What's Growing In Your Garden? Horticultural Science

[Mercedes Benzene]

I picked up a variety of seeds, cuttings, and sproutings from Hawaii this spring, and have *attempted* to grow them. The only ones that have survived thus far, however, are a Bamboo Orchid bulb and a Ti Plant cutting.

They're not in my garden, per se, but it's my first real attempt at growing anything (since lima beens in kindergarden :lol:), so they're in house-plant pots, which I stick outside during the day to get some sun.

 

Despite having been planted for a few months now, they're slow growers. I just want something green to put in my dorm this fall... and get a little fresh oxygen.

Pictures to follow.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

lima beens

MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Liiiiiiiiiimmmer beeeeeeeeeans!:evil:

Aln let's not forget their just as tasty kin BUTTER BEANS!:hihi: (OOOOOOO..maybe next year....yah!) My all time favorite bean....with lot's O' butter! D-lish!!!

 

Can't wait to see your Orchid:) I never have any luck with em.

[Mercedes Benzene]

Can't wait to see your Orchid:) I never have any luck with em.

 

Okay, I've attached photos of my two plants. I apologize for the poor quality, but all of the digital cameras in my house are MIA, so a cell phone had to suffice.

 

The Bamboo Orchid is the tall(er) one. It's about 16 cm tall, with another (shorter) stem next to it.

 

The Ti Plant has just sent up a shoot from the cutting. It's only 4 mm tall (and barely visible in the picture) but I'm hoping now that it has access to sun, it will grow much more quickly.

[maikeru]

Just spent over $100 on ordering seeds for a new indoor garden, which should include oddities like...

 

1. Two different varieties of coffee trees, regular arabica and Kona. I want to see if I can grow my own homebrew. :evil:

 

2. Purple and yellow carrots. Guaranteed you won't see those in supermarkets.

 

3. Purple cauliflower. Strange.

 

4. Dangerously hot heirloom garlics. Russian, Georgian, and Ukrainian varieties I believe. These'll make for interesting cooking.

 

5. Mimosa plants ("sensitive plant") which should be a pleaser for my cousins to grow on their own. I used to have these as a kid, and was always fascinated by their drooping leaves in response to touch.

 

6. Wild strawberry (also known as alpine strawberry). And another form of conventional strawberry, but a runnerless variety so I don't have them taking over the place. So two kinds of strawberries to keep me stocked for fruit desserts and salads.

 

And several types of flowers that I found stunningly pretty. Those'll brighten up the place.

 

I have little mint and spinach sprouts that surfaced only a day or two ago in my seed germination chamber. In the chamber are also oregano, thyme, rosemary, and lavender. Now, I need to get more charcoal and pots ready, as well as a plant pot rack, so I can grow all these guys without too much trouble or fuss.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Just spent over $100 on ordering seeds for a new indoor garden, which should include oddities like...

 

1. Two different varieties of coffee trees, regular arabica and Kona. I want to see if I can grow my own homebrew. :hihi:

 

2. Purple and yellow carrots. Guaranteed you won't see those in supermarkets.

 

3. Purple cauliflower. Strange.

 

4. Dangerously hot heirloom garlics. Russian, Georgian, and Ukrainian varieties I believe. These'll make for interesting cooking.

 

5. Mimosa plants ("sensitive plant") which should be a pleaser for my cousins to grow on their own. I used to have these as a kid, and was always fascinated by their drooping leaves in response to touch.

 

6. Wild strawberry (also known as alpine strawberry). And another form of conventional strawberry, but a runnerless variety so I don't have them taking over the place. So two kinds of strawberries to keep me stocked for fruit desserts and salads.

 

And several types of flowers that I found stunningly pretty. Those'll brighten up the place.

 

I have little mint and spinach sprouts that surfaced only a day or two ago in my seed germination chamber. In the chamber are also oregano, thyme, rosemary, and lavender. Now, I need to get more charcoal and pots ready, as well as a plant pot rack, so I can grow all these guys without too much trouble or fuss.

WOW!!! Dfinitly keep us informed as to how well the coffee trees are doing that's AWSOME!!!!:coffee_n_pc: (I'm soosooosoosooo jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:()

[Michaelangelica]

Just spent over $100 on ordering seeds for a new indoor garden, which should include oddities like...

 

1. Two different varieties of coffee trees, regular arabica and Kona. I want to see if I can grow my own homebrew. :coffee_n_pc:

You won't get berries unless you put plants in very hot spot

Even if you don't get coffee thay are a very attractive indoor plant.

 

 

2. Purple and yellow carrots. Guaranteed you won't see those in supermarkets.

Just read an article on growing carrots indoors. I didn't post it because I thought it was impossible.

