56\u00a0 bar steady 30.05 4mph N dew-point 43\u00a0 Beltane, sunny and cool<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waning Gibbous Hare Moons\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci<\/p>\n
Less is more -always; and explore constantly.\u00a0 Mario Odegard, Viking Explorer and Woolly Mammoth<\/p>\n
Up earlier again this morning to take advantage of the cool temps.\u00a0 Amended the second tier bed close to the house where we have had problem after problem with growing things.\u00a0 This time I added two bags composted manure and a cubic foot or so of sphagnum moss.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s too shady for sun plants and too\u00a0sunny for shade plants.\u00a0 Gotta find something that swings both ways and can tolerate our winters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile on the hydroponic front my tomato plant started from an heirloom seed now reaches close to the ceiling.\u00a0 It’s a good 2.5 feet tall, headed toward its interior limitation.\u00a0 It has several small yellow flowers, but no fruit as yet.\u00a0 Yes, the tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable.\u00a0 The astonishing thing is its appetite for nutrient fluid.\u00a0 It’s going through about a gallon every four to five days.\u00a0 When the fruit begins developing, I imagine its appetite will increase again.\u00a0 The lettuce produces enough leaves every few days for a salad a meal for lunch and dinner.\u00a0 Both the lettuce and the tomato plant are the products of one seed germinating, coming to maturity and growing its edible product.<\/p>\n
Outside, however, if we were pioneers and our lives depended on the crop, I’d be seeking part time employment.\u00a0 To pay for food next winter.\u00a0 The cucumbers and morning glories I grew inside so well atrophied and died outside.\u00a0 The three tomato plants, on the other hand, have done fine outside.\u00a0 After puzzling over the difference for a week, it came to me this morning.\u00a0 The tomato plants were in soil in pressed peat moss containers.\u00a0 They had a much larger soil contained root system.\u00a0\u00a0 The morning glories and the cucumber were in smaller, compressed soil seed starting clumps.\u00a0 That meant their root system was much more exposed, having grown in the nutrient solution rather than soil.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The take away for me is this:\u00a0 if I’m going to transplant it outside, start it in a larger ground ready pot with potting soil.\u00a0 It’s a learning curve.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, we do finally have several germinated seeds in the garden, too.\u00a0 The Country Gentleman corn has begun its skyward journey as have the Ireland Annie, Dragon’s Tongue and another one I can’t recall.\u00a0 We also have beets, carrots, peppers and onions, lots of onions, doing well.\u00a0 We need a stretch of hot weather to get these puppies on their way.\u00a0 So far they’ve been sluggards.<\/p>\n
Though I’m signed out now for the summer, I’m headed into the art museum today for a noon tour.\u00a0 Carol Wedin, a fellow docent who prefers Asian tours, called me, sick with a cold and asked me for help.\u00a0 Sure.\u00a0 She is a wonderful botanical illustrator\/artist.<\/p>\n
Kate’s off getting her nails done; Lois is here cleaning house and I’ve got to get in the shower to get ready for my tour.\u00a0 Bye for now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
56\u00a0 bar steady 30.05 4mph N dew-point 43\u00a0 Beltane, sunny and cool \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waning Gibbous Hare Moons\u00a0 “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci Less is more -always; and explore constantly.\u00a0 Mario Odegard, Viking Explorer and Woolly Mammoth Up earlier again this morning to take advantage of the cool temps.\u00a0 Amended the … Continue reading An Appetite for Nutrient Fluid (not an alien)<\/span>