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Post by cheerypeabrain on Mar 25, 2011 10:13:53 GMT
They all get pricked out into individual pots Bixa...I'm rapidly running out of space.
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Post by rikita on Mar 25, 2011 11:49:06 GMT
i sometimes like just throwing random seeds of stuff i eat into a pot and see what happens. have two little carob trees now, that are maybe a year old, and that i will try to turn into bonsais. once had a little mango plant, but it died after a few months.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 28, 2011 3:02:40 GMT
You did good, Rikita! I think mangos always die in pots. They turn into immense trees in the ground, as you undoubtedly know now from your recent time in India.
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Post by rikita on Mar 29, 2011 16:28:19 GMT
yeah i saw some there, unfortunately i left before mango season started, though. i will try again with the mangoes, but i guess it might be difficult...
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 29, 2011 16:33:30 GMT
Here is a hint for getting a mango to sprout quickly. Very carefully shave off an edge of the big hairy seed with a knife. Just get enough off so that you can get your thumbnail, screwdriver, or knife edge into the opening. Twist, then open it fully to expose the bean within. A few varieties have seeds that you can open with your thumbnails without having to mess with the knife. A great one to sprout is tamarind, if you can find a place that sells either the pods or blocks of the paste. The seeds in the paste will usually sprout. It's a very tough plant that can live for years in the same pot, so should be perfect for bonsai. Can we see a picture of the carob plants?
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Post by rikita on Mar 29, 2011 19:19:42 GMT
and put only that bean into the ground? or the whole opened seed?
oh, saw lots of tamarind in india, but not sure where to get that here...
okay will take pictures but might be a while before i can put them up...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2011 19:25:39 GMT
My dill is rising, but I really must plant a few beans in a pot just for the fun of it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 29, 2011 22:54:00 GMT
and put only that bean into the ground? or the whole opened seed? Just the bean, Rikita. More often than not, they've already started sprouting inside the seed.
oh, saw lots of tamarind in india, but not sure where to get that here... Hmm. Are there any Indian or Hispanic or Asian food stores? I don't know how the paste is made, but the seeds in it are viable.
okay will take pictures but might be a while before i can put them up... That's all right! Kerouac, if you've got the space and enough light, try sprouting a sweet potato for a pretty vine to drape around the window.
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Post by rikita on Mar 30, 2011 20:45:26 GMT
lots of asia shops... will go to one as soon as we are a bit more sorted out financially, as i also want to get some stuff for making sushi again...
mr. r. is growing cacti from seeds, btw. his first batch had three survivors from twelve, they are a bit under a year old and about five cm now, he now planted new seeds...
i did plant two of the mung-been sprouts i had for sprout eating, will do that with more. found bean seeds from last year, but put them in water first for them to sprout, and it seems they are all spoilt, none of them is getting green in any way (the one type never did even right after buying the package, i think there something happened to the package before i bought it)
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 30, 2011 22:44:42 GMT
Yay for Mr. R! I believe getting three out of twelve is pretty good for cactus seed.
Rikita, I love sticking seeds in dirt to see what will happen. I have a paperback from 1977 called "The Don't Throw It, Grow It Book of Houseplants". It tells how to start all kinds of regular and exotic stuff from kitchen produce. Let me know if you want me to look anything up.
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Post by rikita on Mar 31, 2011 15:24:12 GMT
cool, thanks, will do so... so they give tips like what plants need wet or dry ground or more or less light etc.?
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 31, 2011 20:13:01 GMT
Yep! I love this little book. It's very succinct, but gives all the info you need. Thank you for the opportunity to revive the thread about favorite gardening books. Please go here, to Reply #9 for more info. I even copied out an entire chapter for you to see.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 2, 2011 19:31:54 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 2, 2011 19:59:29 GMT
Gad ~~ you're so tidy!
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 2, 2011 20:11:59 GMT
er...you didn't see it before I started shuffling the pots about.... ;D
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2011 17:59:56 GMT
Frighteningly neat. I have an onion doing the same thing on my kitchen floor at the moment, in total disobedience to my instructions to it.
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Post by rikita on Apr 3, 2011 21:27:53 GMT
oh, i wish i had that much space for pots and all...
are those onions or some other bulb plants? am just asking because the other day i put an onion that had started sprouting green stuff into the ground because i was curious what they look like when they grow...
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 4, 2011 8:06:40 GMT
They are shallot sets Rikita, I start them off in trays to give them a kick start. They're in the raised bed now. ;D
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Post by rikita on Apr 4, 2011 16:46:08 GMT
what does shallot seeds mean? i can have mine only in pots or trays though, i have no garden...
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 7, 2011 8:28:09 GMT
A shallot is a small onion, when you plant ordinary onions you just get one big onion per plant, with shallots you plant the bulb and each one produces several little sweet onions. They're great in stir fries, casseroles and other dishes...I pickle mine. ;D
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 7, 2011 8:35:59 GMT
Here are some I grew in 2009, planted 6 shallot bulbs and got all these
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2011 20:33:43 GMT
We will be sending in our orders for 2011. Is shipping included in the price or it is extra?
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Post by rikita on Apr 7, 2011 21:06:58 GMT
i see.... and with normal onions, how do they make new ones then?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2011 21:35:46 GMT
That is a mystery to me as well, except that I know if you plant one little potato, once the plant has grown, for some strange reason there are a dozen potatoes underground. I presume that onions use a similar strategy.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 7, 2011 21:55:43 GMT
i see.... and with normal onions, how do they make new ones then? With normal onions, they are grown originally from seed. The seed with eventually grow into a little plant that forms a small onion bulb (or 'set' as they are called...) these then grow on to form a larger onion. If I'm going to grow 'proper' onions I buy a bag of 'sets' as they give me a head start...I plant these in March and by early September I have some nice big onions. Only one per plant tho.....If I grow onions from seed (which I've only done once) I have to sow the seed in September and protect the plants in my cold frame or greenhouse over winter before planting them in the vegetable patch the following spring. That's how I do it anyway.... Incidentally...you can grow shallots from seed too...to get seed from either onions or shallots you have to allow the plant to flower and collect the seed, which means that you can't use the bulb to eat.
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Post by rikita on Apr 8, 2011 19:10:45 GMT
ah, seems like onions are a bit too much work for my taste then. though i will let those i put in the ground grow on... maybe i will check out shallots one day...
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 14, 2011 17:52:12 GMT
More seed sown today...
Geranium Maderense (for next year)
Scented leaf geraniums (mixed)
Stoksia
lysimachia atropurpurea
adenium Thailand Beauty (as an experiment)
the plastic greenhouse (GH) is full...the glass house is full...the conservatory is filling up....and in the cold frame the chocolate cosmos, cannas, ranunculous and callas are starting to grow....YAY!
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Post by rikita on Apr 14, 2011 19:53:45 GMT
chocolate cosmos?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 17, 2011 16:29:21 GMT
;D
It's a deep burgundy coloured flower with a rich chocolate scent....
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Post by rikita on Apr 17, 2011 19:52:09 GMT
oh... sounds interesting. though, if i had a chocolate smell here all the time, i think i'd end up eating even more chocolate...
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