They have begun to flower. I know it is a process but I do enjoy waiting for these beasties to produce. I am excited to see them come into bloom and see what kind of taste they have.
I have no idea what kind of thornless blackberries these are. They were unlabeled excess that I purchased last year in bulk. It was a decent deal for the amount that I purchased.
By Melinda Hatfield
This is the first year they have been able to properly fruit and I am excited to see the outcome. I did not trellis my blackberries. Most of them stand upright on their own other hover over the ground.
I wanted to see what they would do naturally. So far the results aren’t awful and it seems they are producing flowers with little to no maintenance.
By Melinda Hatfield
I didn’t realize how many shoots come off the floracane. Not that it matters but in the picture below you’ll see the prima canes starting at the base of the plant. Last year I clipped half back mid summer and it seemed to have caused more side shoots.
I did notice that I have less growth when I don’t cut the tips but they are better at standing upright without the additional pressure and weight of the new shoots.
By Melinda Hatfield
So I bought these black berries in bulk because they were out of growing season and they didn’t have tags. Nameless babies but I am sure they will be delicious.
Some of the bushes have white flowers and some have pink ones. I must say that this makes me curious if they taste different. All I know is that they make it fun and diverse.
By Melinda Hatfield
I cannot wait to see what our first true harvest will look like.
I hope that our blackberries spread (like people have said they will) so that I can uproot and plant more berry patches. I really enjoy blackberries as a fruit. It’s too bad they do not have the shelf life to be sold in most box stores.
By Melinda Hatfield
Above is our only thorny blackberry bush that made it. We have some white blackberries but their roots were not established enough and they were very young plants and were taken out by the winter storm.
Are you like me and didn’t know that common plant names are not the best way of identifying plants because a lot of the common names get confused or could overlap with others? I mean there are trees that are called oak trees that are not in the same group. It’s just a bunch of craziness and I just want to make it clear: up until this point I was entirely ignorant. I’m cool with it.
Now there is a science to plant classification and in that science there are two categories that we should be aware of and that is the plant taxonomy and plant systematic systems. We used to go by common names but it often became confusing for a lot of people. Today we classify all plants based on their genetic and evolutionary characteristics, this means that the plants are grouped based on who their common ancestors are.
In horticulture they are primarily concerned with the last three levels of classification: Species, Genus and Family.
The species is the most basic level of classification and below this there can be many subspecies. These plants are usually the most closely related to one another and they can interbreed freely.
The Genus is a group of related species.
The Family is the general group of Genus who are all related by a common ancestor.
There are two important flowering plant families that my professor made sure that we covered. Frankly, I’ve already learned more than what I knew before and I am pleased, but we’re only part of the way through so I’ll continue to let you know what I know or I am learning.
First is the dicot family, which is a flowering family with two cotelydons (embrodic leaves). Just to let you know those cotelydons are inside and this is the largest of the two families. There are over 200,000 types and they are everywhere. They are roses, myrtle trees and so many more.
The second flowering family is the Monocot. They are grass like flowering plants that only have one cotelydon per seed. In agriculture the majority of biomass is created through monocots. You might find a monocot as wheat, rice, bamboo, sugar cane, forage grasses and many others. This family includes many bulb flowers like daffodils, lilies, and iris. They are not simply flowers and grasses but also tumeric, garlic, and asparagus.
Both are angiosperms and very popular. I really enjoy these classes and can’t wait to learn more. How many more things am I going to learn? Who knows but I can’t wait.
Although this information may not be useful right away I am certain being able to identify plant families will be useful in the future. These pictures are by a wonderful lady named Vivian Morris.
Plant names are identified not my their family but by the genus and species. Common names change by region and can be confusing because a rose is a rose and can be any different species of rose if you are looking for a specific type. Although common names can be misleading botanical names are not. The Botanic name is a Latin name accepted world wide.
I am having a lot of fun with rosemary. It is one of my favorite herbs to grow in our garden. I started rosemary in 2020 and I fell in love. Have you ever just taken your face and moved your face between their leaves? It is the greatest experience.
Also this is another perennial for my area. One thing I learned is that perennial doesn’t mean that it will live forever. It only gives the promise of three or more years. The more you know, right?
Rosemary is evergreen that boosts the immune system and helps blood circulation. This plant is high in antioxidants, improves digestion, enhancing memory and concentration, neurological protection, protection against macula degeneration, and many other amazing uses. They have this disclaimer that says: do not bulk up on rosemary and try to just eat all of it. Eating rosemary in bulk can put you into a coma and many other not so cool side effects.
This has been one of the easiest herbs that I have been able to grow. Rosemary can get between 1.5 and 3 meters tall- which is awesome. It can be used as an anti fungal remedy as well.
