bought a packet of heirloom green onion seeds from Botanical Interests. I don't recall my exact date of planting, but I think it was in April. They are not near ready, but are getting bigger every day. They are supposed to take 120 days from planting to maturity. Scallions are basically onions that are harvested before they have a chance to grow an onion bulb. There are several categories of onions and the classification depends on the hours of sunlight required for the onion bulb to form. I learned that I will have a difficult time growing long day onions because San Diego does not have enough hours of sunlight. According the the packet, I would need to live in LA or higher. However, there are short day and intermediate day onion varieties.

No Fridge

This here seed packet tells me that I should not store my scallions in the refrigerator, rather the counter or freezer. I have never heard of this.

Nothing to do with Gardening, but pretty awesome!

2009-06-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

Met David Cook. He was pretty cool and his concert was also awesome. You all should go see him live! Fan for life (but you all knew that already)

Think Happy Thoughts

2009-06-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

I am out of town and my garden is all alone until Friday morning when Sandra will stop in for a water. But that means, 2 entire days where the tomato will not get water. I am scared that it will not recover. Even if it does, the tomatoes may get black bottom from the poor conditions. So, please think happy thoughts!

PS. Stay tuned for an update on the Hopland Inn garden that I planted over a month ago!

Perhaps they are Fungal Gnats

2009-06-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

The gnat problem is out of hand. They are everywhere in the plants. Just crawling in the soil and jumping and stuff. I have used some garden safe bug spray, but it doesn't seem to do it. So far, the Internet tells me to spray them with insecticide (doesn't work) or buy the fly sticky strip (really doesn't work) or buy some weird UV light with gnat pheromones to lure them in (haven't tried this).

Repotme.com says that these gnats thrive in moist areas, so stress the plant out by not watering. Well, perhaps this is a plausible solution for well established plants, but I don't think my tomatoes will appreciate this, it could cause the tomatoes to get a rotted black-bottom. It also says to take a fork and "till" the top soil in order to dry out the larvae. (somehow, I think my infestation is bigger than a fork till).

Garlic?

Some random thread of a yahoo answers discussion suggested sticking a clove of garlic in the soil. That seems easy enough but do I really want to put garlic in all my plants. I mean, I have a lot of plants...

Sand?

Several sources report that they can be killed by putting a layer of sand on top of the soil. The idea is that the sand dries out pretty quickly and traps the flies. This sounds good to me, but if the top layer of my plants are covered with sand, I can I tell if the plant needs water?

Has anyone else had this problem. I know that Sandra successfully banished gnats from her garden by dousing the plants every morning with insecticide, but for my problem it would be pretty expensive. Those spray bottles aren't cheap and I can go through half a bottle in one spray session.

Parsley

2009-06-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the parsley I am growing. I started the seeds indoors in an old shampoo bottle. Since I have trouble properly watering seedlings, I decided to become all-Martha and construct a self watering container. I had a plastic shampoo bottle, I used a crafting knife to cut it in two with the top part being 2/3 of the bottle and the bottom part being 1/3. I left the screw on but broke off the flap-top (you know, that thing

you have to flip up to squeeze out the shampoo). So I was left with just a small aperture. Then, I flipped that part over (cut side up, little aperture down) and filled it with potting soil (fill it all the way down to until you see it pressed against the little hole in the bottom). I planted my parsley seed and watered it over the sink (since the little hole is there, obviously). When it was nice and wet, I then filled the bottom 1/3 part of the shampoo bottle with water. Here comes the nifty self watering part-- I stuck the upper part of the shampoo bottle (the part with the soil and seed) into the bottom part with the water. Done.

As the water evaporates from the soil on top it pulls the water from the bottom. So you just add water to the bottom reservoir and not the top.

Are You Just Dying To Know If This Contraption Worked?

Well, it did. I placed it in a window and the parsley sprouted very quickly. The one thing I did not anticipate was just how wet the soil would remain. It was VERY wet all the time. So seeds that like a drier atmosphere would not do well with this contraption.

When the seedling got bigger, I placed it outside in a shady spot (to acclimated it to the outside) and did not transplant it for about two weeks. I didn't want to upset it doubly by putting it outside and re-potting it. Eventually when I transplanted it, it was happy. Just a few days ago, I moved it again from the small terracotta pot to live with a new tomato plant I bought in a huge pot. The roots had already tangled all around the terracotta pot. I think it will be a good happy parsley plant even if it does like to flop over.

Gnat Infestation

2009-06-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have had a gnat infestation for a very long time. I do not know what to do to get rid of them. They live in the soil of my plants. Even if I don't water, the darn gnats just are ever present. Does anyone know any secrets to get rid of these pests?

Radishes Update

2009-06-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the radishes week 2! You can see some of the carrots, too.

Jalapenos

2009-06-12T13:02:00.001-07:00

I am not a huge lover of the spicy foods, but I appreciate a good zing in salsa. Since I live in sunny San Diego, I thought that growing jalapenos would be a easy and natural. I bought a small plant, approximately 4", from Anderson's at the same time I bought my tomatoes, chocolate peppers, and strawberries. I repotted it in a 8" clay pot and have not done anything fancy. It lives in the front where I get the most sun, and it is doing great. There are about 6 peppers growing and many more flowers.

I feel obligated to report that this has been a strange summer so far; generally in June we have 'June Gloom' meaning there is a thick marine layer that burns off in the afternoon revealing some good sun. For the last two to three weeks, the weather has been bizarre indeed. Huge dark clouds, hardly a burn off and windy. Cloudy in the east and then sunny at the coast. It has been humid and cool (I think I heard that it has been 5 degrees cooler than average). I assume that my jalapenos would like some good sun, and it has not happened consistently. So, I hope that the peppers still develop good flavor.

