This has nothing to do with veggies or finches, but yeahhhh it rocks : )
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Palms Survived!
Mark and I planted palms last summer, and when they died back in the cold of winter, we thought they were goners. Nope! They're fine! Just needed a haircut. The new fans are deep green, telling me the core of the trunk was fine even in the frigid cold. These California Fan Palms will be amazing in a few weeks, just watch.
Carrots Doing Great in March
In December, I planted Carnival and Purple Dragon carrots in these 1/2 whiskey barrels. They hung tight over the cold winter, and are very happily growing now that the weather has warmed. They love it! The soil in the barrels is planter mix (I hadn't started mixing my own yet in December), but it's light and moist, and the 75 degree air is creating amazing growth.
Another beautiful view of Carnival and Purple Dragon carrots.
I added more seeds today to fill in the empty spots, so this 2nd whiskey barrel should be just a prolific.
Here's the 1/2 whiskey barrel out front. These guys were amazing... they germinated in December and stayed green yet dormant even at 12 degrees! The soil and leaves froze every night, and thawed every day. I've had so much fun watching them. It will be fun to see how the carrots turn out. Yes, filled in the blank spots today with more carrot seeds (Nantes and others).
Indoor Veggie Garden 3/30/13
Hey there veggie fans! There are gorgeous things happening under the magic shop lights : )
I have learned a lot about onions since last year. Here at 34 degrees N, you can't grow regular onions! You have to get special "short day" onions... so here they are! I'm starting onion flats under the lights, and they're going outside late April. They're so cute with their little seed hats! I understand you can trim the tips and use in cooking between now and late April... I'll do that tomorrow and put the tips in salsa.
This lanky little guy is Strawberry Spinach. Leaves that taste like spinach and fruit that tastes sweet.... I gotta see this. I'm watching this cutie closely so he survives until he gets outside.
I LOVE basil. I love the smell, I love the taste, and one of these I'll learn how to cook with it. But in the meantime, I plan to grow a plethora of it!
I'm not sure if Chard will continue to excel as the weather warms (it's 85 inside mid day), but I sure love harvesting a gallon bag of NOM every weekend: chard, spinach, mustard, kale, collards.... all grown by me. YUM!
The little tonda di parigi carrot so far is doing nicely into a little 3 1/2" pot! The carrots are no more than an inch long, so this should work great. They seem happy, right?
More baby basil... some doing better than others LOL.
Black Cherry Tomato is supposed to excel here in the desert. We'll see! All of my indoor cherry tomatoes are really happy. TOO happy!
These mini peppers have been doing great, now it's time to bloom and set fruit! I see buds forming...
There's always an experiment going on here.... Check out these guys growing in water. They're fine. And the tall tomato in water has a flower. OMG.
Pepper, strawberry spinach, cherry tomato... so pretty together.
Basil under fluorescent lights... looking good.
Chard.... YUMMY.
Cherry tomato heaven.... what gorgeous plants.
These kids are the Picklebush cucumber... and they promise 2' plants... perfect for under lights! These guys will never see the bright desert sun. They're going to spend their lights under lights. We'll see how it goes! Paint brush, ready for propigation...
Oh no.... more basil? Yes, more basil : )
Quick look at the hydroponic center. Basil, happy peppers, yay!
More tomato glamour shots... love these guys!
My treasures.... indoor carrots. I sure hope they're making tasty treats!
Another hydroponic experiment... cucumber in a hydro bucket.
Spacemaster cucumbers, ready to take off!
Hydro jar basil.... these guys are REALLY happy. Amazing how water makes basil shine. It's kind of a moist herb, so it really enjoys it.
A great shot of tomatoes, carrots, chard, and other goodies.
Thanks for looking!
Friday, March 15, 2013
Great Spinach Experiment - Update
Remember the Great Spinach Experiment of December 28th, 2013? They all froze! I know you needed closure...
There were too many nights under 20 degrees in January for the potted spinach to survive.
The spinach in the ground were fine... go figure.
But don't worry - there are LOTS more experiments coming in the spring!
More tomato pruning experiments
I am totally fascinated with the way the common tomato plant can be pruned, and recovers quickly. I'm doing it now just for fun... I know, poor plants, but heck, they're fine!
These guys were lopped off totally, and they are just as happy as can be!
How's the back raised beds doing?
It's been a long, neglected winter, but I'm proud to say there are some delicious treats growing in the harshest of conditions.
Here's the back raised bed... Collards, carrots, and some pathetic beets.
Aren't the collards lovely?
It's a pretty collection.
Not sure where this bed is going over the next few weeks, but expect good things. Maybe the watermelon patch...
The other back raised bed has been in the shade all winter... it's time to amend, weed, and PLANT!
Hydoponic update
Hydoponic update! The basil on the left is very happy and has an amazing root system. The peppers in the middle are excelling, way better than the ones in dirt. There's potential here.
The cucumber is doing TOO well.... NOW what am I going to do LOL?
Fluorescent Light Party
I have gotten a BIT smarter with cucumbers. On the left.... Bush cucumber Spacemaster. On the right.... Bush cucumber Picklebush. Small cucumbers.... that I can MAYBE keep indoors!
Little pots of Tonda Di Parigi carrots .... doing great indoors!
Special carrots - under fluorescent lights. Purple Dragon and Carnival. I hope they do well. These are little plugs that I can transplant into gallon pots.
Ever wondered what would happen if you cut off a stick of tomato plant and put it in a cup of water for 5 days?
Transplanted the swiss chard this morning.... aww, they're cute as babies.
Did I mention that I was going insane over basil?
Here's a happy generic bunch of plants.
The new basil planter.
Swiss chard is beautiful and delicious. Who needs the sun? They love fluorescent lights.
A new basil experiment. "Bun" gets only nasty tap water with over 300 ppm of questionable particles. "Weem" gets 10 ppm reverse osmosis water, with happy nutrients, at the perfect pH. Who do you think will win?
One of my most favorite sights... CARROT FLUFF! And, it's indoors.
The latest round of peat pellets, each row with a different happy type of plant:
Row 1: Alyssum
Row 2: Catnip (for Noel)
Row 3: Marjoram
Row 4: Ruby Swiss Chard
Row 5: Cucumber Picklebush
Row 6: Black Cherry Tomato
Row 7: Green towers romaine
Row 8: Mustard
Row 9: Geofure basil
Row 10: Green basil
Row 11: Arugula
Another tomato experiment.... cuttings, shoved into dirt : )
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