sweet peas bloom!

Worth the wait till my neck is long

watermelon moon and stars

I just have 6 seeds in this packet of watermelon seeds. I purchased from Armstrong Garden Centers and they are the botanical interests seeds.
The name sounds romantic. Maybe they are nocturnal and love to listen to lullaby.

first batch of havest =)

A mixed of Honeoye and Ft. Laramie.
Sweet and not tart.

strawberries ... looking delish

These are the Honeoye =D

My strawberry box is doing well even in cold weather.

my cousin's strawberries

my cousin gave me these strawberry, transplanted from crowns ...

within a week they started to bloom =D

scallions

Those sprouted in 8 days!

Just planted the seeds here.

sweet peas

The sweet peas, when they sprout they grow in spurts.

My lil gardeners hard at work filling up the box with water =D

haven't been updating in a while

cause i have been busy planting!

so here is what i have going:

updates:
snap peas - growing well
scallions - sprouted and growing inch by inch
strawberries - i have four different kinds

just got those going:
watermelon - just sprouted
roma tomatoes - just planted
sweet cherry tomatoes - just planted
basil - just planted

ladder for the sweet peas

a reply from blooming bulb

Dear Yvonne,

Thank you for your email. The only suggestion I can make is that you follow the planting instructions on the website which I have attached below for you.

Planting and Care Basic Requirements
Strawberries can be planted in both the spring and fall. They need a sunny location with good drainage. Because strawberries stay in the ground for several years, it is advisable to prepare the soil first by working it well, amending it with organic material such as compost or leaf mold to promote drainage, and manure to make it fertile. In locations that don't drain well, creating a raised bed is an effective solution.

Strawberries require little attention after planting, especially in well-prepared soil. Water often enough to keep the soil moist, and it helps to cover the bed with a mulch of compost, bark, or pine needles if available. The mulch will help keep the soil moist and cool, and will also cut down on weeding. Soon your plants will grow leaves and begin flowering. For plants that produce the best over the long run, it is advisable to pick off the flowers for the first six weeks, and trim off any runners the plants may send out. By doing this you will promote strong root growth and more plentiful berries later on. It is best to simply pull weeds by hand and avoid cultivating too close to the plants. Strawberry roots often are shallow and can be damaged. In the fall, you can apply a fertilizer to give them a boost for the next season. By the next Spring, your fully established plants will give you lush growth and a bountiful crop of delicious strawberries to enjoy.

Preparing the Plants
Strawberries come in bareroot bundles. When you receive your plants separate the bundled plants, remove any dried leaves at their tops, and soak the roots in water for an hour or two before planting. If you have to keep the plants for a time before you can plant them, moisten the roots and place them in a plastic bag to keep the roots moist and put them where they are protected from direct sun. If the roots are long, you can trim them back to about 4 or 5 inches in length before planting.

Planting
In beds, plants should be spaced about or foot or a little more apart. If planted in rows, leave a foot between each plant and enough space (about 2 feet) between the rows for you to walk. Make a small hole in the soil large enough to accommodate the roots. Fan the roots out and fill in with soil and pack the soil gently around the roots. It is important that the planted strawberry have its crown just above the surface. If the crown is under the soil, it risks rotting. If it is too high, the roots are exposed and may dry out. Once you have your plants in the ground, give each plant about a pint of water to help settle the soil around the roots.

Sincerely,

Breidie George & the staff at BloomingBulb.com

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

sweet peas are doing so well!

I am sad about the strawberry plants but my sweet peas are doing so well. At least I am doing something right here with my sweet peas in the self-watering earthbox. I have added three poles for now for them to climb and to curl their way up.

strawberry plant disease

These are my healthy Honeoye plants that I am giving away to friends.

One of the Ft. Laramie plants that is showing signs of disease ?

I do not know if this is also a sign of disease or not
... turning red ?

A Honeoye in the self-watering earthbox showing signs of wilt.

