What's growing? What's Blooming?

Blooming in February? You gotta be kidding! We may yet be hit by a killing frost, even a hard freeze. I hope not - I don't have much control over the apricot and plum buds that are starting to swell.




Pussy Willow (Salix) - These are from a young bush, just a stick 2 years ago. I cut off all of the flowering stems, it will help the bush become bushier. This summer's growth will be next year's flowers, so cutting flowers now is just a way to prune for increased flower production next year.

Helleborus is always good for a super-early show, even before snowdrops. They love moist, shady locations, North side of house. The only down side is the flowers tend to droop, so you need to get up close to see them.

Globe allium. Onion-family plants thrive here. This was one bulb a few years ago, now it's 5.

Garlic chives (Chinese chives) - our favorite for dumplings. This barrel on south side of house, soon will be harvestable size. Another barrel, on north side of house, shoots are barely visible. I also have them in the ground - much more difficult to manage, due to weeds and grass. Once grass invades, it's next to impossible to pull out from a grassy plant like chives or chinese chives.

Another helleborus. Cool!

Super-Early Seed Planting

It's been nice and warm, seems amazing for February. Here is a screenshot from weather.com:

"Tropicals" like tomatoes, chili peppers, eggplants, and basil, can't go into the ground until May, due to the risk for frost and the cool ground. I do need to measure the ground temperature. Cool-weather plants, some of which can even be winter-sown, are another matter, I think.

I've been wanting to do this project for a long time. Ning found a couple of "free-for-the-taking" wine barrels, and scarfed them up for use as planters. They've been sitting for a year or two. Today I got out the Skill-saw and cut them in halves, then drilled multiple 1-inch holes in the bottoms of each. Ning wanted to be able to move them around, so we added casters.

The main incentive was a warmer and more controlled environment for chili peppers and eggplants, which are challenging in the Maritime Pacific Northwest climate. It's still 3 months too early for those, but with unseasonably warm weather, I decided to try greens and radishes. Being above ground, South side of house, on a masonry patio, they should be much warmer. Today is 54F. The past week has been in a similar range. If it freezes, I can cover them as long as I have some warning. Freezing should not harm these plants. Weeds are growing actively, and brassicas are a lot like weeds in hardiness. The onions survived hard freeze down to 15 F in December, without damage.

Here's what we planted:

Some lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson - 40 days
Radish, Daikon Miyashige White - 60 days
Radish, French Breakfast - 28 days
Carrot, Scarlet Nantes - 65 days
Radish, Cherry Belle - 24 days
Cilantro, Slow Bolting - not listed
Mesclun, Asian Salad Greens blend, 21-45 days

Plus, I pulled a couple dozen struggling top-set onions from a garden bed, where they had been neglected, separated them, and planted individually for use as scallions.

It's always an experiment. I'll look for a sheet of plastic to cover them, keep them warmer. This is 2 of 4 half-barrels, so I can plant more in a couple of weeks.

They will probably take longer than listed. That's OK. If they are not fully developed by the time that we plant chilis and eggplants, we can harves them as 'baby vegetables' or feed them to the chickens. But given that we have about 85 days, I suspect that we'll have some garden-fresh greens before that time

I like the "controlled environment" aspect of using a prepared potting soil, raised above ground level. Less liklihood of disease problems, easier to plant, harvest, weed, thin. No getting feet muddy and tramping down the soil. Expense is an issue - it takes a lot of soil to fill the barrels. If they were not free, that is another issue. They should last a long time - I have 10-year old half-barrels that still look great and show no signs of falling apart. Yet.

Pie Intermission: Pepper seeds.

The Pepper Seeds continue to incubate. I think one seed sprouted so far - a cayenne.

This method makes it easy to observe the results without opening the bag. However, I did open it briefly to let some air into it.

