I love buying new plants as much as the next
Friday, February 27, 2015
Propagate!
This is the time of year that although it is only 10ºF (-12ºC) or so, I start gardening again -- yahoo! Like many of you I start seeds indoors at this time, but this is also when I start seriously thinking about propagation of some of the plants I overwintered.
I love buying new plants as much as the nextplant-crazy gardening addict person, but I also appreciate not having to buy the same plants every single year. So with a little effort I overwinter what would have been annuals, then make several new plants from them for planting outdoors once it warms up.
I love buying new plants as much as the next
Thursday, February 26, 2015
More sprouts
I'm dedicated to success with sprouts right now. The first sunflower sprout crop was a bit of a disappointment, as the true leaves came in before the sprouts were big enough. We still ate them though. The second set of sunflower sprouts -- also grown in soil like the first -- were given less light but appear to have the same issue. We're still eating those.
So I've started some pea sprouts, deciding to leave them in the jar rather than growing them in soil. I've had some trouble with the jar method before, but I'm determined to get it right this time. Soon at least.
So I've started some pea sprouts, deciding to leave them in the jar rather than growing them in soil. I've had some trouble with the jar method before, but I'm determined to get it right this time. Soon at least.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
It's seed inventory time!
Most years the lure of the seed catalogs combines with an early taste of spring fever and I end up ordering seeds without regard for what I might already have leftover from previous years. The same applies when I visit local seed displays, with the result being that I usually have much more seed than I can use in a single season.
This year I decided two things about my seed collection: first that I would review what I already had before making any purchases, and second that I would sow as much of my old seeds as possible this year. Today I start with the first part, and this simple brown paper bag.
This year I decided two things about my seed collection: first that I would review what I already had before making any purchases, and second that I would sow as much of my old seeds as possible this year. Today I start with the first part, and this simple brown paper bag.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
Another thing I miss: discovery (and toads!)
Yesterday I posted butterfly photos from summer 2007 to give myself a reminder of what's coming in the next few months -- this cold can't last forever. Today I continue with that look back to highlight one of the things that I miss most about not being out in the garden: discovery!
In late May 2009 my morning garden walk revealed a toad in my stream. I watched and photographed him for quite a long time, ending up with what are some of my favorite photos ever. Here's a brief review of that morning.
In late May 2009 my morning garden walk revealed a toad in my stream. I watched and photographed him for quite a long time, ending up with what are some of my favorite photos ever. Here's a brief review of that morning.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Looking back to warmer days
I don't know if it got as cold as they said it would last night, but this morning when I checked it was 0ºF (-18ºC), which is cold enough. In fact, I'm not in the mood to show you anything wintery today, so I decided to look back into my pre-blog photo archives to find...
...butterflies! Apparently July 2007 was a very good year for butterflies in my garden, or at least I was out there enough that I captured lots of photos. The black swallowtail is the one that I see most, so that's what I started with here.
...butterflies! Apparently July 2007 was a very good year for butterflies in my garden, or at least I was out there enough that I captured lots of photos. The black swallowtail is the one that I see most, so that's what I started with here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Here it comes again...
By "it" I mean the bamboo-killing cold. Last year we reached -8ºF (-22ºC) as a low a couple of times here in St. Louis when the Polar Vortex spun down and made us wonder exactly how that arctic ice was disappearing, and the result was that all of my bamboos spent a few months with brown leaves.
This winter our low had been 6ºF (-14ºC) which is no problem for the several Phyllostachys bamboo species that I have planted. Most of them are all still green and lovely, but that will be ending tonight.
This winter our low had been 6ºF (-14ºC) which is no problem for the several Phyllostachys bamboo species that I have planted. Most of them are all still green and lovely, but that will be ending tonight.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Sprouts update
I started my current sprouts experiment eleven days ago on February 6, and although enough time has passed that I should have a verdict on this growing method, I don't yet -- I'll explain why shortly.
As a reminder, this is the first time that I've been growing sprouts using soil. I've used the jar method before and also the stackable trays -- both using no growing media (soil or otherwise) and requiring periodic and consistent rinsing. This is also the first time that I've tried sunflower sprouts, so new method, new seeds -- it's going to take more than one batch of sprouts before I have a verdict.
As a reminder, this is the first time that I've been growing sprouts using soil. I've used the jar method before and also the stackable trays -- both using no growing media (soil or otherwise) and requiring periodic and consistent rinsing. This is also the first time that I've tried sunflower sprouts, so new method, new seeds -- it's going to take more than one batch of sprouts before I have a verdict.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Beach
I can't complain too much about this winter in St. Louis, as it hasn't been too bad. Until you compare it to a weekend walking the beach in Florida that is, then it's pretty terrible.
So let's just enjoy this taste of summer a bit. The beach at Daytona is quite clean at this time of year, with barely a shell to be seen. There were a few beached jellyfish though, and I couldn't resist getting up close. Not much plant life to see here, but I hope you enjoy it!