Feel the Burn

These guys can be nasty. I can still recall the extreme pain I got in my hand after chopping a particularly nasty pepper. It happened about a hour after the making of the salsa: my hand started buh-urnnning. Seriously pain. Like my hand was on fire from within. I had take pain killers and keep my hand in cold water. And the pain did not go away until the next day! Seriously, wear gloves or you will be sorry!

Eating hot peppers cause some people to feel a euphoria (brought on by the pain stimulus release of endorphins of the capsaicin-- but I'm no doctor so don't quote me on this pain stimulus stuff) after the burn.

Capsaicin and Our Feathered Friends!

It turns out that stuff that made me feel the burn is called Capsaicin and it is present in hot peppers. It is found in the veins and seeds (contrary to popular belief, the seeds do not actually produce capsaicin, rather it is all in those pithy-like veins, but the seeds are darned hot because they live on the veins and soak up all that hotness). Most mammals are sensitive to this burning sensation and it is found in pepper sprays. However, most birds (if not all birds-- not sure) do not register pain when they eat capsaicin. So, fruit eating birds feast on peppers, and fly away. Then they poop out the intact seeds which are neatly wrapped up in excellent fertilizer. So birds have brought peppers far from where they originated. Neat, right? Also, I read that some bird feed mixes purposely add capsaicin to deter squirrels and other animals trying to much the birds feed.

Medicinal Purposes and Prescription Drug Abuse

Capsaicin is used in arthritus treatments and other treatments for minor aches and pains. I read that one doctor at Harvard Medical School has proposed a really interesting use of the compound. He wants to put it in certain extended-release drugs-like ritalin. He says it will deter drug abuse of these pills. Apparently, some people crush up these extended release pills and snort them (or taken as a suppository- does that mean what I think it means?) to get an instant high or rush or something. So...this doctor proposes to throw some capsaicin in the prescription drugs. This way, if someone swallows it, nothing will happen--BUT-- if it is crushed and then taken you will basically be exposed to 50 jalapenos!! OUCH. Some people actually volunteered to have capsaicin injected!! What is wrong with you people! Check out this quote from the article linked above:

In human volunteers, intravenous administration of capsaicin produces a widespread burning feeling of the chest, face, rectum and extremities as well as paroxysmal coughing." Otherwise, capsaicin appears to be safe.

I would love to hear what you all think about this. Sounds a bit like battery to me. I mean, it is like a police officer seeing you abuse this drug on the street, and, rather than arrest you, (s)he just sprays pepper spray up your nose or other place in your body. Or, another way: you install a home security system that works by movement. So if someone opens a window that is alarmed, the window will automattically spray that person with pepper spray to cause total body pain.

Common Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

2009-06-11T10:07:00.001-07:00

The genus name for oregano (Origanum) means “joy of the mountains,” which is appropriate since it is native to the mountainous area of Greece and the Mediterranean. It is called wild marjoram in some parts of Europe due to its close relationship with sweet marjoram. Mexican and Greek oregano are slightly different that common oregano and should not be substituted.

Back in Greek and Roman times, oregano was used medicinally more than for food. Oregano tea was whipped up to treat coughs and asthma. According to the seed packet (by Botanical Interests), bald and balding men rubbed a mixture of olive oil and oregano into their scalps in an attempt to grow back their hair. I wonder if it worked. Oregano came into its own in the US after World War II when soldiers returned from Italy.

Antioxidant Powerhouse!

Researchers at the University of Ogden, Utah found that oregano essential oil can effectively fight streptococcus (i.e. strep throat, pneumonia, meningitis, and other bad stuff). Studies have also shown that oregano essential oil can stop the growth of some harmful bacteria such as E. Coli and salmonella. This is really bizarre, I read that some restaurants put some drops of oregano oil in salad bars to protect them from dangerous bacteria settling into the food. --- Does anyone know a restaurant that does this?

More Traditional Medicinal Uses

Medicinal Uses Today: Used in treatment of coughs, colds & flus, upset stomach, lady-type cramps, and cuts & scrapes. I don’t know why (yet), but the packet says the pregnant ladies should avoid large amounts of this herb. Some researchers have found that oregano is more effective in treating Giardia than the commonly used prescription drug (I wanted to add a link to the study, but it is in Spanish and I cannot be certain I am finding the right thing… sorry).

I Am Growing It Too!

I planted some oregano seeds over a week ago. I planted it the normal way, meaning I made a hole and stuck the seeds in. Well, then I read the packet and found out the oregano seeds need light to germinate. You are just supposed gently press them into the soil. So, I tried again and gently pressed them in. One seed has barely sprouted. There is green. I have been regularly watering, which I also learned is wrong. Oregano prefers soil that is not constantly drenched or else the oregano will be bland. It is also companion planted with beans. I suppose that as soon as the plant is established, I will move it in with the beans.

Radishes

2009-06-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Sandra gave me a few radish seeds from a seed packet she picked up at Anderson's the weekend before last. I pushed some seeds in with the carrots. They are supposed to be ready in only 30 days-- WHAT? 30 days, ridiculous. I will take a picture once a week (first picture is posted here it was taken one week after planting) to report on their progress. Supposedly, the radishes and carrots live nicely together. When the radishes are done, we take them out and the carrot just moves into the radishes old home. I will believe it when I see it.

