Category Archives: Gardening

Gardening Update + Edible Broccoli Leaves?…

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5:16pm Lemon Verbena is breaking dormancy and starting to leaf out… #

5:18pm The grafted Peach ‘Flavorcrest’ is starting to bloom… #

7:26pm Potted up my new White Chinese Ground Orchid into a one-gallon pot… #

7:47pm Are Broccoli leaves edible?.. We got a bunch of Broccoli with leaves from my cousin and the leaves look almost as good as Collard Greens… #

8:30pm Winter-sown Zinnia ‘Whirligig’ is already sprouting… #

[update]

turtleinashell from LiveJournal send me this link:
Broccoli Greens! on Daily Grocery Co-op

New Orchids + Wild Flowers + Swiss Chard Harvest…

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11:52pm I purchased 5 Masdevallias: Masd. Red Panda, Masd. Huayna Picchu, Masd. Ruby Slippers ‘Baby’, Masd. Flying Colors & Masd. Tovarensis… #

New Orchids from POE 2010

11:53pm I also bought Maxillaria tenuifolia (Coconut Orchid), Bletilla striata var alba (White Chinese Ground Orchid) and Epidendrum Green Hornet… #

12:10am Short orange flowers are in bloom along the freeway near El Cerrito. I think they are Wild Calendula or something similar. #

12:18am The hills along the freeways are really green with splotches of yellow from the Wild Mustard flowers. My Mom says the hills looks like maps. #

11:29pm Harvested some Swiss Chard (about 8 bigs leaves) from the garden and will try to dehydrate them like the Kale Chips… #

Renee’s Garden + Chayote + White Ginger…

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9:43am My Chayote is now 2.25 inches tall… #

4:25pm Whoa… Renee’s Garden just added me as a friend on Flickr :) #

10:24pm Found some White Ginger (Galanga?) at Ranch 99… I think I’m going to try to grow it… #

Gurney’s Catalog…

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Got my Gurney’s catalog in the mail today.
Get yours here: j.mp/aTWAPc …

Are (Rusty) Cans Safe to Grow Edible Plants In?…

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I saw a few of these cans near our storage in our backyard and I like how they look, rusted and all… My Mom has used these as a planter and dustpan.

I was wondering is it safe to use these as planters to grow vegetables? I didn’t know if the rust is bad/unsafe for vegetables and/or other edible plants.

Rusty Wafer Sticks Can

Milk Carton Gathering

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I found these milk cartons at work last week and brought them home to try some wintersowing. I saw some gardeners doing this last year and wanted to try it out.

Milk Carton Gathering

I was inspired by these photos:
www.flickr.com/photos/22923480@N05/3324459670/
www.flickr.com/photos/22923480@N05/3586432423/
www.flickr.com/photos/katxn/3392234841/

More wintersowing info:
www.wintersown.org/
forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/wtrsow/
faq.gardenweb.com/faq/wtrsow/
myfolia.com/groups/229-wintersowing

Plumcot? Pluot? Aprium?

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I noticed some Plumcot, Pluot and Aprium scions at the last CRFG Scion Exchange… I know they are all Plum/Apricot crosses, but I wonder if there is a technical difference between the three… so I posted an inquiry at the California Rare Fruit Growers Facebook page.

I’ll update this post if I get any responses.

[Update Jan 25, 2010] Someone on Facebook responded with a link to Dilip Barman (dilipB) > Still Life > Plums, Apricots, Plumcots, Pluots®, and Apriums®

Plumcot = Plum x Apricot

Pluot® = Plumcot x Plum (2/3 plum and 1/3 apricot)

Arium® = Plumcot x Apricot (1/3 plum and 2/3 apricot)

*Pluot® and Aprium® are federally registered trademarks of Zaiger’s Inc. Genetics, Modesto, CA, for interspecifics that are complex hybrids of plum and apricot.

LED Grow Lights – DIY Project?

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I’ve noticed more and more LED holiday lights (like these or these) for sale and had an idea. I wonder if those LED mini lights can be used to create a grow light for my overwintering plants. Here are some other question I have and need to do some research on:

– Are the holiday mini lights enough light? How much do I need?
– Are they the correct light spectrum? Do I need to get reds, blues, whites?
– Will they really use less energy than my current fluorescent ones?
– Where is a good source of lights? Hopefully, there will be some left at the After-Christmas sales.
– Has anyone here use any LED grow lights and how well did they work?

I’ll have to do more research, but here are some initial findings:
☉How to Make LED Grow Light Panels
☉DIY Your Own LED Light Grow Box Today!
☉Hydroponic DIY – How to Make an LED Plant Growing Box!
☉Cheap LED Light and Grow Box