It has been roughly four weeks since I put nasturtium seeds into the soil. If anyone out there still is thinking of giving this a go, you are still not too late – I wanted to share another tip; my cheap and clean method of growing, which is to use a large Tupperware container. The particular one I am using easily holds four flats of seedlings. Seedlings should not dry out, so they demand regular watering to keep the soil moist. With this container I can water and spray them until my heart’s content and still not get a drop of water on my walls or floors. Burpee sells something similar, which can be reused and costs roughly 20 dollars.
Slideshow this week comes courtesy of Central Park. I took a walk once the weather took a cold turn. Far from lush foliage of summertime, the park still offers up little jewels everywhere – both high and low.
This is the time of year before much of the green fills out, a time for trees to be admired. Curling branches coil and flex while holding blossoms or leaf buds at their tips like dancers with their castanets, and weeping trees let down blossoming firecracker streams. Magnolias are at their peak right now. In a short while the blossoms will be swept away in spring winds, green will prevail, and the branches will be lost to the leaves.
If you have a chance, and a few friends, don’t miss your opportunity to picnic underneath the Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s cherry trees. Their 25th annual cherry blossom viewing festival will be the weekend of the 29th.
The Japanese version normally consists of drinking sake while you watch the petals fall, a pleasant and euphoric experience. Brooklyn’s version seems to be more action-packed, with a full roster of activities on both days. Good for families!
- Matt N.
The BBG cherry festival is MAYHEM.
That's fun for some, in and of itself, but the garden is open lots of other times, mit blossom. AND the BBG keeps CherryWatch running online, pinpointing which trees are at what stage of bloom.
Right now, everything's hot around the pond. The formal double-rowed grove has not started to pop.
Click my name for the CherryWatch link, or navigate through from the Sakura Matsuri page.
Matt: picture 15 - or 7th in your slide show..I think
do you know what that plant is called?
I'm noticing them all over my neighborhood for the first time.
Awww, that's nice. Nasturtiums always remind me of my grandmother's backyard in Australia, and my wonderful summers there.
I wonder if my cat would just eat these if I planted them.
Awww, nasturtiums! I just planted mine a week and a half ago ago.. no sprouts yet, but then they recommend you plant them directly in the soil, so I only planted half my seeds. Here in Montreal our last frost is later than yours, too, I think. May 1st!
Your seedlings are looking a little leggy- have you thought about putting them up closer to the light? I use a combination of cool and warm white fluorescent bulbs in a regular fluorescent fixture, it's great for seedlings & costs under $20. I wouldn't recommend using a big rubbermaid bucket, because seedlings have to be as close to the light as possible to get compact, sturdy plants. I use something similar to the Burpee thing you posted, except made by Jiffy ("expert" gardeners always diss me for this, but I like Jiffy's little pucks to start seeds - I always get good results and it's easy to tell at a glance when the soil has dried out.) Unfortunately I haven't found a cool way to get my spring-time growop to blend in with my apartment, but I was thinking of custom-building a bookcase similar to Ikea's Billy, with sliding, frosted or coloured plexiglas panels in order to disguise the source of the light. Maybe in time for next spring.
Love the slideshow. I wish spring would come to Canada a bit faster...
Hello - I feel a long post coming on, so apologies in advance...
Guido, I have no idea - but let's check with the Parks Dept. and see if they can tell us. I promise to post if they tell me. It looked well-established and the blossoms are very nice.
Ali, I agree - I sacrifice leggy for convenience and a chance to recycle an old container. I face the same dilemna as you, and no time to integrate a growing operation in to my interior space. A lower side and Saran Wrap over the top would be a much better set-up. I am just getting settled into my new home, so it may be on my list in the future. In the meantime, you bring up a good point. It would be great to pose another 'Pimp My Billy' category with the intent of growing plants. I could imagine wiring one up and putting on lucite fronts so that you only see the plant silhouettes...
With all of the new gro-gadgets hitting the market, it seems like there could/should be more homegrown solutions that could integrate well with a clean apartment's interior design scheme. MOst of the equipment out there looks industrial, or at the very least like you have some type of illegal operation underway in your spare room.
If anyone has leads ro has undergone any projects, please feel free to send them along to me at mattnoiseux at hotmail dot com. I would love to compile and present good apartment solutions.
Ali - also you are right about planting nasturtiums. They do not like to be transplanted. I have done it before, but also saved a few packets 'in case :)
Take care and happy gardening.
Matt.
'kea does make an indoor greenhouse shelf unit
it's glass with a metal structure, no back
it's has an angled glass roof you can prop open for humidity control
it's pretty low profile and
I suppose you could frost the doors
I like a grow-light in an Ikea pendant lamp
cause I don't like the drug operation motif either
Matt, you talk to the Parks Dept? ooooo
I figure I'll be able to corner some
concerned citizen on the street for the answer . . .
I'm putting my nasturiums in the exterior pots
this weekend
squirrels already had a dirt fight in my parsley
and cilantro pots
so
I might be making a squirrel cage out of
aluminum mesh gutter guard
too
Guido,
I just attempted to post the URL to an Ikea greenhouse. Is that the one? It is very cute! And affordable. As for those parks people, they are roaming the gardens in droves lately, so the big question will be if they will actually talk to me.
Matt
hmmmm
no, that's a teeney thing for the window
this was as big as Billy
(snort)
I wonder if they've stopped selling it
I just tried Ask Anna
but she wouldn't tell
In Paramus, they had it tucked into a bathroom display
next to a window
That 15th or 7th picture on Matt's slideshow-you mean greenesh blossoms among darker green foliage?
I think it looks like a variety of Helleborum (Lenten rose)-link at my name; it's a bit late in the season, but may be it's a late-blooming hybrid.
ohhh ohhh! raising hand... I know the answer!
they're hellebores or "the christmas rose"... very trendy last year and this year too...I succumbed to their frosty beauty even though I've planted one after nearly all of The Jonses on the block have planted theirs.
lots of new ones now, thanks I think, to Graham Rose, who developed and promotes them (someone does, think it's him).
my favorite ever seed starting apparatus is from lee valley, because it solves the whole water seedlings thing, and it acts as a greenhouse when you're trying to get warm things to start.
lastly, I like to soak my nasturtium seeds for 24 hrs before planting (thanks to the best ever book for gardeners with small spaces (McGee & Stuckey's the Bountiful Container: A Container Garden of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers )
ok, have I gone on too long now? I'll sign off.
regards,
trillium
chalk my giddiness up to the facts that it's 70 degrees out and sunny, I survived a trip to the dentist, and I brought in a home made cake for a coworkers bday...
here's the url for the selfwatering seed starter
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=10645&cat=2,44713,40757&ap=1
hellebores it is
I tried and failed to raise those from seed a few years ago, so they had a familiar look . . .
delicate, beautiful
not reseeding in my yard
thx folks
You guys are great! After doing a little internet reading it looks like these would be great for our outdoor area, and provide some early color in spring. I might see if I can find some locally.
Trillium, that Lee Valley seed starter looks great, too. Much more compact than the Burpee model. I still am curious about that Billy-sized indoor plant grower, though. Sounds like it might be hard to find...
my nasturtiums are leggy ,i am getting a light fixture but also wonder where and when to pinch them off. can anyone help?