first frost

Last night. I had just planted out more of my new plants during the day- slender mountain mint, sedum and New England aster on the larger sunny sideyard. (Probably the last will get eaten by the deer, though I'm taking the chance. These plants much bigger than the ones I tried setting out before, if that makes any difference). They'd been in the mini greenhouse until now, I still have the bergamot and American beautyberry in there. Undecided where to put them. Have a full week of sun and warmer nights up ahead, so I can take my time. I planted the elephant's foot out on the easement, near where there's yellow salvia, ferns and solomon's seal under a maple. 

Brought some of the plants into the basement window for the night: all the geraniums. They're looking better since the temperatures dropped this past week. I think because it killed off some of the insects that were plaguing them.

The citronella is still one of my favorites. 

Lime scented one is upstairs

next to the stevia. Which surprised me by sprouting tiny new leaves at base of some stems.

My one echeveria 

It's still quite small for the pot size

Doing quite poorly is my cuban oregano. Leaves are all small, tons have dropped from the lower stems. Not sure why, though I suspect insects again. Planning to clip all this back and restart in another pot.

I did a drastic thing to our big schefflera in the dining room window. Cut all the leggy tall stems, and replanted in the pot. I did one first about two weeks ago, dipped the end in rooting hormone, and watched to see if the leaves would die and fall off, or if it would recover and sprout new growth. It appears to be doing the latter! So I went ahead and pruned, replanted all the other tall stems:

Window feels very exposed now, to say the least.

some moved indoors

Tidied up my stevia plant. Lots of browned leaf tips. I thought at first from cold, but it's uneven- not all the foliage affected, not even every leaf on each stem. Plus curling, so I suspect an insect, tiny can't see it. Aphids maybe. I sprayed with soapy water a few days ago.

This morning found more of the leaves that hadn't been damaged before, dried up and curled. Trimmed those off and this time dunked all the stems and leaves entire in a bowl of soapy water held potside. Hope that does the trick. If not, of course I'm facing my yearly problem of bringing unseen pests inside to my resident houseplants. Stevia is now sitting by the glass sliding door, next to the jade and aloe.

Scented geranium here too. Looking fuller already.

Other geraniums are still outside. I put them under the edge of the table when several days of rainstorms expected, didn't want them to get hit with too much deluge. (The rain has tapered off now).

My chives are very happy with the extra rainfall though!

Chocolate mint next to the chives pot is looking better now, too.

so very busy

and glad to be, but man am I tired at the end of the day. So not always finding time to jot down what I did, and now I have a backlog of pictures already. Last night it was supposed to get just below fifty degrees, so I took precautions and mulched a bunch of plants in the yard (remembering how I almost lost a cranesbill to the cold before) and brought a few tender ones inside. Here's stevia next to the citrus geranium- grown all tall from the summer- it does have a bit of dried leaf tips curling, but I can't tell if that's from chill or insects

My lemon geranium had issues earlier. I'd slowly noticed that it was very sparse on foliage- usually there's always a few leaves turning brown that I trim off, but this end of summer it was so thin! I was out on the deck picking off dead leaves and suddenly noticed when the plant moved from my touch, tiny white bugs fell and flitted off. It was teensy pale aphids. I made a quick spray of dishsoap, water and a drop of oil. Sprayed that plant all over- and then for the next few days checked by shaking it gently- no more bugs disturbed. Now it's looking so much better!

I also took cuttings of the coleus to bring inside- not necessary yet as it turned out- none of the plants outside died from cold! but well, I have some now as 'insurance'. I skipped the orange-and-lime one, it's just not sppealing to me anymore. Got the all the others- 

plus two more 'exhibition limelight' not pictured, and this group of 'kiwi fern' I actually clipped several days earlier, because I went outside and found an animal had bitten off the top of my plant! I think it was a rabbit.

While I was at it, took a few cuttings to restart of the witchy one that has always stayed indoors- just for the heck of it-

and because it was sitting nearby and looking particularly nice, here's the waxy begonia (I don't remember its real name). It was doing awful just a few weeks ago- I had forgotten to water some plants often enough- but I trimmed it, took a bunch of cuttings to restart, and watered it every other day for a while. Even gave away a second pot of it. Now doing great!

this year

there will probably not be much garden. My ankle still gets swollen if I do too much strenuous work, not to mention the lingering covid exhaustion. I can manage my household chores now, but adding yard work and gardening on top of that is still too much for me. Yesterday I managed to weed three of the garden beds, and that was it. This morning I cleared weeds from the mailbox spot and dead stems of salvia from last season, tidying up a bit around front yard. It needs a lot more work but I can only do a little bit at a time.