Fun Fact: this is a beneficial herb to help prevent scurvy and certain cancers.
I love that it is one of the many herbs that grows well in containers. I enjoy the smell and that is an evergreen. It is so pretty. Smells good, tastes good in food and has all of the benefits a humble farmer could want. It makes an excellent border shrub and repels certain insects.
I have dried out a large amount of rosemary and I am really excited about grinding it down. I have been making it into a powder and putting them in cork bottles. One day I plan on doing a lot with it. Unfortunately, my plants aren’t producing large quantities of rosemary just yet.
I have been thinking of it’s uses because I do not use powdered rosemary for cooking. Who knows, but the uses are endless.
Not recommended for women who are pregnant, nursing or wish to become pregnant. If you are taking medications that are prescribed or provide long term medical care always consult a physician before adding rosemary to your diet on a regular basis- as in more than 4 nights a week.
Just putting that out there so that if people see it prevents cancer they don’t eat three pounds, put themselves in a coma then sue me. I don’t have time for all of that nonsense.
Just know rosemary is easy to grow, does well against cats using it as camouflage to attack one another and my children love running their fingers through it and it doesn’t die. I can forget to water it and it doesn’t act dramatic.
I started planting endive and arugula. I was told I should plant them in January, they can’t be transplanted until after the front but they need a little bit more time.
At 8 days we had a few more popping up. This is a mixture. One side is arugula and one side is endive.
I think we should start with endive. I should let you know that before this I had no idea what endive was or that it was a thing. You should know that I am new to this and I am trying everything.
Still 8 days. They are just now coming out of their seeds you can see that on this one. It’s lovely.
We planted endive because it can take longer to mature than other plants. It grows like lettuce. They are a leafy green that can be placed in salads for a bitter taste [which is allegedly good in salads].
11 days and we are strength training our sprouts with a fan to over the stove. I know it sounds silly but it helps us thin out weaker sprouts and they are strengthening their stems for our windy area.
The primary reason we are growing it is due to the fact that it is high in fiber and endive glycemic index is very low at 15, which can help prevent spikes in blood glucose after meals. I do not have diabetes but it is a beneficial plant to keep in your garden just in case. Plus we’ve never tried it before. It could be a delicious addition to our salads.
11 days from the top under their grow light. I swear one day the cops are going to come over with a warrant and be very disappointed to find lots of herbs and plants.
Now arugula has this tangy flavor and is also known to help lower blood sugar. It is known to lower the risks to cancer, osteoporosis, assists in preventing insulin resistance, improves the heart and rich in vitamin K. Remember when dealing with vegetables that are high in vitamins similar to K that you should slowly introduce as this vitamin helps assists in blood clotting.
Day 15 and these babies are busting out. You can really see how putting the fan on them for a couple of hours twice a week has caused their thin stalks to thicken and some of the taller sprouts have fallen away.
They say that arugula is said to have a peppery taste as well. It can be chewed to combat sour breath so I have read. Again, this one is new to me but have you see the benefits? I am really impressed. I can’t wait to find out how arugula tastes. They say you can put it in salads, smoothies, and omelets. I am sure that there are a million ways to make it.
More day 15.
I enjoy learning about these cool foods are out there and how having them might benefit my family. I feel like I am missing a lot of useful information. I am hoping that I can continue to learn amazing things that we can all benefit from.
An from the top picture of my plants. From the top boys is all I said and they started posing. Look at Arnaldo, he is so proud of himself growing from the side.
I started planting endive and arugula. I was told I should plant them in January, they can’t be transplanted until after the front but they need a little bit more time.
At 8 days we had a few more popping up. This is a mixture. One side is arugula and one side is endive.
I think we should start with endive. I should let you know that before this I had no idea what endive was or that it was a thing. You should know that I am new to this and I am trying everything.
Still 8 days. They are just now coming out of their seeds you can see that on this one. It’s lovely.
We planted endive because it can take longer to mature than other plants. It grows like lettuce. They are a leafy green that can be placed in salads for a bitter taste [which is allegedly good in salads].
11 days and we are strength training our sprouts with a fan to over the stove. I know it sounds silly but it helps us thin out weaker sprouts and they are strengthening their stems for our windy area.
The primary reason we are growing it is due to the fact that it is high in fiber and endive glycemic index is very low at 15, which can help prevent spikes in blood glucose after meals. I do not have diabetes but it is a beneficial plant to keep in your garden just in case. Plus we’ve never tried it before. It could be a delicious addition to our salads.
11 days from the top under their grow light. I swear one day the cops are going to come over with a warrant and be very disappointed to find lots of herbs and plants.
