Can You Save Pumpkin Seeds And Plant Them?

The answer is a big resounding yes!! I wrote this post about harvesting and saving the seeds, and I planted the seeds shown in those photographs in my garden a couple of months ago.

Well here is a photograph, taken today (July 4, 2010 - happy Independance Day to our friends south of the border! :)  and as you can see, the seeds worked very well. Next we'll see what kind of pumpkins will result from my efforts. I'll keep you posted!

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Success At Growing Strawberry Runners

It worked!

I tried planting strawberry runners while they were still attached to their mother plants, and lo and behold, I went from having six plants last year (which I purchased from a nursery), to having close to thirty this year.

First I lined up my original six in a row. I then took small pots filled with earth, raised them up off the ground (using other overturned pots) so that they would reach the runners, and then simply pushed the runners into the soil in the pots. I left them there all winter, and sure enough, they thrived. A couple of weeks ago I cut them free from their mother plants and transplanted them into larger pots (most were root bound at this point).


I'm not sure how many will produce berries. I've heard that plants produce more berries if you cut off their runners, so I think I'll try this with about half of them and see what happens.  Meanwhile, I'm starting to feel like I run a strawberry plant nursery :)



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Time To Get Gardening?

I'll admit it - I'm a fair weather gardener ;)  I haven't been up to much this winter, other than watering my indoor plants and mulling over how to compost with frozen ground.

Now, nearing the end of January, we're having strangely warm weather for my area (south coast of BC, Canada). Bulbs are sprouting everywhere, making residents here question the temperatures of days to follow. There are even those who have already planted flowering plants in their garden beds, waiting to welcome spring.

Will the unseasonably warm trend continue into February? (It's bad timing with the Olympics coming to town - we need snow on the hills!!)  Can we start our gardens early? It's soooo tempting to start making rows in the soil and dropping seeds - anything to extend our growing season!! I took a chance last year and started early and it worked out well, but planting seeds in January? (OK maybe not ;)

Meanwhile there is a lot I can get started on... pulling weeds, working the soil, and so on. Spring is just around the corner... I can't wait!!



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January 1, 2010

Happy New Year everyone!!

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Soluble Salts

Mystery solved!! I'd always wondered what that white build up was on the soil of my house plants, and now I know! It's soluble salts: minerals or fertilizers that are dissolved in water, and are left behind to accumulate after normal evaporation of water.

I used to just take a spoon and mix them back into the soil... oops (don't do that!!). Instead you should scoop the whitish and yellowish film off the top of the soil and discard it. Soluble salts that are present in the soil in concentrations that are too high can damage the plant.

Here's some info:

• Salts form a yellow or white crust at the top of the soil or at the bottom at the drainage holes.
• They can cause salt toxicity, which can result in reduced growth, brown leaf tips, leaf dropping, wilting, root damage, root rot, reduced water absorption capacity.
• Prevention: when you water, allow the water to run through soil and drip out of the bottom of the pot, but do not let the plant sit in that water. Empty and clean the drip tray (the salts will be reabsorbed back into the plant if it is allowed to soak up previously dripped water).
• Every few months, plants should be leached: pour a lot of water on the soil and let it drain completely. Remove any salt crust layer at the top BEFORE leaching so that this salt is not reintroduced to the soil.
• Salt toxicity happens in house plants because of the low light conditions: lower light results in lower water requirements for the plant, which reduces the opportunity for the excess salt to be leached away or diluted.

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Saving Seeds From A Pumpkin To Plant In The Garden

I've never tried planting pumpkins before, and usually on Halloween all the seeds that come out of our store bought pumpkins get roasted and eaten. However this Halloween as I was carving our pumpkins, the wheels in my head were turning: I thought maybe I'd try saving some seeds to grow next year!

Apparently it's pretty simple - you rinse them off, pat them dry, and then let them cure (i.e. dry thoroughly?) for about a month, before you store them in an envelope.

Sounds good!