So let's just enjoy this taste of summer a bit. The beach at Daytona is quite clean at this time of year, with barely a shell to be seen. There were a few beached jellyfish though, and I couldn't resist getting up close. Not much plant life to see here, but I hope you enjoy it!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Growing
It's what we're all about, we gardeners, plant people. Growing plants. It's a rare gardener indeed who wants things to stay exactly the same in the garden, and for the great majority of us any sign of growth means excitement!
Even when it's not technically growing season -- or maybe I should say especially when it's not growing season -- any traces of life are more than welcomed, possibly even celebrated. We're even happy about watching grass grow, well, to some extent. Like my purple fountain grass overwintering under the lights. I need to trim it every week or so because it hogs all of the light. (I mow more grass in the winter than I do in the summer!)
Even when it's not technically growing season -- or maybe I should say especially when it's not growing season -- any traces of life are more than welcomed, possibly even celebrated. We're even happy about watching grass grow, well, to some extent. Like my purple fountain grass overwintering under the lights. I need to trim it every week or so because it hogs all of the light. (I mow more grass in the winter than I do in the summer!)
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Just a peek
I was happily able to spend a couple of days in Florida this past weekend, leaving the crazily warm weather in St. Louis for pretty much exactly the same temperatures in Daytona Beach.
Still, we don't have the ocean in St. Louis (and I was worried that my posts were often not informative enough!) so walks on the beach were how we spent our free time.
Still, we don't have the ocean in St. Louis (and I was worried that my posts were often not informative enough!) so walks on the beach were how we spent our free time.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Sprouts update
I don't like to post about the same topic twice in a row, but after putting the sunflower seeds onto the soil to sprout, I left for the weekend and the three days that they were meant to be growing underneath the heavy weights have already passed.
So it's time to remove the weights and see what's going on. In the Dr. Mercola video they show ceramic tiles being used, and paving stones being placed on top as weights. The video doesn't explain why the weights are needed or what the properties of the "flat objects" used to cover should be, but I'll soon reveal the details I've learned...
So it's time to remove the weights and see what's going on. In the Dr. Mercola video they show ceramic tiles being used, and paving stones being placed on top as weights. The video doesn't explain why the weights are needed or what the properties of the "flat objects" used to cover should be, but I'll soon reveal the details I've learned...
Friday, February 6, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Salvaging houseplants, again
I've said it before: I'm not that good with houseplants. I've finally determined that it's not my fault though, it's my house. There's just not enough light coming through the windows for much of the day.
A perfect example of the problem is this dracaena. It has diminished quite a bit in the last year or so. looking very feeble.
A perfect example of the problem is this dracaena. It has diminished quite a bit in the last year or so. looking very feeble.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Sprout!
Have you ever grown your own sprouts or shoots? I have both in jars and in special sprout trays, and I must admit that I don't find it to be as simple as they say it is. Even though I believe I've always followed the necessary schedule of rinsing, it seems that I have about a 50% chance of getting edible sprouts from my efforts. After a failure I get discouraged and end up putting thoughts of healthy, fresh sprouts out of my mind for months or longer, until I get the urge to try again. I haven't tried for well over a year, possibly two.
So when I was recently contacted by a company to see if I had an interest in reviewing their sprouting seeds, I got a bit excited. I wasn't familiar with the company so I did a little research. It seems that Dr. Mercola has relatively few products related to gardening, and that they're a general "natural health" company. In fact, under the "gardening" section of their product catalog there are only the sprout growing supplies and some heirloom seed bundles -- which I suppose I understand and appreciate since growing your own food is one way to help achieve overall health.
So when I was recently contacted by a company to see if I had an interest in reviewing their sprouting seeds, I got a bit excited. I wasn't familiar with the company so I did a little research. It seems that Dr. Mercola has relatively few products related to gardening, and that they're a general "natural health" company. In fact, under the "gardening" section of their product catalog there are only the sprout growing supplies and some heirloom seed bundles -- which I suppose I understand and appreciate since growing your own food is one way to help achieve overall health.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Book review: The Living Landscape
This book review is long overdue, but don't take that as an indication of the book's merit: this is probably my favorite gardening book published in 2014. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
The book is The Living Landscape by Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy, and when I saw mention of this then-new book in an email from Timber Press over the summer, I was immediately intrigued. The tagline of "Designing for beauty and biodiversity in the home garden" gives you a hint at what's in store on these pages, but only after opening the book did I realize what a gem it was.
The book is The Living Landscape by Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy, and when I saw mention of this then-new book in an email from Timber Press over the summer, I was immediately intrigued. The tagline of "Designing for beauty and biodiversity in the home garden" gives you a hint at what's in store on these pages, but only after opening the book did I realize what a gem it was.