posting here

keeps my interest from flagging, so here we are. It's colder this week during the day- sunny but just around fifty degrees, so I haven't been putting plants out. Today I weeded one more raised garden bed, clearing up leaves that had blown in around them, and hauled a bucketful to the compost pile. Most of what I yanked up was purple dead nettle- it's thick through all the beds. Regretting that I let it grow so much. I don't make tortillas from scratch anymore, and never found another way I like to eat it . . . This weeding plus a short walk (two blocks) wore me out. Sigh. 

So here's nostalgia pics from the year before my ankle injury. I hope it will look like this again someday! Full of thriving herbs. I'm sure the tarragon (center here), sorrel (back left) and lemon balm will revive- I've seen green leaves under the leaf mulch on the lemon balm. But the deer have eaten my sorrel.

and the green onions didn't come back- I had replanted some in 2022 but they didn't make it. This pic is from the year before

I miss having good leeks. My best ones were never as thick as you get in the grocery store- but they were fresh and always on hand.

The previous years' leeks in two newer beds were skimpy. I realize now I made a mistake when I put up the last three beds- layering with newspaper shreds and chipped cardboard okay, putting in broken sticks nope. Thinking back now I realize all the plants in those three beds had been sub-par. Wood chips on top of the bed for mulch I think works fine, having it mixed into or under the soil it probably steals nitrogen. At least, that's my guess. 

The garlics that shared the leek bed last year did just okay. One of my daughter's friends saw my small garlic heads on the counter and laughed: "I've never seen such tiny garlics!" Yeah. And they didn't cure properly, of all the garlics I dug up in fall, two-thirds or more rotted. Want to try growing them again, but I'll have to buy anew in fall- none of mine were worth replanting.

small goals

I am feeling some dismay about the state of my yard and garden. Last summer the front bed looked like this- all full!

Now it's pretty shabby. The deer have eaten back a lot of the shrub on the corner, and I think some of the mums died. I did not go out on the spur of the moment to quickly cover plants from cold this past fall and winter- didn't even really mulch most of the plants. So I expect not everything survived. I suppose the plus is that it shows me what work I was doing needlessly! I need to get out there and clean stuff up, but can still only do a little bit at a time.

One of the few things I did accomplish last fall was digging up some errant ajuga and moving them to form an outside ring surrounding the crabapple base in front yard. Also trimmed back the yellow salvias, which looked like they might start spreading into the lawn. I dug up and moved some autum joy sedums around, and also tore out tons of vinca from the sideyard where the steps are, transplanted milkweed to the other sideyard, and dug and moved joe pye weed into its place against the house on that slope. Because the milkweed never seemed to do great on the first sideyard, but a few were thriving in the other spot. And I wanted to move most of the joe pye from where we planned to put a gate in, thought it would look nice tall against the house there. 

Now it just looks strange and empty where I dug and moved plants, because the fence has not yet got installed. And the deer come up into that space now, are eating the other euonymus shrub plus the small ones I planted in the back, plus what's in the garden . . . 

However the ajuga on first sideyard is filling in between the stepping stones

and other things are still showing their greenery for spring. Yesterday I cleared half another garden bed of weeds, pulled out dead stems above the freshly sprouting catmint, and gathered up piles of sycamore leaves that had blown into the yard, stuck under shrubs all winter. It was enough to get me winded and swell my ankle again.

I think this year I have to just plan on trying to keep the yard tidy and take care of the perennials, that's probably it. They will get a good feed this season as I didn't turn over and spread the compost last season, just gave them some leaf mulch if I recall. 

some green

My coleus are the only plants I'm tending right now that will go out into the ground. The orange/lime ones have done the best this winter:

'Kiwi fern' is also in pretty good shape

 Some of the others- not so much. In the past few years the crazy 'rodeo drive' one was always thriving, but now some of those have the sickly look, and I threw out two pots of it entirely.

The one with purplish stripes (I'm forgetting names right now) and pale 'Limelight' are also puny- I only have one of each. Hope to propagate more when they get a bit bigger.

Thank goodness another favorite, the bright one I pinched years ago- I feel sure I learned the name of this one too, but now can't recall it either

 Didn't notice until now, taking pictures, but I seem to have finally lost the pink 'watermelon' variety. I probably only had one cutting of it in the fall, and I guess it was among those that withered and got thrown out. The one I like so much that it's always lived indoors, is still doing grand, though!

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.

boston fern

I think this fern is doing much better than ones I've had in the past. I didn't cut it all back but just have been pinching off dead leaves or the worst fronds now and then. It had some new little fiddleheads coming in a while ago and I didn't hope much but now there's lots of young fronds! Wish I knew why it's done better. The lighting? Proximity to an aquarium? I mist it several times a week, no more than did with prior plants. Did let the house get colder this winter, and it's by a slightly drafty window, perhaps the cooler temps were beneficial. Whatever the reason, I'm happy for it and will be glad to put it outside again when it's a bit warmer for longer.

it was beautiful

The waxy, surreally-bright pink flowers on my Thanksgiving cactus are finally fading and dropping off. 

So pretty while it lasted! (pics from a week ago)

angel gone

 My second-favorite angelfish, Shirley, died sometime last night. She looked okay yesterday- alert and came eager to eat just like always. But this morning I didn't see her in the tank, had to search. She was on the tank floor behind a filter sponge, not moving. She rests in the garden now. I don't want to keep a large tank running for just one fish, so I am breaking down the 55 and moving Precious into the 20H.