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My (Endless ;) Avocado Project

Guess what I found in my compost pile yesterday!! Yet another rooted and sprouted avocado pit. I brought this one indoors this time, instead of planting it and leaving it out do die in our cold winter. It doesn't get that cold where I am (Vancouver, BC), just too cold for avocados, apparently.

I brought this one inside and gave it a good bath, to get any critters off. At the moment it's sitting in water on my kitchen counter, waiting for me to have a moment to plant it in a pot with indoor potting soil (I'll probably do this later today). Meanwhile here are some pics so you can see :)








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How To Extract Marigold Seeds

I wrote an earlier post about how to get next year's seeds from dried Marigold flowers, but now I actually have pictures, so I thought I'd post about it again:

1) Pick the dead flowers from the plant and put them somewhere to dry completely.
2) Separate the top and bottom portion.
3) Open up the bottom portion to reveal the seeds.
4) Take the seeds out. Make sure they're completely dry before you store them in a sealed container (to prevent mold from growing).

That's it!






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Are Brussel Sprouts Safe To Eat After A Cabbage Worm Infestation?

Supposedly. If you thoroughly examine and wash them, Brussel Sprouts are safe to eat even if the plant has been ravaged by cabbage worms. That's what they say, anyway.

I think I'll pass. Call me paranoid, but after reading articles such as this about parasitic infections, I'm a little leery of eating something from a plant that I know has been infested.

What a shame! I love Brussel Sprouts. I was looking forward to having them fresh and organic from my garden, instead of the ordinary store bought kind. As you can see from the first picture in this post, they're growing nicely too! Not so much in the second picture, where you can see some worm damage.

Maybe next year I'll get some nets to cover the plants and keep the butterflies off. Meanwhile I guess these plants will get pulled and tossed...




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Planting A Rooted Rosemary Cutting

I thought I'd try planting this cutting, so I took some pics (I haven't figured out how to position them in the post the way I want yet... I'm still working on that).

For anyone who's never planted a cutting before, it's pretty easy... you simply put some potting soil at the bottom of the pot, then hold the cutting above it in the middle and scoop in more soil around it. I prefer this method to filling the pot and scooping out a hole because I find it less messy, and I end up with better results.

Fyi I use a big plastic tub with a snap on lid for my potting soil - it saves me from having to reseal the plastic bag every time I use it (I'm kind of a bugaphobe - if that wasn't a real word, it is now ;)







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Heuchera Peach Flambe (Coral Bells)

Ahhh... red foliage!!! I have a weakness for leaves that aren't green. I have to be careful that I don't buy too many red leaf plants, because my garden could easily be taken over by the colour. (Have I mentioned how much I love Japanese Maples?)

I have a Heuchera 'Peach Flambe' (a.k.a. Coral Bells), which is thriving in my front garden. Of course now I wish I'd bought more than one ;) Not to worry... I intend to propagate it somehow. Maybe I'll try a cutting.

Here's some Coral Bells info:

• Herbaceous Perennial
• Saxifragaceae family
• Zones 4-9
• Likes full sun or partial shade
• Not a native of BC (but thank you to whoever brought it here :)
• Grows tiny white blossoms on tall thin stems
• Can be propagated by division, every 3-4 years
• Preferred soil PH 6.0-7.0
• Size: 14" spread, 7" leaf height, 16" flower stem height
• Spent flower stems should be removed
• Prefers moist but well drained soil

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Pea Rooted In Water

Remember this post which featured a picture of a pea I pulled from the ground that had started to sprout? I didn't have the heart to toss it in my compost tub (the poor thing is trying to live, after all ;) so I popped it in a glass of water to see what would happen. I used plastic food wrap to hold it up at the top, and put it on a sunny window sill. As you can see, not only has it grown more leaves, it's also grown new roots as well (the clean roots with no dirt on them are the ones that have grown since being in water). The only question now is what on earth do I do with it? I guess it's going to become an experimental new houseplant ;)


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Fine Wine Weigela Florida Bramwell

I planted my Weigela shrub in a shady spot, and as it turns out they prefer full sun (oops!). It should do well in the location I've put it, it just won't flower as much. (Note to self - research first!) It's one thing to plant an annual in a less than ideal spot because the following year you can amend this, but a perennial shrub... I suppose I could try moving it, but I don't want to risk killing it. Besides, it should be just fine where it is.

