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Is It Ripe?

Category: Hydroculture | Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 11:46 pm

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So the tomato had finally changed color except I'm not sure whether it's ripe yet as I have never grown tomatoes before. I may post in the forums to find out for sure.



Cherry Tomato in Aerogarden on 12 November 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


My reason for asking is because this first tomato is for my mom. She's 74, doesn't have all her teeth and can't chew tough things, so it's important for me to know whether this is soft enough for her to eat.



Aside from this, in growing news, I am getting another Aerogarden. I saw the advertisements for the new Aerogarden Bounty and knew I had to have one. In addition to the Aerogarden, I'm getting a metal rolling cart that's big enough to accommodate both Aerogardens once they're put in place but small enough for my short self to have access to everything.


Aside from this, I am doing NaNoWriMo and I have a bad cold.

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Jalapenos ISO Vinegar and Other Tidbits

Category: Hydroculture | Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 5:28 pm

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Well, since my antagonist character won't come out of my mind, I figured I'd update everyone on the status of the Aerogarden.


The largest of the peppers is now in Corking mode. I don't know if it's going to change colors. I'll give it a few more days to see if a change occurs but, once I get some vinegar, this bad boy is going down.



Big Jalapeno Pepper in the Aerogarden of Hope ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )



As to the tomato, it continues to grow. Whenever I turn my head away from it and then look at it again, it seems bigger. Lately, it looks a slightly different color green. I'm wondering whether that's growing pains or a trick of the light or something else? As to the plant, that's growing like a weed now. It went from barely growing to growing like Kudzu. It only took 123 days for this to occur. I remain hopeful that I'll have a bumper crop by the New Year.



Developing Cherry Tomato in the Aerogarden of Hope ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )





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Second Harvest of Peppers and a Junior Partner

Category: Hydroculture | Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 3:16 am

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A Brief update:

The Aerogarden as a whole featuring the heavily fruited Jalapeno pepper plant in the forefront.


Jalapeno Pepper Second Fruiting as of 16 October 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


The Jalapeno pepper plant from the underside.



Jalapeno Pepper Plant Second Fruiting from the underside 16 October 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


My first of four Cherry tomatoes growing in...finally.



First Cherry Tomato Fruiting as of 16 October 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


I'm feeling very ill and I'm getting ready for NaNoWriMo. My apologies for the brief update.

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Second Inflorescence

Category: Hydroculture | Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2015 5:34 pm

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My harvest of peppers was spectacular. I currently have them sitting in a brine/vinegar mixture to keep them while I wait for the next wave of peppers to grow on the plant. It's currently covered in flowers and growing even thicker than before.


Which presents a problem. The tomatoes are struggling for light beneath the canopy of leaves the pepper has over them. I'm hoping that they'll eventually grow up and over the pepper, thus getting their own portion of light but it isn't looking too good for them doing much in the way of fruit production.


The next kit I get will be three tomatoes rather than a pepper and two tomatoes. This should ensure that everything grows at relatively the same rate.


I may get a "Grow Your Own" seed kit and attempt growing the dwarf variety of large tomatoes I saw on the Burpee website.


About the only other thing happening is my Pelargoniums finally blooming. Yay!


Pelargonium Flower - Taken 26 September 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


They're months late but they're blooming at least. I really hope I get a red flower.





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Shave and a Haircut - Three Weeks Until Bliss

Category: Hydroculture | Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 12:10 am

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I had to trim the pepper back a bit today to free up some light for the tomatoes. Hopefully, they'll now mature at a quicker rate than they have been. They're (tomatoes) getting an okay-ish quantity of light but it could be better.


Now, to all the many peppers.



Jalapeno Pepper Plant Showing Fruit 28 August 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


I cut a few branches off that didn't have fruit on them. Since the peppers have reached the pinnacle of pepper production for now and the flowers are dropping off, I figured it would be okay to do the trim. Hopefully, down the road, this will lead to even more peppers.


According to the updated Aerogarden website (glare), I have about three more weeks until they're ready to be harvested. I find it shocking that they're going to get bigger than they are now. I was fully prepared to eat some until I read that they have to cork first. I want the best flavor, so I'm prepared to wait.

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Ghost Tomato!!!!

Category: Hydroculture | Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 8:47 am

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Do all tomatoes look like this initially? This is so awesome! I present to you Casper the Friendly Tomato.


I'm trying to document, as closely as possible, the progression of my tomato's growth, such as it is. It is a Red Heirloom Cherry. Hopefully, all the other flowers on the plants will also set fruit. In the meantime, I'm spying on this one known fruit and two suspected fruit like a Pomodoro paparazzo.


Tomato taken with Flash on phone 23 August 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


There is also the Jalapeno pepper plant to consider. Twice the size of the tomato plants combined, it's really being a light hog but I've been keeping it judiciously trimmed back. Despite my pruning it and my showing favoritism to the tomatoes, this lovely thing is proving to be quite the producer. I've lost count of the number of active growing jalapeno peppers on this plant.



Jalapeno Pepper close up with Flash from phone 23 August 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


All things considered, things are going well with the Aerogarden. I'm having a minor problem with the tomatoes growing more slowly than the peppers due to trimming but they're catching up as well as flowering and fruiting while doing so. By this Winter, I am hopeful that they'll all be around the same size. :)



Aerogarden of Hope in full 23 August 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )





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Rollercoaster

Category: Hydroculture | Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 12:45 am

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It has been quite a trip lately.

