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First Green Sproutings

Category: Miscellaneous | Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 3:09 am

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I looked in on the Aerogarden of Serendipity today and the Genovese Basil is sprouting up after only three days being "planted". It's actually beating out the Thai Basil, which was supposed to come up first. Regardless of which is first in sprouting, it's lovely to see them. I love growing things.


In other news, I had an opportunity to show The Maternal Parental the future site of My Not So Secret Garden today. We were riding in a cab with a really rude and dismissive cab driver. When I explained my plans for the garden plot I'm hoping to get, to my mother, he was really negative about the whole plan.


My actual plans are to grow food for The Maternal Parental and I, with a portion going to my friend for helping us out so much, as well as another friend who may or mayn't take up the offer due to his living so far from me. Any extra food will be given to those in need.


From both my own experience being impoverished and from watching Gardening programs that focus on community activism, I'm all too well aware that most food banks don't have a ready supply of perishable, fresh fruits and vegetables. It's mostly canned goods, boxed goods, and bagged goods.


While it certainly sustains, it's not always the healthiest option out there when compared with fresh produce. Being honest, and I have written about this in the past on my blog, fresh produce is a nightmare to get ahold of when you're on a limited budget. So, my plan was to give the extra to the food bank or, if they were unwilling/unable to take it, find a family in need to give it to free of charge.


Apparently, that was all too much for the allegedly charitable cab driver who scoffed at the notion and tried to poke holes in every aspect of my plan.


It's like, dude, why are you so invested in tearing my idea down? I hardly know ye and your dedication to obstruction goes way beyond constructive criticism.


Anyway...tangent.


So, The Maternal Parental got a chance to see the site and loved it. Though, she is worried about my ability to get there due to the Agoraphobia issue. I feel much more confident about it though. Between my friend taking me there on a semi-regular to regular basis and the distance being relatively short from the nearest bus stop, I feel somewhat confident that I can make it there.


I just need to actually get my hands on the site first...

Last edited: Wed Mar 02, 2016 5:27 am

This blog entry has been viewed 510 times

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Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow...Tomatoes...Flotsam

Category: Miscellaneous | Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 8:59 pm

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So, yeah, I'm trapped in my home. Thankfully, I saw fit to get prepared when I first heard about this potentially mega snowstorm hitting two weeks ago. We may be trapped but we've got plenty to chow down on. See below...


Snow Outside My Front Door from Jonas ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


The potted plants are doing well. Spider plant and Snake plant are growing very vigorously.



Spider Plant and Snake Plant during Jonas ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


The Lemongrass needs a serious trim. I might make some tea and/or stir fry later this week.



Lemongrass during Jonas ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


All that remains, aside from the Spider and Snake plants, of my larger container garden. For now, I just have, aside from the above mentioned, Aloe Vera, Pineapples, and a Pelargonium growing. I may add a Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) and a Swedish Ivy (Plectranthus verticillatus) to the mix.



Pelargonium, Pineapples, and Aloe Vera on the windowsill during Jonas ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


The tomatoes in the Aerogarden of Hope have really taken off since the last one ripened on the vine. Now, I have multiple tomatoes coming in, with some ripening even as I type this. All I know to do is trim the vines and keep both plants in water and Liquid nutrient. If I ever get that Aerogarden Bounty, I'll use this older model (Ultra LED) for growth experiments and extra growing space. I'll probably dedicate it to growing Herbs or something.



Two Ripening Tomatoes in the Aerogarden of Hope during Jonas ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


To keep from being bored, I've done a bit of baking before, during, and after the storm. This chocolate chip riddled banana bread was absolutely delicious.




Banana Bread with chocolate chips before Jonas hit ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


This Bread pudding wasn't bad either. In fact, the Maternal Parental ate most of it before the storm had even done its worst.




Bread Pudding made before Jonas ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


Last but not least, some icicles outside my bedroom window. I don't know how big they're going to get but, no thanks to some neighborhood kids, they're now tipping right towards my window.



Icicles outside my window after Jonas. ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )




Last edited: Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:57 am

This blog entry has been viewed 615 times

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Updated Pictures of My Container Garden and My Shawl

Category: Miscellaneous | Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 9:19 pm

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View My Plants: Container Garden and View My Shawl: Random Stuff

This blog entry has been viewed 554 times

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Introduction - Oh, Hi There!