Radish History

Radishes were cultivated in Hellenistic and Roman society. Their genus, Raphanus, "quickly appearing", describes their quick germination period. (See above-- Radishes supposed to be all grown up in one month!). The radish is related to the turnip and mustard. Since radishes grow so fast, you want to plant new seeds every week, in order to get a continuous crop. Radishes are in season April-June and October to January (they are not into full hot sun). I hope that San Diego's June-Gloom, paired with the placement on the east facing porch will ensure that the radishes don't die of heat. Since I have the radishes in a pretty shallow box, I am not expecting any massive plants.

Night of the Radishes

On a festive note, some folks in Mexico (Oaxaca to be precise) celebrate the Night of the Radishes (Noche de Rabanos) on December 23. At the festival, radishes are the main event. People enter their carved radishes in contests. Some are themed radish carvings of the Nativity, saints, and buildings. Radishes were brought to Mexico in the 16th century and historians believed that monks in Oaxaca advised the local radish growers to carve their radishes to entice buyers. Thus began the radish carving and the rest is history. This year Oaxaca will celebrate its 112th festival of the radish. If you are in town, check it out. Or perhaps, we should have a honorary Noche de Rabanos at my house this year and all try to carve those little guys. I should point out, that with coaxing radishes can grow pretty large. Sadly, these radishes are merely ornamental. So I am sure any radish carving that we do will be quite difficult since I am not sure how to get a hold of the giant radishes!

Nutrition Facts

These gems are pretty high in the vitamin count. Here is a sample of just a few of their vitamin goodies: folic acid, potassium, B6, magnesium, calcium, and more;)

In addition to the edible root, the leaves of this plant are also edible and can be tossed in a salad. Has anyone ever nibbled radish leaf? What does it taste like?

Artichoke Flower

2009-06-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have been stalking the PB CG again. I stopped by my favorite artichokes (I posted a picture of them earlier in the week); I caught the artichoke with a thistle flower! The flower is pretty big and the color is a lovely lavender. Check out the picture I took with my iphone.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s entry on Radishes!

P.S. Props to KD for getting her mini garden up and running. She prepped her box and planted some of the 20 cent marigolds. Whoo hooo! We will be following her progress.

P.P.S. I am waiting for some updated pictures from the JS & GS Seattle Patch. Send them over :)

Garden Going Ons

2009-06-04T18:43:00.001-07:00

View Full Album

A few pictures from my endeavors. I tried to take a picture of my back patio. It is dark but you can get an idea of my crazy (especially when you note that so many plants couldn’t make it into the shot). The follow list gives a brief update of the going ons in the eclectic container garden.
1. Dwarf Fig is looking good. Loads of new leaves and even some fruit starting up. I am considering picking all the fruit off since it is still only 1.5 years old. I am not certain that he is ready to be fruit bearing.
2. Tomatoes (Early Girl and Cherry)- I have sampled one early girl and have had several cherry tomatoes. They are delicious and I wish that more were ready to eat. The vines are looking good and strong. Loads of mini green tomatoes and loads of flowers ready to turn into juicy tomatoes.
3. Green Onions- Slow and steady. They are still looking pretty puny, but getting taller each day.
4. Contender Beans- They were quick to give a bunch of yummy green beans. They were delicious dipped in hummus. But the plants got attacked by some powdery mildew, so I chopped off all the affected leaves. Now I have stems that are still trying to grow flowers. Last Friday, Sandra and I pushed some additional seeds in the container. I am hoping I will get another crop of beans in late July.
5. Parsley, Basil, and Cilantro- Looking good. The they are still pretty tiny, but getting bushier and taller every day! I can't wait until they are big enough for daily snippings. PS- Grew them all from seeds! Nutty.
6. Chocolate Peppers & Jalapenos- These guys have peppers growing. They are still too small for picking, but I am excited.
7. Radishes and Carrots- Recently sprouted!
8. Oregano & Thyme- Still waiting for these guys to sprout. Getting pretty nervous.
9. Strawberries- There are so many berries growing out of these plants! I am trying to devise a way to put a net over them to avoid the birds eating them all (like they did a month ago!).
10. Chocolate Mint- Living large. Has made several lovely mugs of tea.
11. Lettuce- I ate two delicious heads of lettuce already and just planted new seeds. Several have sprouted. I have learned now that I really need to be constantly putting new seeds in the pot to have a more frequent supply. Now I have a little lettuce growing in a former yogurt container.
12. Luffa- Well, this guy has some rather interesting looking leaves. I think it is getting ready to have a major growth spurt. Mark my words.
13. Patty Pan Mini Squash- Actually just picked two of the squash and haven't tried it yet. I am very concerned about this plant because several of the leaves are turning yellow. Anybody have any experience with this?
14. Artichoke- Not a whole lot has happened to this plant. It got big leaves and constantly has new ones growing, while old ones die. I have struggled with some kind of burrowing pest. I keep having to cut off infected leaves.

Artichokes

2009-06-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

There is a local community garden here in PB. I love it. I go there at least once a week to check everything out. The waiting list is about 2 years, so I look on with supreme jealousy. I am certain that all the plants grow twice as fast as mine do in containers.

Anyway, I love artichokes—easily my favorite veggie. Several community garden plots include artichokes. The plants are just huge and the artichokes look delicious! So, when I was strolling through Anderson’s (mid March) and saw a small artichoke plant I thought I’d give it a try. I planted it in a fairly medium sized pot and set it in the front. Over time, the plant has grown, but there is no indication that it intends on producing an artichoke. I should probably mention that the plant can be 6 feet tall! I, almost certainly, need to re-pot it to a much bigger container. But, I think I have some time.

