Tuesday, July 31, 2007

filler post: the wonderful world of trees

My love of plants first originated from my love of trees. Having no property of my own, I often dream of a day when I can grow a tree outside the confines of an apartment.

Currently, I have 3 trees; 2 palms and a silk floss tree (Chorisa Speciosa)vaguely related to the boabab. Vaguely. This tree was grown from a seed I had taken from a beautiful specimen located from the university I attended.

This is what I hope it will look like someday.


(www.bentleytropicals.com)

This is what it looks like. This is not my tree. My tree is a little bit older.


(www.tropiflora.com)

This is what I wish my tree to someday become.

(www.floridagardener.com)

Anyhow, I found this post in Neatorama, a blog about neat things
Take a look. You will be amazed.

Here is the link:10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

WTF??? becomes new label.

Before I go into details regarding the title, I'd first like to mention that this time of the year is hot, humid, and unbearable. However, there is some good to this month. Namely, this is when mint blooms.



these perfect purple spikes are not only gorgeous, they also emit a very pleasant smell.

Now on to the weirdness.

A new organism has made its home in my succulent box. I have no idea what this is. I was watering my plants today and when I saw it, I dropped the watering can and said out loud, "what the fuck is this?" For in my box, I have found a happy herd of yellow peni.

Dear readers, please help me identify what this is. I haven't the faintest. Why are there dicks in our dirt?





Tuesday, July 17, 2007

attack of the baobab!



monstrous baobab?

or



baby bok choy?


naomi brought home some baby boks from the grocery store. When she was all done, I stuck the naked stems in the soil and they started growing like crazy.

I have always saved my beet tops, carrot tops, and other tops, however I could never find room for transporting the nubs from a water tray to soil.

Here is a great video about growing a free garden.



I haven't been updating in a while because I assumed the growing season was over. I was disappointed with the idea that Ryan and I planted too late in the season. The days have started to near the unbearably-hot mark and I reasoned with myself that the tomatoes will have to wait one year of maturity before fuition.

I was ready to throw in my towel, throw the spade in the pail, dump the dirt, scratch the patch so to speak.



But I put my berries in my butter too soon. The unbearable heat has taken control over the caterpillars. They have virtually disappeared and my plants are looking very happy. Take a look for yourself:

With no more caterpillars, my mint has been able to build up their chlorophyll carrying canopies!



Look at this terrific tear-drop tomato! These are yellow tomatoes- excess sprouts from Elliot Fong.


Here is a nice round baby cherry tomato.


Though the catapillars are gone, it seems I have a new enemy.



Can you see the little ants? They were congregating near my cucumbers after watering. I moved the cucumber container and recoiled in horror. This is what I saw:



That, if you can't tell, is a shitload of ants. They had taken residence in my poppy pot. Here is a close-up:



I wouldn't mind the ants so much if they didn't come inside my home to raid the honey pot and trash cans.

And for you observant readers, I did re-arrange my garden. :)

Before:


After:





Also in other news, Ryan and I have been very busy scouting the surrounding area for free edible delectables you can pick yourself. So far we have found figs, blackberries, mint, basil, oranges, lemons, peaches, thyme, and much more. Ryan is in the process of creating a google map.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

waste no more: Biodegradable Pots

Instructions:
To listen, click the link below. This should open a pop up of Real Player. The podcast should open immediately starting with a brief plea for donations to NPR. The real segment will open momentarily.

From NPR's MarketWatch Friday April 20, 2007


A biodegradable flower pot (Ball Seed Co.)

Putting more green into pots

Listen to this story


A lot of us are in our gardens putting in flowers and other plants, and we end up with lots of non-recyclable plastic pots. But some growers are experimenting with greener alternatives. Janet Babin reports.


This is a good thing to listen to when you decide to start growing vegetables/other kinds of plants if you want to buy the plant rather than cultivate from seed.

Circle of Life is nice because they concentrate on being eco-friendly from pre-production all the way out of the store. Here is a link if you want to learn more about the Circle of Life Pots.
Unfortunately there is no retailer in California yet, but if you're in another state, or in some parts of Canada, you just might be lucky.

If you are really antsy to start using these great new pots and cannot get to Circle of Life, I have found another source. I have found biodegradable pots from Sean Conway's garden line at Target. Sean Conway is like Target's version of Martha Stewart.Here is his website.

As a last note, look to the right of the screen under links. I have posted a new link of a Rashaad, a friend of ours. He is working on creating sustainable communities within the Inland Empire.