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.

It Has Begun!

I have a dream. I had a dream. My dream was to plant swiss chard and thyme seeds indoors and make them grow. My dream was is to turn:

(As the packaging suggests, these seeds were from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I strongly recommend them to anyone looking for weird (think blue squash and chocolate basil) or slightly different varieties. They sell vegetables, herbs, and flowers. They're into organic growing, if you're into that. They even sent me a free packet of sunflower seeds for ordering from them.)

 

and

 

Into food.

The "making them grow" part is still a dream (albeit ever closer to reality), but I planted said seeds last night, so I am one step closer to growing my first foods!

The variety of chard I ordered is called "Rainbow" (also known as Bright Lights and Five-Color Silverbeet, as it's a relative of sugar beets). If you look at my blog's (current) header, that's a picture of rainbow swiss chard. I think it's beautiful, and chard is one of my favorite vegetables--definitely my favorite green. And I have read that it can be grown indoors for baby greens. So I'm trying it!

Apparently soaking the chard seeds in warm water for 24 hours before planting aids germination and helps prevent root rot, so I'm soaking them as I type.

I know I'm not sowing very many, but this way I have plenty more in case something goes south with this batch. Once these are done imbibing that water, I'm going to plant them in this (possibly with a tray of some sort under it):

However, I did actually plant the thyme. I planted it in a basket (we'll see how that works as a container) that's sitting on my heater. You see, a heating mat would be nice, but that would cost money, so I just laid some cloth over my heater to insulate it and put the basket on top of that. Here's the cloth (some strips I cut off of some sweats today--I'm DIYing this thing).

And here's the seeds on top of it!

In addition to planting new crops, I transplanted some older ones into better containers. These little seed pots were generously donated by my mother. I was going to use coolie cups, but I'll save them for another time.

First, the spinach. Cameos by Scott's hand.

This one's looking a little leggy. It never hurts to try, though.

Next is the zucchini. It's actually getting a new home in a few weeks, where it can go outside and possibly produce fruit.

I also finally transplanted my wheat into this colander. Maybe I didn't do the best job, but I think it will work. It's crooked because it's been growing toward my window and thus light.

Here's the class photo!

And here's what my windowsill looks like now:

There you have it. My lilliputian bounty is on its way. Have you ever tried growing any of these plants indoors? What are your favorite seed suppliers? Have you ever had to rig a makeshift growing apparatus?

Next post: more greenhouse pictures (plus the planting of my Bright Lights)!

Surprise Salvage Spinach

I was originally going to post more greenhouse pictures today, but then a magical thing happened. At work yesterday I was transplanting spinach seedlings. I had been instructed to discard the puny seedlings that don't yet have their first true leaves. These runts can't compete with the larger specimens for light and other resources, so they would not survive in a flat with the normal-sized plants.

Instead of tossing the dwarf greens, though, I pocketed them. They were going to go to waste otherwise, and they might just stand a chance now.

"Those don't look like spinach," you might be thinking. I was surprised the first time I saw those infantile leaves too. Spinach's cotyledons (fancy word for seed leaves) look the least like their true leaves of any species I have ever seen. The plants look like grass at first, but they end up tasting oh so much nicer.

This is the biggest of the bunch. You can kind of see what will become its first spinach-y leaves in the corner of the V shape.

I'm keeping my sprouting spinach seedlings in custard cups and a miniature jam jar until I find a suitable container with drainage. (Flea market time! In the background of this picture, you can see the basket I bought at a flea market to contain some of the plants I ordered seeds for.)

I'm also not going to keep all of these. Spinach is great in salads, omelettes, quiches, on sandwiches or wraps, on pizza and calzones, and...well, I could go on. But I don't need four plants' worth, so at least two of these babies are going to my madre for her enjoyment.

In other news, my zucchini's next few leaves are starting to take shape! I keep thinking that maybe there's hope for this early bloomer after all.

And finally: my wheatgrass got a haircut! It doesn't look like it's going into the Marines or anything, but it's a little tamer.

That's about it for today. Have you ever adopted a plant? Do you think there's hope of produce for early-planted zucchinis?

Next post: more greenhouse delights.

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.