Second Honeoye wilting in the self-watering earthbox.

All of a sudden the strawberry plants are not doing well. I had two plants died on me last week. And today, I have several that are showing signs of wilt or are wilting. I don't think I am watering it too much because some pots are dried out if I missed watering them for two days and those are still are doing well.

I had moved the plants to full sun area and they are blooming. I do not know if it is verticillium wilt or not. I am going to email my photographs to the experts at blooming bulb.

my little gardener

My 4 year old son helping me out watering all the strawberries.

a pretty flower

The Ft. Laramie strawberry plant bloomed. A pretty white flower just made my day today =)

not all sweet peas were lost

There are more sprouts coming up. And not all my seeds were lost in the mishaps. I just need to spread them out for happy growing.

peas mishaps and re planting

My son decided to toppled my earthbox so all the sweet peas I placed in the earthbox were lost within the box. I re soaked 16 seeds and replaced the seeds that I could not find.

and

Today I checked my peas earthbox and I found two sprouts! ... hopefully more are coming in about a week or so =)

strawberry plants

they are looking strong!

i planted only half of my strawberry crowns (honeoye) and the other half (ft. laramie) are still in water and sprouting indoors. the ones outside are sprouting too but slowly because the weather is cold lately dipping close to probably 45 degree F at night and also it was raining friday and saturday.

i water the honeoye everyday just to keep the soil moist and drained the rest and i actually kept them all in cardboard box which helps with absorbing the excess water. they are probably not getting as much sunlight as i would like them to get, but hopefully the weather will be sunny and warm soon to help them grow stronger.

will be planting the rest of the sprouting strawberry plants soon.

earthbox ready

I got my earthbox ready. I purchased it from amazon for under $45 dollars.

I soaked some peas and hope to plant them after 24 hours.

a run to armstrong garden center

I finally got a chance to go to the garden center to purchase potting soil and some fertilizer. I also got 60 pots 6 inches wide for starting the strawberry's crowns before transplanting to a bigger potting which I cannot decide yet.

I have been looking for cheap self watering pots at gardeners.com for under $15 each for the 12 inches wide and 7 inches depth which should be workable. I am not sure how many strawberry plants to put into each pot yet I will hold that off until I get some greens growing from the crowns.

And I will like to give some away.

soaking the crowns overnight

Honeoye - June Bearer

It was recommended to soak the roots for 2 hours but I will soak it over night since I may not have the time to transplant today.

Ft. Laramie - Ever Bearer

strawberry's crowns

yes! my strawberry's crowns came in yesterday by ups. so excited!

i started getting them hydrated with wet towels.

hope to get those babies planted in pots tomorrow =)

last frost date

If you are living in the United States, it is good to check The Old Farmer's Almanac at www.almanac.com to check your last frost date

Looks like good old Santa Monica Pier doesn't have a frost date and a grow all year round frost free =) and for Los Angeles Downtown USC last frost date is January 29th and beginning is December 21st both probability at 10 %.

So I am all good to go here ... woo hoo.

And still waiting for my seeds to come in.

I purchased some more organic seeds yesterday awhile waiting for my other seeds to come in:

Botanical Interests Bean Bush Tavera (French Filet) $2.15
Botanical Interests Basil Dolce Vita Blend Dolce Vita Blend $1.59
Botanical Interests Watermelon Moon & Stars $2.15
Botanical Interests Corn Sugar Pearl $1.91
Botanical Interests Arugula Wild $1.91
Botanical Interests Cucumber Japanese Soyu Burpless $1.51
Botanical Interests Pea Sugar Snap $1.91
Botanical Interests Leek $1.91
Botanical Interests Lettuce Mesclun Gourmet Baby Greens $1.91
Botanical Interests Fenugreek $1.59
Botanical Interests Cilantro Slow Bolting $1.35
Botanical Interests Radish Daikon Miyashige White $1.51
Botanical Interests Tomato Bush Italian Roma $1.43
Botanical Interests Tomato Cherry Sugar Sweetie $1.51

mail order came in

My self watering seed starter system by Lee Valley came in today.

