Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2026 8:09 am Post subject:
It doesn't appear to be much of a mix (yet) but I am pleasantly surprised by how well these crocuses are performing
Both these and the large Hyacinths were cheap bulbs that I more or less bought on a whim at the end of last year year.
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it smells very pink too
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And spring may last a bit longer .. now that it is not very warm outside .. the crocusses & such will love that .. as long as it does not rain _________________ Jan
also .. could someone please turn down the thermostat a bit.
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2026 9:59 am Post subject:
heh, rain is usually not much of a problem on my balcony, more the lack of it, not much wind either.
I think it also helps that they aren't in a very sunny spot, it's more dappled shade, so they still get enough sun to open up,
but not the direct heat.
Brunnera 'Jack Frost' is growing back nicely as is the Wolf's bane.
I am curious if the latter one will flower this year (it didn't last year).
The Henbane is also growing back, though it seems that the largest plant has now finally given up.
There are 2 other plants that are ready to fill the spot which I think were sown in 2024.
I've also been preparing more seeds in the fridge (cold stratification) and this time I've mixed both the
Hyoscyamus albus aka white Henbane, which is the one currently growing, and Hyoscyamus niger aka black Henbane,
which I what I used to grow and was always much smaller.
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2026 12:21 pm Post subject:
I have been busy propagating quite a few plants from seeds and cuttings, with more to be sown later and it has been going pretty well for the most part.
One nice surprise is the Solanum atropurpureum aka Purple Devil aka Malevolence.
I have tried to grow it before without any luck but gave it another try this year with some different seeds. Or actually last year since I've sown the seeds in autumn
and then left them outside in the greenhouse over the winter. Initially nothing germinated and I wasn't really expecting it to work but a couple weeks ago I brought
the seeds back inside and placed them in my TiT incubator. It is after all a tropical plant so likely prefers some heat to germinate.
After having spend some time inside, 1 of the 5 seeds decided to germinate,... and then another,.. and another,..
3/5 is more than I expected (there might even be more to come) and if I can keep at least one of them alive that's already going to be quite a challenge on my balcony.
Not so much a challenge to grow it but to coexist with it in the small space because it is completely covered in long, sharp and pointy, not so friendly looking, thorns.
as you can see here (The leaves are thorny as well ):
fun fact: I convinced Jason over at the Allotment of the Dead to give the Solanum atropurpureum a go as well: https://youtu.be/igZCURLHAZ0?t=593
To give myself some chance of survival I have decided to grow it inside the metal obelisk, in the pot that currently has the flowering crocuses.
So it will be somewhat caged up and in a corner of my balcony where it hopefully doesn't get in my way too much. It's also one of the most sunny spots
so I think it should do well there. Besides the crocuses (which will die off above ground) there's also a Belladonna lutea, aka Deadly nightshade plant
growing in the pot. They are related (both from the Solanaceae family) so I hope they'll get along and I'll leave it up to them to figure out their living arrangements.
I usually use the obelisk as a support for climbing plants and will try to add some of those as well.
There is actually a Thunbergia alata aka Black-eyed Susan vine already in the pot but I doubt it is still alive, we'll see if it decides to return.
Usually I grow Morning glories but they can be very vigorous growers and would probably block out too much of the light for the Malevolence,
while also getting ripped to shreds by it.
Morning Glories: Ipomoea tricolor ‘Milky Way’
What I will try is Tropaeolum peregrinum aka canary creeper which I think will grow less vigorous, or at the very least should be easier to keep under control.
If it grows at all that is, because I've had these seeds for >10 years and they were already close to their expiration date when I bought them.
I don't think I've had much luck with them before but there are only a few seeds left so might as well give it a go.
I also have some equally old seeds of Lathyrus odoratus aka sweet peas which would also be suitable climbers, so I'll give those a go as well.
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they look so innocent at this stage
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2026 1:26 pm Post subject:
more old seeds have been sown in the metal 'photobox' planter.
I've tried growing Leontopodium alpinum aka Edelweiss in it before (twice), but it got devoured by a leaf miner.
The Armeria pseudarmeria aka great thrift didn't do so well in it either so it got transplanted to a hanging pot.
Sedum works pretty well in it, at least if grown as an annual.
I was considering trying to grow Dianthus in it this year,
which I also have growing in a pot hanging from the balcony railing and that one has been doing great.
Dianthus 'Lucky Lips'
That reminded me that I still had some old Dianthus seeds left which never worked for me before.
2 varieties, though only very few seeds of one of them: Dianthus superbus and Dianthus carthusianorum.
I also have some older Eschscholzia californica aka California poppy seeds that didn't work for me either and they might like that dry/sunny spot.
I mixed those up and just for fun I also added a couple of the Nigella orientalis 'Transformer' seeds to the mix.
Some seeds have now germinated and I am pretty sure these are California poppy seedlings.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2026 3:06 pm Post subject:
Some other plants that I am growing from seeds are Tagetes patula aka French marigolds.
These were some of my favourite and most profusive flowering plants from last year.
Tagetes patula 'Disco Red'
Tagetes patula 'Jolly Jester'
so this year I'll try to grow mooore of them
not only the same varieties as last year (from fresh seeds that I harvested) but I also got seeds for a mix of flowers in the brown/red/orange/yellow range.
These were all sown on the 2nd of March and have been growing inside under LED grow lights. I did add a couple more seeds in some of the cells when
nothing was germinating in it, which sofar has resulted in the following number of seedlings: 11 mixed, 7 Disco Red, 6 Jolly Jester.
