Testing Miracle-gro Growables Pods

Have you seen the new Miracle-Gro Growables pods? I was provided with about 60 pods to test out a few months back. These are being advertised as guaranteed to grow.

Alpine Strawberries - Growing Seedlings

The winter this year in Boston was not as brutal as the one we had the previous year, but in fear that my alpine strawberries would not return - I started a new batch from scratch.

PaperWhites and other Dealings.

Paper white bulbs 3/23

Remember the Paper White bulbs I bought last week? Those little bulbs now have plenty of roots and I have moved them into water crystals to grow. I took another trip out to my garden plot and was devastated to see that it was once again completely flooded! Thus, no gardening  got done this weekend there.

Nonetheless, at home, my onions and marigolds have germinated. I am a bit concerned that these seedlings will not get enough light from my windows.

Bonsai Sapling Update

Blue Wisteria Bonsai @ 15 days

It has been exactley 15 days since I decided To Bonsai or Not To Bonsai and put my two sets of bonsai seeds in a wet paper towel. The towel was in a plastic bag and so it did not require much watering. This morning I found that the Blue Japanese Wisteria Bonsai tree had made significant progress. All 5 of the seeds generated roots and two of them already had green stuff. This was a pleaseant surprise since the package said these seeds would take 2 - 3 months to germinate. Good stuff! Thank you Seeds and Things. I used apple sauce cups and put a couple of the saplings in soil. We'll see how they do!  I have read the best thing to do is to give the plant a teaspoon full of water every day. If anyone wants one of the other sprouting seeds, I am willing to trade!

Blue Wisteria Seeds @ 15 days

Unfortuntley, the other set of seeds I ordered (also from Seeds and Things) have not shown any signs of life. I will keep it in a paper towel for a while longer and hope the best for these Japanese Maple Seeds.

Garden Update

Left - last year's alpine plant Right -Renee's
Garden Alpine Plant

I think this weather must be confusing my garden as temparatures have varied from 60 degrees to as high as 85 degrees. Naturally, since we live at the ocean, the temperatures are lower here than in the city (Boston). Nonetheless, my cucumbers are doing okay. I spotted 2 baby cucumbers already. Using popsicle sticks, I created a verticle climb for them to keep them from the ground.

First Baby Cucumber

The alpine strawberries that I started from seed have grown and produced many quaint little flowers at this point - but no fruit! The alpine strawberries from last year (which wintered on my balcony) have caught up to the ones I have been growing indoors.

Alpine Strawberries Growing at Last!!



Alpine Strawberry Seedlings

 I was thrilled to find that after a month of germination the Renee's Garden Alpine strawberries began to show some green. I can now see tiny green plants the size of pins. This is very encouraging and leaves me questioning whether the berries growth is simply slowed due to our cold weather in Boston. Regardless, I am still a long way from this plant bearing fruit.

Plastic Bag Greenhouse

My Botanical Interests Marketmore cucumbers have been doing well. I've been steadily transplating them from the germination tray into 4 inch pots. I found that the 4 inch pots dried up verry quickly so I've been putting a plastic bag over the small pots to keep moisture & heat in.