AC first introduced me to artichokes when we lived together in Berkeley. She and JE bought a few, steamed them up, and proceeded to show me how to scrape the flesh away from the inedible leaves. She also dunked hers into mayonnaise and melted butter. Since dunking things into mayonnaise and butter are not things that I enjoy, I found myself uninterested in the artichoke. Actually, a bit grossed out. It is not pleasant to watch people eat artichokes (especially when they are dipped in mayonnaise). But several years later, when I was living in LA, I found myself stuck with an artichoke that I paid for (came in my Organic Express delivery), so I figured I would give it a second shot. This time, I steamed it, loaded it with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. Loved it. Thus began my artichoke love. Now, when I get them, I steam them up with some potatoes and consider it a perfect meal.

All About Artichokes

The artichoke is actually an undeveloped flower. If you were to leave the artichoke on the plant, it would open up and grow a thistle like flower. The picture to the right is an artichoke from the PB Community Garden. It has ants swarming all around it, but I have been watching this guy to catch a glimpse of this thistle flower.

Nearly 100% of US grown artichokes are grown in Monterrey County (think Castroville).

Artichokes can be made into an herbal tea (WHAT?) and is available commercially in Vietnam. Tell me someone has seen this product? (Upon further research, I learned that artichoke tea is just the water left over from boiling… sounds like broth to me. I’m just saying). Artichoke Tea Bags Link

In Ancient Greece, artichokes were thought to ensure the birth of a boy.

The “Artichoke King,” NY mafia member, Ciro Terranova (1889-1938), created an artichoke uproar when he bought crates of artichokes from California and sold them in NY for 30-40% more. He bullied people into purchasing the chokes. In 1935 the Artichoke Wars where in full swing. The Mayor of NY had to issue a ban on the sale, display and possession of artichokes. Ban only lasted a week. –Whoa, and I thought the thorns were bad….

Marigolds- My first attempt to grow flowers from seed!

2009-06-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

*NEWSFLASH* I clearly posted this entry too soon! The seeds I planted last Thursday have indeed sprouted today, June 2; I shouldn't have doubted. Only a 5 day germination period. I guess those bizarre rainy days were great for them.

I bought some cheap seeds (20 cents) by American Seed. The package merely says Marigold, Crackerjack Mixed Colors. There is no reference to what type of marigold or the official name. The seeds look like mini sticks that are black and yellow colored. I bought them because I read somewhere that they are excellent companion plants because their pungent smell repels insects. So, I filled three pots with soil and these seeds. I am not convinced the seeds will sprout-- I mean, 20 cents is pretty cheap.

After some research, I have determined that the seeds I planted are the Common Marigold (Tagetes). Marigold is a member of the daisy family. Wikipedia says that the name marigold describes the calendula flower in some other areas. Apparently, the leave juice of this flower is used in wart removal. Anyone try this?

But Can You Eat Them?

Some marigolds are edible--very exciting. However, since my cheap ass seeds fail to tell me what freaking kind of marigold it is, I have no method of determining whether the ones I planted are edible! Time will tell (if they even sprout).

Dying For Marigolds

The lovely deep yellow color of the marigold flowers are used to make dye. One website said that farmers even feed chickens marigold petals so that the chicken skin is yellow. Wierd, I don't eat meat, but I am not certain if I did that I would want yellow chicken skin.

PS. Totally unrelated to gardening, as I write this post I am watching some random SciFi Channel show where Baltar (you know, from BSG) is playing Merlin (yes, the wizard) with the worst "voice" ever. It sounds like he is trying to sound like a mix of James Earl Jones, a dying person, a person with a speech disorder, and Darth Vader. It is AWFUL. so sad.

This is VERY Bad

2009-05-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

It is confirmed yet again that I have a problem. Sandra came over Friday night and ended up assisting me in a much needed garden spring cleaning. My back patio had become a serious disaster, not only did I look like a crazy plant lady, but I looked like a nasty dirty old crazy plant lady.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider...

While cleaning up all the cobwebs, Sandra discovered several spider egg sacs! They were white, the size of a mini marble, with spikes. Creepy. I proceeded freak out while Sandra remained calm as could be...until an actual spider surfaced. Then she freaked out and ran to a corner while I had to deal with the spidey mama. All in all, we found about 9 spider egg sacs. I don't dare think about what would have happened if they all hatched and decided to move in. Don't get me wrong, spiders have a great place in this world, however, 9 spider egg sac in such close proximity to my door and kitchen is not okay. It would have been the end of me. Now they are dead. But the spider is really not the big news...

More Plants!

As if I needed anything else. I found myself at Lowes this morning with Sandra. (not even going to mention the trip to Anderson's and the seeds I got...). Well, darn that Lowes. It was carrying the six pack of assorted tomatoes for $2.09. For those mathematically challenged, that makes each tomato plant just over 30 cents! GASP! AND it had assorted peppers for the same price. I couldn't say no. Sandra took two of the tomatoes, and gave me 3 of the pepper 6 pack she bought. So that leaves me with 6 new plants! Furthermore, I just adopted Sandra's three strawberry plants because they were struggling on her patio. Count em, 9 new freaking plants.

Topsy Turvy

My mom, the queen of as seen on tv gear, bought me a topsy turvy thingy. So, in went a tomato. Stay tuned for the result of this pop culture phenomenon. Now, I just need a place to hang it! It is pretty ugly. Hopefully the tomatoes love it.

Cilantro/Coriander

2009-05-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

Cilantro and coriander are the same thing, sort of. Here in North America, when you cook with coriander, you are using the seeds from the cilantro plant. Other cultures call the leaves coriander, as well as the seeds.
About two months ago, I planted some cilantro seeds directly in the soil outside on my back patio. The seeds are mustard color and the size of that colored ball on the end of a push pin. Two of the seeds sprouted and are now tiny little plants. They have taken, what seems to be, a long time to grow. They are about 3 inches tall and pretty bushy. Despite planting about 5 seeds, only two sprouted.