Now arugula has this tangy flavor and is also known to help lower blood sugar. It is known to lower the risks to cancer, osteoporosis, assists in preventing insulin resistance, improves the heart and rich in vitamin K. Remember when dealing with vegetables that are high in vitamins similar to K that you should slowly introduce as this vitamin helps assists in blood clotting.
Day 15 and these babies are busting out. You can really see how putting the fan on them for a couple of hours twice a week has caused their thin stalks to thicken and some of the taller sprouts have fallen away.
They say that arugula is said to have a peppery taste as well. It can be chewed to combat sour breath so I have read. Again, this one is new to me but have you see the benefits? I am really impressed. I can’t wait to find out how arugula tastes. They say you can put it in salads, smoothies, and omelets. I am sure that there are a million ways to make it.
More day 15.
I enjoy learning about these cool foods are out there and how having them might benefit my family. I feel like I am missing a lot of useful information. I am hoping that I can continue to learn amazing things that we can all benefit from.
An from the top picture of my plants. From the top boys is all I said and they started posing. Look at Arnaldo, he is so proud of himself growing from the side.
I have a five year plan. It is not a good plan and it changes from day to day but it is a plan. Right now, I have just left year zero. January 2021 is starting a new year for me.
You may ask:
What is Year Zero? Year Zero has been my year of planning. I also went around the area and looked at local nurseries. I wanted to see what everyone had to offer. It opened my eyes. I also planned to go back to college and learn about plant things.
Why is Year Zero so important? Year Zero is my planning year. We moved in October 2019 and that only started our adventure. During this year I have walked the property over five hundred times. I have learned the land-ish. There is a lot more to starting a permaculture food forest then I anticipated.
This is where I outlined my goals. I learned my property and I planted starter plants- which I will get into later. We have a lot to cover so I will continue.
Some of the trees ready for new homes
What does having a poorly planned year zero do for someone who is just starting out? This is a tough one because I had to reset my Year Zero last year. It was insanity. I killed every plant I got my hands on because I just jumped in. I thought I could just wish my garden into growth. It was poor planning and I wasted a lot of money on plants that died. So, don’t waste money use your year zero wisely. Learn to work with your property and not against it.
Year Zero is the most important year of planning and development. This is my year of research and getting to know my property. Here I started and failed then restarted after some research. Even still I am not 100% sure that everything will work out. My year one began with medicinal plants and evolved into the dreams of a food forest. Somewhere it evolved and I wanted to have real food security.
I learned a lot about the native plants that already live here and it inspired me to start a Monarch Butterfly Santuary. I started by going online and joining many types of groups. They kind of inspired me and so I continued with my year zero goals. I did way better than I anticipated.
The reason Year Zero is important is because it lays the foundation for success but remember: you can always switch it up later if your plans don’t work out. I know it sounds crazy but a lot of people (myself including) thought they could just jump in (like I did) and fail. I’ve learned it’s only a true failure if I stop trying and so I will continue.
It took me the better half of the first year to figure out I was doing things wrong and I might need to talk to experts. That’s why I enrolled in classes but I’ll share all of that information as I get it with you.
Squash flower (I think?)
Sure, I was in the best Facebook groups. Unfortunately I hadn’t been utilizing them. So I went online and I just dove into research on permaculture, companion planting, ph levels, soil samples and I was blown away by how much was out there. I will never know everything but I had started down a rabbit hole that brought me here to this blog.
Spoiler alert: my plants stopped dying. I got better at planting the more I learned and there is this feeling of happiness when you are using your own vegetables and fruits.
All throughout year zero I sat outside my plants hoping they might grow. It does not make plants grow faster.
Now I know I need a plan and in year zero it’s the perfect time to decide what you want and where you see that going in five years. Make it fun and exciting but remember: your plan must flow with the tide. So make sure you are ready for those changes and adaptations as you go. For example: I thought I could just put seeds in the dirt and it would just grow. It doesn’t work that way and now I know thanks to countless people.
Goals for my property and my life for the next five years. This is important because it gives me a general outline to work with. Remember, I am making plans but they are like the wind- every changing and straightforward.
In five years, I want to have every individual breed of plant I want on my property. Even if I do not have every part of my land covered (Which I most likely will seeing my progress already- it is a possibility). I am not talking about a neat little orchard- I want trees and shrubs. I want to be overwhelmed with sight, smell and feel like nature surrounds me.
Keep that in mind- it is the foundation for our success. My goals are not primarily food security, even though it is a reoccurring theme, but instead a food based garden of eden, a place for me to retire my body and my spirit. So, not all of my plants will be solely food based. I am going to continue on that note, but keep your goals in your mind.
Another goal I realized: I want the species here to be closer to disease resistant and ready to produce in five years. This means that in the first few years I have to plant my trees that need to be producing as well as create a water source.