The thermometer reads 86 F. This article describes experiments on pepper seed germination - looks like 30C (about 86F) is about the highest you can go before viability drops off. Not much difference between 20C and 30C (68F and 86F). They didn't test lower, and the next higher temp, 35C (95F), gave a much poorer result. It took 6 to 10 days for 1/2 of the seeds to germinate. Based on this experiment, I don't need to heat them so warm, but the mat doesnt' give much temperature control. On the other hand, in seed starting medium, they will probably be a little cooler, due to medium between the seeds and the mat.

This article recommends 70F to 90F. They also recommend a presoak in dilute vinegar or dilute tea. This article also states the same thing.

There seems to be a whole subculture built around growing chilis. I have this book pretty good discussion of chili types, history, and cultivation.

Ecoseeds.com suggests that peat-based media inhibit either germination or growth of pepper seeds. I don't know how scientific their experiment was, but it's worth keeping in mind. Given that there is signiciant criticism regarding the environmental impact of peat harvesting, there may be some bias - no way for the reader to know.

One little sprout.

Here are the rest of the seeds.

Olive Oil Piecrust

Last week I dreamed that my Mom made a pie. I don't know why - my Dad was the real pie maker.

Anyway, we do need ways to use the fruits and vegetables that we grow. The pie shell is universal - use your eggs in it when making a quiche or vegetable pie, or use your fruit to make a dessert pie.

Wanting to keep it healthy, I make an olive oil crust. Step by step below.

It's pretty easy. There are only 4 ingredients, and nothing is unusual. It comes out nice and flaky, every time. I suppose if I wanted buttery flavor, I could add a butter flavored extract, but I don't really miss it.

Measure out:
3 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup olive oil
3/8 cup skim milk

Combine the flour and salt, then add the milk and oil.

I use chopsticks to 'flake it all' together, then a wooden spatula and my hands to make a ball.

My Dad would refrigerate it at this stage, or after rolling it out. I went ahead and made the crust.

Then I divide it into uneven halves, the larger portion for the pie shell, the smaller portion for the top.



Roll out between 2 layers of wax paper. This is the secret for an oil crust, it's not firm like a shortening bad-for-you crust

I peel off the top layer of wax paper, then roll it onto the rolling pin, use the rolling pin to lift into the pie plate, then shape it.

Then I roll out the top crust, and set aside to make the filling.

I'll blog on the filling tomorrow.

American Egg Idols - 3 of our stars

Leghorn lady, hasn't missed laying a large white egg since August. Probably over 180 eggs so far, many times her weight.

Rhode Island Red lady. She and her identical twin sister have been prolific as well, laying a light brown egg, each, every day since mid October. About 90 eggs so far.



Australorp Lady. Beautiful, iridescent bluish black feathers. Very timid - she escaped my arms and flew into the pond. Amazingly, she just sat there and floated. Like a duck. Didn't paddle, though. She has laid a daily egg almost every day since mid October. I'm guessing, about 85 eggs so far.

Seed starting test #2. Mostly pepper seeds.

Seed viability test #2. Mostly peppers.

I decided to get out more old pepper seeds and see if they will start. Each square contains 10 seeds. Varieties are:

Aji Pepper 04
Cayeene Pepper 08
Portugal Pepper 08
Doe Hill Pepper 04
Alma Paprika Pepper 06
Red Delicious Pepper 06
Thumbelina Carrot (not pepper) 06
Louisiana Hot Pepper 04

I made the following changes in the method:
(1) The paper towel sits on a plastic sheet, cut from a thick plastic bag. That made it easier to handle when wet.
(2) I placed a layer of kitchen towel between the heating mat and the seed bag. This was because I was concerned the mat is too warm.
(3) I moistened the paper towels with a solution of 1/4 tsp miracle grow in 1 gallon of water.


Depending on what happens, if the pepper seeds germinate, I may try to keep a few as early starts. It's a bit too early for that, I think, but we'll see.