I have done a bit a research and learned that cilantro likes a cool sunny environment. If the soil reaches over 75 degrees the plant will "bolt," meaning send up a flower and die. It is short-lived, the best plants only live 8-10 weeks. As a result, it is suggested that you plant new seeds every 3-6 weeks. (I guess I need to push a few more seeds into that pot.) I am a bit unnerved about this since San Diego summer whether is often warmer than 75 degrees. Perhaps I am engaged in a losing battle. I need to mulch it and place it under another tree so that it gets more filtered light.

Fun Facts About Cilantro:

Coriander seeds can be briefly roasted on a dry pan to enhance flavor. Has any one ever done this?
Coriander roots are also edible (the whole darn plant is edible) and are stronger than the leaves. They are apparently used in many Thai dishes.
There is a website called www.ihatecilantro.com dedicated to people who dislike cilantro. Really people, aren't there better ways to spend your time.
Coriander is referenced in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in Exodus.
Cilantro is one of the few herbs used in Chinese cooking (also called Chinese Parsley)
My favorite Cheeseboard Pizza is the Corn Cilantro pizza- YUM!

Common English Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris)

2009-05-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

To further my quest for a superb herb garden, tomorrow, I will plant thyme. I bought a seed packet from Henry's last week for $2.69 (packet says its organic). The flowers and leaves are edible in this plant, though I am not sure that I have ever tasted the flowers. I would love to hear from anyone who has tasted thyme flowers. This packet has a wealth of information typed in very light gray print on the inside of the seed packet. Really? On the inside of a packet with 75 or so teeny tiny seeds. It is completely bothersome to have to empty the seeds out (because I am certainly not planting all 75) to be able to read exactly how to plant them, and in the process, destroy the seed packet because I have to cut it open.
Thinning, huh?
Here is my problem, I don't know that much about gardening. When the darn packet tells me to space the seeds 4 to 5 seeds per inch, I honestly don't really know what that means. Since I am potting in a container that is round, how do I calculate this. Hold on, it gets worse. The next instructions tells me to plant in groups. Okay....do they mean the 4 to 5 seed group per inch? And for the icing on this cake, it then tells me to thin to 1" when the plant emerges and then when it is 1" I thin to 10."
It cannot possibly want me to be handling seedlings so frequently. It sounds as though I am supposed to plant 5 seeds, then when I detect something emerge I am supposed to then dig the mini guy out an inch away. How odd. Wouldn't I completely disturb the other seeds that may just need a few more days to emerge? But following the thinning guidelines, if I just want one plant that will live in a 10" round pot, I should only plant a single 1" seedling in the pot.
The packet should really come with some pictures or something to translate. Or maybe I am just a dim wit and the instructions are completely self explanatory.

Thyme and Tomatoes
According to the seed packet, I should companion plant thyme with tomatoes in order to discourage white flies and worms. Sounds fabulous to me. The only question now is whether I attempt to put the seeds directly in my tomato plant container, or just keep a separate pot near the tomato. I am leaning toward the separate pot scenario to ensure the tomato doesn't block out the sun for the thyme.

Just A Few Fun Facts:

Thyme and lavender are members of the same family
It is drought resistant
Ancient Egyptians used it for embalming
Ancient Greeks believed that it brought courage
It retains much of its flavor upon drying
Common thyme essential oil consists of 20-50% of thymol, which is an antisceptic and the main ingredient in Listerine
You can gargle water infused with thyme (boiled with thyme and cooled) to reduce throat swelling associated with bronchitis or sore throat. Think antiseptic! -- i am totally trying this if i have thyme for my next flu!

Carrots are Very Popular This Week!

2009-05-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Samin just updated her blog with information on preserving and pickling carrots! For those of you who are unaware, Samin is a master canner (the new face of canning and preserving for today's generation-- if you ask me ;)). She cans and preserves nearly everything you can imagine! Stop into the restaurant where most of her stuff is served: Eccolo in North Berkeley! Thanks for sharing your secrets with us! I hope to see more of this all summer long.

Carrots Come In Many Colors

2009-05-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Just bought carrot seeds. The little itty bitty carrots, not the long ones. I am anxious to plant the seeds, but the packet tells me that I have to wait until the fall. Perhaps it is too warm right now to plant carrot seeds. What if I put them out on the back patio where the morning sun is not as hot as the afternoon? Any advice?
I really like carrots and prefer to eat them cooked in butter (but who doesn't love food that is cooked in butter) until they are nice and sweet. I have also been all but obsessed with carrot ginger soup. Sadly, I have never loved raw carrots-I like them, just don't love them. And I really am not a fan of the baby carrots that the stores sell. Is it just me, or do they taste bland and horrid? I hope that home grown mini carrots will make me love raw carrots.
Carrot Memories
I don't have too many memories of by Grandpa Earl-my maternal grandfather. I lived in Rhode Island for about 9 short months when I was only four years old. After that, despite my yearly visits, I just cannot remember that much about him. Though, I do remember a few things- his little garden in particular. My gramps was all about growing his own veggies! And composting (I took a look in that old compost trash can a few years ago--yucky. Full of sand-like stuff and loads of spiders)! I distinctly remember him growing carrots, the full sized ones. Strangely, I don't recall ever eating these carrots, so I can only wonder whether my visions are of real life or a mere memory of a photograph of my grandpa with carrots. Either way, when I think of growing carrots, I think of Grampa Earl (sometimes called Earl the Pearl-- he couldn't have appreciated that nick name). I know many stories about him; but, by the time I was a teenager, he was already quite aged. I don't mean to say that he was very old, but he was certainly aged. Alcohol took a toll on his life and, sadly, shortened it. So I am left with the notion that my grandfather was a fisherman (those who have seen his basement in RI might remember the serious array of fishing supplies and various homemade fishing gadgets), a gardener, and a melodic whistler. This journey down memory lane reminds me that I have delayed in asking my grandma about which veggies my grampa used to grow. I wonder if she recalls the taste and variety. My granny is my only living grandparent, so I really need to absorb all the memories from her because time is the enemy now.
Since I have not yet planted any carrots, I have no picture to show for it. Perhaps I will try to find that picture that, may or may not exist, of Grandpa Earl and the carrots. I'll have to ask KD and my mom if they remember.

