The magpie is also coming by daily but is more interested in the peanutbutter than peanuts.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1308980687
(Maybe crows prefer peanutbutter too but can't get to the jar)
Much smaller are the bumblebees that are visiting the snapdragons.
And even smaller is a european potter wasp I spotted putting some eggs in the bamboo.
I also saw what appears to be a leafcutter bee (didn't know we have those here) that is building something
in the bottom of one of the planters that's hanging from my balcony.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:07 am Post subject:
Could this be the year that I'll finally have success growing a mandrake ?
(don't want to get too excited as I am great at killing plants)
Also the crow(s) are starting to get used to me and stop by multiple times a day for some food. They don't mind it
if I stand in the door opening or move around a bit, though I think they are not too keen of being watched. I've also
been feeding them dry catfood now which they seem to appreciate.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2022 12:20 pm Post subject:
more photos
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I really like the leaves on it which look rather flat.
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These cuttings came from a branch that I cut off because it was growing too far outwards. Because it had some flowers on it I placed it in a glass of water so the bumblebees could still enjoy them. Not completely unexpected they developed roots.
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it's facing outwards so I can't really see it but I might be able to take a photo of it from the street below
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:49 am Post subject:
PHOBoS' balcony log 2023
* * * * 2023 * * * *
Actually there is some more of 2022 first.
I keep wanting to mention why the posts usually grind to a halt once its summer. It's mostly just because it gets too hot outside and I only spend a very short amount of time on my balcony to quickly water the plants. There also isn't much flowering anymore in the summer, just a sea of green. I don't really do much trimming/pruning, only place some stakes here and there to keep things somewhat in check but for the rest I just let life be life. Of course most of it dies back in autumn/winter and although I occasionally go out to water some plants (and feed the birds) I don't really do anything with it anymore until this time of the year.
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 8:09 am Post subject:
Coleus
Coleus did exceptionally well and got a lot larger than I was expecting. They did take a while to get going but some of the leaves got up to ±25cm and although they are mostly grown for their colorful leaves I did like the flower stalks they produced. I might try them again this year but keep them in smaller pots. I had a couple of them in small pots (9x9x10cm) last year and they did really well without getting too large. The colors on the leaves were also more vibrant but that might have been a coincidence.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 8:36 am Post subject:
Cosmos
I wasn't really familiar or rather aware of cosmos before growing it but I like it a lot. It's one of the few plants that kept flowering throughout the summer and with their bright orange flowers they got a lot of attention from bumblebees. I collected plenty of seeds so will be trying again this year. (might even get some other varieties)
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:00 am Post subject:
peppers
I didn't have a lot of luck with the peppers last year but they did produce some tasty Fresno and Habanero lemon peppers.
(spoiler: it's already going a bit better this year).
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Fresh Fresno peppers There were some more then this but they don't ripen all at once so I just pick them when ready
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Habanero lemon peppers
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:20 am Post subject:
Argyreia nervosa aka Hawaiian Baby Woodrose
This one did ok but got a bit of a late start and since it is a tropical plant it really didn't do much until there was a lot of sun. It did produce a bunch of flower buds but it was already too late in the year for those to develop. It can be grown as a perennial but because it doesn't handle cold very well I've kept it in my kitchen for the past couple of months and it seems to be content with that. The leaves at the end are dying off (it's a vine of ±150cm) which is to be expected but other than that it still looks healthy.
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currently in my kitchen
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This one has also been doing very well. I've been cutting it back throughout the year to get a bushier plant and that worked out great. I cut it back completely in late autumn and it's eager to get going.
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I did let it keep a couple of flowers and was able to collect some seeds from it
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 10:46 am Post subject:
back to NOW
there is some more life on my balcony:
Viola odorata is already flowering. I found this one a couple of years ago growing by the side of the road where it would have been removed, so I am happy to see it's still going.
Antirrhinum majus(snapdragons) I don't know if there is a lot of self seeding going on or if they are just very happy but they keep going year after year.
Hyoscyamus albus(white henbane) is an annual/biennial sown in 2021 that already surprised me last year by still being alive and by the looks of it it's ready for another year.
The Hazel and Maple 'trees' are also still alive and have started developing new buds.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 11:27 am Post subject:
And then there is this one, the Mandragora officinarum aka mandrake.
last year 1/3 seeds germinated, sprouted, developed 2 leaves,.. and that's about all it did. Although it was clearly alive it didn't grow. I know they develop a rather long root (which is the part they are mostly known for) and the pot wasn't very big, though it wasn't very small either, so at the end of the year i dug it up to have a look at it. It definitely didn't had any lack of room as its root was only a couple of centimeters long. It was however also somewhat curled up so maybe it had been obstructed by something in the soil that stunted its growth.
After replanting it lost its leaves but also grew 2 new ones, which got a bit larger. Mandragora is supposed to become active in late autumn / early winter and goes into dormancy during the summer, which could also explain why it didn't do much last year as it got a very late start. Because it is so small I kept it in inside where it didn't get a lot of light but I now moved it outside and will keep an eye on it.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 12:09 pm Post subject:
There are some new things happening as well.
I don't know if I'll order a lot of new seeds since I still have some from last year + the plants that I already have and maybe I'll buy some later in the year.
I did of course get more pepper seeds*
Some are the same ones that I didn't have any luck with last year and there are some new candidates.
the last two produce a lot of very small berry sized peppers that should be good to snack on.
I also harvested seeds from the Habanero lemon and Fresno that I've been growing for the past couple of years and are probably some weird hybrids by now.
There is also something left and alive from the Carolina reaper I grew last year (it only produced one very small somewhat spicy pepper), but I've never had much luck with growing pepper plants for more than a year.
Last year hardly any of the seeds I bought germinated, this year it's looking a lot better.
The Blondy seeds were the first ones to show some signs of life after only a couple of days, the rest followed shortly thereafter, except for the Bhut jolokia but those are known to need some time. Unlike previous years I am putting a couple of seeds in a single small pot so I don't end up with a lot of cups that have a single seed that didn't sprout and just take up space while I am desperately waiting for something to happen. Peppers don't seem to mind transplanting and it can also be beneficial to bury them a bit deeper at the early stages of growth, so once they are a little bigger I'll just separate them.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5567 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 5:21 am Post subject:
Blue Hell wrote:
My gueses ... someting with 'artificial butter' from the 'Nederlandsche Oliefabriek'? and then the tin got repurposed?
You're not too far off, it's the plastic lid from a jar that was once filled with (calvé) peanut butter.
It's now used as a heated jar to speed up seed germination, mostly for peppers so I can start a lot earlier.
The heating is done with 2 very cheap carbon fiber heating pads powered by a 5V USB supply.
After soaking them for about 24 hours the seeds are placed in a folded, damp, coffee filter which in turn is put into a resealable plastic baggie.
Those are placed inside the jar with the heating pads and I use some scraps of cardboard to keep the heating pads away from the seeds.
the temperature gets to about 25C~30C
Because some seeds already germinated after a couple of days I had to set up my TiT incubator so I now just keep the jar in there without it being plugged in.
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