I ordered some other stuff on Amazon.com and those will be coming in this week. Still waiting for my seeds from Park Seed. I checked on their website today still haven't mail out yet. I ordered it last week. I hope it is not the weather in South Carolina that is causing mail problems.

It is all about waiting but I am ready to rock n plant right now.

yea

my stuff finally came in today.

raining

Yes, raining today. I think it is the continue of el nino in SoCal since two weeks ago.
Every time it rains in Los Angeles, everything can go wrong ... flooding, mudslides and pot holes on the roads. I never seen that much pot holes surfacing until 1 week of continuous raining cats and dogs and sometimes elephants.
I do hope there is more rain this year to end the drought =)

collecting seeds and saving seeds

01 Mark a couple fruits from several plants (12 is not too many, the more separate plant sources, the better and healthier the diversity of genes).

02 Let the marked fruits mature. Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, etc will be past their prime and softening. Leave winter squashes on the vine either until the vines wither or a serious frost threatens. For beans leave them till they mature and dry out on vines.

03 Fruits with seeds trapped inside are obviously easier to collect than those that are released from small pods. Collect tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squashes, melons, gourds, okra and tomatillos when they are very mature. Immature seeds won’t sprout, ever. Cut them open and collect the seeds. Some will be dark (like watermelon) and some will be very light or white (cucumbers, melons). The easiest way to dry them is to lay the seeds out on a paper or towel or on several layers of newspaper and allow them to air out and dry for several days. It is important that the seeds are dry and clean when you store them. Dirty or damp seeds run the risk of rotting or growing mold. When the seeds are dry, sort through the seeds discarding any shriveled, broken, or discolored seeds.

Collecting seeds from tomatoes are a little different, as they have a coating that prevents sprouting, and you’ll have to remove it by fermentation (and it helps kill any bacteria, too). Squeeze the seeds out of the tomato or scrape them out with a spoon into a quart jar. Add just as much water as you have seed pulp and stir. Put the jar in a place where you won’t notice the unpleasant smell for three days. Don’t worry about the mold that forms, it’s part of the process. On the third day, scrape off the mold and stir the rest of the contents. Spoon or pour off all the yucky stuff on the top, including any floating seeds (they’re no good if they float), and save the seeds that are sitting on the bottom of the jar. After you’ve poured out most of the junk, add more water to the bottom seeds and stir again. Pour off anything that floats. Repeat until all you have in the jar is clear water and seeds sitting on the bottom. Pour through a strainer, and then dump the seeds onto a glass plate or cake pan and stir a couple of times a day to help them dry. Some people spread them out on paper towels instead, and let them stick to the towel as it dries out. When they are thoroughly dry, they just roll or fold the paper towel and put it in a labeled paper envelope for storage, and tear them apart when they plant them next year. Otherwise, keep stirring them around on the plate until they’re dry and mostly separated.

Same goes with saving strawberry seeds. Allow the fruit to over ripen before it is picked. In short, it should be slightly squishy. Place these over ripe berries into a fine holed strainer and gently shove the pulp through the sieve in order to separate the seed from the fruit. Try not to crush the seeds. Next, rinse the seeds well under gently cool running water. This should be done while they are still in the sieve so that they don’t washing down the drain. Allow them to air dry for several days. When the seeds are dry they will not cling to each other and can be easily moved across the plate with your finger.

Smaller seeds like parsley, carrots and dill will need to be watched carefully, and harvested when they are fairly dry. If you think you might forget and they’ll fall to the ground, you can make simple cloth (polyester organdy or similar fabric allows air in and dries quickly after rain or watering) drawstring bags to put over the seed heads as they are maturing, pull the string snugly around the base of the flower and tie in a bow. When they’re dry and crisp, just cut the heads off the stems with the bags still on, and collect them in a large bowl. Remove the bags and tap out the loose seeds when you’re out of the wind. Be sure to mark the kind and variety of seeds that they are.

