Gardening Journal - Post your gardening updates here

growing dragonfruit from a fruit:

https://imgur.com/a/l0h3YKc

https://imgur.com/a/xOHo8V9

https://imgur.com/a/0bvSPlD

it should most likely take at least a year to get a good size baby and then ill sell them to the fruit stand down the road along with some catnip and other cuttings ive made, like crepe myrtle, rosemary, cereus and angel trumpets..

Last Edited by rob2 on 04/20/2023 12:20 PM

heres one ive got that im not familiar with but ive let it grow, hoping its something good:

https://imgur.com/a/s1YiUj1

https://imgur.com/a/QlM8tBA

does anyone know what this might be?
doesnt look like any of my weeds..

so i am learning how to take pictures while im gardening with a bunch of new plants ive never had before..and this was my first picture ever on that camera and i wasnt even aware i took it...
its my laptop screen...night mode.

https://imgur.com/a/0vZlU78

GLP.

Last Edited by rob2 on 04/20/2023 12:28 PM

4-20-23

Artemisia frigida, desert wormwood, coming back from a long winter sleep.

Most of your mugworts and wormwoods (and everything in that Artemisia family) have the ability to come back from roots and stems that you will think are completely dead.

You can take a completely dry desert wormwood that looks totally brown, plant it in the ground, and as soon as it begins to get water it will start slowly springing back.

I transplanted with sagewort this winter when it was snowing outside and completely dead.

It's starting to slowly wake up.

Soon it will be completely green and putting out new shoots.

The single best sleep aid I have ever had is none other than Artemisia frigida tea. But be careful with it, because it can be toxic with overdose like it's European cousin Absinthe wormwood.

Taking a little absinthe or frigida in a tea ball, though, it the perfect sleep aid.

This stuff knocks me out.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1649173459904372736

Globe amaranth.

You must live in the south.

SWEET

yes i do...Central FLorida.
i didnt buy any of those seeds but if they were included in a wildflower pack then maybe thats where they came from.idk.
thank you.

Mmm, could be in a wildflower mix.

However, Globe amaranth is kind of native to the Georgia/Florida area.

I think you just have a volunteer globe amaranth and it wouldn't be unusual at all down there.

Actually, it's not a bad little plant to have around as it attracts beneficials like bees and butterflies.

They say the plant chooses the garden to grow in when the garden needs it.

If you have a plant show up in your garden and you didn't plant it, think twice before removing it.

It may need to be there.

It's kind of a good omen in most cases.

Quick public service announcement to yee olde gardeners that Mercury retrograde spring 2023 is upon us beginning this coming pre-dawn at 5:36AM MDT in Aries conjunct Luna.

Many people seem to feel that a Mercury retrograde is a somewhat foreboding time.

All it tells me is that spring planting time has come.

However, if you do feel a bit "off", it may be better to work with the season and use this season to plant and nurture instead of trying to harvest what is not yet ready to harvest.

They say things are weirder during Mercury retrograde.

And as gardeners, we're kind of adapted to weirder anyway, so no biggy.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1649189972635963393

Review Old Farmer's Almanac to maintain your sanity during this spring Mercury retrograde.

You'll usually have a spring Mercury Retrograde and an Autumn Mercury Retrograde.

Being the old fashioned person I am, I'm one of those strange people who believes that God actually created the planets to mark times and seasons and that the universe has a purpose. I know, it's crazy.

Anyway, instead of focusing on woo woo senses of foreboding, why not just let Mercury tell you when to do your warm season planting and cool season planting when it goes retrograde? Wouldn't that make life, the universe, and everything make a bit more sense?

If you do warm season planting when Mercury is retrograde between April 21 to May 14 and cool season planting when Mercury is retrograde between August 23 to September 14, you may not come out too badly. I'm just taking a wild guess.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1649196961923502080

For any classics geeks out there who may be interested, you might just know that not since the hanging gardens of Babylon was there anything seen so magnificent as the gardens of Cleopatra at Alexandria.

Cleopatra's fascination with horticulture and herbal medicines along her use of innovative irrigation techniques most likely contributed to the further spread and refinement of the olla in the Hellenistic and Roman world and later within Spain.

It is also likely that her gardens and agricultural practices served as a model for others who may have adopted the use of the olla for irrigation in their own gardens and fields.

Some of the relevant classical sources on Cleopatra's gardens are as follows.

