Ann's Air Gardens

Sow Thistle or Dandelion

One plant that I never heard of before gardening in Southern California is Sow Thistle.  I first tasted some today and to my surprise found it quite delicious.  

I will talk about this plant later and provide some photos, but in the meantime, a big thanks to some other writers who have described this dandelion look-alike:

A Squidoo Article about Sows Thistle

In the above article the writer states that although Sows Thistle is now considered an invasive weed, it was actually brought to the United States by Europeans who grew it as a vegetable. 

Dandelion Look Alikes

In the above article there is a paragraph long list of names of dandelion look alikes. 

Merriweather's Guide to Edible Wild Plants

The author of the above blog explains how the roots of the Sows Thistle can be used to make a caffeine-free coffee substitute.    

Armeniapedia says that Sows Thistle serves as a host plant for aphids.  I'll have to think about that one. 

Absolute Astronomy says that the alternate name for this plant, Hare Thistle, comes from the fact that it was used as fodder for rabbits.  The fact is, tonight I did see a rabbit munching on some Sows Thistle in my neighbor's yard.  Unfortunately, it was too dark out to take a picture.

UPDATE ON THE RABBIT:  Wabbits and Easter

Photos from my Indoor Jungle

Seven of the palm seeds I planted in February have sprouted and I blogged about them here

My Babies  
 I have no idea what kind of palm this is going to be, except that its mama is very tall with a narrow trunk and my neighbor considers it a pest because so many seeds fall and take root in his yard -- he has to pull out hundreds of them! 

 
Above is what promises to soon become my first salad burnet blossom.

 
It is probably prettier now than it will be later, but my gardenias are still flowering indoors. I took several cuttings to try to root new gardenia plants and so far they are still alive.

I also took hardwood cuttings from the dormant fig tree in my late uncle's back yard and hope to succeed rooting a few of them.  Advice found on line suggests that when trying to get these cuttings to root it is better if they do not leaf out, presumably because the strength of the plant is needed for the roots.  However, we will put that theory to the test, as this one has gorgeous leaves already.

The stem has little white root tips showing already, too.  If for some reason they do not develop, I can always take a soft stem cutting from the top and try again.  All of my fig branches are in water at the moment, although I intend to put some in a different medium outdoors. 
 

Resurrected Like the Phoenix?

A pot of nasturtiums that I left unattended here when I went to Arizona for a month was all but dead when I came back, but I cut off the tips and stuck them in the AeroGarden a month ago.  As soon as roots were showing, I put the cuttings   out in the raised garden where they did not look too happy, but there was a surprise waiting this morning:

This one is from Jewel Mix.  Like morning glories and moonflowers, it helps to nick the sides and soak the seeds to get nasturtium seeds to germinate.  I am too impatient to wait for them to come up out of the soil, so I start them in the bean sprouter and move them into a flower pot when the roots are an inch or two long.

 

More on the Seed Starter Kit

These are mint seedlings from the AeroGarden Seed Starter tray.  A while back when several of my pumps went out, I put the tray in one of them because it does not require the pump assembly.  I had no idea that seedlings would grow so well without any aeration! 

I want a big pot of mint, so I took the tops off of these to root as cuttings and planted the rest in a pot with scarlet runner beans.  The beans will climb up a trellis and the mint will give their feet a little shade.  

The leaves that I cut off the bottoms of the cuttings went into my chocolate whey smoothie.  Yums!  I hope the supply keeps up with my demand, because that tasted good.