Because You Know You Want It: Some Fun Facts About Carrots!

There is a website called www.carrotmuseum.com --- Hmm. This website goes far into the history of carrots and carrot eating. I make no promises about the veracity of this website, but it sure is detailed. It reports that the carrot as we know it did not really emerge until the 1500s, though it reveals numerous documentations of earlier historical pictures of carrots (even orange carrots). It is referred to as the modern carrot, in contrast to the wild carrot. The wild carrot is from present-day Afghanistan and has a woody rough bitter spindly root. At some point in history, the modern carrot emerged and became domesticated. Bizarre, that the first domesticated carrots were not orange, but purple! Back in the day, the wild carrot seeds were considered medicinal. I can't possibly cover all the detail of this root

The Super Carrot Revealed! Don't know where you stand on GMOs but: Scientists in Texas have released a super carrot that helps people to absorb more calcium. It is still in the trial phase, but a carrot with 41% more calcium is pretty crazy. Check it out here
Or here.

Oh yeah, and eating carrots to improve nighttime vision is a myth... sorry.

Dwarf Pomegranate

2009-05-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

I love pomegranates. I'll never forget the day Samin threw a small dinner party and served a small bowl of pomegranate seeds for dessert. She took the pains of separating the seeds from the rind and presented them in a lovely bowl for each guest to easily sample without worry of getting red juice stains on their clothes. Naturally, I went in for some fruit, gently nibbled the fruit and juice from the seed and then spit out the hard nut-like interior. Well, that sure did put Samin in a tizzy. She refused to believe that anyone but my family and I would go to the trouble to spit out the seeds. Thus began the pomegranate seed controversy. If I remember correctly, it ended in a truce: some chew the nuts, some spit the nuts. Ah, but the sweet look on her face when she saw me spit out the seeds was priceless. Why anyone would ruin the sweet, tart smooth flavor of the pomegranate by chomping on the nasty seed, I don't know. Apparently, some people believe it is too much work to gently nibble the fruit from the seed.

I had a pomegranate tree in my back yard one year when my family lived in Spring Valley, CA. I tried intently to squeeze the seeds to release just the juice. I was rarely successful, but it was loads of fun. I remember that I always had to do my juicing experiments in the garage because the juice was so dark and stainy. The trick is to open the pomegranate under water, the rind floats and the seeds sink and no squirting, voila!

Pomegranates are a very old fruit. They are harvested in fall here in the Northern hemisphere and is grown over, particularly in Mediterranean climates. The fruit has long been recognized and documented. It makes an appearance in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible (hence its appearance in my Fruits of the Bible debacle), and in Greek Mythology (Poor Persephone!). Wikipedia has a fabulous entry on the pomegranate and discusses the many other cultures, ancient and present that use the pomegranate as a symbol.

Needless to say, about 6 months ago I sucked it up and bought a dwarf pomegranate tree from Gurneys. The picture here is the tree. It has a lot of growing to do and I don't expect to see any fruit growing for at least

another year or two. But I am excited for when it does. I seems to have adapted will to my front patio and the little leaves appear healthy. It is not growing quite as fast as the fig grew when

it got to San Diego, but I am patient. So stay tuned for more news on this young plant as the months go on.

Black Rose

2009-05-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

This succulent is called a Black Rose (also called Aeonium Arboreum Zwartkop). I see this is many front yards and borders in my neighborhood. It is a very hardy plant and requires minimum attention. It grows quite tall with large rosettes that vary from greenish to a deep dark purple atop long stalks. Reminds me of something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Because of its height, it is prone to tipping over. When I first got the Black Rose (a story that really should not be told on the Internet, sad indeed), it was recovering from a pretty brutal fall: Al had kept it perched on a high ledge on her patio where it toppled over and cracked in half. With its tall skinny stalks and large head, it tends to be delicate in high winds. Though, this plight can be avoided as long as the plant is housed in a sturdy and heavy pot. Since I replanted the Black Rose in a terracotta planter it has not toppled.

Those of you who are detail-oriented may have noticed that my plant is staked. I was very concerned that it was so top heavy. It began ripping itself out of the soil. So I staked it. I supposed I probably should have pruned it, but I have trouble cutting of any of this gorgeous plant.

You Can Have One Too

I have read that propagating this plant is rather simple: you just snip off a rosette and stick it in cactus soil. According to my research, the time to propagate is early summer, so I should buy some cactus mix and snip away. I will keep you all updated on my progress. I read that its dormant period is Summer and Fall, so I guess you are supposed to propagate before the dormant period.

It Blooms?

Supposedly, this plant has yellow flowers. I have had the plant for about two years now and have not seen a single flower. I am unconvinced. One website reports that once a flower forms in the summer, the branch will shrivel up and die! I would mind this, but I really don't have that many stalks to afford to lose one to shrivel. I cross my fingers that this plant does not flower for a very long time!

