Tuesday, June 5, 2018: Last Cactus Flowers

The last two flowers opened on the cactus today. They will be gone by tomorrow.

Sunday, June 3, 2018: Finally a Spring-like day

We have about three weeks (or less) before Summer begins. Finally, today we had some Spring-like weather. The high today was 84F with a humidity of 30%. Yesterday I brought out the chess pieces.

Today I mowed and trimmed the lawn, cleaned out the garage cutters and weeded the west raised bed. I started the season with low expectations of planting much this years. However, so far, the west bed has kale, basil, dill, leeks, scallions, beets, cabbage and carrots.

The moss balls have finally sunk...after I squeezed the remaining air out of them. I ordered more balls.

The cactus flower lasted one day before it closed again. Today however, two more flowers have opened.

Friday, June 1, 2018: Marimo Moss Balls, Cactus Flower, Cabbage

Another hot day with clear skies. Yesterday I noticed that I might get as many as five flowers on the prickly pear cactus on the east side of the pond.

Today, the first one opened up. They don't last long, but they are very pretty while they last.

Our east neighbor sent me a text yesterday saying that someone had given them a red and green cabbage plant. They are leaving town for awhile and he wondered if I wanted to plant them in our raised bed. I said "of course"! When it cools off a bit later today, I will probably put them in the west raised bed between the kale and the basil. I need to get and plant some marigolds around the perimeter of the bed in a naive attempt to try to keep the rabbits away.

Green and red cabbage

 While planting the cabbage, I noticed a neat row of something on the other side of the drip hose from the basil. I originally thought it might be the Swiss Chard I sowed. Then I also thought it might be the beets I thought I had planted somewhere else. Either way, something is growing in a nice straight line...could be well trained weeds.

Chard, beets or weeds?

I noticed a couple of days ago that I no longer seemed to have any Marimo in the pond. Marimo (毬藻 in Japanese translates literally as "ball seaweed") moss balls are little squishy balls of algae that look a lot like moss, hence the name. In the wild, they roll along the bottoms of rivers, giving them their round shape. They are also viewed as charms in Japan, and even treated as pets. With proper care, Marimo . Benefits (attributes) of the moss balls include:

• they act like little filters, sucking up debris and small amounts of ammonia and phosphates
• they suck up CO₂ and release oxygen into the water
• by sucking up the same nutrients as undesirable algae, they deprive invasive algae of those nutrients
• they harbor significant amounts of beneficial bacteria
• they are essentially maintenance free
• they are almost impossible to kill (chlorine will do it)
• they can survive for over a century (unless eaten)
• they grow very slowly, only 3/16" (5 mm) / year
• they do not reproduce
• goldfish find them tasty
• they do not produce dead matter
• critters can use this ball of algae as a smorgasbord, a comfy hiding place, or a means of entertainment

I put 5-10 balls in the pond back in the Spring of 2016 primarily as a secondary source of food for the gold fish while we were on our trips. Well, the fish must have enjoyed them as they are no longer around. I bought some more on-line and they were delivered today. These are "B" grade balls which may be slightly misshapen and may have minor flaws in appearance, but for our pond, they are perfect.

After conditioning them according to the instructions, I put them in the pond. There are 17 balls of various sizes. I'll probably have to dig them out of the skimmer a few times before they hydrate completely and sink to the bottom of the pond.

Marimo Moss Balls

Tuesday, May 29, 2018: Okra Saga Continues

The okra plant I took to the garden a week or so ago continues to look healthy. This plant was started inside on January 26 from seed I harvested last Autumn. When I started them, I put a couple of seeds in a 4" pot and also seeds in six sections of peat pot. The one plant I took outside a week ago was from the 4" pot. I repeatedly got seeds in the peat pot to sprout, but they never did much after that. I replanted seeds in the peat pots several times but they never did much.

Progress of okra seeds on March 20

Okra on April 5

Okra transplanted to garden on May 22

I wanted to have three plants again this year. With one in the garden and only one of the many I had planted in the peat pots showing any signs of progress, last week I decided to start some more inside. This time I put three seeds in a larger (4") pot. To my amazement, the seeds in the plastic pot sprouted within just a few days.

Okra on left on May 26

All of this got me to wondering if the problem could be the peat pots. Today, I transferred the one plant still alive in the peat pot to a 6" pot. I left the plant in the peat pot, but tore out the bottom of the peat pot. Considering the growth rate of the plants in the other pot, if the peat potted plant does not take off in a few days, I may cut out the remnants of the peat pot to see if the peat itself is the problem.

Pot on the right has the bottomless peat pot still in it

Monday, May 28, 2018: Asiatic Lilies

The lilies are blooming!

