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.

A Brief Respite at Home

I am home for the weekend, and my plants are here with me. They're enjoying the sun. Thankfully, they'll remain outside once I move again next week.

These plants (spider plant, jade plant, lucky bamboo, and wandering jews) are hanging out inside since they're suited for such conditions.

I'm also wary of putting the wandering jews outside for fear they might grow too much. They already look eerily taller than they did just a few days ago. Another concern I have is that, because they grow so much, I really don't need four of them. I'm looking for good homes for three of them; if I can't find good homes, I might just pitch them.

My desert rose is ready to go outside. I don't have room in my car to take this one with me over the summer (though I may try anyway), but I'll get it eventually. Judging by the plentiful foliage, I'd bet this is going to be a great year for desert rose flowers.

Here's my purple shamrock, stealing the show as per usual. In the top right corner is a succulent that I'd like to take with me. I think the two plants are going to switch pots. Also, in the lower right corner are some basil seedlings that my mom is growing. Very exciting!

A better shot of the succulent. This is definitely multiple plants, so I might have to put them in multiple pots. Some might need good homes at some point as well...

In other basil news, remember my basil plant? As you can see, we're working on getting it to bush out a little. It's looking (and tasting) good, though.

Mints in general (I imagine peppermint is no exception) are tough, and my little specimen here is responding particularly well to the great outdoors. I suspect I'll have no trouble keeping this plant healthy and producing. Peppermint is one herb I've never used in cooking, but I love mint tea.

Though this isn't a great shot, you can see that the sage is doing okay too. I think it has some new leaves, but this pot will keep it happy for a long time.

The rosemary is also looking healthy as ever. All my plants (well, most) are getting repotted into permanent containers tomorrow, and I imagine the rosemary will benefit from that. Rosemary can turn into full-fledged bushes, so it needs room to grow.

Though blurry, the thyme seems to be taking off more than it has been. If this batch doesn't grow much, I can plant some more seeds and see if they perform better, as they would be outside from the beginning. We'll see.

The Swiss chard has definitely grown since coming home. It looks like it might just grow up nice and big after all. I mean, there's already half a side salad here! I could also probably get rid of the knife at this point, since the air will be well circulated. I thought these were goners on my way home because all the chard started to wilt from the heat when I was packing up my car. I gave them plenty of water, though, and they perked back up like nothing happened! I was truly impressed.

My tomato apparently got caught in a slight frost a week or two ago, but it appears to be recovering as well as can be expected.

It looks tiny in this pot, but remember, it's supposed to become 6-7' tall. I have a cage for it, but I'm going to wait until I move to put it in. You can also see the parsley pot in the background. I'm fairly certain the soil in it is good old clay garden soil, so the parsley may not have an easy time surfacing, but we will see. If it doesn't turn out, I can put something else in that pot.

How are your plants doing? Have you been moving some outside?

Next post: a garden overhaul.

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!

The Crops in Mid-April (With Special Bonus Flower Action)

There have been a couple of significant changes in the crops in my room. To supplement this news, I will include some eye-candy flowers.

First, my Swiss chard's true leaves are growing well! Slowly, but well. They're even developing the wrinkles characteristic of the species.

Also, another Swiss chard seedling has surfaced where the old one withered up and died. I knew I kept watering that spot for a reason!

In other news, I finally said goodbye to my wheat. Maybe I can repurpose this colander (as a colander, perhaps?).

Those are all the developments in my plants. There have, however, been lots of developments outside. This is one of the nicest. I don't know what kind of tree this is, but it has adorable green blossoms that I couldn't resist photographing.

That's all I've got for now. How are your crops doing?

Next post: another plant acquisition.

Crop Updates

Note: I am having difficulties locating my camera's memory card, so bear with the phone pictures.

Today I bring you some loooong-awaited news: some of my Swiss chard is actually forming true leaves!

I didn't think this would happen. These leaves very well may not reach an edible size, but these plants have gotten enough energy to start, at least. And yes, two out of five is kind of shabby. I'm happy regardless.

Also of note: my thyme is getting a lot of leaves! I am fairly confident that these seedlings will hold out until I move and then take off once they're hardened off and outside.

On the not-so-good side, I'm going to give up on my wheat. It was just biding its time anyway, and the soil has stopped accepting water because I can only water in certain spots to avoid getting my windowsill messy. That's alright. It looked nice for a while, and that's more than I was told it would do.

Have you ever gotten really excited over a small, plant-related victory? Have you ever had a happy goodbye with a plant?

