The Garden

PHOBoS · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 10:35 am Post subject:

Some more wildlife in the form of Arachnids.

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AlanP · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 11:04 am Post subject:

Dave Skrog was saying that he reckons that you should grow an Amorphophallus Titanium.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-40825228
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphophallus_titanum

PHOBoS · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 11:45 am Post subject:

yeah, with a name like that Laughing

I had to look it up but it is actually what I thought it was. Jeez, I don't think I could even fit that on my balcony.

blue hell · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 11:54 am Post subject:

bonzai it :-)

Acoustic Interloper · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 6:26 am Post subject: Subject description: a volunteer

This is what we call "a volunteer", which is any plant that pops up without our intention. Usually it happens at the compost pile, but in this case the seed fell from a bird feeder some time ago.

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a volunteer sunflower

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PHOBoS · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 7:32 am Post subject:

that"s gorgeous Very Happy

I have grown some sunflowers in the past but they get a bit too big for my balcony.

Acoustic Interloper · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 4:14 pm Post subject:

PHOBoS · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 9:50 am Post subject:

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PHOBoS · Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:17 am Post subject:

Some fresh peppers and some photos from plants I gave to my parents. The peppersplants they have aren't very
big but the peppers sure are. Shocked

They also have some nice "Heavenly Blue" and "Flying Saucers" morning glories
flowering. I only saw 2 "Flying Saucers" flowers here but they were already wilted, I haven't noticed any "Heavenly Blue".

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Fresh peppers, the large one is a banana pepper, the round ones are tinkerbell and the other ones purple tiger.

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banana peppers and jalapeno peppers at my parents.

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Morning glory "Heavenly Blue"

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Morning Glory "Flying Saucers"

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Acoustic Interloper · Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 2:35 pm Post subject:

Very nice, PHOBoS! Those peppers look yummy! Very Happy

Acoustic Interloper

Here is a MOV file video of flowers, many from packs of wildflower seeds, planted around our house, and also some wildflowers from neighboring fields. It uses a graphical technique I have been developing this summer, and posted some earlier samples on FB. The technique analyzes each pixel to see which of 8 colors is most dominant: black, blue, green, cyan, red, magenta, yellow, or white. It then shreds the pixels of the original image (not the 8-color-posterized analysis copy) in various directions according to dominant color. There is also post-processing of the final image. I did earlier experiments using photos of hikes through the woods, and also architecture. This set of photos is best for high contrast in the colors. Smile

The eventual intent is to use this with a piece of original ambient music in our planetarium.

blue hell · Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:59 am Post subject:

Nice color splitting in the MOV.

Acoustic Interloper · Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 5:21 pm Post subject:

PHOBoS · Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 11:48 am Post subject:

snap dragon seed pods and a lot of ghost peppers Razz

I tried one of those peppers a couple weeks ago on a pizza. it wasn't even fully ripe yet and they aren't grown under the
best conditions but damn those things are HOT! very cool

I usually finish a pizza in about 10 minutes but this one took me over 40 minutes and about 1.5L of water to supress the
constant hiccups. Not the heat of course for which milk would work much better. I also tried to watch a movie but that didn't
work as it had me walking around feeling like a fire breathing dragon (at least I think that's what it must feel like).

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Snap dragon seed pods.

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Antimon · Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 1:08 pm Post subject:

Whoa those snap dragons look scary! Shocked

PHOBoS

PHOBoS · Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 5:39 am Post subject:

some freshly harvested ghost peppers just in time for halloween. I Never had plants produce so many peppers before,
I did a quick count and there are about 50 of them and still more ripening on the plants. Razz

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fresh ghost peppers

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PHOBoS · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:05 am Post subject:

2018

A new growing year has started and although it is a bit early it is getting time to start with peppers indoors. I also have some new seeds but
more about that in another post.

I have 2 large planters in which I usually grow a mix of seeds and sometimes stuff grows in there that I didn't plant myself. There are
also some bulbs in there which flower early but short and I usually don't even get to see them. After flowering they have a bit of foilage which
eventually dies off and the bulbs will flower again the next year. Although it is nice to have some flowers early in the year (if I see them) they
are mostly just a nuisance when sowing seeds. So I removed them and for now put them in seperate pots and might discard them after they
have flowered. I could probably store them somewhere as they don't need any light for most of the year but we'll see.