Unseasonably early growth: Rhubarb

A few perennial vegetables are making themselves known in the winter garden. I have one small chive-like onion that I gave up on a few years ago, but keeps coming up. The leaves are now about 6 inches long. Last week I used them as flavor in a savory crepe. Rhubarb is showing signs of life. No where near eating, of course. Then there are the onions, garlic, and shallots that I planted and commented on earlier.



I like this about living in the Pacific Northwest. Even though it's Winter, some signs of life remain. In addition to the edibles, some daffodils also have about 3 inches of growth.

Another Cymbidium Photo

As long as I had the camera out, I took another photo of this Cymbidium. Cool color!

January planting

Thursday (3 days ago) I sorted through saved starts from Multiplier Onions (White Potato Onion) and Garlic (by now I've mess up and I don't know the variety - it's either Inchelium Red or German Red. Probably Inchelium based on the size of the bulb and # of cloves, more than German Red usually has).

Most were firm and appeared viable.

I planted about 50 White Potato Onion starts, both large and small, in last year's tomato bed. Large ones become clusters of small ones next season. Small ones become one large one, next season. There should be plenty for scallions and to save. I wanted to keep these going, they are an heirloom variety and I used to grow them as a boy, a gift from my grandmother's sister. The flavor is more complex than the "normal" store-bought onions, and not as harsh as the Egyptian Walking onions. I hope they grow - normally I plant them in the fall. My goal this year is to have a good supply to eat, but also to have a good supply to carry on to next year, both large and small bulbs.

A few came up in last year's bed, apparently having forgotten them during the summer.

Generally speaking, Garlic planted in the Fall grows to about 6" tall in the fall, overwinters, and makes good bulbs by June or July. Garlic planted in the Spring usually grows into one large clove. That's OK, but the goal is for a multiclove bulb. We'll see what happens with these January-planted garlic plants.

The soil was quite workable. Not too soggy.

It's rained for 2 days since planting.

Friday I saw some nice brown shallots at Safeway, bought a package of 3. I planted them today - just because I can. Shallots are about the same as multiplier onions, but a bit smaller. I planted them out of curiosity.

I read in a garden calendar (see prior entries last week or so) that onions and garlic can be planted now, which is what inspired me.

Seed Germination Experiment: 14 days & Conclusion

I wondered, just how warm is the heating mat. I placed a thermometer between the mat and the thin kitchen towel that covered it, left the thermometer in place overnight. A toasty 86F degrees. Wow!

I had unplugged the mat and forgotten it for 2 days, which may affect the results.

The additional seeds that sprouted were" Cherokee Purple tomato, all. Lemon Boy, all. Tabasco pepper, 2 more. Spinach, all.

Final results, including sprouted seeds that I removed to make the new ones countable:




Chinese Parsley 2005 0/10
Gambo Pepper 2004 0/10
Cherokee Purple Tom. 2009 10/10
Lemon Boy Tomato 2007 10/10
Lemon Boy Tomato 2006 10/10
Tabasco Pepper 2006 2/10
Tabasco Pepper unknown 0/10
Bulgarian Carrot Pep. 2008 10/10
Supersweet 100 Tom. 2007 10/10


Roma II Bush Bean 2008 10/10
Goldn Wax Bush Bean 2008 9/10
Scallop Bush Squash 2008 9/10
Roma Bush Bean 2009 10/10
Icicle Radish 2008 pkt 1 10/10
Icicle Radish 2008 pkt 2 10/10
Golden Nugget Tom. 2009 10/10
Spinach Savoy 2009 10/10
Black Krim Tomato 2008 10/10
Better Boy Tomato 2006 1/10

Orchids

Representatives from two more genera. I did not plan on adding either. Most Cymbidiums are too large, and I have never seen an Epidendrum available.

I'm trying to photograph the entire plant. Web photos are cool, but all too often, they just display the flower. It's difficult to find good photos of the entire plant. For me, much of the allure is in the form, from the roots, to the pseudobulbs or canes, to the thick leaves, to the flowers.

