Sarah's Garden: Indoor Bulbs
check out that sweet bulb vase[/caption]
I don't even know what this bulb is. I think it's a hyacinth but who knows? My mother gave me this one a few months ago and for a while I just left it thinking I would plant it outside. But I forgot about it when I planted my bulbs outside so I decided to do it inside. This picture is from about a month ago, right after I had put it in the window that actually gets light.
You can see I put too much water in it - the bulb itself shouldn't be sitting in water, just the little roots. I did that on purpose in case I forgot about it (which I did!) but it definitely started getting a little moldy around the parts of the bulb that were sitting in water. I got worried so I took it out and washed the vase and even washed off the bulb a little bit with some water and a dishcloth and it seemed to work out fine. Obviously the way to avoid this is to not let your bulbs sit in water.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="375"]
hello, small friend[/caption]
Clearly the mold didn't deter it too much because here it is a month later. Now that I've gotten used to watering it (and remembering that it's there) I make sure to keep the water level below the bulb itself. It's not so hard now because check out the roots:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="375"]
christmas lights reflected in the glass because YES the tree is still up[/caption]
These guys are pretty crazy! I like how they look through the glass.
The other thing I do when I'm feeling like I don't have enough little plantlings to care for is Sarah's Yearly Attempt to Grow an Avocado. This year is no different!
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i believe in you, avocado[/caption]
This is what happens with me and avocados: I love avocados. We eat a lot of avocados. And I've tried and tried to grow one like this and without fail I forget about it and it dries out or it gets too wet and is mushy and moldy and either way I end up with no avocado plant. I mention the eating of avocados not because I want to grow my own to eat - I've pretty much chalked that up to an impossibility in this climate - but because I am ALWAYS tempted by pits lying around and eventually I can't take it anymore and try this again. This time I did it a little more carefully: I washed and scrubbed the pit in water to make sure I got all the avocado off. Then I let it dry for 24 hours to make sure it was nice and dry. Then I put the toothpicks in at an angle so that more of the bottom would be submerged in water. AND I have been changing the water in hopes of discouraging mold growth. But you can still see in the above picture that there is some weird dark stuff going on around the water line so I may take it out, change the water, and scrub the pit itself a little. I fully believe that this would be easier if I just planted the pit in some soil in a pot but I have a weird (okay, not weird just proprietary) stubbornness and I want to grow it this way! I remember doing it as a kid, I remember my friend's mother doing it and I KNOW IT CAN BE DONE. The nice thing about this, though, is that it's completely free and I can try it again if this attempt doesn't work. But come on, people. It's time.
Do you grow bulbs indoors? I always thought it was kind of silly but then my mystery bulb started growing and I got that sense of accomplishment mixed with pride that comes with watching something thrive under my (minimal) care - the same feeling I get from watching my plants grow in the summer. It's good to feel that again! And it's a good reminder that spring will come no matter how long winter feels.
Sarah's Garden: Indoor Bulbs
Happy 2013! After things calm down after the holidays I tend to get really antsy to plant seeds but I still can't do that for another couple of months. My solution this year has been to plant bulbs inside (and impulse buy cheapo plants while I'm at the grocery store.) But for now let's focus on the bulbs.
check out that sweet bulb vase
I don't even know what this bulb is. I think it's a hyacinth but who knows? My mother gave me this one a few months ago and for a while I just left it thinking I would plant it outside. But I forgot about it when I planted my bulbs outside so I decided to do it inside. This picture is from about a month ago, right after I had put it in the window that actually gets light.
You can see I put too much water in it - the bulb itself shouldn't be sitting in water, just the little roots. I did that on purpose in case I forgot about it (which I did!) but it definitely started getting a little moldy around the parts of the bulb that were sitting in water. I got worried so I took it out and washed the vase and even washed off the bulb a little bit with some water and a dishcloth and it seemed to work out fine. Obviously the way to avoid this is to not let your bulbs sit in water.
hello, small friend
Clearly the mold didn't deter it too much because here it is a month later. Now that I've gotten used to watering it (and remembering that it's there) I make sure to keep the water level below the bulb itself. It's not so hard now because check out the roots:
christmas lights reflected in the glass because YES the tree is still up
These guys are pretty crazy! I like how they look through the glass.
