sesame: not great

One of the plants I tried growing last year, and didn't get good results from- sesame (aka benne). It was really intriguing to see how the seed pods were shaped- these fluted lobes

where all the seeds are stacked together and they just pop out.

I only had two plants, so didn't expect a lot of seed, but what there was, disappointing. Some of the pods got musty, the seeds didn't look usable. Probably I waited too long to harvest and they got damp.

Others never matured- the pods didn't open. Also it was difficult to get the seed clean of chaff and debris. And the taste was sometimes a bit bitter. I'm sure my timing with planting and/or harvesting, or amount of watering, was off in some way- and there's methods to clean the seed- but this little growing experiment was in the middle of pandemic time and I just did not feel like making a lot of effort with it. 

Maybe another year I'll try them again.

greens in the little house

The weather has really been fluctuating here. Yesterday it was in the seventies during the day, then it fell to freezing again overnight. So my tatsoi in the little greenhouse

suddenly bolted. Their winter end!

There's still some tokyo bekana, small now as I've eaten more of it again.

And lettuces are filling the shelves (hope to plant them out soon in March)

plus the baby kale, collards and leeks go out on warmer days- more progress on their true leaves!

wind damage

It was warm so I planned to leave the lettuces and other plants in the little greenhouse overnight. But then we got some rain, and strong winds. I put half the lettuces under the deck table for some shelter

and then the wind blew a roof panel off my greenhouse! It was already after dark when this happened. To prevent the wind from ripping more panels off I quickly wrapped the top of the greenhouse in an old plastic shower liner. (So glad I still had that laying around.) Strapped it down with packing tape and snugged as best I could with clothespins. I was worried it wouldn't hold, but in the morning, still there:

I was able to retrieve the loose panel before it blew across the yard, and a few more small pieces that had cracked off. Patched it all back together, using screws instead of nails this time to hold down. Sealed the ridge gap with duct tape. And taped a bunch of edges that I hadn't bothered with before, so the wind can't work its way under a panel again (hopefully). 

All the plants inside are okay too.

green fig

leaves, lovely

first leaves

First true leaves are starting to emerge on my kale and collard seedlings

just barely visible on the chard.

A few more leeks are up now, slender green threads. Only nine so far not the dozen I'd hoped for, so I might sow another tray.

New green is appearing in my pot of chives

and new leaves on the base of stevia plant- 

they sense the coming spring

tiny green spears

The first leeks are coming up!

Also swiss chard 

and the leaf beet chard showing bunches- soon I will thin them 

Nice to see bright green of the lettuces on deck table, on a cool morning (it was above forty all night, so I left them out in fresh air).

That's only half my usual first start for the year, but I am waiting now for a delivery of sterile seed-starting potting mix. The local nursery guy says they start all their seeds in Pro Mix (which is my usual go-to for the young garden plants and houseplants now) but in the past I have not had success with that- I still loose too many seedlings to damping off if I don't start them with a sterile mix. 

But last year at the end of spring I started running low on seed-starting mix so layered my seedling trays with Pro Mix on the bottom. Did the same this time too- an inch of Pro Mix on the bottom of the tray, then a handful of sterile seed-starting mix, blend it gently with a finger, then another inch of just seed-starting mix on top. I hoped the seeds being in contact just with the starter mix on top at first would avoid damping off, while having the Pro Mix layer on bottom would hold more moisture and give them nutrients in the last weeks before pricking out. Although that doesn't exactly make sense as the roots strike down first. Well, they did okay and at least it will stretch my seed-starting mix out until I get more.

Note for this season: I'm doing something different this year. Felt dubious about keeping the blog going except I realized need a record and pictures to compare, if this actually makes a difference. For over ten years now I have been mulching lightly with used coffee grounds, in the hopes that it deters slugs, squirrels and cats. It seems to keep the cat and squirrels off the garden beds as long as I refresh it regularly, but not much use against slugs- the beer or yeast traps work better for that. However, I read recently there is some evidence that coffee grounds retard plant growth, because of the caffeine. If put in the compost pile, that effect is neutralized by the time the compost is done. 

