Garden Shenanigans Roundup
I've been bothering y'all with individual photos---so I decided to group them together and give you more of a picture of what's been going on here. And I also keep finding myself telling folks:
This is easier than you think.
Yep, we started that guy from a cutting. These guys grow from the middle, so if you harvest the large leaves from the outside and leave the center intact, they'll continue to grow. Just be kind, (plants have feelings too!) and make a clean, decisive cut. When harvested in this way, some plants will even produce more leaves, as long as you don't overdo it. If you wanna keep this Ultra-Free, regular old BPA free cans from tomato sauce (or whatever) can serve as transitional houses. We just used our can-opener to punch a few drainage holes around the bottom.
This one is a new rhubarb plant. Pardon my excitement, but going from a Juliet-like state with one buried little nub to where we are now has been quite the transformation. I've been seeing these around up here---and they look like an extremely hardy perennial. Considering the level of maintenance required thus far ("hmmm, I'll water that today"), it's a win.
Especially considering that The Critter and I discovered this big Gal just after I planted the new one! I don't think we've watered it a single time intentionally---and it has survived -30C and below. This started more or less at ground level, and proceeded to explode in four weeks. Add to it that rhubarb freezes well, and I feel less concerned about the utter lack of frozen fruit at the grocery store. Canada, we can do this "getting enough Vitamin C" thing. Maybe we can do ....Strawberry Rhubarb!
Yes, I know you're looking at six leaves, ha. When I was a kid, my Grandpa Dwain tended a small patch of strawberries in my grandparents' garden. Grandpa was not much of a talker, but from his comments and frequent consternation, I surmised these were not that easy to grow. Still, these pips cost me about $4 Canadian for 10---and they came up obediently as the soil became more warm and moist. I'd just pick a spot you haven't grown much in lately ---there is a gang of plants that doesn't play nice with these guys. But seriously---I might be able to make my own pie from my own strawberries and rhubarb? With basically the effort of planting them (20 minutes or something.) and watering about every other day. Excuse me while I go collapse the retail economy by showing people this...
The Critter had cleared this area of extremely crowded pine seedlings. Neither of us like to kill plants without a good reason, but these guys were choking each other. After that, I planted onions along the hillside pretty casually. Now you can see their happy cat-tails sticking up. These were maybe $5 for 100 starts---I planted 30 to start. Considering that onions are $2 a pound at the grocery store lately, and these might be half a pound each when they're ready to harvest...I'm feeling pretty damn good about that investment. Plus wildflowers!
I'm just basking in a yard full of previously ignored, untended, loveliness. Nobody had cleaned the gutters or weeded in a few years. As mentioned, invasion of the Spruce Babies. Bulbs coming up in corners, and wild rose flowing onto the patio area. New soil formation spilling out of the planters, too. But volunteers, great morning sun, and a lot of good dirt. A delightful mess :)
Last, but not least, are the lavender. These did really take 28 days to germinate, and maybe 10 germinated at all. They really do need continuously moist soil. Following a month of waiting, and another couple weeks of baby-plant-town frolics, we're getting true leaves. I'm just hoping they'll be as exuberant as the other lavender plants I've seen....eventually.
So, a bunch of easy things and one thing that was a bit of a challenge. Not too bad :)
This is easier than you think.
Great composition this ain't, I'll admit. Yet underneath that slim protection are Brussels Sprouts rescued from the cut ends of a grocery store purchase. We let it hang out in fresh water until it was starting to root. Then into dirt! Yes, this took a couple months, so it might not be the most efficient for most plants. The upside to this process is there are a number of plants that are difficult to start from seed (freaking lavender. More on this later.), so starting from cuttings may result in easier success. Also, if you find an attractive and tasty plant, like this bok choi below....you've got a long term friend!
Yep, we started that guy from a cutting. These guys grow from the middle, so if you harvest the large leaves from the outside and leave the center intact, they'll continue to grow. Just be kind, (plants have feelings too!) and make a clean, decisive cut. When harvested in this way, some plants will even produce more leaves, as long as you don't overdo it. If you wanna keep this Ultra-Free, regular old BPA free cans from tomato sauce (or whatever) can serve as transitional houses. We just used our can-opener to punch a few drainage holes around the bottom.
This one is a new rhubarb plant. Pardon my excitement, but going from a Juliet-like state with one buried little nub to where we are now has been quite the transformation. I've been seeing these around up here---and they look like an extremely hardy perennial. Considering the level of maintenance required thus far ("hmmm, I'll water that today"), it's a win.
Especially considering that The Critter and I discovered this big Gal just after I planted the new one! I don't think we've watered it a single time intentionally---and it has survived -30C and below. This started more or less at ground level, and proceeded to explode in four weeks. Add to it that rhubarb freezes well, and I feel less concerned about the utter lack of frozen fruit at the grocery store. Canada, we can do this "getting enough Vitamin C" thing. Maybe we can do ....Strawberry Rhubarb!
Yes, I know you're looking at six leaves, ha. When I was a kid, my Grandpa Dwain tended a small patch of strawberries in my grandparents' garden. Grandpa was not much of a talker, but from his comments and frequent consternation, I surmised these were not that easy to grow. Still, these pips cost me about $4 Canadian for 10---and they came up obediently as the soil became more warm and moist. I'd just pick a spot you haven't grown much in lately ---there is a gang of plants that doesn't play nice with these guys. But seriously---I might be able to make my own pie from my own strawberries and rhubarb? With basically the effort of planting them (20 minutes or something.) and watering about every other day. Excuse me while I go collapse the retail economy by showing people this...
The Critter had cleared this area of extremely crowded pine seedlings. Neither of us like to kill plants without a good reason, but these guys were choking each other. After that, I planted onions along the hillside pretty casually. Now you can see their happy cat-tails sticking up. These were maybe $5 for 100 starts---I planted 30 to start. Considering that onions are $2 a pound at the grocery store lately, and these might be half a pound each when they're ready to harvest...I'm feeling pretty damn good about that investment. Plus wildflowers!
Last, but not least, are the lavender. These did really take 28 days to germinate, and maybe 10 germinated at all. They really do need continuously moist soil. Following a month of waiting, and another couple weeks of baby-plant-town frolics, we're getting true leaves. I'm just hoping they'll be as exuberant as the other lavender plants I've seen....eventually.
So, a bunch of easy things and one thing that was a bit of a challenge. Not too bad :)
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