A small Epidendrum. These are also called "Reedstem Epidendrums" or "Poorman's Orchid". The flowers are held in bunches above the reed-like stems (duh) for an appearance similar to a kalanchoe. Culture is said to be very easy, similar to most other windowsill orchids - American Orchid Society directions here.

A brownp-flowered cymbidium. I had no plans at all to buy one. Most are too big. This one is smaller, and I'm partial to unusual colors like this one. I had a bit of buyer's remorse, solely because there isn't much room. Culture is similar to epidendrum and Cattleya.

The entire Cymbidium. We'll see how it does. In a way, the flowers are too much - one flower on a stem would be less extravagant. These are said to last 2 or 3 months. We'll see how it does in my room.

Seed Germination Experiment: 7 days

Chinese Parsley 2005 0/10

Gambo Pepper 2004 0/10

Cherokee Purple Tom. 2009 8/10

Lemon Boy Tomato 2007 7/10

Lemon Boy Tomato 2006 10/10

Tabasco Pepper 2006 0/10

Tabasco Pepper unknown 0/10

Bulgarian Carrot Pep. 2008 0/10

Supersweet 100 Tom. 2007 6/10

Roma II Bush Bean 2008 10/10

Goldn Wax Bush Bean 2008 9/10

Scallop Bush Squash 2008 9/10

Roma Bush Bean 2009 10/10

Icicle Radish 2008 pkt 1 10/10

Icicle Radish 2008 pkt 2 10/10

Golden Nugget Tom. 2009 9/10

Spinach Savoy 2009 8/10

Black Krim Tomato 2008 10/10

Lemon Boy Tomato 2006 1/10

Planning ahead for seed starting.

This is planning WAY ahead, but having played with seeds I wondered what are the best dates to start vegetable seeds.

The information below is from Suite100.com:

They recommend starting seeds 4 to 6 weeks before the date to set out plants.

Very Early: 4-6 wks before the date of last frost. March 16th to March 30th.
Asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, spinach, turnips.

Early: 2-4 wks before date of last frost. March 23rd to April 6th.
Beets, carrots, chard, mustard, potatoes.

Average: On or just after date of last frost April 20th. (WSU extension states set out tomatoes Mid May)
Beans, corn, tomato.

Late: One or more weeks after date of last frost April 27th.
Cucumbers, eggplant, melons, okra, peppers, squash.

To find date of last frost, check farmer's almanac here. For Vancouver WA, date of last frost is April 20th. (Date of first frost is given as Oct 15th). That's interesting, because for Seattle, date of last frost is March 10th, and for Portland, which is next door, date of last frost is March 23.

For starting seeds, then, we would time our starts 2 to 4 weeks before planting dates.

Tomatoes - start seeds March 16th to March 30th.
Peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, squash - start seeds March 23rd to April 6th.

I'm not sure about the beans, because they grow so fast and need warm soil. I'm tempted to say start them in May.

For direct sowing of seeds in the yard, zone 8, this site recommends:

Carrots: Feb through April
Lettuce: Feb through March
Onions: Dec through Feb
Peas: Feb through March
Radishes: Feb through April
Spinach: Feb through April
Beans: March through August

These seem early! I'll need to check some other sites as well.

We should be about the same as western valleys of Oregon - maybe a week later. So from OR state extension service, this site:
Beans: May through July
Carrots: March through July 15th
Corn: April through June
Garlic: Sept through Feb (interesting)
Peas: Feb through May
Radish: March through Sept
Spinach: April

What's growing? What's blooming?

Lycoris radiata leaves remain alive. I thought the freeze might kill them. So far, so good. A small amount of slug damage - need to get out some slug bait.



Hazelnut trees are blooming - I think. The catkins on one are long and green, and the others are shorter and grey. They are supposed to pollenate each other . One is Ennis and other is Butler - I'll have to go out and check the tags next weekend.

