Mango, Tuesday 23rd JuneWednesday 24 June 2009
Saturday 20 June 2009
Avocado and pineapples
This morning I opened up the paper towel protecting my pineapple seeds and found that they all looked just as before. So I did a bit of research and found several different ways of germinating them. Now, 4 of them are in a plastic bag wrapped in paper towel as before, 4 are buried in seedling earth and 3 are in a little pot with some water and the lid on. I made a hole in the lid so they can breathe, and I've put them outside in the sunshine to be warm (will bring them in overnight of course). We shall see which ones grow first, if any.
Michelle from Steadfast at Home asked how I got avocados to grow. The classic method is of course the toothpick one, but that hasn't worked for me in the past so I didn't try it this time.
The one I had as a teenager I started with toothpicks, but as nothing happened for aaaages, I gave up, put it in a pot with some water, shoved it to the back of a dark cupboard and forgot about it until several months later when I discovered a large root and red shoot in there. The water was quite manky by then, and it was very happy to come out into the light!
The two I have now were planted roughly one week apart. #1 I put in the bottom of a yoghurt pot, with some water up to about halfway, maybe a bit less. Before I started #2, I read somewhere that making a few small cuts in the sides of the pit with a sharp knife would help it absorb water, so I did that before putting it in a yoghurt pot too. I took the skin off both. #2 grew very soon, and #1 followed it about a month later. I don't know whether the cutting was what made the difference, as #2 was a somewhat larger pit in the first place, so maybe it was riper?
Once the pit split and the root started trying to emerge, I moved it into one of those sundae glasses that are like an upside-down cone, so the root had space to grow below it. Presumably it would have done fine in the yoghurt pot and would just have curled round to come out of the side, like my very first one did, but I felt sorry for it.
The photo I posted the other day was of #2 - #1 only has a root and hasn't finished splitting at the top yet.
I have another 4 sitting in water now, and have just made cuts in them all to try to speed things along. I also have one that split when I accidentally dropped it while getting it out of the avocado. I don't know if that will grow, the bit that germinates could be damaged but I can't really tell.
Have you found any other ways of growing avocados (or indeed anything else)?
Michelle from Steadfast at Home asked how I got avocados to grow. The classic method is of course the toothpick one, but that hasn't worked for me in the past so I didn't try it this time.
The one I had as a teenager I started with toothpicks, but as nothing happened for aaaages, I gave up, put it in a pot with some water, shoved it to the back of a dark cupboard and forgot about it until several months later when I discovered a large root and red shoot in there. The water was quite manky by then, and it was very happy to come out into the light!
The two I have now were planted roughly one week apart. #1 I put in the bottom of a yoghurt pot, with some water up to about halfway, maybe a bit less. Before I started #2, I read somewhere that making a few small cuts in the sides of the pit with a sharp knife would help it absorb water, so I did that before putting it in a yoghurt pot too. I took the skin off both. #2 grew very soon, and #1 followed it about a month later. I don't know whether the cutting was what made the difference, as #2 was a somewhat larger pit in the first place, so maybe it was riper?
Once the pit split and the root started trying to emerge, I moved it into one of those sundae glasses that are like an upside-down cone, so the root had space to grow below it. Presumably it would have done fine in the yoghurt pot and would just have curled round to come out of the side, like my very first one did, but I felt sorry for it.
The photo I posted the other day was of #2 - #1 only has a root and hasn't finished splitting at the top yet.
I have another 4 sitting in water now, and have just made cuts in them all to try to speed things along. I also have one that split when I accidentally dropped it while getting it out of the avocado. I don't know if that will grow, the bit that germinates could be damaged but I can't really tell.
Have you found any other ways of growing avocados (or indeed anything else)?
Friday 19 June 2009
Some of my saplings
This was going to be my Wordless Wednesday post, but I didn't take the photos soon enough. Never mind.
Mango seedling emerging from the earth on Monday morning.
Mango sapling on Thursday afternoon.
My first avocado plant.
Some sites for mango and avocado care:
Tropical permaculture (mangoes)
Avocados
More avocados
Mango seedling emerging from the earth on Monday morning.