I might just do my potted herbs, and a few things that will take off later in spring (beans) or can go straight in the ground, don't need tending as seedlings (root crops). 

Problem is the deer. We still haven't got a fence built to keep them out. Contractors have 'ghosted' us three times now.

I've begun acclimated some of my plants to live outside again- putting the chives, bay laurel and cuban oregano out for a few hours each day, and the boston fern on the front porch when it's warm enough. The figs in the basement could start going out too, but I don't have the energy to haul them in/out and do the stairs twice a day, sigh.

But there are still small things of cheer, with the coming spring. My pot of stevia was looking quite sparse (and I hadn't sweetened my tea all winter), I was feeling sad that only two of the cuttings that took root survived. Then a bunch of new shoots came up from the older plant- 

and grew this much in just a week's time! I've remembered this time to pinch the tops off with the few few uses, to encourage it to grow more bushy instead of tall.

further stevia updates

Not much else going on here. In terms of plants. One of the cuttings under cloche started to mold, I tossed it. Of the others, one dried up, tossed. I planted the remaining three from the intial group started in the kitchen windowsill, into the pot.

Dramatic difference. The cutting started in rooting hormone and regular potting soil, had plenty of roots throughout its little pot confines, and new leaves growing. Success! (It's the one in the middle here). Second cutting, that was in seed starter mix with no rooting hormone, had barely any roots at all and only a few new leaves (background). I stuck it in the pot anyway.

more stevia cuttings

It looks like the one rooted in sand is dying, and the one in seed started mix struggling. Had to trim the parent plant to fit more plants in my space by the window (more coming inside as the weather gets colder) so I started a few more cuttings. These all dipped in rooting hormone, planted in regular potting soil.

I put small jar/bottle cloches over them to hold in some humidity, maybe it's helping their leaves are more upright than others had been.

stevia babies

I'm glad I tried this, because recently read that stevia plants start to loose their sweetness in third or fourth year. Haven't noticed mine getting less sweet (it's three years old now) but now I have some little ones to replace it just in case. Of all the cuttings I started, six have survived and are showing new growth. This one's doing the best. Planted in potting soil with rooting hormone.

The one in sand with rooting hormone has baby leaves just barely showing now.

Of the ones without rooting hormone, only the cutting in sterile seed starter mix made it. And one of the cuttings in water started to grow tiny roots, so I stuck it in the same pot to continue growing (foreground).

My parent plant is sprawling, and keeps making flower buds which I trim off. I've brought it in against cold weather, but am going to trim it back further soon.

When the rooted cuttings are big enough, I'll add them into this pot where there's an empty space, or maybe start a second pot for them, not sure yet.

stevia cuttings

My stevia plant has grown sprawling out of its pot, so I cut it back in preparation for bringing inside when temperatures drop. Decided to try a few as cuttings, to see what works. I've always heard this is difficult, but sources online say it works and are not in agreement about the medium. So I used six tiny pots, two each of sterile seed starting mix, regular potting soil, and plain sand. Three of each I dipped the cutting in rooting hormone. 

They're on my kitchen windowsill. These on the right had the rooting hormone, 

three on the left didn't. 

and two just stuck in a plain jar of water, for the heck of it.

Let's see if any survive to make new growth.

it's been a while

I kind of lost interest in keeping this blog going- I don't seem to have many readers, and nobody to talk about plants with. Didn't feel the need to track when things get started for the right timing to go in the ground and such (as reminders to myself) anymore. And then I had a setback, minor car accident, sprained ankle, on crutches for three weeks- so things got shoddy out there. Overgrown, neglected. 

However today I finally was able to go out again (my ankle strapped, I'm allowed to do "light walking" now) And there are things to note.

First, here's a picture from months ago. After our spring heat wave, it cooled off again and I actually got a decent amount of lettuce. We had fresh salads for weeks, plus I gave some away. The heads were beautiful thick green rosettes in the garden.

Where the lettuces came out, I planted the tomatoes. They had waited too long, some lower leaves were wilting so I pulled those off. And then remembering a tip from a gardener I read, removed more lower leaf petioles, planted the tomatoes deeply, burying half the stem. Watered on planting, then left them alone for ten days. This encourages stronger root system and what do you know, I think it worked. I have only been out to water once since (due to being laid up) and the rain has been enough- the tomaoto plants look fantastic. I tied them up once to some poles, they are sturdier than usual too. Either the deep planting and witholding water at the start helped, or the soil was richer than usual.