Saturday, May 26, 2018: Memorial Day Weekend, rhubarb, dill and basil

Today I took the rhubarb (east raised bed) and basil (west raised bed) I sprouted inside out to the garden. I also sowed some dill in the west raised bed. I also started another pot of basil to keep inside to hedge my bets (I don't know if rabbits will eat the basil or not). While I transferred one okra earlier (looks like it is doing OK so far), the younger okra is not ready to go out just yet. I have one started another batch of okra in a larger pot (they don't seem to do too well in the little peat pots) and they are already sprouted.

Okra on left and basil pot on right

Six basil plants

Three rhubarb plants

Tuesday, May 22, 2018: Okra and Spring

Last year I harvested many okra seeds with the hope I could start them inside and take them into the garden. I probably planted two dozen seeds in peat pots earlier this year. Over half of the seeds sprouted, but only one survived to be about six inches tall. Today, I took that one out to the garden.

I was hoping to plant three plants and I'm still trying to inside. I've planted three plants each of the past two years and ended up freezing and giving away many okra.

I had ordered some rhubarb seeds and have them potted inside. I am hoping to plant four additional plants this Spring.

Rhubarb from purchased seeds (looks like one has croaked)

The one plant outside that we have had for 4+ years has gone to seed with an abundance of seeds on it. I will try starting some of them. Rhubarb takes a season or two before it ready for harvest.

4-5 year old Rhubarb gone to seed

Rhubarb seeds

Looking around the garden on this bright Spring day...

Roses are doing well. I pruned them in April

Asiatic Lilies will have a lot of blooms soon.

I thought the Bleeding Heart had died last year, but there it is.

May Apple looks good

Succulents appear to have survived the move outside

Carrots or Beets

Kale

Leeks

None of the three dozen pepper plants survived the last freeze. I waited longer this year to take them outside, but not long enough. I planted both carrots and beet seeds. One of them is going well and no sign of the other. I also planted some Swiss Chard without success.

Saturday, April 21, 2018 - Battery Replacement on Garage Security Sensors

While on my last trip to CO, I received notifications that the batteries on all three garage personnel door security sensors and the center overhead door sensor were low. I thought this interesting since the batteries are supposed to last 5 years and it has only been two years. Anyway, today I replaced those four sensors. As opposed to the on-line information, the garage overhead door sensor takes the same CR2032 size battery as the personnel door sensors.

Saturday, April 14, 2018 - Bonsai

I attended a MoBot class on Saturday, Beginning Bonsai. That's pronounced Bōne Sī and translates from the Japanese as "Pot Tree". In Chinese, the word is Penjing.

I enjoyed the class. The presenters said they put on this class a couple of times a year, and typically, it sells out quickly with a maximum capacity of 15. They were therefore surprised that this particular class only had eight signups and only seven of those showed up.

The presenters were a pair of brothers (Brian and Milt Ciskowski) who have a nursery over in Edwardsville, IL (Cass Bonsai Gardens, http://www.cassbonsaigardens.com/).

They have put on the annual Japanese Festival at the MoBot for the past 28 years (http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/things-to-do/events/signature-events/japanese-festival.aspx).

They said literally anything can be "bonsai-ed". For the class, each attendee chose a Juniper and a ceramic pot.

Brian and Milt gave us the basics of creating a bonsai: how to approach the thinning out, the various shapes and how to wire the branches.

Final Product

They suggested leaving the wire on for about two months, after which, the branches should hold the desired shape. If the wires are left on too long, they will become embedded in the wood. The wiring is done on a "dry" tree, i.e. a tree that has not been watered for several days. A soiless bonsai soil mix is used. These Junipers can be pruned and/or wired at any time of the year. They also suggested re-potting every two years or so.

Today, I received the rhubarb seeds (Victoria) I had ordered recently. I have them soaking and will get them potted tomorrow. I hope to plant three or four more plants outside.

I potted another set of okra seeds. Of the ones I potted a couple of weeks ago, only one looks healthy. I would like to end up with three plants to take outside.

I also started some sweet basil in pots this weekend.

Today I repaired the break in the water line on Zone 12 of the irrigation system. This line was violated when I planted one of the Holly Hocks and cut through it with my shovel. I cut out the sliced section and used a Rain Bird EZ Coupling to splice the two ends together. It looks like it is going to hold.

Friday, April 13, 2018 - Fertilizing and Snapshot

Yesterday, I dispersed Snapshot, the germination inhibitor I use on the mulched areas. Today I used all the Jobe's fertilizer spikes I have for the trees and shrubs. Tomorrow I have a class on bonsai trees at the Botanical Garden. Sunday, it is supposed to snow.