I bought it at the end of August (when everything is on sale ;) so it has no blossoms in this photograph - just beautiful rich green and burgundy leaves (love it!). I can't wait to see it in bloom, at which point I'll take more pictures.

Weigela info:

• Deciduous (so when it loses it's leaves in the winter I won't panic ;)
• Perennial.
• Can be pruned after flowering.
• Prefers well drained, moist soil, with a PH range of 6.8 - 7.7 (no coffee grounds for this plant!)
• Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
• Prefers full sun to flower more, but they will tolerate some dappled shade.
• Cold weather hardy to -20F/-30C

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How To Stop Cats From Eating Plants

I love my cats. I also love my plants.

Cats need to eat greens, for hairball management, extra vitamins and fibre. They prefer grass, but if they're stuck indoors they may turn to house plants instead. House plants with long slender grass-like leaves. House plants like mine! (sigh)

Since some plants are poisonous to cats, and since the plants no longer look as nice once they've been chewed on, I thought a quick review of cat deterring strategies would be useful.

• Water bottle squirts! Having direct personal experience with this one (think "keeping my cats away from new leather couches") I know this would work for plants as well.
• Offering planted cat grass for them to have instead.
• Placing the plant on some plastic carpet runner with the pointy side up (ouch! aw, that's just mean ;)
• Surrounding the plant with tin foil - cats hate the noise and feel (again I can vouch for this one, having had success with it myself).
• Spray the leaves with vinegar (although some plants might not like this either).
• Try creating a homemade spray with ingredients such as lemon juice (not hot pepper sauce though because this can burn the cat's eyes).
• (Have you noticed that I haven't included "put your plant out of reach"? That's because my cat is an agile Manx who can climb and jump A.N.Y.W.H.E.R.E.) However, relocating plants might be a useful tip that would work for someone else.

So far, this time around, my cat has focused on one plant in particular, left all the others alone, and not had any ill effects from the plant she's been eating. I'm ok with that for now, but I'm glad to have some strategies in case the situation worsens in the future...


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Stained Glass Hosta

My Stained Glass Hosta is starting to bloom! I didn't think it would this year, largely because I got the plants (two of them) quite late.

Here's what I've found out about this new addition to my garden:

• They grow in zones 3 - 9.
• They are perennial.
• They bloom in late summer or fall (mine bloomed near the end of September).
• The blossoms are very fragrant.
• They are very sun tolerant, although prefer some shade.
• They prefer rich and moist, but well drained soil.
• They attract bees, birds and butterflies.
• They divide easily, and root easily in water.
• Here's how Wikipedia defines "hosta": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosta

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PH Scale (My Version Of)

This chart is a work in progress, and I'm not a botanist or chemist... I put it together as a guide for myself re: my plants and how they are compatible with the soil in my garden based on some of the types of things I compost. There are a few items on there that I don't compost, such as milk, that I've included just for interest.

(If you double click on the chart you'll be able to see a larger version of it.)

I've noticed an interesting thing: I drink a lot of coffee, which is acidic, and I compost all of the grinds and filters. On the other hand, we eat very few eggs (the shells of which contain lime, which can make your soil more alkaline).

I haven't been able to grow lettuce for the past two years, and you'll notice on my chart that lettuce tends to prefer less acidic soil. My strawberry plants, on the other hand, are thriving (they apparently appreciate my morning cups of java ;)

This adds an interesting element to garden bed planning and composting. I could create two compost piles (one for coffee grinds and one without) but that complicates crop rotation (i.e. potatoes). Instead, I think the easiest thing to do at this point is to not compost all of my coffee grinds...

