Finally...

...I can keep plants outside. Today is my third day in my new apartment. Remember how I had half a salad's worth of Swiss chard before I left home? I have at least twice that today. One of my professors told our class that plants don't grow because of us--they grow in spite of us. The fact that the chard stayed alive for three months indoors and is now growing prolifically testifies to the truth in that statement.

So, here are the pictures of my plants' new homes. Maybe at the end of the summer I can do a before-and-after post. I'm sure there would be lots of improvement.

These are the three wandering jews that I've decided not to keep. I'm still looking for good homes for these little guys. They're really easy to care for. Thankfully they're recent cuttings, so they haven't developed much of a root system, so they can stay in this four pack for a while without becoming rootbound.

My spider plant and bromeliad aren't really near a window, but light from three windows reaches them, so they might be okay there.

My lucky bamboo also isn't in a window, but from what I understand, these plants actually benefit from staying out of direct sunlight. It works out very well.

This table contains the two succulents I brought, my wandering jew, and my purple shamrock. They've got some of the best seats in the house.

My jade plant (unfortunately not pictured) is near a window in the bedroom. The rest of my plants are outside. My tomato is looking happier by the day. The parsley pot (behind the tomato) was flooded by rain a couple of times, but I poured out the excess. We'll see how that does.

There's a noticeable difference between the Swiss chard in this shot and what it looks like now, a day later. I have high hopes for this crop.

My basil's still a bit raggedy, but I'm working on it. The peppermint, however, doesn't need any help.

I'm already excited to see my desert rose bloom, though the plant already looks very dramatic against this brick wall.

Here are the rest of the herbs. My thyme looks small, still, but if I can keep it out of heavy rains, it should be fine. I'm going to be cooking pizzas with rosemary soon, and I think I'm going to harvest a few leaves from my rosemary for it. Think of it: my first true harvest (eating doomed plant matter doesn't count) of the year. Miraculous.

What miracles are transpiring in your garden or containers?

Next post: more from the dawn of summer.

It's 11 AM. Do You Know Where Your Crops Are?

Since nothing much has developed around campus (that I've seen, at least), and I haven't done anything exciting with plants lately (except one thing -- see below), I've decided to show you how my crops are coming along.

I recently started a crop notebook. As of May 2013, the status of all my edible crops is "Growing slowly indoors." I still contend my Swiss chard and thyme will improve once outside, but for now they're still puny.

But they're getting better. I have three main sprigs of thyme coming up now, as well as a wee one.

The leaves on my Swiss chard are approaching baby green size, which is really better than they're supposed to be able to do indoors. This brings me to my sole piece of plant news: I ate my first Swiss chard leaf today. There was a leaf on my biggest seedling that was small and curled up. I thought that if there was one plant that could handle losing a leaf, it was that one. So I ate it. Swiss chard really is mild. I approve. This experience gives me something to look forward to; that is to say, getting these suckers outside, watching them prosper, and feasting!

This is the plant that provided me with a sliver of nutrition. I use the knife to mix up the soil so a mysterious white fuzz (which the Internet tells me is mold caused by lack of circulation) cannot persist in the soil. You can see the lack of leaf on the lower right of the plant.

This 'Mr. Stripey' seems to have grown a bit since I got it. At any rate, it's doing okay, but it's ready to head outside too. It's going to get that chance on Friday! Hooray!

While my bromeliad is by no means an edible crop, I figured I'd report on it too. Its condition is deteriorating more rapidly than before. I doubt I can really save it at this point.

How are your crops faring?

Next post: who knows!

University Greenhouse, Part V: Tropical Nirvana

Today we're transitioning from the arid desert to a tropical oasis (literally, as the greenhouse has a room that's just a koi pond surrounded by aquatic and tropical plants). Enjoy your stay!

First up for today is part of a jade tree. This was still in the desert room. I planted a cutting of jade in one of my classes and might be bringing it home this week. They're beautiful, in my opinion. This one has some hard water stains on it but is still looking healthy.

I don't know what this white vine is, but it's neat! Also of note is the fact that I recently learned how white plants like this photosynthesize. Green plants have chlorophyll, which is the pigment that captures the sun's energy, but other pigments can do this as well. Carotenes are pigments that photosynthesize sugars for orange and some yellow plants, and xanthophylls do the same for some yellow and white (or "clear") plants. Anthocyanins are the pigments responsible for making plant tissues red or purple, but these are incapable of converting electromagnetic radiation into carbohydrates. So this plant must make its food via xanthophylls. There's your nerdy plant lesson for the day!

Now we've made it to the koi room. Yes there are real, live koi fish in it. You can see the pond in the background. This leaf is impressive.