 

 

5. Mimosa plants ("sensitive plant") which should be a pleaser for my cousins to grow on their own. I used to have these as a kid, and was always fascinated by their drooping leaves in response to touch.

They are a weed in tropical Australia. But kids love them.

 

6. Wild strawberry (also known as alpine strawberry). And another form of conventional strawberry, but a runnerless variety so I don't have them taking over the place. So two kinds of strawberries to keep me stocked for fruit desserts and salads.

The way to go.

The little strawberries are very tasty and flavoursome and fruit all year.

They clump rather than run so are the way to go with Terracotta "Strawberry Pots" They are very ornamental.

Mine never reached the kitchen.

[palmtreepathos]

Signs of Fall are in the air. Peaches (lots of them) are ripening, green beans and okra still kick'n it... I am planting a few things for the fall garden one of which was an experiment gone awry in a good way.. I soaked kolrabi seeds (1/2 teaspoon) then put a heaping cup of my coffee ground compost on them, mixed them and gave a light watering. I meant to get them in the ground the next day but was sidelined by a virus and the picture shows what I found once I got on my feet 3 days later... not sure if I can plant them now but it still showed me what a great growing medium the coffee grounds mulch is.

 

Public Gallery Picture - AOL Pictures

 

todays harvest...

 

Picture by patsapeachygal - AOL Pictures

 

I have experimented with spraying hydrogen peroxide on the plants and also finally did a foliar feeding of alaskan fish fertilizer. I noticed a difference in the taste of the green beens in just a few days. And a huge growth spurt when most folks beds are dying back. Also this time last year I had total infestation of mexican bean beetles and this year none so far and I believe that is from the H2o2.

 

Household Uses Of Hydrogen Peroxide --Throw out your harmful toxic disinfectants, cleaners, bleaches and insecticides!

 

I am still fighting powdery mildew though, it ruined the cukes and stressed the zucchini. Maybe someone else has a handle on it? :coffee_n_pc:

[Turtle]

Signs of Fall are in the air. Peaches (lots of them) are ripening, green beans and okra still kick'n it...

todays harvest...

 

Picture by patsapeachygal - AOL Pictures

 

I have experimented with spraying hydrogen peroxide on the plants ...Household Uses Of Hydrogen Peroxide --Throw out your harmful toxic disinfectants, cleaners, bleaches and insecticides!

 

Mmmmm....peaches! There is nothing to compare to a good peach right off the tree. :) So rare, that everytime I have chanced on one and et it, I declare I could die right then & be none the worse than if I lived another century. :)

 

Anyway, good stuff on the peroxide; I may need that sometime. :coffee_n_pc::

I'm getting regular beans & cuckes now too, the corn grew but has no ears :(, what I thought was a pumpkin appears to be a watermelon :doh:, the leeks are tiny & lame, the sunflowers huge and intimidating :eek:, tomatoes just getting a first blush of color, wheat harvested (~ 2 cups:hyper:), wildflowers wildly flowering, and after a week of record high temps, the high temperature plunged 30+ deg in a day and it's now cool and raining.

 

The gardeners' work is never done. :)

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

what I thought was a pumpkin appears to be a watermelon ,

My dad's punkins are doing that too!! At last visit he had one green that looked exactly like a watermelon and wierder than that a perfectly smooth oblong orange one!!!:confused:Verry freaky!!

 

His chicken egg gourds are getting monsterously huge...something they're not really supposed to do...Very wierd stuff going on here...albino chucks, coons and foxes.... mutant vegetation...HUGE flocks of birds in the trees (I've never seen so many in my life!):confused: If I were smarter I'd probably be quite a bit more nervous.

[Turtle]

My dad's punkins are doing that too!! At last visit he had one green that looked exactly like a watermelon and wierder than that a perfectly smooth oblong orange one!!!:confused:Verry freaky!!

 

His chicken egg gourds are getting monsterously huge...something they're not really supposed to do...Very wierd stuff going on here...albino chucks, coons and foxes.... mutant vegetation...HUGE flocks of birds in the trees (I've never seen so many in my life!):doh: If I were smarter I'd probably be quite a bit more nervous.

 

Mmmm...might be an impending earthquake. :shrug: Is your disaster kit stocked? :hihi:

 

I had to harvest one sunflower today as either birds or the squirrel was startin' in on it. :doh: Not all the kernals mature and none as large as they might have gone. :( Anyway, I scrubbed them off the flower head, rinses them under running water, gave them a salt water bath for a few minutes with agitation, and then spread them on a baking sheet in a low temp oven. They'll be ready tonight. :)

 

No fruits on my gourds yet; I got a late start. They are blooming though so there's still hope. Ate my first tomato, which was still not quite there. The devil made me do it. :evil: :confused:

 

I'm goin' to grind 1/2 cup of my wheat in a blender & try to get some coarse flour to make noodles with. :shrug: Tha's what I get for watching cooking shows. :hyper:

 

Time to plant more beans; too hot for more radishes yet.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

too hot for more radishes yet.

