Posted on March 5, 2022March 5, 2022Survival both short term and long term The Mexican plum dug from Mom and Dad’s yard last summer is budding! (The metal across it is the flag I have to not lose it.) The prairie parsley also from home is still alive. Ditto for the whitlow-wort. It’s an annual, but I hope it will reseed. The smaller whitlow-wort is growing through its mud. This is something just sprouting. I have a label nearby that says greeneyes. Mom does this have the right leaves?? I also do have a lot of ironweed in this area.
Posted on February 27, 2022February 27, 2022Tiny greenhouse A little centipede in the garden dirt. Hopefully it’s an earwig predator. Hoops in! Seeds planted, cover on! We put lots of extra and smelly plants like cilantro and parsley among the carrots and bok choy and beets in hopes of earwig distraction.
Posted on February 26, 2022February 26, 2022Cold day stratification adventures Phacelia from Native Seed Search is sprouting wildly. Cleome serrulata from Victory Seeds also sprouting! Whitlow-wort from home is adapting nicely it seems.
Posted on February 25, 2022February 25, 2022Spiranthes seeds Mom collected these Spiranthes seed pods for me at home this winter. Thank you Mom!! I found one source online that implies their symbiotic fungus may be widespread enough to be able to get them going in my mini prairie. The seeds are so tiny! This is under the 1x dissecting scope. The big pods are visible in the phone camera photo above, but here you can see the dust speck sized seeds.
Posted on January 24, 2022January 24, 2022Cold stratification Various wildflowers. They’d get cold stratification outside too, but they could also get eaten. I have mostly scattered some out then saved some too, to maximize my chances of getting things established.
Posted on January 17, 2022January 17, 2022Thinking of summer yesterday Tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, and chard and roman chamomile in all the rest. We need a lot of chamomile starts as I want to use it as a ground cover around the vegetable raised beds. Sitting on the saffron leaves. Gram’s not sure about outside leash time but he’s getting more confident. He always perks up and feels safer when big sister comes by to check on him. “Hello big sister” Maybe he could do without getting groomed. She nibbles him.
Posted on November 25, 2021November 28, 2021Bean counting highlights Paula and I sorted and weighed yesterday’s harvest. Look at these beauties! They were our favorites of each variety. Inca pea beans are maroon and white in the middle. Clockwise from the top are Alabama blackeye butter lima bean (the big flat white ones), slippery silk (pink ones), California blackeye cowpeas (whitish, not glossy), greasy grits (speckled tan), vaquero (moo cow pattern), and bolas maycoba (creamy color).
Posted on November 21, 2021November 21, 2021Outdoors stratification Preparing labels for a bunch of understory trees and a few other things.
Posted on November 20, 2021November 20, 2021Trimming and spreading zinnia seeds The pineapple sage is actually looking very nice. I have left 6-8″ stems so that the stalks may be used by insects to overwinter. Trimming the zinnias has allowed both pineapple sage to be visible from all angles.
Posted on November 9, 2021November 9, 2021New stuff Read this good book Mom had. “A new garden ethic” by Benjamin Vogt. Definitely recommend it! Arguments for planting native plants and considering all our little friends and neighbors both animals and plants. Paula, we’re borrowing this. Seeds from home! Mom collected the common persimmon before I arrived.