In Year Zero, I am going through plant lists to find edible plants, flowering plants, herbs, and pollinators. I am collecting seeds and planting what I like to call guaranteed success plants such as blackberries. During Year Zero I did a lot of planning but then I began planting samples.
For example: I don’t know of I even like certain fruits- this is a great time to plant one or two and try them. If I don’t like them I won’t plant more of that particular tree. It’s good to know before I make a mass planting decision.
The ones that do well and we like: we plant more of them. The ones that don’t we just move on from and don’t plant more. At least we are keeping those three blueberries (if any of them survive), but I am hesitant of planting more until we know they will survive. That is one of many examples. We keep what we like but we don’t want continue any difficult plants. If something happens we want to make sure we can take care of it. (Eventually I hope it will take care of itself, in my old age I don’t want to be chasing around a 7 acre mess)
I want to cover my entire property in plants that are useful primarily with a little playroom for beautiful things. I want to retire in my own hand made forest and I want to leave it for my kids to enjoy. I cannot wait until I make my dream come true, but Year Zero opened my eyes to the many possibilities.
Frankly, Year Zero did not go as planned and there is a good chance your Year Zero will not be magnificentbut don’t give up. I killed a lot of plants that I want to blame on bizarre seeds from China that I never received. Really it all came down to poor planning.
Year one starts now in January and during that year I have a lot of things I would like to accomplish. But first let’s talk about what i have already got started:
75 thornless blackberries, three different kinds.
33 grape plants, twenty four muscadine, six concord, two seedless randoms from Wal-Mart, and one Spanish grape.
I would like to plant 100 additional thornless blackberry plants. This year so far we have planted 75. We know that blackberries will do great here and we want at least 200. We want to primarily plant thornless varieties which is also why we are not dying into raspberries.
Set up the irrigation system that will support the amount of plants that I want to bring in. We already bought two irrigation systems. One is set up for bushes and one is set up for the trees.
I want to plant a minimum of 25 different kinds of apple trees, but that may not be possible.
I want to focus on the 41 disease resistant breeds that grow in my zone. Zone 8a.
Focus on filling in the spaces between my trees with shrubs and berry bushes.
Expanding my seed collection
Creating a creek system that runs through our property
Planting as much as I can as fast as I can and keeping it all alive with magic
So, don’t give up. Year Zero seems hard on everyone. We’ve got this now onward to YEAR ONE.
A much more detailed goal list for Year One is coming but you’ll have to be patient. I am busy looking through seed catalogs while listening to permaculture information.
All the way from Oregon, Groot wants you to know he is proud of you.
Contributed by Adrienne Westbrook
This is a weeks worth of growth on a Sunflower she planted with her daughter. I love the way she made the pictures come together in this photo. I love the family bonding in Indiana. Enjoy raising those Sunflowers.
These bad boys are the state flower of Kansas. They can grow in medium light and in clay soil. I’ll keep that in mind when I am planting. Birds love Sunflower for their seeds and who can blame them really?
But the most amazing thing is the amount of uses:
Poultice from the flowers for burns
Crushed root to draw out a blister
Leaf tea for high fevers
Also, one last bit a little bit of folklore: some places believe that planting sunflowers can ward off malaria.
Contributed by Colleen Esc
Started from leaf cuttings these Violets have grown to be lovely. So lovely she plans on spreading the love this season. I am sure that everyone will be thrilled, I know that I would.
Many are perennial but some are annual and very few are shrubs. The viola category has around 600 species which is amazing and a little overwhelming, but the flower is edible and can be used to add color to salads. If you needed a reason to plant this beautiful flower.
There are so many absolutely amazing people out there. As the pictures flow in I just keep becoming more excited about the outcome. Keep your eyes out for more plants that people are excited about.
So I was sitting here thinking about all of the cool things I could do for the New Year that didn’t require money or leaving the house. So I sent out an SOS in a lot of my cooler groups and requested plant pictures. Here is the beginning to my new adventure
This is a pencil cactus. She contributed this because she informed me her love for the Pencil Cactus but let me know that the sap is considered a neurotoxin. This plant can be dangerous if ingested so we have to be careful.
Contributed by Crystal Yeakley
This intrigued me and so I dug a little deeper. This plant produces a poisonous latex that can cause blindness. That does not sound fun but the pictures are absolutely beautiful. The sap is milky, toxic and corrosive.
The blindness is said to be temporary and if exposed to the skin it can cause redness and irritation and burn the skin.
It is native to India and Africa and can be grown in sub tropical areas and greenhouses. I found some Online Tips to help you if you are interested in this lovely and very hard core plant. Definitely deer resistant and just cool to have around.