Oh and look where Geraniums are on the scale - they really don't like coffee!! On an impulse one day (before learning about PH) I dumped some cold coffee over the soil of a couple of geranium cuttings I have on my counter. Now they're not so happy. Oops...

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Can You Root A Rosemary Cutting?

This is my second attempt to root a Rosemary cutting. The first time was successful, only to eventually die after it was planted in soil (not sure why - it might have been too small to survive the winter outside?).

I thought I'd try again, this time indoors. I checked my cutting today and noticed something interesting.

Last time the roots formed at the very bottom of the cutting, but this time the roots are growing out from where the green needles are, with no trace of roots at the bottom.

I'm curious to see how this cutting fares once I plant it (maybe tomorrow?). I'm planning to keep this one indoors over the winter. Wish me luck!

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Saving Garden Peas For Next Year's Seeds

I purposely left my peas planted this year, long after I'd finished picking them, so that the leftover peas could dry out enough to be saved for next year's planting. (This took longer than I thought it would, as interestingly enough the pods were the last part of the plants to stay green - the plants seemed to direct most of the water and nutrients they absorbed to the pods and peas).

Today they were finally dry enough. I managed to find about 20 (see pic) that I can save for next year, and as I was scrounging around I pulled up what I though must have been a weed... nope! A fallen pea had started the next generation of plants already (foreground of pic).

Nature definitely knows how to take good care of things :)


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My Asters And Other Ways To Attract Bees

A quick footnote to my last post about Asters: the bees love my new plant! I've noticed an increase in their numbers since its arrival, and every time I stop to look at the flowers, I see several bees hard at work.

This got me thinking about pollinating my fruit and veggie plants in the back yard (I planted my Asters in the front), and I thought what a shame that Asters are late bloomers. But wait, I could certainly look into other bee-attracting tips, couldn't I?

Here's what I found out:

• Plant a variety of florals that will bloom in stages all season, that way you always have a place for bees to come.
• Bees like a wider variety of blooms (as opposed to many of the same kind).
  
• There are many herbs that attract bees (check! I have some in my garden already).
• Provide a water source (like a small pond). Bees need water as well as nectar.
  
• Do not use pesticides. I already don't, but it's still an important point (and one that makes sense).
• Leave a portion of your garden as bare dirt (i.e. mulch and plastic free) to allow for bees that lay eggs in small tunnels under ground.
• Leaving blooming weeds, such as dandelions, buttercups and white clover, can attract bees as well.
• Here's a link to an article that lists good bee-attracting plants: Buzzworthy Plants That Attract Bees, by Brian Clark Howard.

The wheels in my head are turning now, generating a to-do list:

1. Get a bird bath for the veggie garden.
2. Plant some marigolds all around the perimeter of the veggie garden, and maybe some black eyed susans inside.
3. Add more herbs, and spread them out throughout the garden instead of having them clumped in one area.
4. And the list goes on...
   

Happy bee luring!!

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Asters

I have yet another addition to my garden! I bought a small Aster plant recently, and now wish I'd bought two or three. I chose this colour (see picture) because it's my daughter's favourite :) Here is some information about Asters:

• They are late bloomers, brightening up the garden in late summer and fall, and blooming until frost.
• They attract butterflies, moths, bees, and even birds if they're left to go to seed.
• They are perennials :)
• If you divide your Aster plant every two or three years, it's appearance will benefit. Divide plants in the spring once they have finished blooming: remove older less healthy areas and replant the fresh, newer growth.
• Watch out for powdery mildew: don't crowd plants, as this will prevent air circulation, and try to keep the leaves dry when watering.
• Asters can be propagated from seeds or cuttings (at the moment I have a cutting from the plant I bought, in some water :)
• Asters can grow in zones 4 - 8.
• They prefer full sun.
• "Aster" is Greek for "star".

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