Peppers For Petra And The Mystery Of Vining Plants

  I am doing the happy dance, symbolically speaking, of course. One of my pepper plants is really prolific and that is encouraging since I have been trying to go Pepperoncini peppers for the past several years without success.

  Pepperoncini peppers are the ones you get in the Pizza box from Papa John's Pizza. I have always envied them since I first saw them, and when I saw the seeds available, I had to have them, but the plants never grew right. That is, until now.

(I would post the picture of the plant that now has several little peppers on it, but the picture I took was too blurry).

Upon further inspection, one of the pepper plants on the balcony has a couple of little peppers on it too. This pepper plant is called a 'Bird's Eye Chili' plant. The peppers will be small, long, and hot. Of course, my initial thought of why I bought the seeds in the first place is in order to grow them for my bird, Petra, who likes peppers (or is supposed to like peppers). I found a recipe for making chili oil and can use the peppers for that as well.

Bird's Eye Chili Pepper plant. You can
see the pepper on this plant. 

     I just found a copy of a picture of the pepperoncini plant and the other plants around it. If you look really hard, I'm sure you can find the peppers although they will be hard to see with all the green around it.

     But what is fascinating are the vining plants. I have two plants that are beginning to trellis and they are looking for a place to trellis on. One of them is a mystery plant, meaning that I have no clue what kind of plant it is, but it is probably something I planted at one time that never germinated until I used the soil it was in to try to germinate another plant. 

See if you can guess what this plant is! The
Bible says that 'by their fruits you will know
them.' I won't know what kind of plant this is
until it bears some kind of fruit.

        But here is my favorite plant, well one of my favorites. It is called a Giant Granadilla which is a Passiflora plant. When it is ready, it will produce beautiful bluish purple flowers and then a fruit. This also is a vining plant and it all of the sudden wants to find a place to trellis to. 

Giant Granadilla Passiflora plant

       The thing that is so neat about this, is to watch the plants look for a place to find to trellis to. You can't tell me that this instinctive trait of certain plants just came by accident over billions of years. You can look at this plant and see the handiwork of God. This plant was wonderfully designed by an Intelligent Designer. 

  I think plants are fascinating to watch as they grow and as the whole culture around the plants come together to work together to make the plants happy and to ultimately serve us by producing food and beauty. 

Take Care Of Your Soil

  This should be a no-brainer, but in case it isn't, here are some thoughts on soil that I have.

  A quote here by one of our presidents in the past, “A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself.” That’s a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt, who clearly knew something most people, including farmers, have since forgotten.

   The key to good gardening is in the soil. Soil provides the environment for the roots to develop and take in the food the plant needs. Most of our soils are depleted from being overused or they are polluted because of the carelessness we as human beings have put on the ground. Because fluoride is put into our water systems, we now have plants that are taking fluoride in and the fluoride is showing up in the fruit. 

  In the olden days, they had it right. Most yards were like small farms. Many had their own chickens and other livestock kinds of animals. When these animals go to the bathroom, so to speak, they make plant food. Because these animals live on or near the soil, the soil was nourished by the waste products from the animals. But today, we are more concerned with aesthetics than we are with nourishment, so, we remain ignorant of how to garden effectively. 

  Building up our soil is a topic we need to be studying, especially as more and more areas become developed in our country. Much of our soil is now under asphalt and cannot be accessed anyway. 

   The environment of the soil will provide a place for microbes to grow, and microbes are necessary for making plant food for in the soil. The soil must also have the proper amount of moisture and the circulation of air is completely necessary for healthy plants to grow. Earthworms provide aeration as well as other critters in the soil. Placing mulch on top of the soil protects it from the sun and from being eroded. It also helps keep moisture in the soil around the plants. 

  So, while we baby our plants and watch them grow, we need the soil to help them to grow big and strong. This does not negate the benefits of hydroponic gardening though, which does not use soil. The plants in a hydroponic garden are not grown in soil, but receive the nourishment they need by the water they get with the supplements in them. Hydroponic plants grow very well, as long as they get enough sun. 

  So, take care of your soil. Feed it, weed it, and let your plants grow in it. Add any natural ingredients that may be lacking. Check the PH also. Some plants require a soil with a lower PH than others. Make adjustments where necessary. 

