Plants 'n Shit

Side blog about plants, bees, and all that good stuff.

[jerstmyplantos]

[growlithops]

I wrote yet another guide about how to care for succulents. This time: Lapidaria margaretae! The marshmallow-like mesemb we either hate or love after having owned one.

Mine has been in my care for almost 4 years and in that time it has grown a few extra leaf sets and nothing else. But the fact that it isn’t dead is quite the accomplishment.

[los-plantalones]

Echinopsis blooms! 
They only last a single day so it’s a sacred privilege to get to see at least one round of flowers this summer.

[jerstmyplantos]

[systlin]

In regards to the expensive nature of saffron…

‘stares into distance, takes a long drag off of what is, if you look closely, in fact a candy cigarette’

what if I told you…that saffron…is actually not that hard to grow at home for your own use. 

Oh look a place you can buy the bulbs. 

If you live in a climate colder than zone 6…as I do…plant them in containers and move the containers into a basement or garage during the winter. 

They bloom in fall, and are quite lovely. And also you get saffron. 

[charlesonmambo]

Can Saffron handle Zone 13?

[systlin]

They grow it in the deserts of the Middle East (with a bit of irrigation.) It can handle the worst heat you can throw at it. 

What it does NOT like is wet feet all the time. If the soil is soaking wet too often, it will rot. So if you live somewhere with a lot of rainfall, I’d try raised beds or pots that can be protected from excess rain. 

[sonoransiren]

So my Arizonan (Phonecian to be precise) ass should be perfectly fine, then?

[systlin]

Not only fine it would probably love the shit out of your area, so long as you threw it some water now and then. 

Seriously, here’s a saffron farm in the desert of Afghanistan, and the saffron is happy as shit there. 

[bad-wolf-moment]

What’s zone 6?

[systlin]

Growing zones are a measure of how cold it gets in a given area in winter, which is a limiting factor in where many things will grow. 

Zone 6 means that the minimum expected temperature will not get below -10F. 

Here is a gardening zone map of the USA. 

I’m in zone 5, supposedly, right on the tip of Iowa’s nose where it bumps out into Illinois, but more realistically given our not-uncommon cold snaps here we’re about a zone 4. 

So if you live in any of the light green through pink-orange areas, saffron will grow just fine for you on its own in your regular old dirt. It will grow in hotter zones as well, but the continental US only goes up to zone 10 and so most US based companies will advertise plants as ‘being suited for zones 5 through 10′ even if a plant can take hotter temps. 

[gallusrostromegalus]

First of all, it’s always a delight to see you encouraging agricultural anarchy on my dash.  Please continue.

Second: I can’t speak to most of the US but if you’re on the CO front range and put Saffron in the ground, you’re going to have Saffron forever.  It’s literally coming up out of my parent’s lawn and has completely overrun a neighbor’s garden.  This is the opposite of a problem.

Third: Bees love it.  Honeybees, bumblebees, little bees and big bees.  Late-season butterflies and moths love it too.  support your local pollinators.

Fourth: It’s worth growing for the sheer, visceral delight of giving your friends that cook a lump of homegrown saffron for free and telling them you grew it yourself and watching them go >:O as they are both tremenously impressed with your ability to do plant magic and enraged by the bullshittery that is the modern agricultural market.

[systlin]

Agricultural Anarchy is a hell of a line, exactly what I stand for, and I may have to make t shirts with that on them. 

[ripe]

applefoxfarm on ig

[ultrafacts]

How on earth would you feed a city of over 200,000 people when the land around you was a swampy lake? Seems like an impossible task, but the Aztec managed it by creating floating gardens known as chinampas, then they farmed them intensively.

These ingenious creations were built up from the lake bed by piling layers of mud, decaying vegetation and reeds. This was a great way of recycling waste from the capital city Tenochtitlan. Each garden was framed and held together by wooden poles bound by reeds and then anchored to the lake floor with finely pruned willow trees. The Aztecs also dredged mud from the base of the canals which both kept the waterways clear and rejuvenate the nutrient levels in the gardens.

A variety of crops were grown, most commonly maize or corn, beans, chillies, squash, tomatoes, edible greens such as quelite and amaranth. Colourful flowers were also grown, essential produce for religious festivals and ceremonies. Each plot was systematically planned, the effective use of seedbeds allowed continuous planting and harvesting of crops.

