Finished University!

Last day was my final exam now and now I'm done university.  It's not official yet because none of my marks have been released, but barring doing something completely wrong and not realizing it, I'm finally finished.  I have been attending school for 18 years!  Junior kindergarten (1 year), kindergarten (1 year), elementary school (8 years), high school (4 years), and finally university (4 years).  It's almost unbelievable how lucky I was to be born in a country where this extensive education is not only available but common.  That being said I'm glad to be done!

We've found a rental place for the summer in Vancouver.  Nothing is formalized yet, but it's available on May 1st.  The price is really good and includes laundry, internet, cable, and energy.  It's located about 5km from downtown.  We probably won't go for May first but if we can get everything sorted out we could leave within less than a week.  We'll drive our way across the country.  I think I'll post every day when we stop in major cities and hopefully have access to internet (coffee shops).  Yeah!!  I'll have to figure this out and give more details later.

No job yet but we have enough money saved up to live off of for several months.  I'll probably find some part-time job while a search for a full-time position.  I heard from many people that they couldn't get interviews and as soon as they had a local address they had interviews within a week.  It's understandable as saying that you will relocate does not necessarily mean it will happen.  It's risky to invest so much time and money for an interview if the candidate won't end up moving.

Below may be the last set of UWO Greenhouse photos ever.  I'll be back Monday to drop off some plants and take some others.  It's suppose to rain but I might take some pictures anyway!  The Hippeastrum look awesome.  If anyone wants pictures of some specific plant just let me know!

Don't worry, there will be lots of more pictures in the future.  Vancouver is a beautiful city with a tonne of gardens and several large greenhouses.  Yeah!!

A Splash of Red

It's thunderstorming today!  I love thunderstorms.  I really miss them in the winter (and also warmth, joy and happiness) so I'm pretty excited.  However they are not the easiest things to photograph, especially during a downpour.  So I've decided to upload some photos from about a week ago.  Enjoy!  Does anyone know the name of the last one?

Around the Basement

So it was rainy and really cold all day and I didn't leave the house.  I spent most of my day working on job applications and school assignments.  I did get a chance to transplant my Datura.  In the hopes of conserving room I put them in 4" pots in pairs.  I noticed the lower leaves were beginning to turn yellow.  I think this is because they were getting way too large for those little nine cell starters.  I'll also start fertilizing them.

 This week we're suppose to get temperatures up to 21C (70F)!!  I'm super excited.  I'll actually be able to leave some plants outside and not have to bring them in for the night.  I think I might start soaking some castor bean seeds tomorrow.  I gathered a bunch of from the municipal gardens last year before they cut down the stalks.

Warmer temperatures are a relief for the basement plants.  They've survived, but really don't look too happy.  Below you can see a few photos.  The window sill has some dwarf cavendish bananas and Yucca rostrata.

The little green frame thing below only cost $15!  It even has a clear plastic overcoat to keep things warm outside in the spring, but I've kept it off so the plants can get enough light.  The burnt looking plant is decorative ginger that I started from seed.  The grow lights were too bright so I've moved it here and it stopped growing.  The light is a bit low but I think it's mostly due to the cooler temperatures.

My Hippeastrum seedlings are also still holding on.  Growth has been very slow but I expect it to pick up when I start putting them outside.  I really hope I get some interesting flowers!

Seedling & Germination (Adenium 4 Days, Hippeastrum 55 Days, Laburnum 28 Days) Update

I noticed this morning that my Adenium arabicum seeds have already started to sprout. They were planted just under four days ago and I wasn't expecting any to sprout until tomorrow so I'm pretty excited. This morning only one was visible and now three can be seen. I expect most of the seeds to be up within a week but it may take up to 30 days.

Many of the Coffee seeds have finally ripped open and leaves are clearly visible. Towards the back of the tray you can see some young ginger sprouts. None of the Chinese Evergreen have sprouted but several of the Clivia have germinated. They are very difficult to see so I didn't upload a picture (the young sprouts are nearly the same colour as the soil). The coffee and ginger was planted about 6 weeks ago (really slow growth).

The Hippeastrum (Amaryllis) are still growing slow and steady.

There are still only three Laburnum watereri sprouts (two in this pot and one in another). I planted about 20 seeds so I'm a little frustrated. I tried to find the ones that I planted that hadn't sprouted but it was really difficult. Some day this week I'll go through and pick them out, then try soaking them again. The seeds were planted about a month ago.

