09 January 2020

Gardening in Winter


It may be cold, but it takes more than single-digit temperatures and blankets of white to keep my garden from thriving.


My six pepper plants, including one dual-armed ghost pepper stalk, may not be producing chile for my cuisine right now, but boy, they are a bloomin'! I was pinching the scores of new blossoms every day, but they still fall off after a couple of days of being gorgeous. I was told to try Q-tipping the blossoms instead of pinching and to pull them away from the living room window, which might be a tad too cold for peppers to form. I moved the peppers three feet from the window at Christmas and began using a cotton swab instead of my fingers to help pollinate. Nothing yet, but I keep trying.


Two of the three hoya plants pulled a fast one, too!


The big surprises of this winter, so far, have been the bowl of hyacinths I didn't get a chance to put in the ground before our first big snow (18 inches at our house back in November!), the rosemary plant closest to the living room window, and one of two strawberry plants I rescued from the porch before our first overnight freeze. I didn't expect any of these to produce winter blossoms.


Both strawberry plants bloomed in November, and although I've now surrendered one plant due to indominable spider mites, the second one is busy brewing me another bite-sized breakfast.


The amaryllises are late, but who cares when the blossoms could last well into March???


African daisies have been outshining the traditional larkspur in my living room this year. I've had indoor larkspur almost every year since we bought our house ten years ago. This winter, I can't keep the larkspur alive. The Cape Marigold African daisies have been rubbing my nose in it -- in a good way, of course.


I've tried my hand and failed with clove seedlings. I wish I could keep one clove tree alive. The aroma when lightly touching a leaf is out of this world.


I'm still working on a pineapple direct from Hawaii. My boss who brought the original pineapple to me as a souvenir five years ago keeps asking if I've noticed a blue flower yet. The day I do, there's going to be a huge photographic spread here at Snowcatcher!!!


In 2020, I've added lemon seeds to the collection. I can't believe I'm growing little lemon trees in a plastic cup inside a plastic at work! The first plastic cup has holes poked in the bottom so the soil can drain, and the second cup holds the drainage until the soil gets thirsty again. I will soon transplant them into their own individual terracotta pots. I'm going to try growing one at home, now, too, because watching these little babies sprout has been springtime in my winter!


My first batch of 2020 seeds has arrived, and I'm going to start the corn indoors this year. A late start and a short growing season in 2019 resulted in six Barbie doll-sized ears of corn by first snow.


I've also convinced Lizard to try sprouts and microgreens this winter. I'm going to try to get the hyacinth bulbs into the ground this weekend before our next snow, and then the hyacinth bowl is going to be converted to its original purpose... an indoor salad bowl garden!

19 comments :

  1. Perhaps your pepper plants are self-pollinating, meaning you don't do anything.
    Also, you should be feeding them a balanced fertilizer ie: 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 [nothing higher]. =>/<=

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    1. Thank you, Sylphic Designs. It's amazing you brought up the African violet food because that is precisely what I give several of my indoor plants, simply because that's what I have. It was a gift from a former co-worker who didn't want to take her African violet with her when she retired. I thought if it was good enough for the violet, it might be good enough for some of the other plants, too. They have thrived, so I guess it is good for them!

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  2. Actually African Violet food is best, low in Nitrogen, high in Phosphorus & balanced in Potasium ie: Jack's African Violet Food @ 14-36-12. =>/<=

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    1. Just checked the label, and that is what I'm using!

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    2. Just dont use the African Violet food on any plants that do not bloom.
      It will confuse & could possibly kill them.
      Non-blooming plants do best with a fertilizer that is balanced, all 3 numbers the same but no higher than 20-20-20. =>/<=

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    3. Good to know, and thank you again. I don't have very many non-blooming plants, but I will make sure I don't use the African violet food on the few I do have.

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  3. What an indoor garden you have! I hope someday to have a space (other than my dining room table) go grow things in winter.
    Amazing photos!

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    1. Thank you, Lady Locust! I love my indoor garden in winter. I couldn't survive winters without it! It's worth making room!

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  4. Hello! I came over from your Blogging Friend at "Crochet by the Sea" blog. She is introducing her Dear Readers, to you. -smile-

    You certainly have a Green Thumb! Imagine growing so many things, inside, in the deep Winter. Pretty amazing, I'd say!!!

    Best of luck with your corn, next year.

    😊🔥😊

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    1. Welcome, Wisps of Words, and thank you! My first amaryllis bloom of the season opened today, and it's the first of many, many. I'm going to be full of gorgeous blossoms in just a couple of weeks! Fingers crossed for the corn...

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  5. Hello, I have dropped by to visit from the link at Faith's blog, Crochet By the Sea. Love your pretty blog and all of your pretty plants! When our son was in the Navy and living in Hawaii, he brought home on his visit a pineapple. After I had cut the pineapple up, I saved the top and planted it in my greenhouse. It was beautiful for 2 years.........one freezing night.....here in Texas....my greenhouse heater went out.....and my pineapple died. I was so sad! Mostly because it was from our son. I hope yours keeps doing well!

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    1. Welcome, Yesteryear Embroideries, and thank you! I'm so sorry you lost your pineapple! That would be devastating, especially after putting so much care into it for two years. Mine doesn't get to go outside, so hopefully it will survive yet another winter. I keep my eyes peeled for the first sign of the blue blossom!

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  6. I see we have reconnected with each other, from the way back days long before "Social Media". I enjoy visiting. The Hoya is that the pink one? Looks like wax, and it blooms into that lovely. You have a way with camera, catching the essence of your garden plants.

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    1. Hi, Faith, and thank you so much for sending so many people my way!!! It truly is fun to have this "community" again. I have missed it so much! I don't have the time to invest now, but I do still cherish each and every interaction. Yes, the hoya is the pink one that looks like wax. We have three different plants my husband inherited from his dad. We didn't know what they were until they bloomed the first time. The one with the curly leaves has the most beautiful aroma of any flower I've ever smelled, I think, well, except maybe lavender... Ha ha!

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  7. Sure not letting winter stop you. Growing corn inside would be interesting.

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    1. You know me, Pat. I love winter. But I can't go six months without a garden! I'm just going to start the corn inside, then transplant it outside once we're past the danger of overnight freeze. But if it's anything like last year, they could be a foot or more taller by the time I put them outside!!! That will be a shock to their reproductive organs!!!

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  8. Chilli peppers are self-pollenating, so by pinching off blooms - you are lessening your potential fruit product!!!
    You should just give your plants a gentle shake every few days, to dislodge any pollinated blooms. =>/<=

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    1. Thank you again, Sylphic Designs. I don't pinch the blossoms off. They just fall off on their own. I don't want them to! I have stopped pinching them, and I will not Q-tip them for a while and see if that helps get a few peppers going. There literally are hundreds of blossoms right now on six pepper plants, but not a single pepper. One article I read said not to fret, they will bloom again when the time is right. If they produce this many blooms later this year, I'm going to have the most magnificent crop of peppers!!! We'll be enjoying enchiladas almost every night next winter!!!

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  9. I'm not much of an indoor-planter. I've found some teak seeds lately, but I'm going to bring the pot (three seeds) to my son who has a green thumb indeed. It's nice to do a garden tour these days ... Good luck with your lemon trees. Regula

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