The latest dirt from my garden: February 2013

Friday

The Amamzing Kaka Beak Plant

Clianthus is an attractive semi-evergreen scrambling shrub with pinnate leaves and spectacular claw-like flowers in spring and summer.

This exotic shrub puts on a magnificent show. Now extinct in the wild, it produces dense masses of bright pink and red showy flowers-up to 15 in a bunch, suspended from arching branches.

A spreading, fast-growing shrub with fern like foliage tolerates a wide range of soils and withstands frost to 23F. Needs protection from heavy frost. The flowers are bird pollinated and the lobster claw-like flowers bloom from mid summer to autumn.

Seeds....

Starting Your Vegetable Seeds Early!

This time I’d like to plant a seed in your wallet.

All green thumbs (and a few green fingers) know that sprouting seedlings instead of buying store-grown plants saves you nearly 90% on your gardening costs. But how do you sprout peas, squash, and tasty tomatoes when there’s still a chill outside?
The answer can be found on your breakfast table. Do I have you walking on eggshells? Eggscellent!!

7 Reasons to get cracking:

The entire eggshell starter pot is biodegradable.
Cost for the eggshell planter is $0.00 — they’re free if you eat eggs.
Eggshells contain soil-happy minerals, such as calcium and other earthy nutrients.
Eggshell seedling pots are pet safe and kid friendly.
Starting seeds inside (in any container) gives you a huge head-start on your garden, far before the last frost.
Sprouted seeds are heartier and stronger when planted.
Sprouting indoors lets you cull the weakest seedlings and remove the ones that failed to germinate.

3 Tips:

Before you plant the seeds, make sure you wash the eggshells and then boil them in a pot for three minutes to kill any bacteria.
Protect eggshells. Place each eggshell in a cardboard egg carton (or a small pot) for support.
When planting, give each eggshell a gentle (yet crushing) squeeze — you want the seedling roots to easily find the fresh soil.

I managed to grow peas, beans, basil, tomatoes and jalapenos successfully in egg shells. Happy growing!

Asian Water Chestnut Eleocharis dulcis

Off we go, starting our own water chestnuts again. In case you ever had them in stir fry, the fresh bulbs are 100 times better than the canned. Delicious. Plus, I know in what water they are growing (clean water) ;)

Eleocharis dulcis is tropical Asian aquatic sedge having an edible corm and cylindrical leaves. The succulent corm of this plant ist used in Asian cooking. This is NOT to be confused with the aquatic invasive Asian water chestnut (Trapa natans).

Chinese water chestnuts (Eleocharis dulcis) and European water chestnuts (Trapa natans) are two unrelated water plants that carry the same name. The Chinese water chestnut resembles a small muddy tulip bulb and is sweet and crunchy; the European water chestnut resembles a tiny horned bull’s head and is quite starchy. Americans are most familiar with the Chinese water chestnut. Chinese water chestnuts grow underwater in mud, have brown or black scale-like leaves, and are round, though somewhat flattened. They are the roots of an aquatic plant that grows in freshwater ponds, marshes, lakes, and slow-moving rivers and streams in Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand, and Australia. They are difficult to harvest, explaining their generally high price. Chinese water chestnuts have mildly sweet, crisp, white flesh and are excellent raw on skewers with dip/

The European water chestnut or water caltrop has seed capsules with four spikes and is named after the caltrop, a vicious medieval weapon with four iron points. This hard-shelled ebony black fruit has two prominent, down curved horns resembling a bull’s head and a woody, sculptured surface that looks like a face or a bat. It grows abundantly in Indonesia, Southeast Asia, southern China, Japan, Italy, and tropical America. Its Chinese name, ling ko, means “spiritual horn.”

Storage: Store water chestnuts, unwashed and unpeeled, in a loosely closed paper or plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper for up to 2 weeks. Keep water caltrops in a cool, dry place.

To Grow: Easy to grow in a tub filled with dirt about 4" high . Water to 2" above soil level. Consider appropriate spacing as each corm produces quickly about 8-10 new corms. The closer they sit the harder it is to separate them.

To Buy:

Tricker Aquatics: Water Chestnuts

COTW Rare Seeds: Fresh Asian Water Chestnuts

Chatter Flower Jovellana

What a cutie !!!!!

Jovellana does not have a common name. But it's been called Chatter Flower, Angels Goblet and Tea Cup Flower. It is a rare evergreen, perennial plant from Chile, that grows around 5 feet tall. Each flower spray has dozens of ½ inch blooms, which open at different times over a period of 1 to 2 months. The sprays would make an exotic addition to flower arrangements. Even without blooms this is an attractive plant, with woody stems and bright, mint-shaped foliage. The leaves have a great minty-spicy aroma when rubbed.

This is a cool-climate species that might not thrive in warm climates. The ideal temperature seems to be between 40 and 80 F. It is very rare in cultivation, and fresh seeds are rarely seen for sale. Great for Pot culture.

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The latest dirt from my garden

Friday

The Amamzing Kaka Beak Plant

Starting Your Vegetable Seeds Early!

Asian Water Chestnut Eleocharis dulcis

Chatter Flower Jovellana

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