The other thing I do when I'm feeling like I don't have enough little plantlings to care for is Sarah's Yearly Attempt to Grow an Avocado. This year is no different!
i believe in you, avocado
This is what happens with me and avocados: I love avocados. We eat a lot of avocados. And I've tried and tried to grow one like this and without fail I forget about it and it dries out or it gets too wet and is mushy and moldy and either way I end up with no avocado plant. I mention the eating of avocados not because I want to grow my own to eat - I've pretty much chalked that up to an impossibility in this climate - but because I am ALWAYS tempted by pits lying around and eventually I can't take it anymore and try this again. This time I did it a little more carefully: I washed and scrubbed the pit in water to make sure I got all the avocado off. Then I let it dry for 24 hours to make sure it was nice and dry. Then I put the toothpicks in at an angle so that more of the bottom would be submerged in water. AND I have been changing the water in hopes of discouraging mold growth. But you can still see in the above picture that there is some weird dark stuff going on around the water line so I may take it out, change the water, and scrub the pit itself a little. I fully believe that this would be easier if I just planted the pit in some soil in a pot but I have a weird (okay, not weird just proprietary) stubbornness and I want to grow it this way! I remember doing it as a kid, I remember my friend's mother doing it and I KNOW IT CAN BE DONE. The nice thing about this, though, is that it's completely free and I can try it again if this attempt doesn't work. But come on, people. It's time.
Do you grow bulbs indoors? I always thought it was kind of silly but then my mystery bulb started growing and I got that sense of accomplishment mixed with pride that comes with watching something thrive under my (minimal) care - the same feeling I get from watching my plants grow in the summer. It's good to feel that again! And it's a good reminder that spring will come no matter how long winter feels.
Sarah's Garden: These Bulbs Won't Plant Themselves
this is an awesome picture of some dirt. just kidding, it's the bed prepped for bulb planting![/caption]
I bought a lot of bulbs. I ordered some (lots) online, forgetting that I had already bought some at the Lansdowne K-Mart back in September. So now I have quite a variety. Here's a list of what I planted: daffodils (all yellow), crocuses, muscari (grape hyacinths), irises, snowflakes, blue squill, starflowers and winter aconite (eranthis.)
It didn't really take that long to plant all that, though. Since I was planting so many, I didn't really worry about rows or anything - just kind of sprinkled them all around and then covered them with dirt. Did you know that it doesn't matter which way you plant bulbs - they will always turn right-side up as they start growing! At least I think that's true. We'll see!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]
here's some more dirt, this time with bulbs! I know it looks just like the last one; just go with it.[/caption]
One big difference between this garden and my old garden is that this one is a lot more open and therefore has a lot more...wildlife. Of course in a city, wildlife has a slightly different meaning than I'm used to...okay, it's mostly stray cats. I saw a possum about a block from my house once, too. But mostly cats and squirrels. The cats tend to use whatever dirt they can find as a litter box but I'm actually more worried about the squirrels eating my bulbs. There were like five different squirrels watching me plant my bulbs, probably thinking about what a tasty snack they were about to have. I asked them nicely not to eat my bulbs but I still have the sneaking suspicion that maybe I was just planting squirrel food. Some bulbs, like daffodils and crocuses, animals don't eat as much but I know something back there is eating things because something ate all my little carrot seedlings. ALL of them! Rude, I say. Selfish.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]
LOOK MORE DIRT[/caption]
Okay, I know these three pictures look strikingly similar, but the above one is after everything was planted. This is, again, a bed that was here when I moved in and I'm planning on changing everything around come spring (or summer or fall) so I'm only planting things here temporarily. But here you can see some of my other plants. From the left side of the picture: a gingko turning yellow for winter, some rosemary and lamb's ear in the front left corner of the bed and a burning bush (burning!), a blackberry and a raspberry, a hibiscus (uh, I think) and the fig I got at the Rittenhouse farmer's market two years ago. Everything else will (hopefully) be bulbs!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]
this is also dirt. variation![/caption]
Lastly, I planted this elephant ear I got at Greensgrow earlier this summer. It was never really happy in the pot I transplanted it into after buying it and kind of drooped sadly in my window until I put it outside. I decided I'd put it in the ground to see if it would make it through the winter. It already weathered a few frosts outside this year so I may be too late.
I'm still getting used to my new backyard - I find it takes at least a full year to fully understand the bright spots, the sheltered spots, the windy spots and things like that. It'll be interesting to see if these bulbs make it. I'm ROOTing (get it???) for you, bulbs!
Sorry, I'll let myself out.
Sarah's Garden: These Bulbs Won't Plant Themselves
It's true, you know, but luckily planting bulbs is hardly any more work than planting seeds. I believe it was Beverley Nichols who said (I'm paraphrasing here) that the best way to plant bulbs is to have your friends throw them around your yard and then plant them wherever they land. I don't have too much yard space for bulb throwing so I planted mine in the already-existing beds.
this is an awesome picture of some dirt. just kidding, it's the bed prepped for bulb planting!
I bought a lot of bulbs. I ordered some (lots) online, forgetting that I had already bought some at the Lansdowne K-Mart back in September. So now I have quite a variety. Here's a list of what I planted: daffodils (all yellow), crocuses, muscari (grape hyacinths), irises, snowflakes, blue squill, starflowers and winter aconite (eranthis.)
It didn't really take that long to plant all that, though. Since I was planting so many, I didn't really worry about rows or anything - just kind of sprinkled them all around and then covered them with dirt. Did you know that it doesn't matter which way you plant bulbs - they will always turn right-side up as they start growing! At least I think that's true. We'll see!
here's some more dirt, this time with bulbs! I know it looks just like the last one; just go with it.