I have thought for many years that my plants are sub-par because the soil lacks nutrients, or I used some poor-quality additives, or there's been too many insects, disease and/or trees creating shade. Maybe it's that coffee grounds are hindering their growth. So this year I am going to quit doing that. Hot pepper and garlic powder also seems to deter the squirrels and cat, I just have to apply it more regularly (at least until the plants are grown enough to cover most of the ground). We'll see if the plants do better.

leafy breakfast

at least, a bit added- from my young lettuce, a tad of green on my eggs (cooked with last year's dried tarragon and sharp cheddar).

baby kale and collards

Last night a few more trays showed signs of sprouting, and this morning definitely more are up! Kale

yellow cabbage collards

blue collards 

and the first of leaf beet chard 

Also admiring in the garden my garlics. Happy to be finally growing garlic again. Hardneck garlics are shorter and look brighter yellow-green 

The softnecks are taller and slightly bluer green (for now, I'm sure their appearance may change as they grow

arugula up

Just three days, and my arugula seedlings are sprouting. (Kinda ironic that my least favorite green grows first, ha.)

Did something perhaps silly- took all the young and stunted lettuce out of large group pots they shared in the greenhouse, put them in small individual pots. They weren't doing well- in part I think because the soil I used in a hurry in the fall, was poor quality. I remixed with some vermicompost while repotting. Plan to put majority of these in the ground, instead of starting more lettuce seed. I'm bringing them indoors to the basement on nights it drops below freezing, while the tokyo bekana, tatsoi and dill stay in the greenhouse with extra covers on.

I think the vermicompost boost helped. Some of them are already looking greener.

cold nights

Waiting for real spring weather. My old cat in a patch of sun.

first sowing!

Started some seed today. Leeks, arugula, leaf beet chard, swiss chard, russian kale, alabama blue collards and yellow cabbage collards.

winter spot

Most of the plants I've been overwintering by the basement sliding glass door have been doing well. I have not paid much attention to them this year, aside from weekly watering and once in a while misting the palms. In previous years I had moved the cardboard that blocks the draft on sunny days, and closed the curtains between plants and glass on the coldest nights. This year I had a taller sheet of cardboard and didn't shift anything at all.

Only lost one geranium, not a big deal. Here two geraniums, the cuban oregano between them, grown back from a severe trim when some stems got nipped by the cold (I brought it in too late back in the fall).

Citrus geranium doing really well- I'll just cut it back come spring and replant some of the stems.

Bay leaf is lovely, glows with health. I didn't cut any to dry for cooking this past season but will soon.

Arp rosemary looks pale to me, but definitely survived its first winter! Have used a few sprigs for tea to fend off colds in the past months.

My parlor palms might look sad, but they're actually doing much better. All the new green growth is since I repotted them with wood ash for potassium boost (um, a whole year ago). The older leaves are fading now and I'm hoping any new foliage remains green- there's new fronds unfurling on each.

Happiest is to see one of my fig trees breaking out spring leaves! Just yesterday. It feels time to start planting stuff, now (indoors).

small greens

From my little greenhouse- tokyo bekana (chinese cabbage). Not much, and the leaves very small- but a nice fresh garnish on the lentils we had for dinner.

angel relationships

My angelfish attempted breeding again- I say 'attempted' because they're all female, so when two pair off, one lays eggs and the other just protects the area from the third. (My kids think it's hilarious that I have lesbian fish). They usually only do this when food is rich- if I've been giving them flies or frozen mysis shrimp, etc. It's always been Miss Beautiful and the golden Precious before, with Precious laying the eggs. This time I was surprised- after some threats and chasing around the tank (which I didn't pay much attention to) in the previous week, Miss Beautiful paired off with Shirley, and my older angel laid the eggs

on aponogeton bolivianus leaf.

Shirley helped clean the leaf and chase Precious away on the first day. Next day shirked her duties and hung out in the opposite corner,

while Miss Beautiful continued to fan the eggs futilely. A day later they were eaten, of course. It made me sad to watch Miss Beautiful working so hard, with her truncated pectoral fins. (She hasn't run into the walls for a very long time now, but they never grew back completely after the last time were damaged).

I'm curious why they switched pairs, and also why Miss Beautiful was the one to lay this time- but of course I'll never know. Did Miss Beautiful get tired of Precious? Did she decide it wasn't working so time to change partners? Is she dominant in the pairing with Shirley, so she got to lay this time? No idea how they work that out between them, just interesting to think about.