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PHOBoS · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:06 pm Post subject: 2018 flowers

NEW FLOWERS

I got the following flower seeds for this year:

Tagetes patula "Jolly Jester"
A marigold with striped flowers. I found some conflicting information about the height
but I think they can grow to about 80cm, although I doubt they will get very high here.

Antirrhinum majus "Circus Clowns"
Snapdragons with a variety of bright bicolored flowers. They can grow up to about 50cm
which is a bit larger than the ones I've grown last year. A lot of those are actually still
alive as only a few produced flowers. I have no idea if they will survive the winter but
if they do they will probably flower this year

Phlox drummondii "Twinkle Star".
Grows to about 20cm and produces clusters of starshaped red/purple/pink/white flowers.

Nigella damascena "Miss Jekyll blue"
"love-in-a-mist" with beautiful arabesque looking blue flowers. Grows up to about 40cm.

Ipomoea lobata
An unsual flowering Morning Glory with colors fading from red > orange > yellow to white.

Ipomoea alba
Also called Moonflower. A night flowering Morning Glory with large white flowers. Apparently
it is a perrenial but I don't know if it can survive the winter here.

Argyreia nervosa
Also called Wooly Morning Glory and Hawaiian Baby Woodrose. A perrenial vine with pink/purple
trumpet shaped flowers. As with a lot of other Morning Glories the seeds of these contain LSA
(a tryptamine similar to LSD) but in a much higher concentration. It's more of a novelty thing
though as ingesting them can give you a quite unpleasant experience.

Passiflora incarnata
More commonly known a true passionflower. Another perrenial vine with somewhat alien looking
flowers. They don't flower the first year though and again I am not sure if it will survive the winter
here but they are pretty easy to propagate from cuttings and I've grown them succesfully before.

I also have a whole lot of the "Milky Way" morning glory seeds which did very well last year so I will
grow those again this year. (If anyone is interested in some seeds just let me know). And of course
I'll be growing some nightshades and other poisenous plants again. I hope the foxglove will survive
the winter as it hasn't flowered yet. I did cut all the leaves off and draped those around it covered
with a small net to provide some insulation. I also have seeds of the Phacelia tanacetifolia which
attracted a lot of bumblebees last year so I will grow some of those as well.

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PHOBoS · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:22 pm Post subject: 2018 peppers

PEPPERLAND

I got the following pepper seeds for this year:

Kung Pao [Scoville heat units (SHU): 7,000 – 12,000]
Mildly hot with skinny long peppers.

Habanero Manzano [Scoville heat units (SHU): 12,000 – 30,000]
Medium hot pepper with a fruity flavour.

Numex Twilight [Scoville heat units (SHU): 30,000 – 50,000]
Hot with peppers that ripen from white > purple > yellow > orange to red.
All of these colors can appear on the plant at the same time.

Rain Forest [Scoville heat units (SHU): 30,000 – 50,000]
Hot pepper a bit similar in appearance to habanero.

Bolivian Bumpy [Scoville heat units (SHU): 80,000 – 200,000]
Very hot with yellow peppers that have red/brown accents.

I choose these peppers based on appearance, name and of course hotness
but mostly because they should all be high-yield variaties.

I also have a lot of fresh seeds from last year and seeds from previous years as well. The one that I liked best
was the Purple Tiger. It produced a lot of peppers that didn't take very long to ripen and are mildly hot (similar
or slightly hotter than jalapeno). So I will definitely grow some more of those. The Ghost peppers also did very
well but they are exremely hot. Nice on occasion but not all the time and I still have a lot of those peppers in my
freezer. I just cut the plants short though and left them outside so they might survive but I am not counting on it.
The Tinkerbell peppers didn't produce a whole lot but they were very tasty so I might try those again as well.
Maybe a jalapeno too as they also taste very nice but I usually get a very low yield from those.

PHOBoS · Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:41 pm Post subject:

I've put the first seeds in the ground today but they aren't peppers. I have decided to wait at least 2 more weeks with
those otherwise I might have to keep them indoors too long. It's nice to have a headstart and I actually need to start
early with peppers but keeping them under artficial lights in small pots isn't really beneficiary.

