When looking for seeds, we'd like something showy; for the tiny little granule to turn into a whopper of a Strelitzia, for example. Often things don't turn out the way we had hoped for. Diseases strike, the seedlings are feeble, the temperature is to hot, or too cold - things are going awry. The spectacular … Continue reading A thousand yellow daisies.
Sweet peas! How about them? Last year I grew an unnamed white variety, this year I'm all out with not one, but two: a deep, dark plum coloured one called Windsor, and a creamy one touched with purple on the edges called Old Times. Some say you should grow them in autumn, but I'm not … Continue reading Is it worth sowing your sweet peas on a windowsill in January?
After a short hiatus - call it winter, call it the blues, call it whatever you want - I'm back! Here's a bit of reminiscence on when we, here up North, notice winter is not to stay for ever. Valentine's day is usually the day I notice the light is coming back. This is usually … Continue reading Lesson learned: leave those seeds the f*** alone.
Things are not going swimmingly, far from it. The whole lot in the greenhouse, pardon, the kitchen is starting to damp off, or otherwise succumb to something nasty. The Salvia Sclarea seedlings - the ones that sprouted so happily a week or what ago, the ones that I talked to and sang to every day, … Continue reading The kitchen lot should feel thankful for the fact we actually need the light above their shriveled heads.
My lupins are a tad unhappy - they're damping off, giving up the ghost one by one. Sad. I planned to keep them out on the balcony all winter so they'd germinate around February and I figured they'd grow on, slowly and steadily, with just the glass and maybe a plastic cover to protect them. … Continue reading My lupins are damping off.
A life botanic 
You must be logged in to post a comment.