Let pea pods and beans dry on the vine. Then collect them on a dry day into an open container and let them dry even more out of the weather. Remove from the pods when they are dry and crisp, and store in marked paper bags.

Carrots, cabbage, parsnips, leeks, onions, celery, beets, turnips, kohlrabi and salsify are biennials. They produce their crop one year and their seeds the next spring, and then they die. Here is some info for cold climates, as you will have to make some effort to keep them alive through the winter for them to flower the next year.

http://www.cog.ca/documents/Savingseedsofbiennialvegetables.pdf

Most of these have umbel-type flowers, and cloth bags may be the easiest way to collect the largest amount of seeds. If you try to harvest them when they are green, they will not be viable and won’t sprout.

Some seeds are at the base of the dried flowers, like sunflowers, artichoke and cardoon. Cut the dry heads off and rub or pull the dry center of the flowers off. The seeds are embedded in the base of the flower. Remove and dry.

06 Seeds must be carefully stored to retain their viability. Store them in marked paper bags or envelopes, which will allow them to dry out more if they need it. Plastic bags contribute to molding and rot if they aren’t dry enough. Keep cool and dry. Heat and moisture will decrease their viability considerably. Some people store their seeds in a freezer, but if the seeds are too moist, it will kill the embryo. A refrigerator is a better place, or a cool basement.

organic kabocha squash seeds

My mommy in law saved the seeds from an organic kabocha squash I purchased at a local Japanese store.

It is dried and ready for planting.

I think this seed can be planted outside without indoor germination. But I am going to do some research to make sure.

This is something I picked up awhile reading for research:

Squashes, pumpkins & gourds consist of five different species. They will cross within the same species, but won’t usually cross between the species in nature. So, if you wanted to grow one variety of each species, you should be able to grow them all in one yard and still get pure seed.

01 cucurbita pepo: pumpkins, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, yellow crookneck summer squash, scallop/patty pan squash, delicate, vegetable gourds, and small, hard shell gourds (yellow-flowered)

02 cucurbita moschata: butternut squash, Long Island cheese squashes, Dickinson and Kentucky field pumpkins, seminole pumpkin, neck pumpkin, calabaza

03 cucurbita maxima: buttercup squash, banana squash, hubbard squash, kabocha squash, lakota squash, arikara squash

04 cucurbita mixta: green-striped cushaw (aka Kershaw)

05 cucurbita ficifolia: shark-fin melon

(Note: none of the squashes will cross with the white-flowered hard shell gourds)

some cool websites

www.yougrowgirl.com

I joined the forum so I can learn about gardening and growing.

www.simplyrecipes.com

Lovely family recipes ... I simply love the instructions and photographs that goes with each recipes.

What I purchased for germinating indoors?

I narrowed down into these things that I wanted to start:

a self watering germination system
seed starting soil or mix
seeds

Which plant germination system should I get?

I found a wonderful system and seemed that it could be reused over several seasons of planting. A self watering seed starter system by Lee Valley. They have two systems one is the window sill and the other one is a bit larger.

It is expensive at USD$21.50 for the larger system with 24 cells at 2 inches in width. In comparing to the typical toss away system, the reuse factor would probably save a bunch in a long run.

Why I really chose this is because I am sometimes forgetful with watering so that way there is still water before it is total dry 2-3 days of saving me from dying seeds =)

Or I could really make my own trays and things from around the house.

Which seed germinating soil to use?

For seed starting soil there are several factors I thought about

I want my garden to be organic so whatever I am going to pick out will be OMRI certified.
I also came across this germination mix awhile researching from New Orleans Food and Farm Network

2 parts coconut coir
1 part perlite
1 part vermiculite

http://www.noffn.org/article.php?story=howto.seedstarting

Coconut coir is the bi product of coconut tree which is a renewable resource when it comes to planting. I am sure on your research you read about using peat moss, sawdust etc.

