Sunday, March 7, 2010

Seedling Update

It's been about a week since my last seedling update.  I'll mention the Lithops and Conophytum in a separate post.  I'm also thinking about going through all my posts and checking all the plant names and nicely italicizing them.  The idea to do this began with a simple annoyance - the 's' on the end of Lithops.  I blame Kenneth.  See the post and comments here.

First off we have the Tiny Tim Tomatoes.  They only grow to 45cm in height and are just over half way there.  So I guess they're not really seedlings any more.  I tried to tell them but they seemed offended so I figured alright, whatever you say.  I should thin them, but I'm trying to keep them smaller so they'll fit under the light.  That being said I'm still planning to remove all but two or three.  I might have to do some pinching.  Hopefully I'll start getting flowers relatively soon so I can have winter tomatoes!


Next up is the Brugmansia.  They have started to put out their first 'real' leaves so I'm very proud.  That tiny one is the one that I had to perform open seed surgery on.  The plant was damaged a little when I tried to remove the seed capsule but I think it will be alright.  If not, two plants is alright but I always like to have a back up.  It's been about 28 days since sowing.


Finally here are the Datura with some leeks in the background.  Only one of the ten Datura seeds hasn't sprouted so I'm quite impressed.  I'll just move one of the plants in the furthest cell to the empty one.  The leeks have been doing very well.  I accidentally let them dry out a little but they seem unphased.

12 comments:

  1. Hehe... Just a little evil italicizing, I'm enjoying it.

    I <3 Datura! It says you need moths to come while the flowers are open at night to pollinate them... But the plant I grew on my windowsill flowered, fruited, exploded, and those seeds germinate just fine, and I'm certain I don't have pollinator moths in my apartment (just fungus gnats and spider mites). The one seed might just need a couple more days--mine germinated at variable times, but all germinated.

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  2. I went back though the last 20% of my blog posts. I'll have to do the rest but probably not today.

    It's a double light purple variety with dark purple edges. That's awesome that it grew no problem in a windowsill. I never would of though of trying it just indoors.

    Gotta love the pests. They make things interesting. If you're a fan of adversity...

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  3. Just fixing to get my veggie garden started outside, we're on the end of our frosts and spring is starting... if you do pinch off the top of the tomatoes, you can try growing them as cuttings. We do that every year here... when the real summer heat hits, the tomatoes stop producing, so we root the tips of the dying plants, and get them in the ground in time for a fall crop.

    The moths that Kenneth refers to are Hawk Moth or Hummingbird Moth. They're a night-flying moth that is a very close relative of the "deaths head" moth that was featured in the movie "Silence of the Lambs" The caterpillar of that moth is the Tomato Hornworm, a very destructive garden pest, and while they are the main polinator of Datura, they're not the only one... Actual hummingbirds can polinate the things if they get there early in the morning. But polinators aren't really neccesary for them. I've had D. inoxia growing in my back yard for about 15 years, and I've never had a bloom that didn't polinate. Each thorn-apple will produce over a hundred seeds, and seeds can remain viable for up to 35 years. I usually cut the blooms off every morning when they're blooming, as I don't want them spreading all over the yard. (quite a chore, as under a full moon, they can put out 100+ blooms a night) In our climate, they re-sprout from the root every year.

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  4. Looking good! I just started some double datura the other night. I decided to try some again after seeing them on your blog. Must admit I have forgot to water a few times this year too, bad gardener! :-)

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  5. Datura must not grow down here...

    Everything looks just great!

    I have never heard that tip Claude told about with the tips of the tomato plants! That will be wonderful to try. Must speak to my Mom about this...she has grown tomatoes all her life. Very cool.

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  6. Claude, here the Datura die every year. The seeds however survive and sprout in the spring. I've heard of those moths but never had a problem with them. I've never heard of saving tomato plants with tip cuttings though. Definitely worth a try and thanks for sharing!

    Dan, I'm glad you're trying Datura again. It really is a lovely plant. I'll definitely be saving some seeds this fall.

    Julie, I'd never heard of it either but it's really interesting. I'm excited to try!

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  7. It's really very simple to root a tomato cutting... wherever a tomato stem touches the ground, it may produce roots. Grandma just put tip cuttings in a jar of water, and they sprouted roots within a couple of weeks. Those were the standard tomatoes, and the cuttings would be 12 inches long.

    Of course, some varieties and hybrids may be more challenging, and with your little Tiny tims, I'd probably root them in vermiculite or soil, and maybe use rooting hormones... If you're an experimental kind of gardener, it's worth a try.

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  8. I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks again for sharing.

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  9. It's amazing how your tomatoes have taken off! I've never heard of this variety...45 cm is tiny indeed. I can't wait to see what the fruits look like.

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  10. I'm really excited. I'm expecting the first blooms in about a week.

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  11. Rooting tomatoes is a snap--the glass of water works wonders. I have some Sungold cherry tomatoes in a pot on my windowsill (of course!). I took a cutting from the National Arboretum Youth Garden in October and I've had the vine struggling along until I can plant it this spring.

    And I let my Datura flowers go for a day or two, but they get really unkempt-looking if you don't remove them, you're right, Claude! I only had one plant, however--I can't imagine having a backyard full of 'em!

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  12. I feel like tomato cuttings is some secret the world has been hiding from me since birth. So obvious yet I never thought of it. Those Sungold cherries look delicious (google)!

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