I think it’s pretty metal that people keep these as house plants. This is a gold star first submission on my mission to keep my kids awake until midnight with cool information and facts that I collected from all over the world.
I was looking into things that could boost my permaculture food forest without costing me any money. As I was looking through the many grants. It all started with the Monarch Butterfly Grant.
This is a very small personal grant that cannot exceed past 400 per person/group. This grant can only be used to purchase plants (which is all I want- free plant money). So there are some rules to this particular grant that go further than that: they have to be native to Texas. I want Butterflies
As I wait for winter to be over I plan. My close friend LD always has a beautiful yard and I want to shine too. This has inspired me to look for money to supply my hobbies.
Challenge accepted.
I want all four hundred of those dollars so that I can expand my already amazing dream permaculture food forest. So I looked into it.
Agarita is one of the native plants. I hadn’t thought about this plant before -primarily because I was so narrow minded on the idea of a permaculture food forest- but I love that we have so many milkweed plants in my pasture because it attracts the butterflies.
That’s also how I happened upon this grant because I decided I wanted to start a butterfly garden to attract even more. The agarita has the nectar that the butterflies crave. If I have this lovely blossoming flower it will give the mom butterflies plenty of food – these plants also are great for other pollinators like bees. Keep that in mind.
It is a shrub that is pointy. I like pointy shrubs because they make good barriers to keep animals away from my property. Sold. They are an evergreen, drought tolerant and they also produce tasty berries (and makes delicious jelly). Sounds like a win-win-win to me.
These are my end game goals guys. I want to be on this list.
Flame acanthus also known as the hummingbird bush. This is absolutely beautiful and another shrub. This is considered a ‘profuse’ bloomer. It allegedly is a huge bloomer and that is exciting because it attracts not just monarch butterflies but also hummingbirds and bees. (It’s also a deer resistant and drought tolerant)
Kidneywood is so beautiful. I had no idea, they are allegedly really fragrant and attract bees and butterflies. They have many branches and they can get up to be 12 feet tall. That is amazing because it is also drought tolerant and can survive cold and heat. (Clay soil is acceptable here). I am digging it. Sounds like it will be a great place for butterflies to settle in and eat some nectar.
Cone Flower is something we already have but would love to have it planted everywhere. Who knew that it was a native Texas plant? Now I know and you do too. This is a perennial and has beneficial properties which I will probably go over at a later time. They bloom from April until September so this will give my early pollinators a snack before the rest bloom in May or June.
The application is online and the application and process seems very easy.
They say purple cone flower can be aggressive- I sure hope so. So keep that in mind.
Cenizo is just a cool name to have. If I get another pet (fingers crossed I don’t but if I do) I am going to name it Cenizo. Regardless, it is made for our zone. It flowers and can take the heat but it does need to be watered. They can get to be up to 8 feet tall. Sounds live privacy fence material to me.
Cenizo goes by another name Texas Sage. Amazingly enough I already have a couple growing. I had no idea. Also this plant does not appreciate heavy pruning- I’ll have to keep that in mind.
The fragrant or pink mimosa is another thorny shrub great for deer resistance and a nice barrier around my property (I hear it smells good too). Another early bloomer but it ends earlier too (March to July). The flowers are lovely and I would love to add them to my butterfly garden (or barrier I haven’t decided). Here is even more Information.
They will check up on us and I can’t wait. This adventure will be really exciting. I can’t wait to start.
Texas Lantana is something I already have growing and they are amazing. I kind of want more of them because they make a beautiful groundcover. All parts of this plant are poisonous and it is considered deer resistant.
Lantanas are perennial shrubs that can grow 2 to 4 foot tall. Wow, they just don’t seem to be scrubbing out for me. They’re just creeping across the ground. That is strange maybe next year they will perk up, regardless I would love to have more. One more link: Texas Lantana. Just in case you’re considering it. It is really beautiful.
Last but not least is Salvia texana and I want this one. If I got that grant I would definitely get this plant. This is a perennial herb and it grows to be up to 2 feet tall. It is drought tolerant and does well in clay or rocky soil (bonus i won’t need to modify the soil I have). Salvias are a perennial flower and have more than 75 species including autumn sage. That is something we already have in honor of my eldest child: Autumn Sage. This is a rabbit hole I’ll have to go down another time, but every new flower or sage that I have gets me more excited.
I have murdered lavender every single year I’ve tried it but look at her growing it like it’s nothing. I am so jealous of her naturally green thumb.
I will, of course, get more milkweed but that will place where where I want them primarily and have a large area in the middle of the garden. That sounds absolutely beautiful.
Can’t wait and I hope I get it, but I already have some of these plants. The milkweed does grow naturally and I want to entice Monarch butterflies. I want them to pollinate all of my fruit trees and attract all of the bees. I understand the importance of planting native plants and I can’t wait to get started.
