Thursday 1 July 2010

Long time no see

Well... I haven't posted in a while. I guess I lost interest a bit and was feeling a little silly writing a blog that no-one was reading. Very silly in fact and very vain and very self-obsessed. I don't believe I am the latter two (well not more than the average person), the former - well I've been a silly for 31 years - why stop now!

Anywho, as I've said previously. This keeps a log for me first and foremost.

Potatoes are growing at a silly rate. I've been topping up the soil as recommended but there are so many leaves at the bottom of the stalk - am I supposed to pinch them off and keep building up a little soil hill or build a soil hill regardless? Who knows, that bit of info seems to be missing in every guide I've poured over. Jolly good!

The tomatoes are looking very healthy and are about 20cms tall. Again I don't really know when I should transfer this. Nathan's sister gave us a tiger tomato plant which looks like a baby bush in a very small pot. I am assuming that I keep mine growing in their pots a little longer until they're stems are a bit stronger.

The peppers have only been separated about a week or two but are growing at a rate of knots. Amazing to watch.

The chili peppers in comparison are healthy but not much grown from when I first pricked them out.

The garlic clove shot up suddenly and then split into two leaves and most recently has split into three leaves. It went from lying dormant for ages and then whoosh!

The lemon pip has not done anything - I think I will plant more than one next time. I've collected some watermelon pips and I'm drying them out on the window sill.

I'm still determined to grow a few other fruits and I especially want to give ginger a go... now that looks like an unusual house plant. I found this great page where a guy shows photos and provides tips on how to grow any fruit or veg bought from the supermarket.

Unfortunately amongst all this excitement my Japanese maple is looking decidedly singed. Not happy at all. All its needs are being met but you'd think I'd put it in the hottest part of the garden without water.

My baskets are not doing well either. I believe that I unwittingly used peat based soil and no matter how much I water them, they dry out almost instantly. I did read that once peat soil has dried out it won't maintain a moisture level. The water crystals have no worked. I have tried a trick that I read about adding dish washing liquid to the water but I couldn't remember how best to do this. It helps break down the water or something so the peat can absorb it? I don't know.

That's my update for now.