From Strabo's Geography
"Here, too, is the royal palace, with its precincts embracing a circumference of four and one-half miles. The circuit of the walls is somewhat more than a mile, and the breadth of the ditch is such as to admit of ships lying at anchor under the very walls of the palace. The inner precincts are divided into two parts, one of which contains the palace proper, and the other a park, in which is a menagerie of all sorts of animals. This park is of such vast extent that it contains within it a hippodrome, and in it there are also magnificent edifices, surrounded by luxurious gardens, and a large number of reservoirs, supplied with water by a canal from the Nile, which is navigable at the highest flood. Such is the royal park at Alexandria, and there is nothing like it in the whole world."

From Pliny the Elder's Natural History
"The same queen Cleopatra was the first to discover the properties of the rose, and to give it a name. It was previously called ‘the Syrian bloom,’ or ‘the flower of Rhodes.’ Her gardens were situated near the great harbour of Alexandria, in the most suitable soil, and with a plentiful supply of water. They contained trees, too, of such height, that the shade which they afforded resembled that of a forest; and numerous streams flowed through them, which had been brought from the Nile by means of canals."

From Plutarch's Life of Antony
"Antony, when he saw her [Cleopatra], was astonished at her beauty, and when he had gazed upon her for a moment, he said to her, ‘I had heard that your beauty surpassed all that has been said of it, and I now see that the report did not exceed the truth. But your wealth and your kingdom and your sovereignty, do not these make you happy?’ To which she answered with a smile, ‘My possessions give me no pleasure, my lord, unless I can see myself loved for my worth, and not for my possessions.’ And she said this with an air of such sweetness and royalty, as won not only his heart, but that of all who heard her. Then, after some further conversation, he took his leave, greatly struck by her intellect, her grace, and the charm of her voice. But he did not yet suspect how much more than this he was to suffer at her hands; for she had contrived beforehand the most subtle means of enchantment, and was already weaving round him the first threads of her spell. So she sent him gifts, and made him feasts, and entertained him with her conversation, and surrounded him with gardens, which were full of every manner of tree and flower, and were irrigated from channels of waters led through every part of them, and cooled the air with the freshness of their shade."

Further ancient Greek and Roman references to the use of the earthenware ollas are found in the following:

Xenophon "Oeconomicus": "Let it be granted that the gardener must have water, and that the quantity of the water must be measured by the size of his garden, and by the number of plants he has in it. The method of irrigation which I most approve is to bury unglazed earthenware vessels in the ground at various intervals, with their mouths projecting slightly above the surface; then to fill them with water and to let it drain slowly away, drop by drop, through the pores of the earthenware."

Theophrastus "Enquiry into Plants": "And, in general, the water that is given to plants should be taken from cisterns or wells, but where there is no such provision, it should be obtained by digging in the bed itself, and so finding water. When this is not possible, they have recourse to the use of the olla."

Vitruvius "De Architectura": "In small gardens, when there is a want of water, unglazed earthenware vessels are buried in the ground at various intervals, and their necks are left projecting above the surface of the soil. Water is then poured into them, and slowly filters out through the porous clay, thus moistening the roots of the plants."

Pliny the Elder "Natural History": "There are also various methods of watering plants; by leading water to them in channels, or by pipes, or by irrigation, and even by means of earthenware vessels, of which we have spoken above."

The debate of what Cleopatra looked like seems to be all the rage at the moment. The Berlin Cleopatra bust was contemporary with Cleopatra and is our best extant archaeological record of her appearance.

It is said that she had a striking Greek/Thracian appearance and had a strawberry blonde or reddish color of hair.

This is the best forensic reconstruction I've seen so far. They used the Berlin Cleopatra bust as a CGI model. I think they've probably just about gotten it right.

However, what she looks like to me is the woman who did more for popularizing the home garden than anybody else I can think of.

So yes, Cleopatra, I'll have to use you as the cover girl to promote home gardening and herbal remedies. Maybe we can turn this consumer society back into a producer society again.

If Antony approves, of course.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1649234340679913479

In beautiful SoCal, black and boysen berries are fruiting. Over wintered an heirloom yellow Tom that’s looking great. Put my lemongrass into a decorative pot. Getting ready to prune and notch some fig, mamey and cherimoya trees. Citrus (Meyer lemon and Cara Cara Orange) seems to be doing well after the extreme heat we had lad year. Divided my strawberries and they’re doing great.

If I were going to cast someone today to play Cleopatra in something like Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, it would probably be someone like Greek opera singer Aphrodite Patoulidou. She would be a pretty close match who has that unmistakable Greek facial form.

Yeah, Patloulidou would work, or someone very close to that.