I will share more grants as I come across more information.
I just began growing a sprouted ginger in a pot yesterday. This morning I was scrolling through my Facebook groups and there it was: a sign from the universe.
STORY TIME: We had this green shoot come off a piece of ginger I had lost in the back of my spices. I hate forgetting but sometimes, I just buy more. This time it came with a prize: a little baby green shoot. I thought, oh no, it’s winter and you can’t plant new plants outside – so I just potted it and put a little bit of hope into it. I said a lot of beautiful things to it in hopes it would inspire the ginger to grow like crazy.
Then the universe gifted me with the answer to the question: can you grow ginger in a pot? I had wondered when I potted the ginger, but I didn’t feel the need to research because this was the baby sprouts only chance.It was magic everyone, I just potted this yesterday and now I was seeing it in a Facebook group. Is this what fate feels like? I am so excited.
They posted the answer with easy to go to links. I followed those links because I just tried this yesterday.
Epic Gardening informed me that if you look for ginger at the store (to grow) you should look for eyes like you do potatoes. Also, the larger your ginger is determines how much we’ll get. Ginger grows faster and you’ll get more ginger when you pick larger pieces of ginger. This is because they’ll have more sprouts and that will lead to more shoots and more roots.
Ronel Bey is so amazing he has all of this ginger. I am impressed. I want to grow ginger now too.
He says that you need a shallow pot with good drainage. Now that I am seeing what he is doing: maybe I’ll repot mine. He says I should just barely cover it up. I will have to pull my ginger closer to the surface, and I should just give them enough water to tell them to grow but be sure not to over water the ginger.
They enjoy heat, humidity and water. He gave use some tips to look for as our ginger grows, which i found helpful you might too: Browning tips means your ginger needs water. Yellow leaves means your, nutrient loving, plant needs some nutrients. Give them the fertilizer they will thank you for it later.
Ginger can always produce new ginger was pretty cool too. You harvest at the end and they can be dry stored for a while. I like that because I enjoy using ginger in my cooking but sometimes I don’t have a recipe to require it.
My shoot of ginger that I am so pleased with
You should always look for multiple sources… So, I went and clicked a suggested video. 5 ways to get tons of ginger (Top Tips) is where I am going, he’s Australian which is appealing because I love the accent. That distracted me for the entire video and I can’t wait to try growing them outside next year.
It was not useful for containers, but it will probably be useful in the Spring. I can’t wait to get it started and he has such a lovely accent. His tips have also helped me before which made it a lot easier for me to consider his advice.
I love international channels because they place importance on different things. This YouTube channel Everyday simple health tips has a lot of useful information and this is specifically about growing ginger in containers.
Another Ronel Bey picture, I do not have my own pictures of a successful harvest yet so I must live through others.
He suggests that I dry my ginger out 10 to 20 hours before planting, which is good because my ginger was super dry. It probably was out longer than 20 hours, but we’ll see how it goes.
He also shows himself planting it not far from the top of the soil. I really love it when multiple sources use the same information, it shows that it is a common tip and will most likely be beneficial.
We should see a sprout in 10 to 15 days. After 6 months we should be ready to harvest the ginger. I like the time line in the video so that I know when to give up on this plant. The easier for me to understand the more likely I am to return.
We are going to see how this adventure works out. I will do more research and find out what I can, but I am excited to have a baby ginger sprout.
It is now snug as a bug in a rug only a few inches from the top of the soil.
How fun are spiders? One of my favorite spiders has to be the Spiny Orb Weaver Spider. It is beautiful and have some cool facts about them that you probably didn’t know.
Now the first thing you should know about spiny is that they don’t live very long. Their life cycles only reach to the end of reproduction.
Females die after releasing a large mass of eggs and males die after fertilizing them.
That’s right they are willing to die to continue the species. Below is the bright example of a Spiny Orb Weaver spider egg sac.
These spiders are harmless. Their only crime would be annoying placement of their webs. They enjoy living in gardens and other larger areas. Each egg sac can have over two hundred new babies waiting to leap out into the world.
They enjoy woody areas, shrubs, and bushes or corners of the home, doorways and patios.
They are another example of a good spider. Sure, if over populating they can do damage to your plants but they eat insects that could potentially do more damage. It’s up to you to weigh your pros and cons.
Frankly, Spiny Orb Weaver spiders are nice to have around if you can stomach their rough exterior. The eggs hatch between 10 to 13 days.
Fun fact: females live alone but there can be up to three males on a single web.
Please note these spiders do not want to be in your house. They love the outdoors. If you see one try not to kill it, they don’t want to be there anymore than you want them there. Safely relocate the spider because they are harmless, beneficial spiders that you probably didn’t notice until now.