Here are some links for those of you that want to learn more:

http://www.finegardening.com/plantguide/aeonium-arboreum-zwartkop-black-rose.aspx

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Crassulaceae/Aeonium_Zwartkop.html

Easter Cactus

2009-05-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

This lovely Easter Cactus was a gift from Al for my graduation from Loyola. It is so easy to care for and forgiving. I have already had to chop it up and give parts away because it grows so rapidly.

I took this picture two weeks ago when it was in full bloom. Now the flowers have mostly all fallen off. I will be cutting it apart again soon and giving some of the plants away because it is once again two big for its pot.

Anyone interested in having a piece of this cactus?

Chocolate Mint Tea- Yum

2009-05-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Loofah, luffa, loofa!

2009-05-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the bath sponge, commonly known as a loofah or luffa, is a squash? Well, it is. I was in the dark about this fact when, one afternoon, while KD and I were browsing the seeds at Target, KD discovered luffa seeds. Naturally, I had to buy the seeds and attempt to grow my own cleansing product. Seriously, how good will life be when I can exfoliate with a gourd I grew on my patio?

This all happened about a month and a half ago. I planted about five seeds (they resemble pumpkin seeds) in a medium small pot. One seed sprouted out of the ground and really made a statement. Two big leaves seemed to arrive overnight.

The seed packet says the following: "Astonishingly tasty when picked young (2"), soft and light green. Exquisite nut-like flavor steamed or sauteed. Or harvest dry for terrific bath sponges" I thought, great, I can grow this in a container. No problem. We'll see about that.

Well, I have not had much experience growing squash--it didn't occur to me that this plant would become enormous. So, I was very surprised last night when I researched the luffa plant online and learned that this plant is going to become a freakin monster! Apparently, the darn plant can have vines that are 20' long and gourds that are longer than a foot long! I also learned that it crawls up walls and will actually grow up your gutter and around your house! Crap! Perhaps I should name the plant Audrey.

Aside from that, people are extolling the virtues of growing the sponges. Folks on the net are saying how they use the sponge as a dish scrubber and a bath mat. Pretty cool.

I am a bit concerned, though, that I couldn't find a site that discussed the possibility of growing luffa in a container. So, I clearly will need to transplant this guy into a bigger pot (story of my life). Then I suppose I will "train" it to vine around my decrepit back patio fencing. I am scared.

If you are interested in learning more about this plant, check out the following sites:

Groovy Green

Luffa Info

Chocolate Mint Madness

2009-05-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

I bought this chocolate mint plant last summer and placed the plant on my front porch where the sun is very strong. The porch is very sunny and gets light from the west, the south, and north. The term 'porch' is used very generally: it is a front door with a few steps.

Anyway, the mint lived with the fig and grew a load of branches with small leaves. Caterpillars (the worst!) really loved the mint and chomped away most of the leaves. I engaged in chemical warfare with the caterpillars because I could not keep up with them and they were destroying my plants. So, when I re-potted Mr. Fig, I tried to rip out the mint and put it in a separate planter. No easy task. But the mint was hardy and adapted to the new planter.

I moved the mint to the back patio where the sun is not as hot and is mostly from the East. It didn't improve until Sandra moved the plant to a slightly shadier spot on the east patio.

Now, the leaves are getting HUGE. I love it.

I am not sure how to dry the leaves to make a tea, but I want to. Also, Al has suggested making mint ice cream. I am not sure if I have enough mint, but it is possible.

Has anyone ever made mint ice cream from scratch, or used chocolate mint in any other fashion?

PS. the type if mint is actually called Chocolate Mint. If you smell it, it smells like chocolate! Cool right?

UPDATE! I made some tea out of the leaves last night. It was pretty delicious and mild. Very picturesque! Will post a pic soon.

Seattle Patch

2009-05-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

J and G have already planted a garden in their new home in Seattle. Here is a picture of J and Ellie. Though Ellie is quite rambunctious and somewhat of a troublemaker, she appears to understand that it is not okay to use the garden as a bathroom. On the other hand, Ana enjoys 'fertilizing' the garden.

J- you'll have to send some pictures as your garden matures.

Obsession Revealed

2009-05-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

I want to impress upon all my readers my outrageous level of plant obsession. As you read this list, please remember that I live in a little apartment with a front and back patio. Everything is in containers, some meant for plants, others meant for shampoo. Here it goes, I will start my running list of plants:
Vegetables
Green Onions (mature and some that are babies that I started from seeds)
Tomatoes (Sweet 100 and Early Girls)
String Beans (from Sandra’s apartment that she started from Seeds)
Lettuce (two beautiful heads of lettuce that I imagine will soon be eaten and some seeds I just planted for some more)
Patty Pan mini squash
Chocolate Bell Peppers – two plants (one plant I bought from Andersons and another that was from Sandra’s plant last year and just started flowering)
Jalepenos- (I bought it at Andersons)
Luffa- (I bought the seeds at Target) (who knew you could grow a bath sponge?
Herbs: (All from seeds)
Cilantro, Parsley, Basil, Chocolate Mint
Yesterday I planted oregano, cross your fingers

Fruit:
Dwarf fig
Strawberries (two plants)
Obviously, I need some more fruit!

Cactus:
Easter cactus
Living Stones
Black Roses (otherwise known as the Stolen Plant)
Aloe Vera
Jade
And a few others that I don’t know the names of

Random House Plants
Bird of Paradise
Some random palm that is actually Sandra’s.

