As happy as…

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We’ve heard the sayings – as happy as a clam, as happy as a duck in water, as happy as a lark, as happy as a pig in slop…

Well here’s a new one – as happy as a gardener with new seeds! :D

My brother just arrived from Thailand and made me feel like Christmas had come early. I’d asked him to look out for seeds of edible plants and to “surprise me” with his choices – which he did. I’ve been sitting and beaming like an idiot as I admire (yes, even now as I write this!) the various packets of seeds he got me:

More beans - long beans & winged beans.

Eggplant - purple & green varieties.

Thai Basil - sweet & holy varieties.

And angled loofah and moringa oleifera (which he thought was okra... bro needs new glasses! :D)

No doubt I’ve tried growing some of these plants before, and succeeded with a few of them. But, there’s a kind of magic when you hold an unopened packet of seeds in your hands and feel the potential held in all those seeds inside. I get such a kick out of that.

So there’s no putting things off any more – I have to go buy my materials and get some trellises ready for my bean plants. And I need more small pots for all the little plants I’m going to have growing soon (that’s called positive thinking – they will sprout!). Oh, and to get compost so I can amend the soil for the veggies to go in when they’re big enough. Yup, it doesn’t take much to make me happy. I’m kinda easy that way – shh, don’t let that get out… 8)

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A note to Curious Gardener readers

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My apologies if the blog begins to look a bit self-absorbed soon, but earlier this week there were a couple of instances where large chunks of my blog were downloaded by parties unknown. Since I blog about my personal gardening experiences, and try to provide information that I did not find on the Web before I started blogging, I am super-protective of the contents on The Curious Gardener – it’s my baby.

So, knowing that some person or persons are copying my content outrages me a lot. They may be keeping it because they intend to use it for their own purposes, or they may have innocent reasons – I don’t know. I am just asserting my ownership of my intellectual property on this site so that people understand that I expect them to respect my little piece of the Web.

Because of this, you’re going to see copyright notices accompanying each post. It’s my claim to my ownership of my photos and my thoughts and writing on this site. It’s not foolproof, but if a person is honourable, they will not steal.

It’s either I stake my claim or stop providing info that could be ripped off. I’d like to try the former before I decide to close up this blog, because I really do enjoy sharing my gardening experiences, and I’d like to believe that people won’t take advantage of that. There’s a quote that says, “You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don’t trust enough.” I choose to avoid torment, and I hope my trust is not misplaced.

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Pepper paprikas – the cycle continues

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Ripened pepper paprikas

I decided to leave a couple of pepper paprikas on the plant to see how they would develop, and they cooperated by slowly changing colour from pale green to yellow-peach, and then to a deep vermilion that’s almost, but not quite, red, just like regular chillies.

The pepper paprika seeds exposed.

Unfortunately, leaving them to ripen on the plant seemed to bring about the demise of the plant. The leaves shrivelled and dropped off, and eventually, one of the fruits did, too. After just a day or so on the ground, it had decomposed enough to reveal the cluster of seeds within. I decided to move the fruit to a small flower pot, where the sun and rain helped to complete the decomposition process. Now exposed to the elements, the seeds have begun to germinate, and I can begin the process again …unless, of course, the dastardly snails discover them!

Seeds still on the plant!

The other fruit actually decomposed while still on the plant, which was quite fascinating. It shrivelled up and the skin eventually decomposed completely, leaving a little cluster of seeds dangling from the plant!

The seeds for these particular peppers were obtained in Thailand. I plucked the initial fruits when they were green because that’s the colour they were shown as on the packet of seeds. They grow to about 8cm in length and resemble squat chillies, and if I didn’t mention it before, they taste like bell peppers with the kick of chillies.

New paprika sprouts, and the cycle begins again.

The only thing about growing them that I don’t like is how the plants attract white flies. Apart from dealing with the insects, it’s a fairly low maintenance plant – just water daily and fertilize once in a while. Easy-peasy.

© 2010 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.


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Why I hate garden pests – Zinnia edition

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Since I’m in a ranting and raving mood, now seems as good a time to share this:

Stripped of leaves and petals by I don't know what pest :(

That’s what was left after snails or beetles or whatever *censored* pest was through with my beautiful red Zinnia plant. The plant didn’t manage to recover from the rude shock of being so violated, and unfortunately, has died. I’ve harvested the flower heads and have my fingers crossed that there will be some viable seeds in there.

The good news is, I still have some other zinnias – some as seeds (thanks, Sky! :)) as well as several young white zinnia plants that I’ve grown from seeds from another gardener. They’re pretty, too, but not as striking as the red ones. Do you think the red ones are just more tasty to pests?

White zinnia plants slowly establishing themselves.

© 2010 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.


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