Sept's just around the bend...We're already starting to see cooler temps which will likely continue their rapid decent over the next couple months yielding what looks to be an early winter judging by present trends Definitly snow by halloween...preceeded by lots of cold and wet.

 

I don't know how the weather works where you are but you might want to put them in pretty soon if'n yer gonna. We've already seen a several low forties temp. nights here. (I'm rather worried that my melons and cauliflower might not be ready to munch before the frost.)

[Michaelangelica]

My pride and joy at the moment is an Australian naytive Orchid.

They are small bit like English snowdrops- usually nicely, gently fragrant

The flowers are very long lasting

Ihave had apot in the kitchen for weeks.

 

I am not over fond of cymbidium orchids.

Somehow they are too cold, perfect and glassy for me and there is NO fragrance.

 

I have used up my allocation of Hypo. photographs - but will try to get a picture to you

[Chacmool]

For just sticking-seeds-in-the-ground-&-then-watering ease, I recommend radishes, cucumbers, beans, squash, & sunflowers. :hihi: :D

 

Don't forget cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and wata-mellons:) I always have luck with them....also asparagus, rhubarb, rasberries, blackberries, cantaloup, corm, and wheat.

 

Thanks for the advice! :) I hope to start preparing my vegetable patch soon. For us here in the south, spring is just around the corner!

 

In the meantime, the rest of my garden is coming along nicely and the bees are working busily. I just hate the task of applying lawn dressing. The succulents have thankfully recovered from the damage inflicted by the gardening service people. I've planted some more lavender (French and Spanish), rosemary, and a few jasmine creepers. The garden is going to have a wonderful aroma!

[Turtle]

This year, my Winter wheat crop yielded 2 dry cups of wheat berries. Ever in pursuit of numeration, I decided to figure out how many bushels per acre I produced. [Humorous Anecdote]Once in an algebra class, the insructor gave us finger-nail growth in inches per month, and asked us to calculate it in miles per hour. A hand shot up and a student declared, "fingernails don't grow in miles per hour". :eek_big: [/Humorous Anecdote]

 

Anyway, my crop land consisted all of a 2 foot x 3 foot patch for a total of 6 square feet. An acre is 43,560 square feet ( a square approximately 208 feet on a side). My acreage then is 6/43,560 or reduced, 1/7260 acres.

 

A dry bushel contains 128 cups, so my harvest in bushels is 2/128, or reduced 1/64 bushels.

 

My harvest in bushels per acre is then 1/64 bushels per 1/7260 acres, inverting the denominator & multiplying I have:

(1*7260)/(64*1)= 7260/4= 113.4375 bushels of wheat per acre. :eek_big:

 

Checking wheat production in my genreal region, I did darn nice for myself. :naughty: I may put in double acreage this Fall and get me a whole quart o' dem wheatle berries. :turtle:

 

Organic winter wheat isn't supposed to yield 100 bushels per acre, but it did at Bozeman in 2007.

 

Scientists are still trying to figure out how a plot of organic winter wheat at the Post Research Farm west of Bozeman hit the 101 bushels per acre mark. Nearby organic test plots were almost as good, yielding "in the high 90s," said Perry Miller, Montana State University cropping systems researcher.

Organic winter wheat topped 100 bushels per acre in Bozeman last harvest

[freeztar]

Maybe you should tell them about your secret weapon. :naughty:

[Michaelangelica]

We have gone straight from the coldest winter in 30 years to Summer 27-30C

So much for spring

I have the flu too!!;)

 

This was a good Gardening Australia show you can download

Gardening Australia

I especially liked the Entomologist's Garden and the 78 year old with hundreds of fruit trees.

They were both inspiring

Gardening Australia

The programmes have not been posted to the website yet. Check on Monday.

An Entomologist’s Garden

Jerry Coleby-Williams meets a gardener who has created a wildlife haven for birds, frogs, lizards and insects on her small, suburban Brisbane block.

John’s Vegie Plot

John Patrick is establishing a vegie plot in a suburban community garden, to demonstrate how to successfully grow vegies when you’ve only got a few spare hours a week.

A Food Forest

Josh Byrne visits a passionate organic gardener in Perth, who for 40 years has grown a virtual food forest of fruit and vegies to ensure a year-round harvest.

(Brush Turkeys are a PITA; they tear up everything and you can't eat them!)

[Ganoderma]

im curious. in Aus, do you guys call say december summer? in the northern hemisphere thats winter, i know the weather is reveresed, but do you actually CALL december winter and july winter? or jsut as a comparison? always wondered about that.