  

How Does Me Garden Grow?

  I just gave the plants on the balcony their nightly check and they are doing fine! My 2 Mystery plants are growing very well, and the Passiflora is very green and healthy looking.

   There are about 6 tomato plants on the balcony, and, unfortunately they would have been better off if I would have put them in the pots in the yard, along the fence, but, they are all growing well, except one that I planted in the pot where the Dixie Yellow plant died. I don't know what kind of tomato plant this one is, but it was growing alongside a pepper plant, which I do not know what that one is either.

   One of the mystery tomato plants is a German Lunchbox plant, so it is not a mystery anymore. I pulled the tomato off the plant last week and made it into a sandwich. Now, if I could only grow my own wheat, lettuce, and cows (to make cheese with), I would have the perfect sandwich! Well, the lettuce I can grow, and even the wheat, but I don't have any cows to make the cheese with. Not yet, anyway.

   There is one problem that is aggravating the tomato plants, and that is simply the caterpillars that are enjoying the plants. I check them every day to see if any new ones appear, and I haven't seen any fruit worms lately, but what I have seen is the leaves curling on some of the tomato plants, and the edges turning brown. Many times, I take those leaves and squish them between my fingers and that's how I get rid of those little pesky caterpillars. Once I spend a lot of time doing that one a plant, the plant shows much improvement after that.

 Now that the weather is a little cooler, I am seeing some blossoms on the tomatoes and peppers. I have 2 banana cream tomatoes growing on that plant. The plant itself looks sick because the leaves are all wilting, but the plant keeps growing and blossoming. If I would have listened to the advice I read in a Rodale book on plant diseases, I would have removed the plant and would have to have replaced it with a disease resistant variety, which would defeat the whole purpose of what I am doing.

   I want to plant as many heirloom plants as possible. Non of this hybrid stuff. Definitely no GMO plants! Some of the heirlooms are just beautiful. One such plant is called 'Red Warty Thing' which is a plant that looks like a pumpkin, but is full of bumps and it is bright orange. If I could get those to grow, they would make nice fall decorations as well as provide nourishing food for my family, that is, if I cut it up and cook it!

Red Warty Thing - Carried by Tradewinds fruit

   I already pulled off a Pepperoncini pepper that I didn't even realize was there until I was showing the garden to a friend who came over. I took it off and cut it up, then took some butter and sauteed it, and added frozen corn and cooked the pepper and corn together. Because of the overabundance of lima beans in the back yard garden, I will often take those off and cook them with corn to make succotash. Now I might be wrong, but it seems like in the olden days, when succotash was made, wasn't there pork in it too?

   Over  a year ago, I threw out some vegetable scraps in the garden and this time, sweet potatoes started growing. This year, the sweet potatoes and the lima beans have taken over the garden. I planted a couple of blue potatoes last year and unfortunately, some animal came by and dug them up. I sure hope there is one left in the ground as I can't find blue potatoes anywhere for sale. The nurseries which carry them are all out of stock. Disappointing!

   Pretty soon saffron will come in the mail and I will plant them in their pots that I already bought. Now all I need it the dirt to go into the pots. Saffron blooms in the fall, and it requires a season without water. So, the saffron will have to go on the balcony somewhere, so I can monitor how much or how little water it will receive. This is only my third time of trying to grow saffron and hopefully it will grow in the pots.

   The strawberry papaya plants are doing very well. One is on the porch though, and I wish we could bring it down but the pot, along with the dirt and plant weigh over 100 pounds. That's quite heavy to try to move downstairs. Hopefully, it won't get angry when the top hits the ceiling!

  All the Alpine strawberries died in the hydroponic setup. I have a few left in pots, but they aren't doing all that great. Not sure why Alpine strawberries don't grow well around here. Pretty soon I will get some regular strawberries and will put them in the hydroponic setup. I have a sun lamp to help them get enough sunlight now.

  Oh, I forgot about the tomato plant on the front balcony. It is either a Delicious tomato, or a Black Zebra tomato. Only time will tell. It is in a hydroponic bucket and it is growing extremely fast! I need to change its water though, or it might not stay happy!

This plant is either a Delicious Tomato or a Black Zebra.
This plant was not thriving on the back balcony, but came
alive when I moved it to the front.

