We’ve come back to the time when I like to use this blog as a
proper diary - noting when what happens . . . happens.
It may not make gripping reading but, when I look back at photos
from the months of germination and early growth - the boring little pots on my
uninspiring window sills . . . I get all moved inside . . . sort of ‘wow-ish’.
So, here we go . . .
Black Basil: I’ve never grown this before. It’s supposed to be
tougher than the usual kind of basil, specially selected/developed . . . dunno
. . . for the British climate. Although the leaves will be black, it will,
hopefully, taste the same as the proper Italian, green leafed, kind. (Except I’m
hoping it doesn’t taste exactly the
same. I’m hoping snails turn their noses up at it.) (Do snails have noses?)
A special kind of sunflower: (again, new to me). We were given
seeds for it at the Garden Media Guild event. Instead of a tall plant with a
massive flower on the top, it should be a tall plant with lots of smaller
flowers up the stem. We’ll see! The instructions say to put one seed in each
pot and I had space for only one pot . . . but the plant came up almost
instantly so I’ll do more in a few days time. (Incidentally, the seeds don’t
look like sunflower seeds so I hope they put the right ones in the packet!)
As a P.S. - I’m finding the growing medium interesting. We needed
only a small amount of seed compost but the bags were big so we bought a middle
sized one of ‘multi-purpose’. When I opened it, I was a bit put out . . . all
these bits and bobs and twiggy bits . . . might be good for bigger plants but
it didn’t look right for seeds.
But it seems to be rather good for germination after all. Everything is
coming up very fast. I’m being run away with!
As you may have noticed, it’s very moisture retentive. A couple of years ago
I bought potting compost that had tons and tons and tons of sand in. It dried
out and solidified and was generally, frustratingly, horrid. When I saw this, I
was worried it might have opposite problems, be too loose and stay soggy rather
than moist . . . but the seeds are happy so - so am I!
5 comments:
Esther the seedlings are looking happy...I love this time of year when we can start to keep our blog diaries of our gardens...
Like the idea of the Black Basil. I grew a purple Basil a few years ago but was a bit disappointed, it was'nt very tasty. Hard to beat Genovese.
Esther, Like you I use my blog as a journal of the gardens here on Lake Michigan. I enjoy sharing the postings with other and getting comments form them, but primarily the blog was my way of keeping track what happens here in all seasons. That way I never feel pressure to publish on any kind of a timeline. It keep this hobby within reason and not a competition. Just lots of photos of life here for garden lovers to enjoy around the world. See you soon. Jack
Hello Donna. The seedlings are happy. I'm wishing I'd started the cosmos later though. It's getting leggy.
Purple basil, Bridget, that's interesting. I've not come across that. (Though I wonder if it's just a different name for 'black'?!). This doesn't look much like basil at the moment. I love 'proper' basil but am not very good with it indoors and snails eat it in a second outside. So it's this or nothing!
Hello Jack. I sometimes wonder whether I will ever regret not having more on paper about what goes on in the garden. Hope your winter is passing without too much trauma.
I note with interest the use of lollipop sticks as plant labels. This is what I do all he time now instead of using those plastic plant labels. The main advantage is if one forgets where one puts them in the garden they will naturally bio-degrade instead of polluting the area with forgotten bits of plastic that stay around for years. They are cheaper as well and can be bought for a small price on eBay. Cheers.
Post a Comment