This is why it's impressive.

That is a women's size 9 shoe. That leaf probably has more area than ten soles of that shoe. Eve could have stitched two together and been completely modest.

These leaves were similarly large and impressive, but even more interesting. I don't know how they develop those holes. Also, when taking this shot I was ripped from my immersion in the splendor by that SUV. You don't think about it while wandering about this magical plant playland, but there's a parking lot and a whole concrete world right outside.

This leaf too was intriguing. I wish more plants were labeled, but I think the person staffing this greenhouse has been tasked with identifying its residents. So they're working on it. Maybe I'll go back there in a few months and find more names to match all the beautiful faces (more like fronds).

Speaking of fronds, here's a fern! While ferns can survive and thrive in lots of different conditions (they're great houseplants, as they filter air superbly), they can only reproduce in continually moist environments. In tomorrow's post you'll get to see fern reproduction in action, and I'll rant geekily about why that only happens when there's lots of water around.

With this picture, we move into the last room of the greenhouse. This room is also kept at tropical temperature and humidity levels. It is home to two famous (infamous? nefarious? you decide) plants. This is the first: a member of the Orchidaceae (orchid) family that produces a long, slender bean pod containing vanilla beans. These are used to produce vanilla extract and those devilish iced frappucinos you can get at Starbucks. One vanilla bean pod sells for ten bucks in grocery stores, making me wonder who takes home the pods produced by this plant. It wasn't bearing fruit on this visit, but it was last fall.

There were a lot of orchids in this room, but only one was blooming. Their blooms just look fancy, so I can see why so many people enjoy cultivating them. Last time I went to this greenhouse, nearly all the orchids were in bloom. The smell was so intoxicating it almost knocked me over.

Also in this room were several bromeliads. This first one was larger and crazier than mine, and it's "rooted" in the tree behind it. Bromeliads are basically the only plants that don't need soil to live. I think those yellow stalks to the left are probably flowers by now.

Here are some tamer bromeliads that look a lot more like tillandsia, which is what I have. These were on the same bench as most of the orchids, which makes sense: you're supposed to fertilize bromeliads by mixing orchid fertilizer with water.

At this point, you may be asking yourself something along the lines of "Wait, she said there were TWO famous plants in this room, but she only talked about one!" This is true. The next celebrity plant is coming to you tomorrow, but in case you can't handle that much suspense, I'll give you a hint: its scientific name is Theobroma cacao.  And if you can't figure it out, you only have to wait until tomorrow.

Next post: Greenhouse Pictures: Tropical Oasis: Part II, featuring my special mystery guest Theobroma.

State of the Plants Address

As I'm still waiting for my (secret surprise) seeds to come in, I will show off what plants I already have. The first plant I have is some wheatgrass. I planted wheat for one of my classes, and after it sprouted we were allowed to take them home. So I did.

Here's a close-up. The blades are looking a little pale, but I fed it yesterday, so it should get back to a healthier green soon. Needs a haircut, though!

No, I don't use this wheatgrass for smoothies, nor am I going to make flour. I just like the added greenery. Oh, and as you can see, my wheat likes hanging out with the Bodhisattva over there.

The next plant is my zucchini. I planted this in class also, but wasn't really supposed to take it home. Oh well! Since it was planted on the first of February (and since zucchini plants mature according to their ages, not their environments), this particular specimen probably won't produce. Or if it does, the fruits will be almost microscopic. But I'm giving it a good home while I can.

The cute red colander it's resting in is going to become my wheat's home (it looks crowded) very soon. As soon as I stop being too lazy to do it, that is.

And finally, here is my tillandsia. It's a Bromeliad, more specifically a species that doesn't need soil to grow. I need to mix some orchid fertilizer with the water I give this little guy, but I haven't done that yet. This plant too adds greenery to the room, and every little bit helps.

And here's a better shot. Yes, the glass of the globe is filthy. The city water leaves stains on everything. At work (I work in a greenhouse) it's a pain because you don't want to get any water on any foliage; if you do, it leaves a thick white ring. It's pretty gross.

Also, in addition to the two packets of seeds I am expecting, I have planted four more plants in class and will get to bring those home eventually. One of them is a Kentucky coffeetree, which is definitely not going to work in any small space (it grows up to 80 feet tall and drops toxic seeds every year), but I will definitely keep the other three. I'll make a post showing them off when the time comes.

Next post: University collection greenhouse tour (?).

P.S. Though it snowed last night, there was no accumulation, so I will be able to go home this weekend. That means I can photograph the plants there (some of which are mine) to show off as well.