Refreshing, Fresh Snack Idea

There's a vegetable garden at the greenhouse where I work. A few days ago, I was tasked to pull the last of the cool-season veggies out, as they were well past their prime. However, a couple of kohlrabi "bulbs" were still good, so of course I brought them home to eat. This post is dedicated to that experiment.

Kohlrabi is the same species of plant as kale, collard greens, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel's sprouts, and broccoli. However, it is the only variant of cole crop on which the stem is the desired portion. As it is the same thing as broccoli, it tastes like broccoli stems.

When my supervisor told me that (I had never eaten kohlrabi before), I had an idea. Raw broccoli is best eaten, in my opinion, with ranch dressing. So I made this.

Yes, it's gone supernova in the picture, but you can still see what's happening. I peeled and thin-sliced the kohlrabi and dipped it in ranch, heavily garnished with purslane leaves. Both the purslane and the kohlrabi had been harvested on the same day they were eaten, and the whole thing provided a good side dish with dinner.

And I'm about to repeat the process for lunch!

Next post: summer landscaping.

My Plants Survived My Absence. Here's Proof!



While I was off partying in the desert, my plants were busy too. All the indoor plants were relatively unchanged by the experience (though I did find a loving home for my leftover wandering Jews), so this update focuses on outdoor plants.

 

My purslane is growing like a weed, probably because it is a weed. As expected, it doesn't seem to mind the clay soil it's in. I've been sprinkling these leaves on sandwiches and in dips. They add a nice twist.

 



This plant is new! These are hens and chicks (probably Sempervivum tectorum). I got these (and a couple of "chicks" that fell out) for a dollar at a farmer's market. I couldn't pass them up.

My sage has some new growth, though it appears to be afflicted with some manner of fungus. I'm not sure what to do about this.

My basil and peppermint are affected too. My thyme is just beautiful, though, and the rosemary is also untouched and thriving. Maybe not as well as it thrives in Vegas.

My Swiss chard has never looked better. I've been eating these leaves on sandwiches too. It's a wonderful feeling to harvest homegrown food. There's nothing like it.

I've saved the biggest news for last. None of my tomatoes ripened while I was gone, but they've come a lot closer! And there are new fruits! When I play I Spy with this picture, I can spot eight tiny tomatoes. How many can you find?

This is the best picture I've gotten thus far of my ripening fruits. This picture shows three of them.

This shot is not so good, but it shows the most prolific cluster of fruits on the plant (so far).

In all, I am quite happy with how my plants are coming along. I just need to find some way to treat and prevent whatever kind of fungus or pest is going around. How are your plants doing this summer?

Next post: garden-fresh snacks.



Garden Experiment One: Progress

Good news--it seems that all my purslane cuttings are doing well! I may never have the answer to my research question of whether rooting cuttings hydroponically or in soil is more effective, but I'll have a new green to put on salads and sandwiches. A free new green, at that.

Here's a very blurry shot of the roots. They're probably an inch and a half long. I was just happy they rooted at all.

Here are all six cuttings, looking even happier now in their new home. I believe that the soil cuttings have also taken root, since their appearances never dwindled. Hopefully all these plants become established and take off soon. Next week I'm taking a vacation, so maybe they'll be dramatically bigger when I return!

What luck have you had with cuttings? What have you taken cuttings of?

Next post: fruit on the horizon.

Flowers and Food

Sadly, this post is not about edible flowers (someday!). This post is a mixed news report from the past few days.

First, I visited some relatives in the southern part of the state over the weekend, and they had some marvelous irises. I'm a sucker for irises in general, but these were particularly spectacular. They looked more purple than blue in person.

The area had a late frost, which might explain why the flower stalks aren't upright.

The flowers are still wonderful even so low to the ground.

My other news is that when I returned from my trip, I found that my purslane cuttings in water had started developing roots! You can (sort of) see them below as squiggly lines in the water. I suspect the cuttings in soil are getting roots too, since their aerial portions are not nearly as haggard-looking as the indoor plants..

Maybe all six cuttings will grow into thriving purslane plants! Stay tuned to find out.

I think I'll keep these three cuttings inside until their roots are slightly more robust, then plant them outside. Since I don't want to dig up the plants outside, the results of my experiment may just be determined by which plants end up the healthiest. We shall see.

Next post: tomato madness.

Garden Experiment One

I apologize for being silent for so long. I've been busy working. I work at a plant research lab now, and seeing all kinds of research going on around me has inspired me to do some of my own. My research question is: is propagation by cuttings more effective when cuttings are started in water or in soil?

I've read a lot and talked to a lot of people about cuttings. Some say to place the cut end in water; some say soil. I've had the soil method work for me before, but only when rooting hormone was used. For my research I'm using purslane (Portulaca oleracea), which I got for free and which grows everywhere, so I don't feel the need to purchase rooting hormone. Since purslane is so vigorous, I'm going to see if it can take root without fancy hormones.

My research design is simple, though by no means perfect. I've got three cuttings of purslane (I wish I could have gotten bigger ones, but I couldn't find any) in a cup of water and three in a pot of soil. The soil is mostly clay and not very good, but purslane is said to grow in even the poorest soils.

Here are my water cuttings. There are a couple of problems with this setup: it is difficult to keep the cuttings out of the water (which I want to do so bacteria won't alter the results), and I don't want to put this cup outside. That means the light quality isn't the best, though this is right next to a window.

These are the soil cuttings. They're outside, and they're being watered as needed (which shouldn't be much until they grow roots). If these don't take and the water cuttings do, I'll plant them here when they're ready.

Oh, and you may be wondering, "Why are you growing purslane? Isn't that a weed?" Why, yes, it is a weed. It just happens to be an edible and pretty yummy weed that doesn't grow in my immediate vicinity. I would love to cook it up with some Swiss chard for greens.

I will post on the topic of my experiment again when I have updates. But speaking of the chard...

Next post: plant update time!