This pot has a mixture of Quinoa and Moringa stenopetala. I ran out of pots for the Moringa so I just threw them in with the Quinoa. I think these sprouts are the largest of all my Moringa stenopetala. The Quinoa has really started to take off too. It's really slow growing to start but has doubled in size in the last week or so. The Moringa are about 2.5 weeks old and the Quinoa is about a month old.

Seedling Update

Here's a quick update on the other seedlings.

Hippeastrum (48 Days)

Laburnum (no more germination but first true leaves, I may dig up the remained and try soaking again or scaring, 34 Days)

Quinoa (very slow growth at first but then takes off, two Moringa stenopetala sprouts at the right)

Coffee (relatively slow growth, first seed leaves appearing! 34 Days)

Germination & Seedling Update

Here are the latest images of the seedlings. I must say that after being away for four days I was extremely underwhelmed with the amount of growth. The newest additions are the Moringa stenopetala. About four or five of the twelve seeds I've planted have started to sprout. Based on the Moringa oleifera sprouting speed I thought most seeds would be up with their first set of leaves. None are standing up yet but the first one should be upright by tomorrow.

I brought some of the Moringa oleifera home to see how it grows outdoors. My major concern is that it will be eaten by one of the many geese that live in the area. I also transplanted three of the Adansonia (Baobab) into new pots. I left the fourth in the original pot with the other three seeds that have yet to germinate. They are now all in full sun in my backyard and I expect relatively rapid growth.

Moringa stenopetala (about 4/12 so far)

Moringa oleifera (I'm concerned about some white patterns on the leaves and will research it after this post)

Adansonia digitata (still 4/7 seeds so far)

Laburnum watereri (only 4/20 seeds so far, there are two different pots)

Hippeastrum

Baobab Sprouts! (7 Days)

Here's an update on the seedlings. Yesterday there was only one Adansonia digitata (baobab) barely visible near the surface of the soil. Today it has completely sprouted and unfurled its seed leaves and another one has pushed to the surface. That leaves five more. I hope they all sprout, which is a little unrealistic, but only time will tell.

Coffea Arabica (definitely too wet, they look quite odd)



Hippeastrum (not much change)

Moringa oleifera (growing increasingly rapidly, some of the leaves are mishappened)

Seedling Update

Here's an update on the seeds that I've started. The Moringa have been growing well but not as quickly as I'd expect. I ended up moving everything to another area of the greenhouse because temperatures were too low in their old location. For some reason we've had a really cool and wet summer so far this year. Today is only about 23C and the season average for this time of year is around 27C. It's also been very rainy/cloudy for the last few weeks which is very unusual for this time of year in London. I think this may be the reason for the reduced growth of the Moringa.  It's been about 16 Days since soaking.



The Coffee is growing slowly and no leaves are visible yet. The soil is nowhere near as moist as it looks in the picture. The Hippeastrum are also still growing slowly but steadily. I also decided to take a picture of the Hymenocallis seeds. I placed them on the surface of the mixture with their flat side down (seeds may not have a flat side if their is only one in a pod).

Seed Update

Here's just a quick update on a few of the seeds that I've started. After the Moringa and Hippeastrum, I also started some Quinoa. This is a grain (not technically) native to the Andes which is high in nutritional value and a complete protein. It doesn't require dehusking, but must be soaked for several minutes prior to cooking to remove a bitter toxic powder that covers the seeds. This is generally removed before the seeds are sold.

Moringa oleifera (still no more germination but it's been cool, planted about two weeks ago, 12 Days).

Hippeastrum (growth is slow but steady, 26 Days)

Quinoa (they look kind of sad, some germinated but only had stems and no leaves)

Seeds Sprouting!

The Moringa oleifera have already started to sprout! You can see them in the picture below. It's only been about four days since they were planted. I get the feeling they're going to grow incredible quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if nearly all had sprouted by Friday.  It's been six days since soaking began.

Now for the Hippeastrum seeds. The were also planted about 4 days ago with the seeds on the surface. The growth is kind of slow but still noticeable.  They began soaking 20 Days ago.

I'll update again in a few hours with some pictures of other parts of the greenhouse.

Hippeastrum Seeds Sprouting (14 Days)

A few weeks ago I harvested some seeds from several different Hippeastrum (amaryllis) plants. These seeds are difficult to germinate unless floated in water. At the time of harvesting, the stems and pods had browned and split open. I allowed the seeds to dry for about three days. Then I filled an old container with tap water and some charcoal. Below you can see what the seeds look like after about 2 weeks. I'll probably plant them by the end of this week.