Tag: garden

Dr. Living Stone, I presume

Published on by HashiLeave a comment
livingrocks

Up till now I’ve not had much success in caring for Pleiospilos and Lithops—“living stones” from South Africa—and I’ve envied the ease with which my neighbour manages to grow them. She gave me these ones back in April, and so far things are looking good! New leaves are emerging!

Here’s what I did differently this time:

  • I repotted them into 12 cm deep pots with drainage holes
  • I used a ratio of 25% cactus mix to 75% pumice for the growing medium
  • I put them in full sun, watered them once or twice, then left them alone. They may have got a little splash when I watered adjacent plants, and through June Gloom they‘ve had damp air, but I did not actually water them for six months.

Ideally, these succulents should only get water during the growing season (now!) Fingers crossed I can keep them alive through winter. Maybe I’ll move them under shelter when the rain comes (though my neighbour doesn’t do this). Hmm …

hidden

Published on by HashiLeave a comment
hidden

Whenever I see a curled leaf—especially in my garden—I get curious about what’s inside the burrito. In this case, I’m pretty sure it’s a tobacco budworm or fruitworm, neither of which I want in my veggie garden. Sorry little wormie!

Psidium guajava

Published on by HashiLeave a comment
Psidium guajava

I’ve never grown common guavas—this tree is in my MIL’s yard—so I don’t know if this growth pattern is normal. I don’t see it on any of the images that a quick search pulls up. Part of the flower (a sepal?) persists as the fruit grows, forming a tough ”hood”. Looking at variously-sized fruits on the tree, it seems that this hood stays the same size as the fruit enlarges. Presumably it eventually falls off. What is the purpose of this phenomenon? Is it unique to this tree?

Ipomoea batatas

Published on by HashiLeave a comment
Ipomoea batatas

The gardening calendar tells me that August is the time to plant sweet potatoes, and this specimen in the veggie basket agrees. It’s going in the ground today!

Domesticated sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) have been around for a long time; they were present In Central America at least 5,000 years ago. The tuberous root is long and tapered, with a smooth skin whose colour can be yellow, orange, red, brown, purple, or beige. Its flesh ranges from beige through white, red, pink, violet, yellow, orange, and purple. Sweet potato cultivars with white or pale yellow flesh are less sweet and moist than those with red, pink or orange flesh.

Although darker sweet potatoes are often referred to as “yams” in parts of North America, the species is very distant from true yams. I love the name “kumara” (emphasis on the first syllable) which I learned from my Kiwi friends.