Growing Avocado Pits

I was turning my compost pile with a shovel one day last summer when I saw what looked like a tall weed. I pulled it out from the earth only to discover it was a sprouted avocado pit! Intrigued, I planted it in a pot where it thrived, until the cold of our BC winter killed it.

I've been meaning to try growing one again, but this time with indoor potting soil so that I can keep the plant warm in the house this winter. I debated whether or not to simply fill a pot with potting soil and put the pit in it (because that apparently works!), but then I thought I'd do some Internet research on the topic.

Voila! The toothpick suspension water sprouting method! (See picture).

• Clean the avocado pit and remove the thin skin.
• Make a slice down one side of the pit.
• Suspend the pit with toothpicks so that the narrower part of it is above the water and the wider part is below.
• Check water daily to ensure that the bottom half of the pit is still touching it.
• Wait and watch!

The trick to growing avocado plants indoors is adequate sunlight - bright windows are best. I have mine on my kitchen window sill overlooking our sunny back yard.

I'll post more pics as it grows!

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Growing Strawberry Runners

Previously I've tried cutting strawberry runners and then planting them alone, with no success. Here's a tip I heard recently that I am in the process of trying.

Before cutting the runners off the mother plant, secure them in pots and let them establish themselves in the soil, while they're still attached. Only then can you cut them free and transplant them elsewhere.

Wish me luck!

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Are Green Potatoes Toxic?

Yes, according to Snopes, and many other sources.

The green is from chlorophyll, which is not the dangerous part, but is present along with the toxin: solanine. Large amounts of solanine consumed at one time can cause nerve damage, and smaller amounts consumed regularly can be carcinogenic.

Potato greens (leaves, stems) should never be eaten, and if you find any green on your spuds, it should be cut away, or the entire potato discarded. I found this one in my garden (see picture), and tossed it into the compost heap.



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Harvesting Seeds From Peas

I am becoming more and more interested in obtaining my own seeds directly from the plants I've grown. My Father-In-Law has shown me how with marigolds, and when I saw these dried peas still on my aging plants (see pic), I wondered if you could with peas as well.

Apparently you can, as I read on this and many other web sites. The trick is to leave the pods on the plant until they're very dry, and then store them in an envelope until next season. You want all of the moisture to be gone, so that no mildew forms during storage.

I've taken the peas in this picture and put them away for next season... hey, you never know! And to think that in previous years I may have composted perfectly good seeds ;)


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Eating Peas From My Garden

Kids can be picky eaters, but you never know what they'll like.

I seldom ever cook the food from my garden (except for potatoes). We normally just eat most of it raw.

My five year old son, for example, LOVES peas from the garden. I shell them and put them in a bowl for him, and he snacks to his heart's content :)

Cutting Back Lilies

My lily flowers have now died, and are ready to be deadheaded. Before heading out front with my clippers, I thought I'd do a little research on the topic.

I found out an interesting tip: if you don't cut the stems back (i.e. only clip off the top where the spent flower was), the bulbs will be better nourished and create healthier plants next season, rather than if you had cut the stems all the way back.

This is assuming the stems are still green - once they've died off and turned brown, then you can cut them as well.

Good to know!

My Good Veggie Crops This Year...

...have been tomatoes, beans, peas, zucchini and cucumber. Here's a picture of some tomatoes and beans I picked recently.

My biggest challenge with the tomatoes has been keeping them up off the ground. The plants need to be propped up, or the weight of the growing fruit will pull the branches down. (The beans require less effort to keep up because they're lighter.)

My advice to anyone who has never grown tomatoes or beans before is to plant them along the edge of your garden if it's enclosed with a fence (this is what I do, then simply tie them up against the fence). Either that or have long sticks and twine ready, or purchase plant "cages" from your local gardening store to support the plants.

While I love the Roma tomatoes and the beans from the garden, the cherry tomatoes are fabulous!! Store bought cherry tomatoes simply cannot compare. If you've considered growing them but have never tried, you should - you won't regret it :)

Potato Growing Tips

My potato crop was a little light this year, so I thought I'd give myself a potato growing refresher:

• Rotate planting location on a 3 year cycle (you need 3 sites if you want to plant potatoes every year).
• Allow your seed potatoes to sprout ("chitting") by keeping them in a warm, dry and dark place for a few days, before planting.
• Cut seed potatoes into small pieces, ensuring that each piece has at least one eye (sprout).
  
• Plant as soon as the soil can be worked, but warmer than 45F/8C.
• Plant in loose soil, not too damp (good drainage), slightly acidic.
• Potatoes like full sun.
• Plant 3 inches deep and 12 inches apart.
• Water early in the day so that the leaves have time to dry before the evening (if the plants stay wet they can be subject to rot).
• Once plants have flowered and the blossoms have died, that's a sign that there are potatoes ready to harvest. Simply dig through the soil with your hands until you find them.
• FYI - potato greens are highly toxic, and should never be eaten. The same is true of green potato skin. If you dig up some spuds that are still partially green, either cut away all the green before you eat them, or dispose of them.

Upon reviewing the above, I think what I can do next year to improve my harvest is to change my planting location. I have a very sunny spot that would be perfect! At the moment I have cucumbers and zucchini growing there, but our family eats far more potatoes. Next year that will be my new potato spot :)

Brussel Sprouts Info

This is a new crop for me: Brussel sprouts. I planted them for the first time this spring, and the plants have thrived.

Thrived, but... no sprouts! While so many other veggies in my garden have found their way to my kitchen by now, the Brussel sprouts still haven't made their appearance. Then I thought, what if they're biennial?

It turns out that they're a relatively hardy, cold weather plant, and a frost or two actually improves their flavour. They may not produce sprouts until very late in the year, sometimes waiting until the beginning of the following year.

I planted mine from seeds in the garden in late May, which means I won't see any sprouts until early 2010.

I'm glad I researched this, or I may have pulled the plants and discarded them, thinking that they had failed. Now I know they're doing fine, but not quite ready yet :)

Pollinating Strawberries, and Hand Pollination

Strawberries, while technically being self-pollinating, do benefit from some help. Many gardeners find that hand pollination of their strawberry plants produces a better yield.

There are several ways you can hand pollinate:

• use a cotton swab, and gently wipe each flower (using the same swab for all)
• use a soft clean paint brush and carefully brush the blossoms
• gently shake the plant (this may not work for plants with flowers that don't have both male and female parts)

Hand pollination is commonly used in greenhouses in lieu of bees, and it's a useful tool to know about.

My strawberry plants are thriving, but as I write this, they're not producing the quantity of fruit that I would like. I have tried all sorts of things including watering more and trimming off the runners, but it hasn't really made a difference. The one thing I haven't tried yet is hand pollinating. Now I'm going to!