But why coconut coir wins out? It is 100% environmental friendly and has the best physical property to promote easy root growth and chemical property such as anti fungal that helps plant to get rid of soil borne disease, and also contain amount of potassium and phosphorous that plant loves. It has a high capacity for retaining water up to 8 times of its weight! It is porous for drainage and air which is good for plant growth.

Perlite is a volcanic mineral that is sterile and with a neutral pH. The surface of each particles are tiny closed cells and bubbles. They hold moisture and nutrients well for plant roots to absorb.

Vermiculite is similar to perlite. It is a mineral in the mica family. It is sterile and free from disease and will not turn moldy and rot.

One great point made by the New Orleans Food and Farm Network is you don't want to use soil when you germinate ... because I wanted to get the Black Gold starting soil mix. I like the information on their page on how to start germination. I am going to use their recommendation on the homemade germination mix.

I also found those coco can plugs ... I want to try those. They are OMRI certified.

What seeds did I purchase?

I purchased some organic seeds at Park Seed.

Item#	Item Description	Qty	Price
5851	Tomato MoneyMaker Organic	1	1.95
5883	Tomato Cherry Sweetie Organic	1	2.50
5879	Carrot Nantes Organic	1	1.95
5119	Baby Chinese Cabbage Wa Wa Tsai Hybrid	1	1.95
5836	Broccoli Belstar Hybrid Organic	1	2.50
5940	Corn Luscious Hybrid Organic	1	2.95
5854	Organic Pole Bean Blue Lake FM-1	1	1.95
5947	Squash Garden Sun Hybrid Organic	1	3.95

I also came across Botanical Interests ... a beautiful website. I am waiting for the organic scallions to be in stock before I go ahead and purchase more organic seeds from them.

I can't wait for them to come and start my germination.

where do i start?

If you are like me who wants to start planting food and looking at where to start. Let's do it together. I am a novice and we can share thoughts on growing food.

Growing food should not be complicated, but if you are starting you don't really know where to begin. I say some research would do some good.

First I found out where my growing zone or hardiness zone is by going to the

USDA Hardiness Zone Map

I am located in Santa Monica, California and my hardiness zone is 10.

What does that really mean?

A hardiness zone is a geographically-defined area in which a specific category of plant is capable of growing, by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone. A plant that is described as “hardy to zone 10” means that the plant can withstand a minimum temperature of -1°C. A more resilient plant that is “hardy to zone 9” can tolerate a minimum temperature of -7°C.

So when you are look into what plant seeds to buy and plant you can ask if it will be perfect for your hardiness zone.

2010 is my food revolution

Took me about a month or so to research from reading books from local library and also online.

I really want to do this ... to start planting food for the family. It seemed to be the right time to start with my children being young and with their curiosity about everything. I think it will make my son eat more vegetables ... hopefully =)

After reading this book: Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price, DDS written in the 1930s, it just make me realized or probably pushed the realization into action. Real food is what is needed to heal the body.

I am cutting out the junk ... well maybe not all but moderation ... first the sugar had to go. No more soda pops. I also am very careful in choosing the cereals that my children eat. I look at how much sugar and what kind of additives. It takes me awhile to shop at the market nowadays cause I read every single labels. And sometimes I will just not go into the packaged sections and skip to produce and get all fresh veggies and fruits.

I think what led to my mom's diabetes is junk food. She is on all kinds of drugs that the doctors prescribes. When is enough really enough with the drugs? I do not want to be a druggie at age 50. This year is really a food revolution for me.

Watch Sicko by Michael Moore and Food Inc by Robert Kenner ... don't let the FDA do the work for you. Preventative is the key to a healthy life and real food is the key to the fountain of youth.