Between each garden was a canal which enabled canoe transport. Fish and birds populated the water and were an additional source of food. [x]

(Fact Source) For more facts, follow Ultrafacts

[wildland-hymns-blog]

This is literally so cool. Not only does it contribute to spacial efficiency, but the canals would easily keep pests, weeds, and possibly even diseases out of the respective plots. Companion planting and bio-intensive planting would be so much easier. Water-wise systems would be inherently present. Plus it looks so super neat aesthetically. I am just all about this.

[ripe]

applefoxfarm on ig

[solarpunk-aesthetic]

Mygdal Plant Lights

Designed and created by Studio We Love Eames, these are a cross between a lamp and a terrarium. Envisioned as a way to grow plants in windowless spaces, they’re intended to be completely enclosed systems which require no additional care. Theoretically, a plant could survive quite happily inside one of these for years.

Interestingly, the floor lamp uses a special kind of conductive glass, so the light at the top is powered without needing any wires from the power cable at floor level.

Turns out, I actually do love lamp.

[oldandenglishroses]

Boscobel, English Rose

[p01y3thy13n3-deactivated2019042]

[motherearthnewsmag]

Construct a Chicken Moat for Effective Garden Pest Control

Construct a chicken moat for effective garden pest control. Surround your garden with this double-fenced chicken run to keep bugs at bay.

By Gene Gerue

[elodieunderglass]

we haven’t yet found out how to make ducks pay (for their crimes) but by god we can certainly hold chickens accountable

[kawuli]

CHICKEN UNDERPASS

[maevemauvaise]

@remsyk-blog

[markunsan]

Graptoveria cv.opalina

[botaniqueer]

My favorite dragon fruit baby! (Hylocereus megalanthus, 3.5 months) A pitchfork child.

The others haven’t really branched yet. A few have started to develop another new branches but for the most part they’re all linear.

[cravethosephotons]

Photos Taken: 14-March-2019

Nepenthes x [((ventricosa x sibuyanensis) x (ventricosa x (lowii x ventricosa))) x truncata]

Plant I ordered from RedLeaf Exotics! 

I was worried because for once the mail decided to mail this plant on time and I was getting back from vacation, and I ordered a heat pack because cold weather but our weather is just stupid and stayed in the 70s today, so I was worried about this plant overheating in the box. It looks just fine though. I filled the pitcher up with a bit of water, and I’m leaving it in the bag so it can get situated until I figure where to plant it.

[windowsill-nepenthes]

Great plant!

[glasshalffullurbanfarm]

So helpful!

[systlin]

You might know- is there a small fruit tree I can kinda... Macro-Bonsai? I got some 20-gallon tubs and no yard and was wondering if I could put a small apple or pear tree in them to have a fruit tree on my porch? Would they eventually get root-bound and stay small like Bonsai cuttings or just die on me?

There are actually apple trees specifically bred for this exact thing! They’re called columnar or single stem apple trees, and grow like this.

I’ve never tried growing them myself, given that my parents who live a block away have like six full size apple and pear and peach trees, but heck, worth a go. 

[systlin]

They get about 8 feet tall and 2 feet wide naturally, but can be kept smaller via pruning. 

[gallusrostromegalus]

…Well how about that.  That seller is out until next year but If those can manage it I’ll take my chances with the smallest breed of apple I can find.  The worst that could happen is I’d have Apple wand-wood.

[systlin]

Well now it’s a mission

Here’s some sites that have ‘em in stock!

https://www.gurneys.com/product/golden-treat-urban-apple?p=0564966&gclid=CjwKCAiAqOriBRAfEiwAEb9oXQHMGQj8TofExeK9qU2qXAG-Tjq3XbXki86JikqtpdiLCvcNiM0u3hoCWvcQAvD_BwE

https://www.jungseed.com/C/661/ColumnarApples

I can personally vouch for Jung seeds; I’ve bought from them for twenty years, and they’ve always been nothing but the best quality. The Eight Foot Rose Hedge Of Doom that just ate a polar vortex and LAUGHED is from Jung’s.