Baobab-less Friday

I'm pretty sure my first baobab is dead now, and the new ones I seeded haven't come up yet.

Poop... And to think it looked so green and majestic just three weeks ago.

I have other stories to tell you, but my schedule has rearranged itself recently and I haven't bothered to fit blogging into it. What's the point of blogging when your baobab is dead anyway?

First frost

Last night it was so cold I decided the lemon trees couldn't stay outside, frost or no frost. And just in case, I also brought in the English daisies and covered up the Last Pumpkin.

I was right. There was frost in the night. Yay me!

So far, nothing outside seems affected. Most of what's out there is supposed to handle a fair amount of cold and like I said before, some of them will bloom until late October. As for the Insane Ones, they may be tropical vines, but they don't care. They're invincible.

Still, it's the beginning of the end for the 2011 garden. It's been a good one. Thank you, plants.

What is wrong with you?

I thought writing a blog about my garden would be nice and peaceful and no one would feel compelled to leave absurd or aggravating comments. I mean, it's a blog about my garden. Nothing in my garden is illegal, controversial, dangerous, anti-social, or in anyway a possible concern to anyone, so why would anyone take the time to annoy me on my garden blog?

Right. That's not counting without the power of the Intertubes. Someone felt the need to leave a bunch of anonymous comments about my mental health.

WTF?

It's a blog about my garden. It's got nothing to do with my mental health. Also, no one asked you, and do you really think anyone is gonna listen to anonymous opinions about their mental health?

People just can't pass up an opportunity to annoy somebody.

Baobab Friday

This is not good. The new Adansonia za died before it even finished sprouting, and now Adansonia digitata is turning brown. I suppose it could be normal, since baobabs are deciduous and normally have leaves only three months a year, but I'm not optimistic. Also, is it supposed to be so pale?

So, I repotted A. digitata in a different medium. I had planted the seeds in regular potting soil, but my instructions (the ones that suggested boiling the seeds) recommended a mixture of sand, perlite and compost. I did that, except with manure instead of compost. That makes sense, really. The regular soil holds water way too long, then seeds rot. This mix drains much better, which not only should delay rotting, but will allow me to water, and therefore feed more often.

That being said, the tree is looking even less happy now. Sigh... I boiled all the remaining seeds and planted them with it, and also all the lychee seeds that were starting to sprout. What's good for baobabs could be good for lychees too.

Then I ordered more baobab seeds, as this is not going so well.

And that was Baobab Friday.

After the storm

Last week we had a storm of wind and rain that lasted three days. Some of the rain looked suspiciously large and white. I thought the garden would be done for, especially the pumpkin. After the storm the temperature dropped to 5 C (41 F).

And then, it went back up to 20 C (68 F) and sunny.

Of course.

Even though first frost is statistically September 15, there is actually plenty of time left. Last year I still had many things blooming by the time I left for Calgary on October 21. In 2009 there were still things blooming when I left for Yellowknife on October 19. So, I should still have at least a month and a half of flowers.

Sadly, this doesn't apply to my pumpkin, as pumpkins allegedly need 20 C to grow, and don't take kindly to frost. But at least it still leaves plenty of time for the things that have not flowered yet, including but not limited to:

• hollyhocks,


• marigolds,


• flax (still alive, though growing upside-down because of the crowding),


• Darth Plant,


• and the following varieties of morning glories:
  
  • Heavenly Blue
  
  
  • Kniola's Black Knight
  
  
  • Chocolate
  
  
  • Flying Saucers
  
  
  • Crimson Rambler
  
  
  • Double Sunrise Serenade
  
  
  • Pearly Gates

There are a few that I don't expect until next year, and a few I don't expect at all, but over all, it's been a rather successful season in terms of the percentage of stuff that flowered.

Also, the new Adansonia za is almost through the surface, and the first lychee has a root. I boiled one of the seeds that hadn't cracked yet, but it doesn't seem to be any faster for it. And the pear trees are still numerous and healthy. Holly and apricot seeds are still in stratification. And I'm thinking of getting some catalpa seeds, but I don't have a supplier for them right now.

The lemons are still outside. They have not been watered since August 1 and are much better for it. The dieback stopped almost immediately when I stopped watering, and they have not expressed any desire for water ever since. They are still short on nitrogen, so I gave them some manure, but without water to mix with it, I don't think the nutrients are spreading through the soil all that much. I'm not planning on watering them again until they come inside, that way they'll be easier to move. It should only be another two weeks at most anyway. I think they've been quite happy on the balcony all summer, insofar that it's possible for a plant to be "happy".

What else... the chokecherries are still alive. They're not doing much, which is normal as they put on their growth in the spring. I've said that already. The passiflora vines didn't do well in the storm, I had forgotten about them and left them outside. There are still a few alive, but they don't seem to be getting bigger. Oh well. I wasn't really attached to them anyway.

And that's about it. I'm really looking forward to next year already. I have big plans. (In fact my shopping list for next year is up to $290 so far. Hmmmmmm...)

More reasons I'm single

Today I spent more time covering my fragile plants than doing my hair.

I stayed up until nine PM on a Friday night waiting for the sun to go down so I could cover my plants without depriving them of daylight.

I name my pumpkins.

There is a dead pumpkin hanging from my candelabra.

My lemon trees have the same birthday as Gandhi.

This causes me to wonder what famous person(s) share a birthday with my baobab.

I look it up and find amongst others: Ignaz Pleyel (the one with the pianos), Edouard Daladier, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicolaievna Romanova, Thabo Mbeki, Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and Uday Hussein (Saddam's son).

I recognize most of the political figures on the list and only two entertainers. The youngest person I've even heard of was born in 1964.

I have a blog about my garden.

Baobab Friday

Adansonia digitata at 11 weeks old. It hasn't put on any height this week, but I think the leaves have gotten bigger as it's now wider. That's ok. As long as it's healthy, I don't care how tall or short it is.

Meanwhile, the new seed of Adansonia za which I planted on August 19 has a root. Like I've said before, I don't call it "sprouted" until it breaks the soil surface, but progress is encouraging so far.

Aaaaaaaaaand... Blogger is having behavioural issues again, hence the sideways photo. Sigh.

Anyway, that was Baobab Friday.

The last pumpkin

My final pumpkin is already bigger than its ill-fated predecessor and looking healthy, but the nights are getting cold. Actually, the days are getting cold too. By pumpkin standards, that is, not compared to winter temperatures. So, I don't know how much more growth I'll get out of this little dude.

For next year, I'm hatching a new strategy. I can think of three options.

1) No pumpkins.
2) Atlantic Giant pumpkins. If I can grow a 2" pumpkin from a regular variety, maybe I'll get a full-size pumpkin out of the giant variety.
3) Early-maturing regular-size pumpkins. That's probably the smarter thing to do, right? This variety, Small Sugar, is 100 days, but some fast pumpkins mature in as little as 60 days.

Something to think about over the long dark winter, anyway.