Next post: probably a report from the redbud district.

Reaping the Benefits

Since the university's flower shop's cool-season plant sale is over, the greenhouse doesn't need its cool crops anymore. So I got to take some home today! Most of these are eating-size and will be eaten very shortly, so they won't be long-term additions to my plant addiction, but they're really cool and healthy and inspiring and yummy looking.

First is the broccoli (Brassica oleracea) plant. Broccoli really needs to be outside since you eat its flowers, so I'm going to give this one either to Scott's parents, my mom, or anyone else who could take care of it. Its foliage is pretty on its own, though.

This next plant, Lactuca sativa, should be familiar--it's lettuce! This cultivar is called 'Simpson Elite.' It looks soft, and I'm going to have some on a Jimmy John's sandwich tonight, so I'll report back on how it tasted then. I probably could get more out of these four plants by cultivating them, but I don't think the light conditions can support them for long.

This plant also Brassica oleracea, but it is better known as cabbage. This particular cabbage is an ornamental variety, but since it was never treated with pesticides, it's technically edible, so I'm going to eat it. There were non-ornamental varieties too, but they had fewer leaves. I reckon I could make a few servings of cole slaw with this.

Brassica oleracea is one of my favorite species of plants. This one species is amazingly diverse. Case in point: kale. This variety is ornamental in the same manner as the above cabbage, and it is also edible in the same manner. Kale, in my mind, is dismissed as a yuppie vegetable by many, but it cooks up just like spinach or collards, and it has impressive nutrition facts. Not surprisingly, kale's nutrition facts and broccoli's are very similar. Both have a low glycemic index; low fat and cholesterol; high fiber; high protein; high vitamin A, C, and K contents; and high iron contents. The biggest difference when comparing the two is their anti-inflammatory values. Kale is extremely anti-inflammatory; broccoli is only slightly so.

With all these new additions, my windowsill now looks like this:

And while I'm on the topic of my windowsill, here's an update on all my other plants. My thyme seedlings are starting to poke out their first true leaves, which is exciting. For a while I had wondered if they ever would. Oh, and this is as in-focus as the thyme is going to get--my camera just cannot handle objects this small.

Next are my spinach seedlings. They've developed their second sets of true leaves, which is good.

This might not scream Popeye right now, but someday...

My spider plant is looking about the same, but it seems significantly bigger than it was before. I think it enjoyed its stay at my house over spring break. These plants seem to tolerate low light just fine, but they don't really thrive in it.

The jade plant is doing well also. This is just such a sleek plant.

Finally we've come to the Swiss chard. I moved it to my windowsill so it could get more light, which has seemed to help a couple of the seedlings. They're still droopy. On the positive side, most of them (despite the fact that I couldn't get a good picture of this) do have tiny dots that will become their first true leaves. Perhaps the increased surface area of these leaves will help the plants maximize what light they have?

A little bit of research suggests that Swiss chard does not like moving from where it was originally planted. That might contribute to these plants' middling performance. Next year I will be able to plant outside to begin with (in containers, but it's the light that matters), so that should help. In the meantime, I'll see if these go anywhere when I put them out for the summer.

In another bit of news, I might be able to get my plant-loving paws on a purple shamrock and a wandering jew, two of my coveted houseplants from yesterday's post. What's even better is that it looks like I'll be able to get one of those plants for free. More on that when more happens.

Next post: a brief spring favorite (for real this time).

Hints of Hope for the Chard

Yesterday I posted about the troubles my seedlings are having. My Swiss chard plants have started to droop over, though otherwise they look healthy. I asked one of my more plant-literate friends about this issue, and she suggested that the problem may be due to inadequate light. Since I don't have a grow light (or indeed any artificial light sources) in that part of the room, this is entirely possible.

So, I have moved my chard farm directly onto the windowsill, like this:

I haven't yet noticed any definite signs of improvement, but hopefully this will help. In other news, my thyme seedlings look just a tiny bit bigger today than I've previously noticed. Note how two of the center seedlings are growing into each other. That wasn't like that two days ago.

If my chard doesn't get better, I have two options for recourse: I could start a new set of seeds and get a grow light (which I want to do anyway), or I could buy some established plants from the Horticulture Club sale in a few weeks. I do love supporting Hort Club, and they're offering Bright Lights/Rainbow Chard/Five-color Silverbeet, which is the exact same variety that I'm growing!

Growing plants isn't always easy, especially if you don't have a yard. Maybe it will work out, though. Have your indoor growing endeavors been successful?

Next post: invasive plants.