So what did I put in the ground ?
I was checking all the seeds that I have and noticed I still have a lot of Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) seeds.
I tried to grow those last year but nothing sprouted and I thought I didn't have any seeds anymore but I have plenty.
I searched online a bit and found that it's best to put them in water and keep them in the fridge for 2 weeks before
sowing, refreshing the water every day. Apparently this is to simulate melting snow. Since I have so many seeds
and there is no use in keeping them very long I decided to put some in water but also sow some in a pot and put it
outside. It is afterall winter and we might even get some snow. I did put some ice on top of it that I removed from
my freezer (has to be removed anyway) so they will get some very cold water as well. I'll keep adding ice over the
next couple of days untill my freezer is clean.

I also put some Helleborus orientalis seeds in the ground. It flowers in winter and you see them all around this time
of year. Of course I won't get any flowers from it this year, if they even germinate. It's actually best to use very fresh
seeds that have just dropped of the plant and mine are probably a couple years old and it could take years for them
to germinate. I am probably not patient enough to keep them that long but I might as well give it a try since I have
some seeds. They are actually selling the plants at my local supermarket and it is tempting to just buy one but a
supermarket is generally not the best place to get quality plants.

And last but not least I planted the remaining Lupinus seeds. They can be planted from autumn to spring so I am curious
if and when they will sprout.

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“If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later”

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AlanP · Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 7:07 pm Post subject:

Every now and again my Nana put parts of her garden into lupin bushes. I think as a nitrogen fixer or something like that. It was never more than a season or a year Smile

PHOBoS · Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 10:56 am Post subject:

PHOBoS · Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 11:37 am Post subject:

I had planned to start sowing pepperplants this weekend but it might be postponed a week, maybe I get to it tomorrow though.
I can also take the belladonna seeds out of the fridge and I gave some old henbane seeds a similar cold threatment.

Anyway to sow seeds I need some potting soil, and although I have plenty of used soil it's not adviced to use that to start seeds
as it can contain pests and fungal diseases which often flourish inside. Usually I can get a small bag at the local supermarket but
it's not the right time of year for that so I had to take a trip to the garden centre. Of course I couldn't resist buying some other things
as well.

They had a basket with discounted, not so fresh, seeds so I checked to see if I could find anything interesting. The first
thing I found was Campanula carpatica seeds. I had already been thinking of getting Campanula's so I will try growing those.
The other thing I found was Solanum pseudocapsicum, also known as Jerusalem cherry, Madeira winter cherry, or
just winter cherry. It caught my attention because its a nightshade and it produces fruits that are indeed poisenous.
It is a perrenial but I'm not sure yet if it can be left outside in winter.

I also got some more plants (for inside). The first one looks a bit like a cactus but is most likely a Euphorbia obesa. They
had a bunch of them, with some more shaped like a hot air balloon, but there was one that caught my attention. Something
about the pattern and shades of green. It will be a replacement for the Euphorbia I got last year (Timmy) that sadly didn't
make it.

Towards the end of the shop (closer to the checkout) they have a selection of small plants that are available for €1.49 or
4 for €5,- so it's always tempting to take a couple home (of course that's why they place them there). I got 4 plants that actually
aren't even that small compared to the rest they're selling. One of them is a Begonia which resembles the "Red Robin" variety but
the leaf edges are less ruffled. I first thought the leaves where somewhat translucent as they resemble stained glass. On closer
inspection it's actually because they have a shimmer not unlike that of butterfly wings. When they light hits them in a certain
way they sparkle as if they contain glitter. I tried to make a photo of it but it doesn't show up too well.

(continued in the next post)

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Euphorbia obesa

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Euphorbia obesa

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Begonia

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Begonia

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PHOBoS · Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 11:57 am Post subject:

The other 3 plants are Crotons (Codiaeum variegatum). I got 2 that have some twisted leaves with interesting color splodges.
The other one has bigger straight leaves with some nice colors.

There's one more plant. I wanted to get something in memory of Antimon/Stefan Blixt. I was hoping to find something with the
initials SB but didn't have any luck. I had noticed some Hyacinth bulbs when I entered the store and a bulb is actually great. It should
produce a pretty flower each year as a reminder, and they are generally not that hard to grow so will probably even survive a couple of
years in my hands. So I went back to to get one and that's when I spotted 3 unmarked bulbs (in pots) on the floor. I picked one but
since I have no idea what it is the flower will be a surprise. It could just be a hyacinth but the bulb looks different and those where
in different pots.

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Croton

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Croton

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Croton

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?

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