   More is to come. I planted 2 Java Plums and 2 Lychee seeds, and 1 of each has sprouted already. Still waiting for the pink bananas, bay leaf, soursop, mysore raspberries, soap plant, and a whole bunch of others to germinate. Also planted Dragon fruit (red). Hopefully, all those plants will sprout and be happy. They can take up to several months to germinate though.

Hiding Our Plants And Gardens To Protect The Cause

    For many years, I have heard of people storing their food, like beans and anything dried. I'm not sure why anyone would do this, but there must have been a good reason for it.

   As I think about it though, I would like to come up with a back up plan, for there is talk of authorities who want to outlaw gardening. Why would they want to outlaw gardening, a nice, safe, way to produce good food? The reason is, it would interfere with the industrialized agriculture and what they are trying to do. It is too much competition with Monsanto and the genetically modified foods they are planning to produce and use to control the food economy with.

   So, the simple answer is to either start a farm, mini farm, or organic garden. But if laws are passed, we won't be able to do that because people will not be able to have gardens anymore.

   But, there is still some good news. We actually can grow some things inside our homes or apartments. There are some disadvantages though. One of them is the lack of sunlight. Another would be the question of how the plants would be pollinated. The obvious problem would be the lack of space. But, we can work with all of those, although there would be some challenges with them.

   Plants are actually good to have inside, for they give out oxygen. We take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. Plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. So, in that way, we would be living mutually with our plants that are inside.

    We can grow plants in containers, and we also can grow some plants in a hydroponic setup. Fabric containers are really nice, but, they might not be an object of beauty in the home. There are pots that you can put the fabric pots inside of.

   While aesthetically, it might have some disadvantages, there would be some advantages. Plants can be very pretty, but plants can also be very messy and dirty. Plus, some of the plants would be too tall for being inside a home. But it is rewarding to have a plant that is pretty as well as productive. I should make a list of plants that produce food and, at the same time, are pretty.

   There are hydroponic setups that can be setup inside a house. They will need a light or a type of sun lamp. The rays of the sun need to be brought inside the house to benefit the plant. It is necessary for plants to have sunlight in order to produce chlorophyll, which is the pigment that makes the plants green. You can grow strawberries and herbs in a hydroponic system. There are also aeroponic systems too, which are small, yet can grow herbs and lettuce. Juice Plus puts out a 'Tower Garden' which can produce a lot of food in a limited space area. It will need a lamp on it to recreate the sunlight that is needed by plants. Instead of using up a wide area, the space used in the Tower Garden is vertical. Here is a website that explains the Tower Garden and where you can order one: http://www.ss.towergarden.com 

   One of the harder problems would be how to pollinate the plants. It is possible to hand pollinate some of the plants. I have done this with squash plants. If the bees are not doing their job, then you can take over. I don't know how bees would do inside a house, but I don't think they would be preferable to have. Of course, you could have a Mason bee house, as Mason bees do not sting. But would they be able to thrive inside a house? I don't know.

   We could grow a lot of beans that could be dried and stored. At present, we don't have to worry too much about going to jail for having a garden, but it would be wise to learn how to grow as much as we can indoors. That way, we could prepare our children and grandchildren for surviving the situations they might find themselves in. Right now, we can learn container gardening and use our balconies and porches. We can use gardening, not only to grow food, but, along with food growing, we could have pretty flowers mixed in, or, have plants that bear both food and pretty flowers. That way, the home owners associations will have less to complain about.

Hydroponic system with Alpine strawberries. Unfortunately,
all plants died probably due to lack of enough sunlight. 

Old Wives Tales and Are They True?

  I came across an article in my email box on asking if some of the old wives tales that pertain to weather are true. To my surprise, well maybe, many of them are.

   Some of the old wives tales are really stupid, like the ones that say that the way a woman carries her baby indicates what sex that baby will be. I actually heard someone mention that a pregnant women I knew was carrying a boy, but guess what, it wasn't a boy! I guess you really can't always trust everything you hear!

   But some of the ones that pertain to the weather are pretty accurate. For example, the saying that goes like this "Red sky at night, sailors delight" is accurate, even scientifically. Now we know a logical reason why this works. A red sky at night is full of dust particles, which indicates a high pressure system. It means that good weather will follow.