Sometimes the answers are staring you straight in the fact and sometimes they are not.
Always research multiple sources before you come to a conclusion and never take an opinion or blog as a fact without further research.
I think I might have slaughtered more innocent plants this time. I am sad about it, but the soil was too perfect and I was crumbling in my hand.
Before in their tiny first homes
Like a hermit crab these plants cannot stay in their smaller container too long and seek a larger home. I didn’t want to advertise their dirty business so I won’t be showing you how the roots were already trying to escape out of the bottom.
New home for our morning glories
It saddens me to admit that the majority of the bachelor’s buttons did not make it into the bigger pot. I mean they did, but they did not survive. It was heart breaking but I still have two so I am not complaining. Small victories and such.
Four days later
After a few days of being in their new pots they shot right up and are happy little lambs. I must confess that I am glad I got them into larger pots and I am convinced I will have to up grade them again before long.
You can see how there is only one bachelor’s button planter now and that is because my cats worship Satan. They only look cute. They tried to take out my lemon balm clones as well. It is a sacrifice they are willing to make I suppose but they upset me quite a bit when I see the holes dug.
But this little button barely survived the new pot and seems to be doing a little bit better. Their roots were not really connected to the soil very well. Regardless, it’s a win. Not everyone lived but not everyone died either.
That’s right. You heard it right. My pumpkins are beautiful and they have the most amazing flowers. Ignore how weedy my garden is.
Pumpkins have two kinds of flowers: male and female. The first flowers to show up are male flowers in order for the pollinators to be attracted.
Female flowers are easy to spot because you can see baby pumpkins at the base. I was told that I might want to cut off the earlier ones in order to let the better ones come in.
They also say that when there are three or four on a vine that we should cut away all of the ones that aren’t promising as soon as they get to be around the size of a soft ball.
Night time is when pumpkins do must of their growing so try to keep the leaves dry in order to prevent disease and mold or mildew. It’s good advise for any plant as I have recently had to learn. Thats how we got our lemon balm runners and I stopped letting my kids water the plants.
Cilantro is related to carrots, celery and parsley. This little herb is good in salads, soups and as a garnish. An excellent source of antioxidants and in one study about prostate cancer in 2019 saw a difference and leads towards it’s ability to fight cancer.
Freshly planted baby cilantro
In a separate 2015 study they determined that cilantro could be used to assist with pain and inflammation- which is cool.
Cilantro is an easy to grow herb that grows in the early spring through summer in my zone and can be planted in the fall or winter in zone 9
Some people make claims that cilantro can be a perennial but there is no evidence found online by a reputable source to back these claims.
That was before I clipped the leaves. It is lovely and I planted more just to test out if I can have two growing season as well. After all, we do have warmer winters than most zones. Who knows, but I look forward to adding more cilantro to my garden.
After all, everything I have read so far states that Cilantro is a super food. They say you can take this to cleanse yourself from poisonous metals. It helps with lead poisoning and other conditions. I am super excited about cilantro and I can’t wait until I have a whole bunch.
I have three silverado sage and one texas sage or at least that is what the tags say. I have to say that I am impressed with how well sage grows here. Maybe I should start making smudge sticks or something. It is crazy.
Don’t judge me, I am a simple sage grower. They sure do look pretty when they are flowering. I like that they don’t have to have fifty gallons of water in a week and that it grows so well in my dirty clay soil.
Soil tests are what’s up when you are buying property. Don’t ever forget to get that down. I am having to cut out too many things because my soil is so compact.
But sage grows really well and looks so pretty. I mean, these flowers are only going to look prettier with each passing day.
Now that sage in the picture above I don’t know what is weird about it because the leaves are always a little yellow. Every other one looks amazing and this one is still flowering. I am just nervous it has plant herpes or something.
Having sage makes the plant murderers like me feel better about themselves. They don’t seem to die even when you don’t always remember to water them.
Happiness is your plants not dying and showing off their beautiful flowers.
My favorite place to buy plants most certainly is going to be Yard by Yard. They have these huge greenhouses with so many plants. They have always been great, and it turns out that my father has painted the guys house.
They mainly grow pretty things. They aren’t primarily fruit trees or herbs, they just don’t sale as well. It is a shame, I feel like that is the best part.
They have classy statues and other amazing items. I am only showing pictures of the plants. I will do a different segment about their gift shop. They just have beautiful plants and such a variety.
Now just because it is not their primary business they do carry herbs. I wish I did better with basil this year but there will always be better luck next year.
I always walk around that place for a good thirty minutes or so. They just have so much to offer.
I find myself just sitting there watching the place because they have free roaming lizards.
Large greenhouses that are full of Beautiful green life. It is just amazing seeing everything that they do.