My phone is dying.

My tablet now makes no sound without earphones.

My computer died (hence my disappearance).


On the up side, I've got a new computer tower, a sale on phones just made itself known if I can catch it and my jalapenos are fruiting like crazy.


Also...I may have tomatoes.

I say "may" because I don't know what a new tomato looks like. It's pretty recent if it is a new tomato. The flowers went through everything the pepper flowers went through, including fertilization attempts, so I'm hopeful that this is a really tiny cherry tomato developing.

I'll let you all be the judge.



Aerogarden Cherry Tomato ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )



Also, for good measure, I'll post a picture of some of my jalapeno peppers.




Aerogarden Jalapeno Pepper ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


I hope everyone is doing well and keeping cool/warm this Summer/Winter.


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100% Germination Rates!

Category: Container Gardening | Posted: Wed May 20, 2015 8:29 pm

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The Aerogarden of Hope (as I've taken to calling it) has finally experienced a 100% germination rate. The Curly parsley is just visible in the middle front pod. Everything is now growing like crazy. Yay!


On the soil baby side of things, I've snapped all the old leaves off of my scented pelargoniums in an effort to make them shoot off more side branches before Mid-June. A few of them already have good side branches with signs of flowers but I'm hoping for really bushy plants.


Still no signs of life in the seed experiments. I've got until next month for the end of it to come but some sign of life would be nice. Especially in the Cinnamon Basil. I'm honestly not expecting the celery to grow. The Cinnamon basil, on the other hand, has surprised me quite a bit in the past. I'm hoping for one more surprise for old time's sake.


So, I also cut back my Lemongrass this morning and made tea with the clippings and one of the stalks. It was so delicious! I highly recommend growing lemongrass even if you only use it to make tea. It really does taste like lemonade or lemons or something lemon-y. Even the Maternal Parental loved it when she tried it and she likes nothing natural. She specifically begged me to give her another cup as soon as the lemongrass has grown out again. I'll do my best to keep that promise.


The African Violets are okay...I think. The plants look fine. I just watered them for the first time in a week. However, I'm not sure how the cuttings are doing. I don't have X-Ray vision to see into the potting mix they're sitting in to know whether or not their roots have taken. They still look alive though. So, I'm hopeful.


The Pineapples look fantastic. I give them a spritz of water from my spray bottle every morning to ensure they don't dry out. Other than that, I water the soil about once a week. They were dry today, so I watered them a bit along with all the other plants.


The Aloes, Spider Plant, Nasturtiums, and Snake plant are all doing well too. The orange trees look so good, I'm considering experimenting with making tea out of the leaves. The Tangelo is growing strong too.


I think that's about it. :)

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Seven Days!

Category: Hydroculture | Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 11:22 pm

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A growth update.


Aerogarden - Growth of plants after seven days 14 May 2015 ( photo / image / picture from xantedeschia's Garden )


All the seeds have either germinated or, as is the case with the curly parsley, is in the process of germinating. The ones without the grow domes are the ones that are visibly growing. Some just aren't taller than the pod casing yet.


The basil smells so good already, my mouth is watering just thinking of eating it later in its growth cycle.


The mint is currently too small to sample yet but I'm looking forward to doing it.


The dill and cilantro are both growing, as is the chives.


Heh, I've already gotten half of it promised out to select friends and family. Hopefully, there will be enough.


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Who Could Ask For Anything More?

Category: Container Gardening | Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 6:39 am

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I've got Basil,
I've got Cilantro.
My seeds are growing,
Who could ask for anything more?



The seed pods in my Aerogarden are sprouting like you wouldn't believe. After only two days, there are signs of life in some of the pods despite a sprouting estimate of four days to eight days minimum. In a day or two, the grow domes will be ready to come off of the basil. The other seeds are still in the process of sprouting.



All my plants that I previously meticulously watered/fertilized every other day depending on the week have been going without. They're thriving. The Orange trees are growing new branches. While the Aloe Vera is deepening in color and contrast. The African violets are perking up quite nicely and the scented Pelargoniums are branching off. Everything is doing fantastic.



I've even planted ancient seeds I've had for a minimum of five and a maximum of twelve years. In the case of the five year old seeds, I sprinkled some celery seed I have as seasoning into some potting soil, somewhat lightly covered it, watered it and hoped for the best.



In the case of the twelve year old seeds, it gets a little more complicated. Back in 2003, I bought some seeds from Seeds of Change. Specifically, I bought Cinnamon Basil seeds and grew them to maturity. Man, did they ever grow too! When I lived in the crackhouse, I had a SSE facing window and got ALL THE SUNLIGHT!!!! This meant that a lot of plants did very well in my room, when I didn't eat them.



Except for Coleus.



One of the plants that did incredibly well was the Cinnamon basil. I must have sowed that Basil into every pot I had. It grew up to twenty four inches tall in most pots before setting seed. I had so much seed, that I was going to send some to my friends but, being poor, I didn't have the means to ship it all.



Fast forward to a few days ago when I was cleaning out my sorely neglected computer desk. I came across a folded and stapled bit of tissue paper which contained some of those seeds I'd collected.



At first, I was going to throw them away but then I thought about it. They should be given the chance to grow just like any other seed. So, I planted them in a four inch pot of soil. It must have been about twenty or thirty seeds in the packet. After all this time, I'm highly doubtful of anything coming up but...you never know.


As I know more, you'll know more. :)

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