The Backyard: Gardeners, Assemble!

THE DRAGONFRUIT HAS SPROUTED. The pomegranate seeds are a bit slower, but I am fairly certain a few of them have taproots poking out.

I got fresh potting mix and poked holes in some plastic cups so I can plant them.

I also thinned out my kale and gave them a dose of fertilizer. My violets have started going to seed, so I'm collecting those for starters, too. It's starter city!

It was a false alarm on the pomegranates, but I kept on spritzing them and keeping them warm. Twenty days later I have three pomegranate sprouts! Which is, I think, a 40 percent germination rate. They mostly just look like any other sprouted seeds◊ (aside from being bone white as opposed to brown) but I am proud of myself for not giving up on them.

The kale looks like this◊, I can't wait until I can harvest them! The peas are long enough to be tied to stakes, the lemon sprouts have each added a new leaf, and the dragonfruit are still doing their best to poke up out of the soil.

I harvested a dandelion plant from the side of a non-pesticide-sprayed lawn because I've always wanted to try the greens. It's a little bit sad-looking so I'll probably cut off all the leaves and let it grow back from scratch.

Beware the diuretic effects...

Ah yes, the piss-the-bed flower, as the French say.

I'm also thinking of water plants. Watercress, mostly, but tomorrow I'm going to take a walk at low tide and see how many types of seaweed I recognize.

Water plants... why does my brain always go straight to horseradish and wassabi?

They're water plants???

Anyway, the universe must have liked the thought of me starting a water garden. I got watercress for half off, then found a fully functional (if scratched) aquarium just hanging on the curb. I tested it and it's watertight, so I'm just going to seal the cracks with silicone to avoid scratches.

I'm also going to grab a few pallets from shipments at my workplace to make planters for my trees. The actual project will have to wait till I clear a bunch of boxes off the patio that have been sitting there for months, but it'll be nice to have the materials.

Both like it clean, clear, dim and very waterlogged, yes. Hate it too frosty, too. Wassabi is a proper fen plant that likes its roots wet as much as possible, while horseradish prefers easily drained riverside locals (with frequent flooding).

I'll have to get more comfortable with root vegetables before I take a look at horseradish and wasabi. I haven't even tried potatoes yet.

I put silicone over the cracks in the tank and started some watercress seeds in a large mason jar. The pomegranate seeds are standing up.

My three trees: A lemon, a lemon, and a pomegranate.

The packet for my watercress seeds said it would grow fast but I did not comprehend how fast until I WALKED OUT TO SEE THIS◊.

The rose is smashing through winter dormancy like a boss.

The violet has started putting out runners, or I missed some seeds. I now have twenty extra seedlings and MORE ARE COMING.

The clover is flowering. I don't know why the leaves are so yellow, though.

The kale is looking mighty tasty.

edited 4th Apr '18 11:05:02 AM by Leradny

There are now 40 seedlings. I kept digging out them out only to find three more hidden just under the dirt. Right now, the soil is cleared but it might be a few days until the next crop shows up. I am definitely selling them once they've had a bit of time to recover.

I have tree envy.

We got a surprise hard freeze a week after I planted everything.

Oh, Midwest.

edited 4th Apr '18 11:21:48 AM by Bur

:( One of the things I like about California. No winters means I can plant nearly anything at any time.

My lemon seedlings are barely half a year old and the pomegranate is only three months. It'll be quite some time before they actually produce fruit. BUT ONCE THEY DO!!! I'll be set for life :).

Though admittedly I'm willing to wait because I don't use much lemon or pomegranate and I just wanted to know if I could start them from seed and bear fruit at all. I want an orange tree too, but for that I'm definitely getting a tree from the nursery because I do eat them regularly.

Ooh, can you share details on the watercress setup?

It's an aquarium with a few inches of (organic) potting soil in the bottom. I water it until it's muddy every few days. That's literally all the setup is, it's very simple. I'm thinking you could replicate it by just using a pot WITHOUT a hole in the bottom. I just used the aquarium because I found it in a free pile, haha.

I got a bay laurel leaf cutting from my best friend's place! I've cut off the leaves to dry them. Here's hoping the cutting roots well. Apparently they're slow growers.