Mango sapling on Thursday afternoon.I actually half expected it to grow faster than this, but I guess it doesn't get as much sun and heat as it would in, say, India. Isn't it cute though? All those leaves were already there when it emerged from the earth, they've just opened up now.
My first avocado plant. First of this batch, that is. I had one for several years as a child. The others are mostly at the sitting-in-water-doing-nothing stage. One has a root. One split open when I accidentally dropped it in getting it out of the fruit, so I've put it in water anyway but I don't know if it will grow.
Some sites for mango and avocado care:
Tropical permaculture (mangoes)
Avocados
More avocados
Useful reference sites
Reposted and expanded from Not Really Homeschooling.
One day I would love to have a permaculture garden. But at the moment I have to make do with lots of pots, and my window-boxes. Here are some of the sites I'm using as reference/inspiration.
I love this site! It's my reference for:
- my little mango seed, although it wasn't the sort they suggest, with the several seeds inside the husk,
- passionfruit, which I fully intend to try again as soon as I buy more fruits,
- pineapple, as I have a top ready to plant as well as the previously mentioned surprise seeds in a germinating bag
- sweet potato, which I am having a go with even though we don't really have space for a big vine, or indeed a vine at all. It's going to be an indoor sweet potato trial, I have to convince my lovely husband to get a large pot.
I'd love to grow cashews, but it's not very realistic in a house with kids- check out the pictures though to see what they look like!
Here are some links about growing avocados...
and peppers...
and citrus.
Ideas for other things to grow including ginger root!
Here's s new one about veggies and gardening in general.
And of course the BBC and Wikipedia, which are wonderful resources for, well, everything really!
Gardening-related blogs I follow:
Down To Earth: Living the simple life in Australia. Posts about all kinds of things - check it out.
Blagger: These great people are trying to live self-sufficiently in a suburban town in the UK.
Weekend gardener: written by gardening industry professionals.
Godspace: Christine Sine's blog is about God, gardening and community, and how the three go together. I especially love her posts about how God speaks to her through her garden.
The Green Parent: This one is not so much about gardening, just the occasional item.
Monday 15 June 2009
A new blog
My other blog over at Not Really Homeschooling was getting so garden-centric that I have finally decided I should have a separate place for that sort of thing. This is it. Welcome!
If you have a blog about gardening, leave me a comment so I can follow you.
If you know anything about container gardening on a balcony or indoors, leave me a comment and a link.
If you know anything at all about good companion plants for pineapples, please please leave me a comment - I am currently growing a pineapple top and want to plant something with it to provide extra nitrogen in the soil and look pretty in the house. Google searches have not yielded anything helpful so far.
Other items festooning our fireplace surround include a newly-emerged mango sapling (hooray!), some strawberry suckers waiting to be dealt with, three baby kumquat saplings, a possible pear sapling (could be another kumquat), five avocado pits in various stages of germination, and a glass of water with some ground ivy and speedwell in it. I have no idea whether speedwell cuttings will root in water, or at all. Ground ivy should root almost anywhere, it's just waiting to be given some earth to sit in.
There will be photos when my husband gets home with the camera on Friday.
If you have a blog about gardening, leave me a comment so I can follow you.
If you know anything about container gardening on a balcony or indoors, leave me a comment and a link.
If you know anything at all about good companion plants for pineapples, please please leave me a comment - I am currently growing a pineapple top and want to plant something with it to provide extra nitrogen in the soil and look pretty in the house. Google searches have not yielded anything helpful so far.
Other items festooning our fireplace surround include a newly-emerged mango sapling (hooray!), some strawberry suckers waiting to be dealt with, three baby kumquat saplings, a possible pear sapling (could be another kumquat), five avocado pits in various stages of germination, and a glass of water with some ground ivy and speedwell in it. I have no idea whether speedwell cuttings will root in water, or at all. Ground ivy should root almost anywhere, it's just waiting to be given some earth to sit in.
There will be photos when my husband gets home with the camera on Friday.
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