Ann's Air Gardens

My Miniature Orchid Rebloomed

I think I bought this plant at the end of February.  It was an impulse item that I saw while in line at Grocery Outlet.  They were smart to put the flowering plants near the registers.  I had bought a big orchid for a friend and then I saw the little ones selling for $2.99 and could not resist getting one for myself.  

Apparently, it thrived on neglect.  I had left it in a dark corner and  forgot to water it for months on end, then recently remembered it and gave it some water.  It seems like just a few days later there was a stem with tiny buds and now the first flower has opened.  What a lovely winter surprise.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon after, this one opened. A second stem is on the way.

 

 

Stuffing them Raw

 

I am going to stuff these butternut squash blossoms with chicken salad, wrap them in spinach, and make them into roll-ups.  Less than a month and a half after I sprouted seeds I grew last year from a squash bought in the market at the beginning of the pandemic when most of the supermarket shelves were bare. So they are not heritage, but they were free.  

 

Seeds I Saved

 

   

In just 45 to 55 days plants grown from seeds I saved from my first Butternut Squash are blooming.

   

 

On January 11, with no boy flowers in sight, the first girl opened, but I didn't have to wait long as Jan15 three boys opened up with more on the way.  Another healthy girl may open tomorrow, this time with plenty of pollen available.  

 

The AeroGarden labels in my photo are repurposed from herbs that came with a planter I bought last year.   I won't be able to take the plants out of the baskets without damaging their roots when it is time to put them outside in dirt, but in a year's time when all of the squash have been harvested, I can clean the baskets out, and sterilize them to use again.

The tiny Jute seedlings in an egg carton were sprouted in water at the same time as the squash.  

 

This photo shows my EZ-sprout from which I am moving squash sprouts into the Aerogarden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE:  I sprouted Jute aka Egyptian Spinach, aka Molokhia (Conchords olitorius) at the same time.

 

 

Overwintering

 

I brought one green okra plant indoors to overwinter, along with stem cuttings from two red ones.  The cuttings rooted in water, but then died because they were too close to the heater vent.  The dirt plant wasn't looking good, but perked up when I moved it to the other side of the house into natural light and away from the heat 🔥. 

In fact, after just a few days it started to bloom.  At first I panicked because my AeroGarden butternut squash bloomed at the sane time, but defied squash logic by going ladies first.  No pollen!

But then I remembered that okra, like tomatoes, can self pollenate, only with a little more help.  So I got out a small 🖌 paintbrush and assisted. 

We had only one light frost so far this "winter" in my part of Southern California, and it got a few plants, but others might just make it to spring.  The edible chrysanthemum which for some reason I though was a heat loving summer plant was petulant did NOT like triple digits at all, but when we got down into the 40's and 50's it thrived.  Some of the tomatoes died on the vine, but those that made it are ripening with no loss of flavor and now there are new blossoms coming fast.  The weather has been strange bouncing around from the high 30's overnight back into mid 70's in the late afternoon.  This is pleasing to my Air Radishes which I blogged about here.