Category: Miscellaneous | Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 11:34 pm

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Well, this is lovely. I like this site already as it combines two of my favorite things: Gardening and writing.

A little about my garden. I am agoraphobic, so my garden is really a bunch of containers around my house. I do my best. In some areas of horticulture, I succeed and in others I fail...dismally. I keep trying though, so I'm sure I'm earning brownie points for that.


The oldest plant I am growing is a Sanseveria (Snake Plant) and I acquired it via a piece I got from High school in 1998. My poor baby. I went for a year without watering it and it still survived. It's currently sitting in my window.


I made several more cuttings off of it and put them all in one six inch pot to give the appearance of a fuller plant. Between more frequent watering and the addition of fertilizer, it took off in growing. At the tallest point, it's currently 27" high from the base of the plant to the tip of the tallest leaf.


Next in age is my supermarket rescue Aloe Vera plant. I bought it in 2000 and managed to break my poor baby's head off. Undaunted, I kept the remaining stalk of the plant watered and was delightfully surprised to find it budding again from the remnants. It's currently about 12" high at its tallest point and has several offshoots.


After that comes my spider plant. My therapist gave me a piece off of her plant in 2007 and I've been growing it ever since. It has made several offshoots, some of which are now growing in other people's homes as gifts.


Next comes my orange trees. I planted one seed in 2010 and two stems came out of the soil. For a while, they did okay on water alone but I eventually began to see the telltale sign of malnutrition on both of them. Unfortunately, I'm very poor, and couldn't afford fertilizer right away. Thankfully, they hung on despite the diet of water alone. I just got some fertilizer...finally and they're both now growing out of all recognition.


From there, comes my supermarket spawn: my Ginger plant. I bought a rhizome of ginger from my local supermarket in the spring of 2011 and sprouted it. Given my past history with gingers of various types, I didn't have high hopes that this one would survive, let alone thrive. It did though. I enjoyed a lovely plant but no flowers for two years before I got hungry and harvested a piece off of it. I have to say how delicious it was. I made cookies with it that were wonderfully flavored. I then replanted the remaining rhizomes and left it alone from December through February. It's now sprouting new shoots already and it isn't even Spring yet.


Another supermarket rescue is my African Violet plant. I bought it in November of 2013 to overcome my fear of growing the plant. I was fully expecting it to die as my previous attempt had. I placed it in a shady patch beneath my bedroom window and waited. It also not only survived but it thrived.


A profusion of blooms soon came up from the center. I could scarcely believe what was happening and took pictures thinking that, at any moment, the horticultural anvil would land on my attempts at growing this plant and something would kill it. I was pleasantly surprised a few days ago to find that it's blooming again. The only thing I did was give it a bit of the same fertilizer mentioned previously in this entry.


On the same day I purchased the African Violet, I saw a sad looking fern. To this day, I have no clue what kind of fern it is as it wasn't labeled in the Supermarket. I'm doing the best that I can with it but, for some reason, it's not thriving like the other plants. I had another fern I bought a month after from the same supermarket that has died already. I'm hoping for the best but, it doesn't look good.


Next up, in the 2014 column are my Radishes, Tomatoes and Nasturtiums.


The radishes are Burpee's Cherry Belle and I planted them along with Super Sweet 100 cherry Tomatoes on 21 February 2014. I planted the Radishes in the ginger pot and the cherry Tomatoes in the window in a small spare pot I had. I have high hopes for both.


The Nasturtiums, I planted on 25 February 2014 and I planted four seeds a piece in the two orange tree pots.


My future plans include planting the seeds I just purchased this year. Those seeds are: Park's Seed Company's Cinnamon Basil, Burpee's Coleus Rainbow Mix, Lemongrass and Geranium Border Mix.


I also have Blood oranges and strawberries coming in a few days from now from a different supermarket, plans to get more seeds, including peppers and plans for taking the plunge and growing mushrooms.


That's everything, I think. Please, if you find anything here interesting. Say hello. :)

Last edited: Mon Mar 10, 2014 3:03 am

This blog entry has been viewed 643 times

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