Farm Worklog Mar. 3, 2024

Sowed: calliandra californica; calliandra eriophylla; five basils: Sweet Genovese, Dark Opal, Thai, Persian, and Purple Globe; Italian Oregano, Sage, and English Thyme, Sweet Marjoram, Winter Chervil, Sunmer and Winter Savory, the mandarin seeds ( they were already starting to germinate in the water); lilikoi, laurel(?); a couple of mystery seeds from our outing at the Ladybird Johnson Wikdflower Center, and all the rest of the lithops.

The Albizia julibrisson are coming out swinging. Look at these vigorous beebs! There’s also a caesalpinia pulcherrima visible in the next tray,

Tray of Albizia julibrisson seedlings under grow lights
BEEBS

There are sprouts in all the tomato pots, the Malabar spinach looks like it’s starting to germinate, and all the caesalpinias except for the red are showing a few sprouts each. The palo verde look about ready to break earth too.

Watered the haworthia tray, some of them were getting a bit dry. Repotted my Pink Princess Philodendron, broke off the top and put that in a new pot, all the offsets look good except for that one that always looks like it’s about to die. The yucca baccata are sprouting too. Prepped the Mealy Sage seeds, soaking the retama for planting tomorrow too.

Farm Worklog March 2, 2024

Spent about an hour or so watering things. Trying to develop the habit of regular watering is so hard! Lots more Albizia sprouts today, the whole tray is alive with little cotelydons poking their heads up from the soil. I’m rehydrating the coco coir so I can get to more veggies and herbs, but today will be devoted to writing instead of planting, since I need to get my current manuscript finished.

Farm Worklog Mar 1, 2024

Sowed: all the succulents, and all but nine of the lithops, two astrophytums, the plumeria mix, the black Sapote, that second packet of yucca baccata.

Sprouts: I found a seed poking up from the first pot of yucca baccata, and it had a root, so at least one of those seeds was still viable, which is nice, considering how long they’ve been sitting around. Several of the Albisia julibrisson are sprouting (both varieties) and the caesalpinia mexicana too. Yay!

Farm Worklog Feb 29, 2024

Woke up at four am to take my meds really late (oops) and started sowing the haworthias. Just one pot, H. Obtusa ‘Moon Light’

Update, 1:00pm: I’m up now, and continuing on with the haworthias: H. Picta ‘picta 101’; H. Hybrid ‘Blue Haze’; H. Hybrid ‘Silver Mutica’; H. Hybrid ‘Pale hyb’ variegated; H. Hybrid ‘bolusii’ variegated; H. Hybrid ‘Renny’s Oibo’; and a single Gasteria cv ‘Groovy’ for the small batch individual seed packets. Also the 100 seed packs of mixed H. Picta and H. Comcorre.

Interesting note: gasteria seeds are different from haworthia seeds, a little bigger, flatter, and darker in color. This is the first time I’ve attempted any gasteria from seed, so I’m not sure if this is a general difference.

In some slightly encouraging news, it appears that several of the Mamillaria plumosa seedlings I have been hardcore neglecting for over a year now have survived? I am floored. Look at these tiny babies.

Four very small, about 3mm wide by 5mm tall cacti seedlings, Mamillaria plumosa
I would literally die for these tiny cacti beebs

They even have tiny fluffs already!

Edit, 10:49pm: I have the first sprouts (aside from the above cacti), and they are the Pink Polka Dot Plants! Which I apparently forgot to log! So for future ref, I also planted those and the Variegated African Violet seeds on day one. Also my coconut coir and plant food and horticultural charcoal arrived today, woo.

Farm Worklog Feb 28, 2024

Sowed the Albizia julibrisson, both regular and the EH Wilson cultivar; the rest of the caesalpinias, the palo verde, Cassia javanica, Jacaranda mimosifolia, Pink Trumpet tree, Purple orchid tree, Blue Moon Wisteria.

I should have been starting the vegetables days ago, but I’m going to start as few nursery pots of peppers and tomatoes with what little seed starter I have left. I had ordered some coconut coir to make a big batch of soil and was anticipating it to arrive today (rather foolishly, I know, don’t ever rely on a Big Box business or the usual shipping concerns) but naturally it did not. :/

Nursery Pots is a technique I saw on Instagram, where you start the seeds in a pot with minimal soil, plucking out the seedlings as they sprout and repotting, also in minimal soil, adding more soil as the plants grow taller, to establish a deeper root system. The reel showed it with just tomatoes, but I figure peppers could possibly benefit too?

Tomatoes: Purple Cherokee, Brandywine Yellow, Rosy Finch Micro Dwarf, Yellow Plum

Hot peppers: Jalapeño mild, 5 Color Chinese Pepper, Chiltepin Wild Chile, Yellow Caribbean Habanero

Sweet Peppers: Txorixero, Lilac Bell Pepper, Alma Paprika, Mini Bell Pepper Blend

And a pot of Red Stem Malabar spinach. Most of the greens  and herbs sprout too small for this to be a practical technique, I think.

Yesterday I took a cutting of the native honeysuckle that I saw growing on Lover’s Lane, hopefully I’ll be able to root it this time. Theres also a wild-growing Redbud tree near it, I should look up when’s the best time to take cuttings of those, and whether the seeds are viable. I also saw another flowering tree at the intersection of Lover’s and Monument, but it looks like it has a different kind of bark than the Wild Mexican Plum on the corner of Old Kelley and Shady Lane. Possibly a pear or service berry? Will check if I go to town tomorrow.