early blue

all of the early blue tubers i planted twelve days ago are up and running and the stems have begun to develop leaves of shades of blue and green...eventually the blue will fade to a uniform solanum green and, if things go well, there will be flourishing plants with colorful blooms under the lights...about seventy days of plant growth before the roots start to set tubers...i planted the spuds fairly deep in the baskets leaving room to "hill" the potatoes as they grow to stimulate tuber growth...no potatoes will grow lower than the depth the parent tuber was planted so literally the only way to go is up...that puts us at nearly the first day of spring before the tubers start to set and another thirty days get us to about easter..still...potatoes should go in in april and even may isn't too late ( in fact the yukon golds will wait for may because they are a bit more cold sensitive )...there are five yema de huevos up down there too...a second indoor generation...those should be done by april as well so the potato storage project has morphed into the local seed potato production project..either way they are still in the basement...more as it develops.

...sed quod ibi

plants may be dormant but the hawthorn tree is alive...cardinals and jays eating the berries and a host of others at the feeder and suet...the hawthorn in a natural gathering place and the bottom photo is part of the reason why...even daisy the garden cat, half-feral killer that she is won't go in that tree.

bruma recurrit...

not a lot of plant life up and running out in the jungle today...the weather is uncooperative and another "polar vortex" is immanent...well...everything deserves a break now and then...the teosinte is still out of place in the snow and there are still unshattered seed ears which i will be harvesting...the wild cherry tree succumbed to old age some years ago but the trunk remains mostly because the woodpeckers find it inviting ( more on bird life in the post below )...the beds are quiet and the grandfatherly grape vine is asleep as well ( although i foresee a few posts on that particular plant and its elm tree habitat as spring unfolds into summer )winter has asserted itself again and as the snow falls it is difficult to imagine that mid-march and teosinte planting are only fifty-two days away...winter only seems long if you let it.

home grown teosinte II

the attempt at germinating northern tepehuan teosinte seeds in peat pellets i initiated nineteen days ago is, i fear, an unvarnished failure...no sign of a sprout yet...so i have taken another tack in a second effort and reverted to an older technique derived from earlier forays into gardening...i picked out six teosinte seeds form the indoor plants and six seeds from last seasons store bought stock to act as a control ( and to see if they were still viable...i have a new batch of seeds bought for this year but if these are still workable it increases my chances of multiple ears in the autumn )...i soaked them , using separate containers, in a three percent solution of hydrogen peroxide again ( the photos of that facet of this, for reasons i will never understand, refused to upload...so ...no photo )...while they were soaking i labeled two baggies with appropriate information and then thoroughly moistened some unbleached, brown paper towels...i put the soaked seeds in the paper towel which i then put in the baggies...they are off to dark place and we wait to see what happens...if the store bought seeds germinate and the indoor ones don't then it is a sign the indoor project failed ( and last year's seeds are still viable )...if both germinate then the peat pellet technique was the culprit...and if none germinate i hope this year's seeds are good...more as it comes up.

slow solanum in three parts (I)

some of the yema de huevos have sprouts an inch or so long so it was time to plant...i took the baskets procured a few weeks ago, layered the bottom with natural charcoal ( not kingsford briquets...it has to be "natural" charcoal...no chemical additives to help it burn ) to absorb excess moisture..put in a layer of compost on top of that ans then planted the tubers in regular potting soil...as they grow i will be hilling them with compost to feed the roots and stimulate tuber production...i installed a new broad spectrum bulb in a fixture and wheeled the cart under the light...there are more to plant so space will be at a premium under the lights...more on this as it progresses...ninety days would put harvest at april eighteenth...in plenty of time for outdoor spring planting...more on this a sit progresses.

slow soalnum in three parts (II)

only a couple of the yeme da huevos i planted on december twenty-eighth are up and running...the one in the top photo has greened up nicely...if the balance fail to crop up i have space for the rest...we'll see...tubers are tricky...four early blue are up and there look to be more as movement continues in those containers...once again the aim is april planting outdoors and a third generation of "government" potatoes that can be eaten as well as saved for seed...i am curious to sample a blue potato...things are progressing but only slowly...gardening teaches patience and coping with failures and disappointments as well...none of these hoped for results are written in stone...the plant room is at a steady temperature (64 degrees fahrenheit ) and at about fifty-seven percent humidity...i still worry about fungi...they attacked some of the first generation of yema de huevos and probably are still lurking...the watering schedule is the key...i went from once a week to every ten days...the plants put on on december twenty-eighth have been watered once...the moisture in the compost and potting soil is whats watering the early blues so far...that is showing signs of drying but not enough to warrant more water...did i say patience? add restraint to hat list too.

slow solanum in three parts (III)

if the tubers are slow , the wild potatoes are agonizing...there are new starts in the germinating tray so that is good news...the plant in the third photo has been out of the tray for a week ans seems remarkably happy compared to the older plants...limited experience has me wondering if i let the first batch stay in the tray too long...there will be speedier movement into peat pots with the second batch to see if that aids in verticality...or if they plants naturally behave like vines...a couple of the russian seeds germinated in this batch along with the bolivians...it will be interesting to look for morphological differences and similarities if there are any pronounced enough to see...things are moving...ever so slowly...more when they decide to do something.