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Monday, July 12, 2010

First Palm Sprout (Trachycarpus fortunei)

Today I noticed my first palm sprout!  It's a Trachycarpus fortunei and the seeds were harvested from near the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park.  There are two other seeds that have also sprouted that were harvested from the UBC Gardens.  They've put out roots but no upward growth yet so they don't count. ;)

It's towards the right side of the picture, just in the light and looks a bit like a sprouting blade of grass.  BTW my blogoversary was on July 5th.  I missed it!  One year old!



This was the fist batch of seeds I planted.  I'm glad that they are finally starting to sprout!  Now I just have to wait for the first of the next four palm species to come to life.  The coffee also hasn't sprouted yet but some of the stevia are out.

My community garden plot looks a little sad.  You'll see what I mean the next time I update.  I planted before the compost arrived and the soil dries out in about 30 seconds.  Needles to say, my leafing greens are not happy.

10 comments:

  1. It's so sad arriving with such hope only to find dry plants. This big weather shift hasn't helped much either. The sun this week has been making my garden grow, but I'm watering twice daily when it's hot. Otherwise my plants would be dry & sad too.

    How was the open house @ the community garden this past weekend?

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  2. The open house was great. The Cottonwood part usually only brings about 30 people but this year is was around 150. I'd say around 600 at Strathcona. I'm thinking FIFA may have reduced the turnout.

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  3. Congrats on your newly sprouted baby! Happy 1 year blogging anniversary!

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  4. Dude, you have been busy! Cool on the sprout. I wonder what palm sprouts taste like? LOL All that work, it'd be a shame if you uprooted and ate it, eh? Things going well for y'all? Did you find a good job yet? Sorry, been sorta out of the loop lately.
    ~Randy

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  5. I don't think anything eats them. If it does I will hunt it down and... well it won't be pretty. I have some part-time work painting but nothing 'careerish' yet. I've been a bit lazy with my blogging lately. Also not commenting on other peoples blogs which makes me an awful person because I know I can't live without them! Hope all is well.

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  6. Veg are really water intensive, especially with all the heat we have been having. How does the water work at your plot, cans?

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  7. Cool... should we throw an Internet baby shower? LOL... I haven't been around as much, my internet service is giving me fits. But I do keep up with everyone! I saw a tip for old palm fronds... they're filling up the landfills in California, because they're very slow to biodegrade... so some people are using the big fan palm fronds in the garden, laid flat on the ground under the mulch as weed barriers. Keeps the weeds from growing, and all natural. Neat, huh?

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  8. I just found your blog this evening and am thrilled! Beautiful photography and lots of helpful information too! I linked to your website so I could share your plants and flowers with my dollhouse miniature friends. Some of us try to make tiny flowers and plants in 1:12 scale. That's not easy! The real thing is our inspiration! Thank you!!!!

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  9. @Dan, there are a few spouts throughout the area (dozen or so). Our plot fees include water and we can use cans or hook up hoses.

    @Claude, I never would have thought they'd be slow to biodegrade. I head they're trying to get rid of the palms and replacing with oaks and the likes. At least people are finding a use.

    @Stevie, Thanks. It's up to four now! Slow growth though. These seeds will really test my patience.

    @Kathi, Why thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it and hope it helps to inspire your creations. Creating miniature plant replicas sounds like quite the task!

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