Grow Logs: A Little Lost
Maybe it is because I'm doing this on a Samsung tablet , but I cannot get into the page called "Glossary" that is in progress On my air Garden Blog, so I looked and all of my grow logs are missing.
So until I have time to check it out I will just add some of them here, with the notation "Grow Log" at the top.
In a large Blue pot is elephant bush (Portulacaria afra). Left in the small blue pot Is a rainbow elephant bush (Portulacaria afra 'variegata').
Started it from a stem cutting March 6, 2021. It grows nicely together with Malabar spinach.
Hedge Turnip is a Tasty "Weed"
In progress.
Can I make this shunned weed legal? Someone needs to.
Sad Looking Jute
Jute (aka Eqyptian Spinach) seeds sprout overnight but the seedlings are tiny and can take months to get big enough to eat. When they do start flowering the plants will quickly bolt, so I like to take cuttings before that happens in order to get more plants in a shorter time.
Diminutive flowers are edible as well as attractive. As long as I keep picking them off to eat, new flowers will keep coming. If I miss some, they will turn into tiny pods which are tasty and nutritious when they are small and tender.
This may look deader than a doornail just a few minutes after the stem is cut, but by morning it will be completely recovered and in a week or so it will have viable roots. The parent plant will then branch out instead of continuing to grow straight up on a single stem.
Tradescantia pallida
Tradescantia pallida 'purpurea' is a handsome and robust plant that can be grown in a pot outdoors in Southern California year round.
A spiderwort commonly known as purple heart, it is related to zebrina and spider lily.
These cuttings were given to me by a very good friend and I plan to root them in water.
UPDATE: 2 of my 3 cuttings taken on August 18 have tiny roots already on August 31 (13 days)
Yummy Tomatoes and a Brave Dove
These tomatoes overwintered from seeds I sprouted in the Spring of 2020, and the cayenne pepper plant was $1.49 at the 99 Cents Only Store. Economical eats, but a lot of work keeping them alive in the hot desert sun.
It is said to be fortuitous when mourning doves nest near you. This one is at eye level and just inches away from my beefstake tomatoes. She takes the night shift and stays until the light of day, but then her husband comes to sit on the eggs during the hottest hours of sun. He is bigger than her, with a longer beak, and although the markings are similar hers are more gray and his are a rosy pink. He sits unblinking when I go by with my watering can, but she is more expressive. They don't seem to mind at all when I rush past them. It is almost as if they know I am a friend and am just there to bring them a bowl of fresh water and to tend the plants.
Xxx
Unbelievable
One of my scratch'n'dent peperomia plants has 2 flower stems.
This is Peperomia obtusifolia (baby rubber plant) and although the flower stems grow up to 5" long, the flowers themselves will be miniscule.
Chicory
This is Cichorium intybus, aka Common Chicory. I have grown it before and enjoyed eating the leaves and flowers.
The roots are nutritious as well, but I haven't eaten them nor taken root cuttings yet.
Here is a close up of the bitter, but tasty leaves, which can be substituted for dandelion greens.
Aside from this plant's amazing nutritional profile, it is a pretty thing with delightful flowers that I particularly enjoy eating as a garnish over my breakfast tilapia.
Please note that although chicory leaves can be harvested at any time, the flowers are only open in the morning. They also change color going from their usual brilliant blue to almost white due to factors I haven't quite figured out.
They do bolt in extreme heat. When the plant is flowering, the leaves, while still edible are noticeably more bitter. It is said that blanching sweetens them, but I have yet to try that.
See also: Sugar Loaf, Radicchio, and Endive.
To view my Chicory Omelette please visit Ann's Air Gardens
This and That
These microgreens are red and green Daikon Radish from Backyard Vitality. They are expensive, but I like their cedar boxes with stainless steel trays.
Here they are looking good, but this week's heat wave got them. I probably should have put the trays in the refrigerator.
My outdoor air radishes went limp when the temperature reached 110°F, but they were OK in the morning.
It won't get much cooler all this week, so I picked some of these for soup.