   But this saying, "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning"  means that the precipitation in the atmosphere is high, and it will be raining.

  Here is another one that is true; "When windows won't open, and the salt clogs the shaker, the weather will favor the umbrella maker.". It too, is based upon principles that work, and now are known because of our technological advances.

   Oh, but I didn't read about my favorite one which is "If it rains before 7, it will end by 11". So far, it seems like it is true from my own observations. What do you think?

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-weather/stories/take-warning-when-the-sky-is-red-in-the-morning#ixzz3ER0T3PiV

Recent Pictures of the Garden on the Balcony

I am going to post some pictures of the plants that are growing on the balcony. I hope to encourage people to garden by doing this. Gardening is a lot of work, and sometimes, even with the best efforts, crops fail. So far, I have lost a few plants, but many survived babyhood, bug attacks, some diseases, and a few other unexplained events. So even look hardy, like the papaya plants. I wish I could have gotten more of the Giant Granadilla plants to germinate. The one that did germinate is really healthy looking. The coffee plant died one day, and I don't know what caused that to happen.

The plants from this angle are papayas, tomatoes, peppers, a passion fruit,
and avocado, although the plants are hard to see.

This pic is from the opposite end of the first pic. You can see the mystery plant, avocado, papaya, and tomato
on the end.

This is a passion fruit plant. It is called, Giant Granadilla, and it will hopefully have a blue/purple flower and
pretty good sized fruit. It is a vining plant, I believe.

Featuring one of the strawberry papaya plants

Here is an interesting tomato plant. It is growing well, and even has blossoms, but,
the leaves always look like they are wilting.

Some plants that are just getting started. I planted one of the tomatoes tonight and placed it in the yard.

What I wish that I would have done, is to have made labels for the plants using my laminating machine. I made labels using strong clear mailing tape, but water still got in and ruined many of the labels. On these cups, I wrote some of the names with a marker. But something confusing started to happen. Most of these plants grew squash plants in the cups. No matter what the seeds were that I put into each cup, squash plants came up! Some of the other plants came up though, and I put some of them in fabric containers outside. 

See if you can figure this one out: I am trying to grow bananas, as well as banana melon. I also have a tomato plant called cream banana. I planted a tomato plant and had a hard time reading what the words were on the cup, that I wrote. All I saw was the word 'banana'. So, is the plant a banana cream tomato plant, a banana plant, or, banana melon? 

Another plant was something else in a cup (possibly a squash), but a pepper and a tomato plant were growing in the cup! It's made it very interesting to try to relocate the plants in the proper size container, since I don't know which plant I actually planted in many of the cups!

There's Not Enough Sunlight on The Balcony!

   With all the problems with wildlife on the other side of my back yard, animals are enjoying the garden before I can harvest the produce from it. As a result, I am growing my plants in containers, and putting them on the balcony in order to protect the plants from the animals.

   Raccoons are adorable as well as squirrels are, that is, until you see them in the garden area. Forget growing sunflower plants or corn in the garden as the animals get into it and destroy the plants.

   So, I have a bunch of plants, mainly tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries, growing on the balcony that is in the back of the house. The Peppers and papaya plants are doing fine, but the tomatoes and strawberries are suffering big time. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what is wrong, and my conclusion is that there is not enough sunlight on the back porch.

  I did an experiment and it worked! I had a tomato plant in a bucket hydroponic setup. The setup is easy to use, yet, the plant did not do well. It was not thriving, so I moved it to the front balcony which has more sunlight, and the plant is really growing fast and big!

 If my plants really need more sunlight, the only way I can remedy this problem is by getting a lamp that is similar to sunlight, at least as far as the plants are concerned. So, I picked up a light from amazon.com which had good reviews. I will update and give the report of whether this light helps or not. I still have one strawberry that is alive in the hydroponic setup, and maybe this light can help the surviving plant to live.

Here are a couple of pics of the balcony from the ground, while the new light was on. See how cool it looks!

Most sunlights are just powerful lights, but this one is red/blue in color

Angle from side of the house using the LED lamp I bought from amazon.com


Here is a picture of the lamp from amazon.com

And here is a picture of the lamp holder that is necessary to have to put the bulb in. Notice that it already has a bulb, but not the blue/red LED one that I ordered and is pictured above.