One big difference between this garden and my old garden is that this one is a lot more open and therefore has a lot more...wildlife. Of course in a city, wildlife has a slightly different meaning than I'm used to...okay, it's mostly stray cats. I saw a possum about a block from my house once, too. But mostly cats and squirrels. The cats tend to use whatever dirt they can find as a litter box but I'm actually more worried about the squirrels eating my bulbs. There were like five different squirrels watching me plant my bulbs, probably thinking about what a tasty snack they were about to have. I asked them nicely not to eat my bulbs but I still have the sneaking suspicion that maybe I was just planting squirrel food. Some bulbs, like daffodils and crocuses, animals don't eat as much but I know something back there is eating things because something ate all my little carrot seedlings. ALL of them! Rude, I say. Selfish.
LOOK MORE DIRT
Okay, I know these three pictures look strikingly similar, but the above one is after everything was planted. This is, again, a bed that was here when I moved in and I'm planning on changing everything around come spring (or summer or fall) so I'm only planting things here temporarily. But here you can see some of my other plants. From the left side of the picture: a gingko turning yellow for winter, some rosemary and lamb's ear in the front left corner of the bed and a burning bush (burning!), a blackberry and a raspberry, a hibiscus (uh, I think) and the fig I got at the Rittenhouse farmer's market two years ago. Everything else will (hopefully) be bulbs!
this is also dirt. variation!
Lastly, I planted this elephant ear I got at Greensgrow earlier this summer. It was never really happy in the pot I transplanted it into after buying it and kind of drooped sadly in my window until I put it outside. I decided I'd put it in the ground to see if it would make it through the winter. It already weathered a few frosts outside this year so I may be too late.
I'm still getting used to my new backyard - I find it takes at least a full year to fully understand the bright spots, the sheltered spots, the windy spots and things like that. It'll be interesting to see if these bulbs make it. I'm ROOTing (get it???) for you, bulbs!
Sorry, I'll let myself out.
Sarah's Garden: November
Sarah's Garden: November
Sarah's Garden: Two Years and No Eggplant
eggplant flower[/caption]
Just a short post to point out that it's been two years that I've planted eggplants from seed and two years with no eggplants to eat. Both years I've gotten flowers and that's all. I'm going to try starting them earlier next year since that's all I can think to do. Any suggestions, fellow eggplant lovers?
Sarah's Garden: Two Years and No Eggplant
eggplant flower
Just a short post to point out that it's been two years that I've planted eggplants from seed and two years with no eggplants to eat. Both years I've gotten flowers and that's all. I'm going to try starting them earlier next year since that's all I can think to do. Any suggestions, fellow eggplant lovers?
Sarah's Garden: Bulbs
my daffodils two springs ago[/caption]
It's still too early for bulb planting - you need to wait until around the first frost or later. Two years ago I actually planted my bulbs in January (shhhh) and they still came up nicely a few months later. You just don't want to plant them while it's still warm out because the bulbs will start to grow and then the frost will kill them. And you don't want to plant when the ground is frozen solid because...I think you all can figure that one out. But you do need to let them winter over underground and then they will start growing when the weather turns warmer in the spring.
Although daffodils and tulips seem to be the most prevalent bulbs out there, you could also choose to plant only bulbs of plants that sound like something four year old Sarah, who only wore pink, would make up: snowdrops, snowflakes, starflowers... So this time I'm going for a mix, with daffodils (all yellow only, none of this yellow and white or orange crap), crocuses, snowflakes, starflowers, blue squill and some winter aconite. And I think that's about all I'll have room for, unless I find some of these giant snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii, and then I will find a way to fit those in.
Sarah's Garden: Bulbs
This year I am going to plant some bulbs for spring. I didn't do this last year because all my planting spaces were filled up with vegetables. I did it the year before, though, and it was very nice to look out in the early spring and see little flowers coming up through the winter drab.
my daffodils two springs ago
It's still too early for bulb planting - you need to wait until around the first frost or later. Two years ago I actually planted my bulbs in January (shhhh) and they still came up nicely a few months later. You just don't want to plant them while it's still warm out because the bulbs will start to grow and then the frost will kill them. And you don't want to plant when the ground is frozen solid because...I think you all can figure that one out. But you do need to let them winter over underground and then they will start growing when the weather turns warmer in the spring.
Although daffodils and tulips seem to be the most prevalent bulbs out there, you could also choose to plant only bulbs of plants that sound like something four year old Sarah, who only wore pink, would make up: snowdrops, snowflakes, starflowers... So this time I'm going for a mix, with daffodils (all yellow only, none of this yellow and white or orange crap), crocuses, snowflakes, starflowers, blue squill and some winter aconite. And I think that's about all I'll have room for, unless I find some of these giant snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii, and then I will find a way to fit those in.