two new things bloomed today: tomato (yay!), and jelly melon cucumber:
i keep expecting the jelly melon to die. i haven't transplanted it--it’s in the tiniest pot. it can’t possibly grow much bigger with so little soil and root space.
but it grows on. there are probably a dozen buds,
including at least one female:
see the tiny spiny cuke? maybe it’s one of those weird masochistic plants that thrive in derelict conditions.
one of my purple tomatillo plants just started budding. tomatillos are the only seedlings giving me trouble with legginess. but it’s not so extreme that they’re in danger of toppling over, and i read that (just like tomatoes) you can plant them deep and the stem will sprout roots.
this cape gooseberry now has two little fruits and three buds.
the mushroom kit continues to produce: a third, and now a fourth batch.
the latest one looks like a hand with suction cup fingertips.
more and more seedlings of various sizes line the windowsills, mostly tomatoes and peppers. i’m having to play sophie’s choice each time a new seedlet sprouts--i’ve already aborted half a dozen under-performing babies to make room for the new. (*publish post*, and now it’s official, i can never run for public office.) sometime soon i’ll set up a protected outdoor playpen for them, but for now it’s actually good to cull a few.
12 comments:
You have an amazing green thumb! What kind of mushrooms are you growing — so wonderfully weird-looking.
thanks, andrea--they're oyster mushrooms, although none of the ones i've grown look anything like the oyster mushrooms you'd find in a store.
THAT is a fantastic post. Your photos are amazing... the lighting in these is perfect! And, I have to ask, *what* is a jelly melon cucumber?? That's got to be one of the best cuke variety names I've ever heard. :)
It's heartening to see all your little darlings doing so well. Keep up the good work--I'm sure you'll get paid back plenty in harvest!
~Angela
Wow, our posts really crack me up. I'n mine, I'm freaking out about what to do with my budding plants and you are cool as a cuke in yours. I guess I should just chill out and let nature happen. Not that I'm opposed to abortion, but my plant babies are a different matter. ;)
I also picked up three copies of Boise, one for home, one for the front office at work, and one for the investigators bullpen. Some co-workers are getting heirloom plant starts this year.
Great shots BTW.
I literally LOL'ed when I read your comment about public office. Still haven't gotten my seeds started...honestly, the cold temps and rain this weekend got me down.
Love the tomato babies!
angela--thank you so much! jelly melon cucumbers are even crazier than the name would suggest. they're bright orange with huge spines, filled with green goo and seeds.
goneferal--haha, yeah, i get attached to my plant babies too. most of the ones i terminated were not nearly as far along as the ones in your post, although earlier today i did perform a pretty late-term abortion on a paste tomato...that one hurt a bit and was probably not legal in the state of idaho. i'm so glad you found copies of the magazine!
m--i hear you, the weather here has been rainy and gross too, it's definitely affecting my mood and my enthusiasm for planting. i hope you get some warm and sunny spring weather soon.
Did you buy one of the BTTR mushroom kits because your mushrooms look at LOT like mine that just sprouted!!
Cucumbers are so pretty! How did I never realize that?
I read somewhere that tomatillos just tend to look leggy, no matter what you do. I'm trying to grow two this year - a green Toma Verde and a purple variety. The green one took a mere four days to sprout and, aside from being leggy, is getting along fine. My purple still hasn't sprouted yet though, and it's been nearly two weeks. I think I may have to just go ahead and try again with that one.
I'm considering getting a mushroom kit this year, and your mushroom pictures are definitely tempting me. Are they easy to keep? What sorts of conditions do you need to keep them in? And this may be a silly question, but do you keep them indoors or outdoors?
It's funny you should ask whether I have a blog or not - I'm actually in the process of starting one. I'm not sure whether to go with blogger or wordpress yet, but once I figure that out, I'll start the fun part of actually posting. I can let you know when I've got it going, and send you a link, if you'd like.
potted farm--yup it's a bttr kit. i hope you have good luck with yours!
jess--thanks for the info about tomatillos, that's good to know. the mushroom kit is kept indoors, and they're pretty easy, the only difficult part for me has been keeping it moist enough without getting it too wet. it seems pretty picky about the amount of moisture. at first i was misting it a zillion times a day and it still got too dry, so then i draped a plastic bag over it to keep in humidity, and that's working pretty well. and yes definitely let me know when your blog is up!
Your plants are looking great Emily!
thanks victoria!
i am SO excited to be moving closer to you soon!
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