To me, the most convincing ancient evidence that Cleopatra was actively promoting the use of ollas in Ptolemaic Egypt is from Diodorus Siculus who lived contemporary with Cleopatra.

In Book 1 of Bibliotheca Historica, he describes the use of large earthenware vessels for irrigation in ancient Egypt. He writes, "In Egypt, they use large earthenware jars for irrigation, which they fill with water and then let drain slowly into the fields."

This would suggest ollas much larger than the simple 10 or 12 inch pots we may use today. To water their gardens, parks, and fields, they were apparently using large earthenworks to spread water over considerable areas. But such large ollas were becoming quite popular during Cleopatra's reign in Egypt.

Another hint comes from Stabo in Geography: Book 17. He writes, "The Egyptians also use earthenware jars for irrigation, which they fill with water and then let drain slowly into the fields."

Strabo, like Diodorus Siculus, is a contemporary with Cleopatra in the first century BCE and is describing the practice of using ollas during her reign in Ptolemaic Egypt.

Strabo writes fondly of queen Cleopatra wit and learning.

In Geography, again, he writes, "The queen is also studious of astronomy and geometry, and has given attention to the construction of many pragmatic inventions. She is likewise a lover of books, as is evident from the vast library which she has collected in Alexandria."

It seems that Cleopatra was no ignoramus. She also spoke 8 languages fluently.

Whatever else she may have been, she was an immeasurable blessing to her generation. She advanced learning, science, literacy, and agriculture far ahead of the times and left a lasting legacy to world culture.

You know, with coming global rice shortage and the WEF deterring the growth of rice this year, I was thinking about trying a little rice in the desert with the use of ollas.

They grew rice and other such grains perfectly well by the use of ollas in Ptolemaic Egypt. I don't see why a similar method wouldn't work out here.

If you have room, putting in a little rice patch might not be a bad idea.

I was looking for a new grain to try anyway.

It's starting to make sense now. A WEF attack on rice production is an attack on rice flour such as mochi donuts and many other finished baked goods.

No donuts, no police.

No police, social chaos.

America too was once a great producer of rice.

The current assault on rice is simply another attack on the food supply.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1649479550995423233

4-21-23 Mercury Retrograde begins

I understand now why the Egyptian papyrus plant appeared in my garden last summer.

I didn't plant it. I didn't buy it. It just appeared there. It was giving a message I didn't comprehend at the time.

But I didn't remove it because it made me curious.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1649481316562534400

now that is a pretty plant...

[link to www.youtube.com (secure)]

here is how one of the world's rarest fabrics are made..
from LOTUS plants.

Last Edited by rob2 on 04/21/2023 02:52 PM

Going to go to town today and get a roll of black plastic. I am going to have to cover my strawberries. My June berries have been blooming for a week and they are setting berries now. It will get down to freezing tonight and tomorrow morning. If I do not cover, I will loose my crop. This might be the earliest I have ever had a crop of berries. My family has been growing strawberries since 1926, and at one time grew berries commercially. I am in my 70's now and only grow a small 50 by 30 foot patch of strawberries for the Grand Children.

Ruhbarb and Asparagus UP this week ...even though it is snowing today - it won't hurt them or the onions and garlic that are up too - even in this high altitude (CO Springs) - where we don't put our plants outdoors til the second week of JUNE (ha) and still have to protect them from the July HAIL ... our growing season is still long enough for a bountiful harvest

the dirt in my green house finally got warm enough to sprout tomatoes and peppers ... but still no cucumber sprouts - but the peas are a foot tall, and I have a mature head of lettus

Getting Acelgas root cut to start drying this weekend. Have to head northbound for weekend, but have everything in a good place right now.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1649798546600898560

4-22-23

The Neomexicanas have arrived at last and undamaged.

I'm really excited about this unique native New Mexican hop. I can't think of any other hop quite like it that is so adapted to dry climates.

Got these put in early this morning. Can't wait to see how they do.

Welcome home, little hops. :-)

https://twitter.com/_/status/1649799567507091456

4-22-23 Lady bugs have completely taken over

The mustard greens and Siberian dwarf kale are full of lady bugs now with more on the way.

They are having a veritable banquet of aphids.

And that's what I was hoping to attract because with any luck I can get the lady bugs to hang around for the season.

I'm not spraying pesticides at all. I don't need to. The lady bugs will eat every one of them.

It's true that ai had to sacrifice a few brassica plants to the aphids. But wow did it pay off because the lady bugs have taken over and busy at work.

You can probably only see a few here, but I'm telling you their numbers are in the hundreds here now at least.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1649823681487704069

Muy Interesante