13 degrees fahrenheit at 7:38 a.m.

the andes under the lights...

outdoor plants indoors

the spuds are a success ( they usually are ) and this one is showing more growth since christmas...almost all the ones in peat pots have leaved..soon enough it will be time to find them bigger quarters...

the flower on this zea mexicana plant continues to bloom...to what purpose i am uncertain since i do not see anything like silks on the plant...there is a slight thickening on the stem reminiscent of an ear forming...but i may just be indulging in wishful thinking...

the third mashua tuber has sprouted...so, with the plant that was established from a cutting, the population of bogota market mashua has grown to its ultimate population of four...this is simply fine with me and i am hopeful of tubers for spring...

success is not guaranteed no matter how carefully we plan and execute...there is no linearity in the plant world either and this zea mexicana plant is withering despite being in pretty much the same environment that has produced flowers on others with what amounts to the same level of care the others received...genetics are weird...some entities thrive...others do not...i am not sanguine about reviving this one...when it fails we will compost it....recycle the nutrients...and try again.

zea mays mexicana flower

in the basement...

christmas in the basement

mostly just some random photos with a couple of interesting developments...

this spud continues to adapt well tot he basement...another two days ( top photo is from the twenty-third ) and a significant amount of growth has occurred..it won't stay ion that peat pot much longer...

the teosinte provides another event...one of the flowers they have produced is actually flowering...no indications of anything like ears yet...and i am skeptical that there will be...at least not from these premature plants...

finally, in terms of new news, the most recent mashua to appear has now deployed four leaves and seems to be in fine shape...good news for the gardener...

the egyptian walking onions remind me of cacti...

a few more premature/immature teosinte flowers...

Jean's "puddle wheat" still in festive garb...

and, finally, a fir tree out back by the catalpa...unmolested...in situ...natural...where it belongs...in the ground...

yuletide mashua

temperatures are falling out back and there is a white christmas forecast with a "winter weather advisory" on tap for tomorrow..so i went out back to look around this morning...

Jean's wild strawberries from new york out in the east bed are holding up fine...

the ones in the south bed that spent the most time under the last snowfall are looking a bit more ragged...they will be fine however..."tough little plants" is what the vendor called them...i believe that...

the brussels sprout that overwintered last season look somewhat worse for wear...i am wagering the sprouts are still edible and will be bringing them in...

there are still unshattered ears of northern tepehuan teosinte out there...i will let them go..i have very low expectations of any results from this seed which was not matured when frost killed the plants...

there are still silks and ears barely protruding from the zea mays parvaglumis stalks out there too...

this ear had three sub-ears that produced half a dozen reasonably sized seeds

none of which looked remotely as mature as the seed i bought ( purchased on the left, backyard on the right. )

"so wher's the mashua?" i hear you saying...no worries...we have arrived at the slightly more lively basement season..the mashua from a cutting and the one that has come up from a tuber are doing very well and will be transplanted into a larger container soon...yesterday a second plant growing from a tuber emerged so there are now three and i am, hopefully, on my way to tubers to plant outdoors next spring...

the spud that burst into leaf a few days ago is growing robustly and has advanced its season significantly since yesterday while a second one has begun the process itself...

the aerial bulbs from the egyptian walking onions are turning into fully fledged plants too...if they produce they will "walk" out into the rd in spring...

finally ( and, seemingly, obligatory ) the flowers on the zea mays mexicana downstairs are moving along, albeit slowly...where this is ending is anyone's guess...we will be finding out.