Happy flowers everywhere you go. It is just so peaceful. It makes you feel as though you have walked into another space.
So when I came today he said that this was their slow season and I was like, “for why?” He said that most people prefer to grow starting in spring and aren’t as interested in the fall growing season.
I figured that I could help by posting how amazing they are and highlighting how great their plants are.
So I encourage everyone to show up at your mom and pop greenhouse. Take some pictures, tell your friends, and of course buy a plant.
After all, plants are the future of the entire planet as well as being beautiful and amazing.
I have three sets of peas that are growing well. As you can see I have grown lazy since thus last rain and have not weeded my garden, although I plan to very soon. I just don’t know when I will.
My pumkins seem to be doing well on both sides. Each day that passes I see them getting a little taller. It is great to watch the progression.
Look at them grow, I am impressed by how well they are fighting back the grass. I am hoping to have this are cleaned up a bit pretty soon.
The thing I am most proud of is the amount of corn that is growing. Some are doing better than others, and you can still see there are a bunch that just seemed to have shoved together. Again, I did not think that this many corn would root but look at them grow. Amazing specimens of wonder reaching for the sun.
Unknowing that they are simply a means to an end and I plan on ripping their children away and devouring them. Forgive me, I’m in a mood. I look forward to eating some corn and taking more beautiful pictures of it.
Everything seems to have taken off but my Brussel sprouts. I am mildly disappointed. The reason is we don’t really like or eat Brussel sprouts but then again I did want to be able to say that I grow them.
My squash, zucchini and cucumber seem to be doing super well over here too. I think that this soil over here is better than on our other plots.
I am excited about my garden and can’t wait to post more updates in order to keep myself motivated. Thank you for reading and have a great day.
Morning Glorys are more butterfly and hummingbird feeders. They are viney and have beautiful flowers that come in many different colors. Growing up to 10 feet a year morning glories make an excellent climber or thick ground cover.
Morning glories have tough shells on their seeds and usually need to be germinated before put into the planter. I germinated mine for twenty four hours and they popped up quickly. I them planted them and left them outside during the warm days.
It did not take them long to start popping up and showing off their lovely heart shaped leaves. They can be grown as a house plant in front of a full sun window and will bloom all year round this way. Otherwise Morning Glorys are annual plants that self seed and come back each year. Although I am germinating and planting them indoors for now I plan on planting them next year.
They are tough little plants that can become invasive and their seeds are poisonous to beds and children especially in large quantities. Morning glories do not like to be transplanted but I am going to try it anyway, because I think they will make a lovely addition to our butterfly garden area or maybe another area.
Morning glories need full sun. They do not like shady places and bloom better in nutrient dense, well drained soil but are also drought tolerant and can survive harsh summers.
Regardless, I am super excited about my morning glories and cannot wait until they are large and in charge.
First, let me say I didn’t mean for it to end this way. No matter how many successes that we have there also must be failures. So we can talk about that a little bit.
Of my four lantanas only three have survived but those three have pretty white flowers. I went by yard by yard (which is my absolute favorite nursery) and they have so many other colors. I don’t need anymore right now but man am I tempted.
My autumn sage is doing amazing. They sure do love my clay soil and they attract all of these hummingbirds.
My blue berries are dying. I am embarrassed to post a picture, just know my north east texas clay soil is destroying them.
My lime trees are loving life and growing up very nicely. I enjoy seeing their leaves reaching for the sun. They have such a beautiful shade of green on their leaves. It seems they prefer rain water to anything that I am doing to them.
H
Sage
My sage looks amazing and I went from small little wimpy sage to full on in your face sage. I love it. The leaves are calling out to the sun and requesting it’s love. I love my sage.
My cuban oregano is amazing and I can’t tell you how much this hardy plant. It was my first plant to give me hope and that is why it holds a special place in my heart.
My pineapples seem to be leaners. They want to just lean over and it makes me so mad. I forget that these are baby bushes and I am like, “GROW.” Just like with children it is pointless, but it does make me feel better.
Baby fig do do do do do. I love my baby fig. Too bad my son ran it over at the beginning of the season. I was so bad, but look at her grow. She is just fighting against all odds. I am so proud of her.
Cilantro
Clinatro is great and I actually planted hundreds of baby seeds but I haven’t seen a single sprout.
So everything I read about told me no. This is not usually how lemon balm reproduces but my son waters plants like a waterfall.
Day 1
My lemon balm got stuck under the dirt and grew out of it. I found out when I pulled it up that roots had sprouted.
Day 1
I was happily surprised and now I have two more babies. My first clones, but I spoke to the guy at Yard by Yard and he said I am supposed to be calling it propagation. Words aren’t important check out my babies.
Toad's Permaculture 