I knew her end was probably coming within the year, I didn't expect it to be so soon. Even though it was half-expected and I've never been quite as fond of the gold angels as I was of Miss Beautiful, I still feel very sad and glum.

fox glimpse

in the yard behind mine

houseplants to note

My plain spider plant is making tons of babies right now. I've already given away half a dozen and there's more new.

Thanksgiving cactus is a little bigger this year, and getting ready to bloom for the holiday!

I have a new-to-me boston fern. I always did miss the last one. This is one somebody was getting rid of, because done with its summer on their porch. I know it will start to dry out and drop lots of leaves and maybe only last me one or two seasons more. 

But for now I'm enjoying tending it- snipping off dead ends, misting and turning daily. Already it's been thinned out twice, but looks the better for it.

countertop rainbow

 

dried cowpeas

Took down the vines the other day. Got a few more dried pods I hadn't noticed before

It was a good amount of cowpeas (black-eyed peas) this year, in spite of my neglect 

My little jar is half filled, enough to make a few decent soups I think I still have yet to try them! 

Always find it amusing to see the tiny, undeveloped beans in a few pods- here with two regular-sized ones.

wasp

found crawling on the windows inside- I let it out

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.

33 update

Did another water change, pulled more sheets of cyanobacteria nastiness out of the tank, that same spot against the glass. I lifted out the bolbitis fern piece, and vacuumed thoroughly that whole area. Yeah, there was a lot of mulm. Tucker seems to be feeling better now- he's got a bit more color and looks more alert.

He hides when I clean in the tank- behind the rotala thicket or under a sponge filter in the corner. Whereas the white cloud minnows get all excited and dart around where I'm working, nipping at bits of stuff that gets disturbed into the water column. Caught an adult with the siphon accidentally- they just won't stay away from it! I netted him back into the tank, he's got a few scrapes but I think will be okay. 

Keeping background up to block some of the window light for a few more days, then I hope I've got the most of this problem beat. Another fulltank shot- I think this one came out a little better (click to view the whole thing larger)

window tank rescape

I redid some stuff in here, too. Full tank shot (a tad blurry, so hard to get a good photo of this):

On one end, I pulled some crypt moehlmannii that was growing into areas it wouldn't have space (into the anubias thicket, under the log). The original parent plant in center has lost all its leaves, but there's a row of younger plants off runners up against the glass now. Thinned out the vals too- mostly pulling out leaves that had decay. Added a small piece of hardscape with buces and subwassertang on it (just in front of the large anubias there)

Most of the work I did was central- pulling out crypts from the back wall and moving them into the center, shifting smaller crypts from the center to further back, and pulling up most of the dwarf sag (which didn't end up staying tank height after all) moving them to the foreground. They're doing okay after all- I found lots of new baby ones!

Tucker the paradise fish kept getting in the pictures

Also trimmed and replanted more rotalas to make a further wall of them against the rear glass. Which is hard to see as it's backlit from the window-

Moved a few more plants around on this side, too- but mostly noticable is just the addition of another buce clump from the angel tank.

The leaves on my madagascar lace come and go. Never seem to have more than two or three really healthy ones at a time- sigh.

Here's Tucker who kept getting in front of the camera, but never held still of course!

His tail fin has got short again, lost its filaments, and he's been kind of pale lately. So I'm concerned for his health, too. (White clouds look totally fine. In fact, they're still breeding. The first two fry I saw this year are half-grown already, swimming in the open with adults now. There's one smaller fry half their size- probably two months old, and another much smaller fry several weeks old I'm guessing. So at least four!)

Angle shot-

I do like seeing the sun come through the plant leaves, like here- but found it was too much this time. Or my faulty maintenance. Found some cyanobacteria (aka blue-green alage) behind the bolbitis driftwood, against the window side glass. Icky stuff. Dismayed because that means definitely my tank has too much mulm buildup, and I'm afraid it will be hard to get rid of.

I've done another water change, cleaned filter sponge (found the housing of one was cracked, so I did a little repair with fishing line) and temporarily blocked out some of the window light. Tomorrow going to do another water change with thorough gravel vac in that problem area. Felt like I was on my feet nearly all day working on this tank- far longer than I expected to!

So that's my big update for now.

shrimp jars!

Attempting to revive my élan for the tanks. Starting small: rescaped both shrimp jars. One on the left was quite hazy. I scraped algae off the glass and did two water changes after the rescape. Finally now it looks clearer. 

The one on the right I simplified, now it's just mermaid weed and parrot's feather in the center, with buces around the edge.

Trimmed the parrot's feather to multiply the stems- all short temporarily

Jar on the left, I kept most of the plants and tried to make a nicer arrangement. Removed some of the anubias, added baby java ferns (which immediately started growing! so maybe finally I found a place java ferns will be happy. They always die in winter in my window tank, and the leaves stayed small, then died off over and over, in my angel tank). From above:

The bowl still has two small anubias-

one on each side

There's two buces flanking the rock/wood the java ferns are on-

and corkscrew vals opposite side of that.

I'm a bit surprised the twisty vals are not only still here, but appear to be doing just fine! Also surprised that I kind of like them in here (never cared for them in the bigger aquariums).

Both jars also got a new addition- a few pieces of amazon frogbit, from somebody who bought anubias from me. Balance has changed in the jars- all my larger duckweed died off. Only some small duckweed left. Trying frogbit again-

Still have two shrimps in each jar!