Seed Germination Experiment: 4 days

Now at 4 days. Many seeds have sprouted.


Chinese Parsley 2005 0/10

Gambo Pepper 2004 0/10

Cherokee Purple Tom. 2009 8/10

Lemon Boy Tomato 2007 5/10

Lemon Boy Tomato 2006 6/10

Tabasco Pepper 2006 0/10

Tabasco Pepper unknown 0/10

Bulgarian Carrot Pep. 2008 1/10

Supersweet 100 Tom. 2007 0/10

Roma II Bush Bean 2008 7/10

Goldn Wax Bush Bean 2008 8/10

Scallop Bush Squash 2008 7/10

Roma Bush Bean 2009 6/10

Icicle Radish 2008 pkt 1 10/10

Icicle Radish 2008 pkt 2 9/10

Golden Nugget Tom. 2009 2/10

Spinach Savoy 2009 6/10

Black Krim Tomato 2008 1/10

Better Boy Tomato 2006 0/10

If a count dropped - the seed may have fallen out. Plus, on the first count, it was very hard to see sprouts - kind of like a hanging chad.

I forgot to note on the first post - the water that I used contained very dilute orchid food - 1/2 of the strength used for normal daily watering. I don't know if that influenced the results or not.

I removed the larger grown seeds - squash, beans, radishes - to avoid overgrowing. The remainder went back into the bags and back on the warming mat.

4 days. Not bad.

Oncidium starts from "backbulbs": Update

Today is my day off. I went for physical therapy for my neck disk, now back home. Before starting "homework", I checked the orchids, watered them. I accidentally noticed the baggy-with-sphagnum-backbulb system that was set up 4 months ago. Buy "set up" I mean, I had cut the backbulbs off the original orchid (Oncidium "dancing ladies"-type) , wrapped them in damp sphagnum moss, placed them into a ziplock baggy, zipped it shut, and left them in an east windowsill. I forgot to record when I started this "experiment". I'm thinking September. That would be 4 months ago.

As I discovered the ziplock bag. Barely visible sprout in the baggie. Cool!

Out of the bag. I couldn't resist. Plus, I wanted to re-position the sprout so that it gets more light.

This plant, started from another backbulb at the same time, is further ahead. growth is slow - after all, (1) it's an orchid and (2) it's midwinter and (3) I don't know what I'm doing. Still, it IS growing.

Flowers on the original plant. Photo taken January, 2008. Although the plant isn't in bloom yet this year, the new bud spike is growing mm by mm.

So now the starts are back in baggies, but separate baggies. The sprouted start is in my home office along with the other orchids, still in baggie because roots have not sprouted yet. I think they will come when the new start is bigger, and roots don't grow from the old backbulb.

Seed Germination Experiment: 2 days (60 hours)

Interesting result so far. I planted Sunday am, now it's Tues pm, roughly 60 hours.
Chinese Parsley 2005 0/10

Gambo Pepper 2004 0/10

Cherokee Purple Tom. 2009 3/10

Lemon Boy Tomato 2007 3/10

Lemon Boy Tomato 2006 0/10

Tabasco Pepper 2006 0/10

Tabasco Pepper unknown 0/10

Bulgarian Carrot Pep. 2008 0/10

Supersweet 100 Tom. 2007 2/10

Roma II Bush Bean 2008 6/10

Goldn Wax Bush Bean 2008 8/10

Scallop Bush Squash 2008 4/10

Roma Bush Bean 2009 5/10

Icicle Radish 2008 pkt 1 9/10

Icicle Radish 2008 pkt 2 9/10

Golden Nugget Tom. 2009 2/10

Spinach Savoy 2009 3/10

Black Krim Tomato 2008 2/10

Better Boy Tomato 2006 0/10

So far, very early, quite a lot of germination. This is a test of the packets to see what I can use this year, not a randomized-controlled trial of effects of age on germination. Still, it's interesting. The warmer certainly doesn't seem to hurt, and may well help.

