I took a day off of work today to bring my mom to a doctor’s appointment. Before we left, I had the chance to check out the back garden, which I hardly get to see in daylight since the days are so damn short.
I turned the compost in our new Smith & Hawkins BioStack Composter, which I won at a city composting workshop, and can definitely feel the heat being generated. I want to get another one, so if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to get rid of yours, I’ll take it.
Two weekends ago, I was down in Milpitas (California), and noticed this Coleus-like plant in my sister-in-law’s sister’s garden. She didn’t know what it was, but gave me a couple cuttings.
Here’s the unknown plant
Even though it’s raining and only 47°F outside, I am freezing.
We had a couple days of frost and I panicked yesterday when I saw the tips of my coleus withering away… So I got a pair of scissor, and hurriedly took cuttings, making sure to label them. I also collected the seed stalks and put them in bags to dry.
I brought a few to work and my coworker Cheri graciously offered her window sill for me to place my cuttings to over-winter. I told her I had a ton more at home and she she to bring them over; she doesn’t mind. Thank you Cheri!!! Hopefully they will survive and and can plant them in the spring.
I’ve also been surfing Rose Dawn Gardens website to see what Coleus to order for the spring.
My Uncle Ray made me a really nice shelf out of some scrap wood that he had. I gave him the dimensions that I needed to fit 6 nursery trays and they fit perfectly! :)
Now I have an neat way to store my seedlings and cuttings
Thank you very much Uncle Ray!!!
Friday, July 8
At work, I butchered the Coleus that I overwintered in my office. The plants are so leggy (about 3 feet tall). I’ll root the cuttings and plant them as a group once they’ve rooted.
Overwintered Coleus Wizard at work
Coleus Wizard Green(?) Cuttings
Coleus Wizard Rose Cuttings
After work, I passed by Target and bought a Yellow Cape Fushia (Phygelius Funfare) along with an untagged striped Coleus.
I also passed by Home Depot and got another bag of potting soil and steer manure. I also got a six pack of Sonnet Mix Snapdragons, to plant along the ones I planted yesterday.
Once home, I saw my mom’s broken Jade plant (see previous entry). I’m not sure what to do about it so I just left it for now. I’ll post a query online and see if anyone has any suggestions.
I planted the Snapdragons and pulled some weeds while my mom dead-heads the roses and Kelly (our dog) plays on the grass.
I wasn’t planning on doing much gardening, but after work, I can’t help but check up on my plants.
Some of the Coleus cuttings that I took on the 18th (11 days ago) are starting to root. I like to plant the cuttings in potting soil right when the root start forming, before they get a quarter of an inch. They just seem to be stronger this way as opposed to when the roots get too long.
I potted 4 Tilt-a-Whirl. Tomorrow, the Kong Scarlet and Alabama Sunset should be ready to pot.
My second batch of Sparkler Radish, like the first, are just not forming bulbous roots, so I pulled all of them out and placed them in the compost bin. I was able to harvest about 6 roots, which I pickled and had for dinner. In it’s place, I sowed some Hybrid Summer Boy Chin-Chiang Cabbage.
I aerated my trash can compost bin (see my icon) by dumping the contents out, mixing it and placing it back in.
I wheeled the Potting Soil, Steer Manure and Soil Conditioner that we bought on Tuesday to the back.
The first Hollyhock just bloomed, it’s a double white. Gladiolas are in full bloom and so are the Cactus Dahlias.
The first Cucumber and Sweet 100 Tomatoes should be ready to harvest soon.
I also took loads of photos, but I’m too tired to edit them and post. Maybe tomorrow :)
With the success of directly planting the Tendergreen Bush Beans, I decided to try planting Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans on a trellis which had Snap Peas. I think it may be a little late, but I’ll see how these turn out.
Along with some New Zealand Spinach that my mom harvested, I harvested my first peppers (1 Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper and 2 Pepperoncini) and some White Icicle Radishes for a Filipino dish called Sinagang that my mom will make for dinner.
I also planted the 4 Coleuses that I purchased on Saturday in a large terra cotta pot. I took cuttings of the taller ones and place them in water to root.
The Sunflower seeds I planted on Tuesday have sprouted and are about an inch tall.
Yesterday (Thursday) after work, I stopped by Yard Birds and got the following:
– a box of all natural tomato and vegetable fertilizer
– a gallon bottle of fish emulsion
– a bag of green moss
– a russet terra cotta colored Coleus called “Sedona”
The Coleus “Sedona” had a missing limb and wasn’t very lush, but it was the only one in it’s color. I’ve never seen this color in a garden shop before… So I just had to snatch it up. I’ll take cuttings and try to make more plants.
Which reminds me… I need to do some research and see if there are people who also take unique Coleus cuttings to trade with others.
I was also entertained at Yard Birds. There had these buckets of ladybugs. Tons and tons of them… and I was just fascinated watching them in such a cluster.
A hummingbird also paid a visit at Yard Birds and buzzed around all the fuchsias. It stopped right in front of me and watched me for a little bit, then went back to its business. At one point, it perched on one of the fuchsia branches and looked like it was picking at some bugs.
I saw a plant I really liked called Helichrysum petiolare or Licorice Plant. It’s chartreuse leaves were fuzzy and felt very velvety. If I had the room, I would have bought it. For now I’ll just add it to my wish list.