I'm excited to post this next photo. My Maglia Rosa tomato (the parent of the seedlings above) is still in flower. It's a leggy gangly tomato, but it's still trying. I went ahead and got a vibrating toothbrush and have used it on the flower. If you have been following my blog you might remember that I lost all of the blossoms that I tried to "spank" or "phone vibrate" pollinate a couple months ago. Tomato people swear by this toothbrush method though, so I'll give it a go.
The Borlotto (cranberry) bean plant died. All of the leaves got brown spots and dried up. I noticed it wasn't growing, and realized last night that a spider web was the only thing holding the leaves in place. I took the one tiny bean and tossed the plant. I will probably try this variety again (outside). I bought seeds on eBay from a seller in China. The first seeds they sent were wrong (ordered golden beets, got what I believe to be amaranth seeds). So when the second part of my order arrived, I wasn't sure if they were the right seeds... so I planted a couple. Of five seeds that are supposed to be Purple Dragon Carrot, this is the only seedling. I'm waiting for the "true leaves" to sprout, but so far it looks like a carrot. Now to see if the roots come up the right color. Another of the seeds from the same seller mentioned above - these should be a really pretty poppy flower. I'm not sure what these are, aside from very tiny. I'll wait to see if they grow into the variety I ordered. My Maglia Rosa seedlings are growing tall and thick. I have plans to separate this bunch into two groups and plant them in two old kitty-litter containers I've got set aside. That should get them through for a while longer anyway. I don't think they'll wait for spring to go outside. I'm sure they'll start strangling each other any time now, but for the moment they seem to peacefully exist all clumped together like that. I have been busy playing on Listia for the last few weeks, and I earned enough points to buy a lot of seeds, which included four live plants. There was a rooted raspberry cutting, an aloe plant, an air plant, and a spineless prickly pear plant. The prickly pear seems most interesting to me, largely because it's something new - and it's edible. I'm leaving my husband in charge of it as I over water cactus. The air plant I'm not sure about. It's just hanging out (no dirt) with the other plants for now. I don't think there's much hope for the raspberry seedling. The leaves are dry and crumpled, and despite putting it directly into soil and watering it, it's not bouncing back. I will continue to care for it under the grow light to see how it does. Here's hoping. The aloe plant was a welcome sight. I remember having one in the house as a child and how helpful they are when you get a sunburn. It looked great coming out of the envelope (shipped from Florida), but as of today some of the "arms" are sinking in. I hope it's going to be alright. Like the raspberry - I'll do my best to nurse it back to health. The USDA/GRIN blackberry cuttings are doing well. I may separate them and plant them in two different locations in the spring. The last two pepper plants are "close enough" to done. I'm going to pull the peppers today and toss the plants outside. They seem to be the main source of the aphid problem. That reminds me, I never got around to treating the aphids. Largely because I'm really struggling with having to use non-natural methods. Yesterday I read somewhere that if you use a spray bottle with pepper oil (simmer habenero peppers and use the water), it will kill off the aphids without harming the plants. I'd just need to rinse the fruits, and wash my hands after playing with the garden. I'm planning a trip to the grocery store tomorrow and will be picking up some habenero peppers, and a spray bottle. Comments are closed.
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