Squash Blossums

2009-05-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

This is the lovely squash blossom I woke up to yesterday morning. I bought a "Patty Pan" squash. It is supposed to be a pretty small squash and supposedly 'prolific.' I am pretty sure that the pot I have it in is far to small. I plan on repotting it tonight (I know that is a faux pas to repot after the thing is in bloom, but what can I do?) It had one other blossum this season and it began to produce a small squash, but that squash recently turned yellow and fell off. So I am not optimistic that the plant will actually give me any crop. Do you like how I used the word crop? I'll be lucky if I get one mini squash out of this! Either way, the blossums are the most beautiful color.

Has anyone ever grown thess before? On the other hand, I ate a strawberry off my Chef Jeff's plant. So sweet and delicious, if only there was more than one.

2009-05-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

This is the infamous dwarf fig.

Introductions

2009-05-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

It began a few years ago when I lived in Venice. I am not sure what awakened the crazy within me, but I became a plant-person. My apartment was absurdly close to the beach (spitting distance, practically) and had a north-facing balcony. The sun hardly shone on my little spot, but I didn't care: I bought several plants and willed myself into believing I could keep them alive. Despite, constant fussing over the plants, most died. It did not weaken my resolve to buy more and more plants. I was successful (though I have no idea why since I got the sun hardly shone on my balcony and the marine layer was constantly blocking the little sun it received) at keeping several cactus alive. My Easter cactus is lovely and still blooms beautiful fuchsia flowers every spring!

Then, for my birthday one year, by aunt Lynn bought me one of those mail-order amaryllis bulbs. It comes in a kit with some kind of freeze-dried or space saver soil that you add water to and watch it grow. Then you stick the bulb in and start watering. I planted it in November and by December I had a gorgeous red and white amaryllis flower. (I went home for Christmas and the flower ended up falling over and breaking. Apparently I needed a heavier pot...I learned that lesson. I am just happy I wasn't the one to come home and find it all broken on the carpet. I would have certainly shed a tear for the flower--that's how much I loved it).

I was hooked. I tried growing more bulbs-- failure. I tried keeping various herbs alive (the one from TJs), that wasn't a total failure, but certainly no success.

I bought a dwarf lemon tree from Target. Al and I piled it into her car in LA and brought it to my house. A neighbor- with a south facing balcony- had a lemon tree that was seemingly always full of fruit. I swear it was fake. My lemon tree flowered and teased me with mini green fruits that never made it. I loved that tree. I watered it, talked to it, etc. No luck. Soon it was a tall pile of branches. So sad.

Along comes the dwarf fig...

What the heck was I doing shopping the garden section in Amazon - I don't know. I absolutely abhor shopping online. Will avoid it like the plague. Can't inspect the product, have to wait for it to arrive, have to pay shipping-- not for me. But nonetheless, I was on Amazon and found the unbelievably cheap offer for three dwarf fruit trees for 15 bucks. There was a dwarf pomegranate, dwarf fig, and dwarf olive. I think it was called plants of the bible, or something like that. I was giddy, couldn't think of any reason not to buy those lovely plants. Olives! I could cure olives and eat them! Figs-- seriously, excellent. Pomegranate, beyond words. So I ordered away completely confident in by purchase.

I bet you know what happened next. Behold, no plants. Then, weeks later, I get a lousy email from Amazon telling me some mumbo jumbo about how the order wasn't available. Basically, I was p.o.'ed. Majorly. But the taste of fig in my mouth did not cease. I had to have that dwarf fig. I was obsessed with the fig.

I searched the local box stores and Anderson's for a fig. Found nothing but the full blown tree. That couldn't do. So I sucked it up and went directly to the Gurney's website (where Amazon was supposedly ordering from) and bought that darn dwarf fig ($20 bucks after shipping!). Then I waited. And waited and waited. Eight months later I got that email telling me that my order had shipped. I now understand that even if you order a tree, you must wait until harvest to actually get the order.

The Fig Arrived.

Now, I was in law school at the time and had told all my friends about the tree. Actually, most had already known about the heartbreak of losing those "fruits of the bible." The box came, about the size of a shoe box. I opened it and found the tiniest of "trees." I use that word loosely because, what I really got was not a 'tree' it was two mini twigs in a small block of soil. The mini twigs where about 4 inches tall and had a cumulative of 3 teeny leaves. I was so disappointed. The picture of the plant was lush and thick with leaves! I got twigs! I was monstrously p.o.'ed. I even wrote a review on the website explaining my disappointment. The company never published it, rather I got an email back telling me that the plants in the pictures are several years old. Whoo hoo-- I was supposed to know that apparently. Well, I didn't; and my feathers were quite ruffled.

I re-potted the pitiful twigs, like the instructions told me. A few days later the fig lost its three leaves. Then I really just had two twigs in dirt. Months passed. I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. It just sat in its mini pot on the balcony. Finally judgment day arrived for the fig. I was moving to San Diego to a little apartment that got loads of sun. I closely inspected my fig-twig. I thought I noticed a few greenish colored areas on the tips of the twigs. With a whimper of hope, I packed the fig-twig in my car and transported it from LA to SD. Within a few weeks of putting the fig on my front porch it was growing like crazy! Leaves bigger than my head! It even started growing a few figs last summer (none made it all the way, but that was expected).

So the gardening demon awoke! I went insane buying plants. I actually ate my own tomatoes last summer. Insane.

This blog is for me to get all my gardening excitement out without completely driving all those people around me nuts. (I can't expect anyone else to be as excited about my plants! Well, maybe Sandra and Al, but that is all).

So here I go. Enjoy. Maybe, if I get good at this urban gardening thing, you can come over some day for a fully apartment grown meal ;)