My turnips are also doing great. We've been eating them- made a new dish just last night. Turnips simmered until tender, mashed with onions and a bit of sugar, stirred w/eggs and baked in the oven. Surprisingly good. It's the first year I've actually had good turnips- not dry or tough. Even the bigger ones I pull are tender when I slice them up, almost buttery. And they're still not bothered by much, out in the garden!

Can't say the same for other things. I went out to cut greens for dinner and instead cut and heaped most of the entire bed of chard into the compost pile. It was all mottled pale sickly from leaf hoppers. (Why are such aggravating pests so darn cute? This year they're dark grayish purple with bright blue or red eyes). I could only keep the youngest unblemished leaves to cook with, but hope that a lot of the leaf hoppers got removed with the mass of chard foliage, smothered under leaf mulch and grass clippings in the hot compost pile!

My beets are swarming with whitefly. I cleaned up the worst pale and dead foliage, doused them with soapy water, but need to go get some actual insecticide. In the next bed over, garlics have all fallen over, and scapes are reaching tall. But I don't think they're ready to pull yet. Not enough watering? Too much heat? 

I removed all the pea plants- saving some for next year's seed. Of the shelling peas, there was only enough for one meal. However, they were really good! Into those empty beds today I planted out the cowpeas (to grow up the trellis), bush beans (only two, the rest succumbed to heat and neglect while still in pots), two yellow summer squash, and a third of the amaranth 'calaloo' seedlings. The rest are still too small for transplanting. 

Then planted out on the sunny sideyard my few tithonias for the year. And I only have three cardinal climbers, which is sad. A few weeks ago my husband saw a hummingbird come by and scout around the deck. But my cardinal climbers weren't planted out, and I think the black and blue salvia isn't flowering yet either, so there was nothing here for it.

It is nice to still see the wrens, robins, sparrows, cardinals, blackbirds and grey catbirds busy around the yard and garden. And the skinks! They come upon the deck. I only have one cucumber plant that survived the period of neglect, it's in a deck pot. My carrots aren't doing too great in pots, they keep drying out if I am not able to get out and water. My sweet peas died. 

But I am glad that the rosemary and stevia survived the winter, and this year the fenugreek I planted is doing well. I have it by the sliding door to the deck and often bend to catch its scent when going in or out. Summer savory in the deck planters is doing great, and parsley- have been using both. Most of the herbs have come back well- thyme came through the winter indoors, sculpit and tarragon out in the garden have grown, I did plant one new sage because the old two didn't survive the transplant when I added broken rock to the perennial bed. And my green onions all failed. The older ones never regrew this year, I started a few new but they died.

I like the catmint (not same as catnip) in the garden, so this spring when I had to trim it back (sprawling all over into the space where collards grow) I stuck a bunch of cuttings into little water jars to try for new plants. I had over a dozen cuttings, but only three actually grew roots. The rest just got moldy. (I did change the water out, but probably not often enough). Those three got planted today too- two against the fence between the patch of joe pye weed and the row of shiso (which is looking nice). At least I think it's shiso. Maybe this year I'll get brave enough to try eating it. The third one I put also against the fence but in the back, between the yarrow (tall and floweirng now!) and my kinda sad camellia. 

It was nice to see a bright glitter of blue skittering around- the small brilliantly colored wasps that frequent my joe pye weed, and are predators of japanese beetles.

One of my jacob's ladder plants has grown so much, doubled in height! and it had the most beautiful sky-blue/violet flowers. But the other one is overshadowed by yellow salvia spreading out from under the skirts of hydrangea nearby. I thought it had died but found it getting smothered. Pulled out some of the salvia to give it room. I'm going to have to start thinning that stuff more.

That's my update.

green on the deck

Spring appearances. I'm always relieved when I see new growth in my pots- they made it through winter! Mints are regrowing

Chives have shot taller 

Kale I planted out is doing well- eaten it once already

Stevia spent the cold season indoors, just lingering on the whole time but now with more sun- spending a few hours each day outside- its leaves are getting bigger again.

The other day I brought home a lump of ginger root from the grocery, planted it in my shallow pot again. I missed not having ginger in a pot the last few years.

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

a few potted herbs

I cut the tarragon we didn't like out of a pot, and trimmed back some of the faded stems on a nicotiana that popped up there on its own, and happily found that my stevia is still alive after all. I'd given up on it when it kept just flowering and not producing more sweet leaves for me earlier in the summer. Well, now it is.

Quite a while ago my fenugreek died, which was disappointing but the summer savory which grew next to it survived and I'm using it now. Not prolific like last year, but there's some. 

I didn't expect to get a lot out of the thyme I grew from seed, but this one surprised me in a good way! 

Every year it's different, which ones do well or not.