The cat, of course, needs to get to the middle of it all. Probably thinking "this is where that large lumbering animal opens the little packages of yummy stinky fishy stuff for me. Maybe it will open one now! She then walks across a paper towel - well, no longer any semblance of sterile :-)

I did add another sheet of paper towel to each bag. They seem too moist.

We'll see how they look in another day or two.

Baby you gotta put me on your healthcare plan...

This has nothing to do with living greener, gardening, pruning, or puttering around the yard. Unless you get a pulled muscle (which I have) or chop off the end of a finger with the pruning shears (which I have done). It's just that I spent all day today (Sunday) doing "homework" - except that prior entry - and needed a laugh. I love this video diversion before heading to bed.

Garden Log: Testing seeds for germination

As planned, this is the start of the germination testing for old seeds. The objective is to determine which packets might as well be composted, and which ones can be planted for this year's vegetable garden. I haven't done it this way in the past, so it's an experiment.



Two generic white paper towels, marked with squares and labeled with the seed varieties and year. The year is the year to sell, so they were one season old at that point. I wanted to test tomato varieties, peppers, and beans. There were also some squash, spinach, radish, and Chinese parsley seeds, so i thought, "why not".

The seed sizes are quite different, but I don't think that matters.

Covered with a paper towel, and very carefully slid into zipper type plastic bag. I did not lift them from the table, just slid, to avoid spilling seeds. This was the most difficult step, especially for round seeds.



I used a tablespoon to add water to the paper towels, about 1-2 tablespoons to each square. This was challenging, again trying to avoid spilling seeds from their designated squares. The labels became more visible when the paper towels were moist. Most of the seeds stayed in place. Once moist, they don't move around much. These photos are also my record, in case the labels become nonlegible.

Then moved to the seed warming pad. My main concern is that the pad is designed to have a seed flat sitting on it, and this method may cause overheating. It's not an exact science. I may give in and buy a thermometer. Regardless, it's a few months to seed starting season, so if this doesn't work, I can try again.

Garden Log: early pre-prep for new apple trees.

Not much to report.

I dug out 2 2-ft diameter circles of sod in the front yard. These spots are in preparation for the superdwarf apple trees that should come via mail order in a month. I mixed in some vegetable garden soil, and threw the old sod onto the veggie patch.

Now it can "cure" a month and will be ready when the trees arrive. I may mix in some additional organic matter, although my own compost is in a waiting mode due to cold.

Seeds to start in 2010

Order from Burpee came in the mail. I felt like a kid on Xmas day. Even though I ordered them myself.

All as ordered. The warming mat will be handy for upcoming experiment, to post tomorrow if I do it. I want to see if existing old packets of seed will sprout. I'll place them on moist paper towels, in baggies, and leave them on the mat. We'll see.

What another Paphiopedilum?

A Phalaenopsis was failing to thrive. I checked the roots and there basically werent any. I am not crazy enough about them to try to rescue it. The original intent was as sort of a "cut flower" that wasn't cut, anyway.

It's absence left room for a new addition. So here it is.

Garden Log, Sunday Jan 3, 2010

Other than the Burpee order, here's what I did today:

Got out the branch & leaf shredded, did some minor repair, and ground up all of the grape prunings. Also the wisteria prunings from yesterday, and about 1/2 of the rose prunings. These had a hay-like appearance when done. I made mulch-donuts around the 2 plum trees.

Yesterday I also dug out the rose that resulted from root stock of a tree rose a few years ago. The tree rose had died, but new canes kept growing from the old root stock, I replaced this with a Rose of Sharon, started as a volunteer seedling about 3 years ago, which last year had very nice white flowers with rose center. The parent is magenta with darker center. I pruned back the 3 ft Rose of Sharon shrub (basically a feathered whip) to 18 inches, to encourage branching.