I did sow some more at a later date because the Disco Red and especially Jolly Jester were delayed but in hindsight that wasn't needed
I want to add small Zinnias as well this year, mostly to add some pink to it, but I got a mix of seeds that also has red, orange, yellow and white flowers.
It will be a surprise what will turn up (I am really hoping for some pinks). I started seeds for these on the 2nd of March as well and they did great.
Actually, they did too great After 2 weeks they were already getting quite large and these are summer loving plants that don't like cold
and thus will probably have to stay inside for at least 6~8 weeks, if not longer. So I did the only sensible thing for a change and got rid of them.
I have plenty more of these Zinnia seeds and I now know that they are not only viable but also germinate really quick and grow fast.
The plan is to wait until June (if I have the patience) and then sow some of them inside (as I did now) but will also try direct sowing outside.
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 7:01 am Post subject:
hmm, I might have a slight problem or maybe I should allow it.
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oh, hi there
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I had noticed before that the eyes seemed different on the pigeons that were visiting and this appears to be a stock dove instead of a wood pigeon. edit: actually it's probably an 'ordinary' rock pigeon (not nearly as great as a rock lobster)
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hmm, I might have a slight problem or maybe I should allow it.
problem? at least it is not a "flying rat"
And it might reward you with bits of fertilizer, maybe even some new wild plants
Now if only it will not wake you up too early _________________ Jan
also .. could someone please turn down the thermostat a bit.
Last edited by blue hell on Sun Mar 22, 2026 7:29 am; edited 1 time in total
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 7:29 am Post subject:
meanwhile I made two seed snails.
I noticed seed snails appearing online a couple years ago and at first glance they seemed to be one of those trends that spreads on social media
but after a couple of years nobody talks about it again because it turned out to be messy and highly unpractical.
I do think that in general it's much easier to use seed trays or small pots but seeds snails do have a purpose. The thing that sets them apart
is that they can be made tall without taking up much space, which makes them ideal for plants that grow long roots very quickly.
Also the roots themselves don't get tangled up as much as if you were to sow multiple seeds in a single pot.
Maybe I should first explain what a seed snail is for the uninitiated. It's basically a Swiss roll (one of those roll up cakes) but using soil.
They're usually made with cardboard but you can use other materials as well and I recently saw that they are even selling kits for it now.
To make one, you take a strip of whatever material you want to use, put a layer of soil on it (make it fairly moist so it doesn't fall apart)
and then roll it up and tie it together. Once you are done with that you can place it on one end and plant the seeds in the other one.
The two I made are used for the climbing plants I mentioned in the post about the Solanum atropurpureum:
Tropaeolum peregrinum aka canary creeper and Lathyrus odoratus or more commonly known as sweet peas.
I know that at least the sweet peas can develop long roots so this should be ideal for them.
I also just got two hanging pots/buckets to hang from my railing (moooore plant space) and they turned out to be perfect for it.
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Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 7:39 am Post subject:
blue hell wrote:
problem? at least it is not a "flying rat"
And it might reward you with bits of fertilizer, maybe even some new wild plants
Now if only it will not wake you up too early
Well it's not that I don't like it,. actually I think it's amazing that it decided my balcony is a suitable space for nesting.
The main problem I've had with pigeons is that they can severely damage my plants. Mostly by trampling on them,
but they might also eat some young shoots or seedlings. This Dove might be better behaved though.
I also need to move things around a bit soon and I wouldn't want to scare it, it's probably already terrified that I spotted it.
I think it can stay in that spot though and to be honest the planter it's using does make a nice nest. It has soil, some rocks,
and sticks and a layer of straw. I put it together and placed it there last year as a habitat for insects. _________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!" http://phobos.000space.com/ SoundCloudBandCampMixCloudStickney SynthyardsCaptain ColliderTwitchYouTube
And maybe some [more] protection .. but then again any bird could enter the balcony and damage things I guess? _________________ Jan
also .. could someone please turn down the thermostat a bit.
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 8:03 am Post subject:
I think it's already gone, or maybe moved a bit and I can't see it anymore.
I was planning to do some things in that corner today so maybe I'll spot it again.
Small birds are too light weight to do any real damage to the plants and larger birds generally only stay on the railing.
Maybe the occasional fledgling will make an excursion, I even had a young crow inside last year and a young tit as well.
I have lost quite a few plants in previous years due to severe pigeon damage though. That's also why I often have a lot
of sticks between the plants, they offer some support but are mainly there to prevent them from being snapped.
I captured some incriminating footage
side note: I've noticed a blue tit showing interest in the nesting box/bird house. It didn't work out for them last year
(I did keep the nest, it's gorgeous) but maybe they'll try again this year. _________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!" http://phobos.000space.com/ SoundCloudBandCampMixCloudStickney SynthyardsCaptain ColliderTwitchYouTube Last edited by PHOBoS on Sun Mar 22, 2026 10:41 am; edited 2 times in total
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5929 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 709
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 8:09 am Post subject:
It's not just me that is enjoying the daffodils, the bees seem to bee attracted to them as well.
I am really happy they are because one of the defining factors in deciding to grow spring bulbs
was that they are a valuable food source for early pollinating insects.
I haven't seen them showing interest in any of the other flowers yet, I'd expect them to be all over the crocuses.
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hmm when did those leafs show up, I swear they weren't there yesterday, it's going fast now,..
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