Faerie Kin Blog 🌸

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Green Witch Tip: Preparing Your Garden

Keeping a garden and/or some indoor plants is a great witchy practice, especially green and kitchen witches! However, to save yourself a lot of frustration and to make sure your green babies get the care they need, it’s important to research a few things before you plant:

Sun and shade requirements

Full sun means the area gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day

Partial shade means the area gets 3-6 hours of direct sunlight, probably in the morning when it’s cooler.

Dappled shade means that the plant lives almost exclusively on indirect light: it gets a couple hours of cool light in the morning, and lives in filtered light like the kind through a forest canopy the rest of the time.

Figure out what the light conditions are where you want to plant, and make sure you plant things that can deal with that amount of light. Some plants find too much sun stressful and will dry out too fast, others will start to rot if they don’t have that direct sunlight to help them eat up their water.

Drought tolerance

If you live in an especially arid area, you will want almost exclusively drought-tolerant plants. If your area is more humid, then you’re going to water your drought-tolerant plants even less than one normally would. Research the aridity/humidity of your area, and adjust your plant’s watering accordingly.

Soil & Drainage

Not every plant actually wants a rich, dark, mulchy soil. Many cacti and succulents prefer soil that is mixed with sand and small stones to help it drain faster (too much water sticking around the roots can cause root rot), and plants that enjoy full sun and are drought tolerant tend to prefer well-drained containers that don’t hold on to water forever. Research your plant’s preferences and adjust their soil and drainage accordingly. More holes and stones or sand make things drain faster, less of both make them drain slower.

Depth & Distance

Some plants really need their elbow room, others need to be close together for support. Some do best when they can grow a big ol’ taproot that digs deep deep down into the groundwater, others are happy sticking near the surface. If you’re growing your plants in containers, research the root structures of your desired plants, and choose ones that can expand to a healthy rate in your containers and make sure new seedlings have enough distance from each other that their root systems don’t choke each other out. Your seed packet should have instructions on how far apart to plant.

Companion Planting

Many plants can benefit from being near each other: the pests common to one plant may be deterred by the smell or property of its close neighbour, one can attract pollinators for both, and so on. Research optimal companions for your desired plants.

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

nb people are members of the fae

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

reblog if you’re nb, a member of the fae, or support nb fae people

[thelittlesojourner-blog]

DIY Flower Pressing 🌸🌼

This is a super simple project for saving some springtime flowers, a bouquet you want don’t want to get rid of or for documenting herbs in your grimoire! It’s also cheap as you will have most of the items you need from nature or in your home. If you plan to harvest flowers, PLEASE do your research before you pick them. To the flowers!~

1. Gather your materials.

You will need scissors, tissue paper, flowers or herbs, a large book and heavy items to stack on top of the book (other books, weights, etc.) If you don’t have tissue paper, use toilet paper, paper towels, facial tissue, or culinary parchment paper. Pick too many flowers? Leave them as an offering or spruce up your altar! 

2. Place the tissue paper in your book and arrange your flowers for pressing.

Please use a book you don’t mind getting ruined! Some of the color from the flowers may bleed onto the pages, especially if you are using highly pigmented flowers. I use an old textbook for flower pressing. Arrange your flowers so that they all have space. If you stack them while pressing, you will end up with wrinkles in your flowers.

3. Close the book, place heavy items on it and wait.

Close the book while making sure all of the flowers still have room. Stack other books or weights on the book to ensure a good press. Let the flowers press for seven days or longer. Leaves and petals are already relatively flat so they take about a week. However, bigger flowers take longer to flatten so leave them pressed for about three weeks. 

Craft Ideas for your Pressed Flowers~

- Decoupage literally anything (offering dishes, trays, frames, etc.)  - Make bookmarks - Framed wall art - Collage with other media - Cards - Floral candles - Decorate your book of shadows - Document your work with herbs

[la-laborista-republiko]

[soft-stims]

Sylveon stimboard for anon 

🎀 x x x - x x x - x x x 🎀

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💞 | prismcrystals on ig

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succulent friends at the botanical gardens, glasgow // insta

[systlin]

But seriously, when we got our property, it was all just…grass. A sterile grass moonscape, like a billion other yards. With two big old maple trees. Just grass and maples, that was it. 

But then I got my grubby little paws on it, and I immediately stopped fertilizing, spraying, and bagging up grass clippings and leaves. I ripped up sod and put in flowers and vegetables. I put down nice thick blankets of mulch around the flowers and vegetables. 

When I first was sweating my way through stripping sod, I saw a grand total of 1 worm and 0 ladybugs. The ground was compacted into something that would bend shovel blades. 

Now, six years later, I can’t dig a planting hole without turning up fourteen earthworms, and there are so many ladybugs here. Not the invasive asian lady beetles; native ladybugs. They winter over in the mulch and in the brush pile. I see thousands of them. 

The soil is soft and rich. There are birds that come to eat, and bees of many sorts.

Like this is something that you, yourself, can absolutely change. This is something that you, personally, can make a difference in.

[systlin]

Like, last year I watched no fewer than twenty-nine monarch caterpillars grow up on my milkweed and fly away as butterflies. I watched swallowtails and moths grow. There are hummingbirds fighting over flowers now.

I did that. Me. You can do the same.

[morecolorfulmetaphors]

I know it’s trendy right now to say that adopting more of an eco-friendly lifestyle is pointless because the only way to save humanity is to destroy capitalism, but we should remember that many of those lifestyle changes help us build skills and social networks that would be important in a post-capitalism future. 

For example, if we’re going to end reliance on factory farming, it would really help for more people to learn to garden and grow food. Same for other hands-on skills like cooking, crafts, home repair, tech repair, etc. Even small things like using re-usable water bottles and bags or thrifting/swapping items to cut down on waste would be regular features of a post-capitalist society, so making them more widely practiced now is a great thing. 

Systemic changes are necessary for sure, but they *will* involve lifestyle changes too, and it’s important to do your part to create that from the ground up. We don’t get to a better system by destroying the old one, but by building up the new one. 🌱

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Gardening Tips

If you’re a first-time gardener, I’d highly recommend that you buy plants that have already started growing. Don’t buy seeds and try to spout them yourself! Buy plants and them plant them yourself.

When replanting a plant, make sure to place it in a container that rises slightly above the height of the plant’s root system. Pour soil around the sides of the plant and on top of the plant until the bottom of the soil touches the plant’s bottom leaves. Keep the plant out of direct sun and water it multiple times throughout this first day. Plants go through shock when first replanted, so give them a little extra love this initial day.

Choose a pot big enough so that the plant have lots of space to grow. I’ll plant herbs together in pots, but fruit and veggie plants need to be in their own pot. Small pots are cute, but plants need lots of space to grow! Choose a pot or planter four times the size of the starter plant to provide adequate space.

Most plants require fertilized soil. Herbs like rosemary and basil are pretty hardy regardless of what soil you plant them in. But if you’re trying to grow fruits or vegetables, you’ll need fertilized soil. Most popular brands of soil aren’t fertilized, you have to buy fertilizer in addition to soil.

In terms of fertilizer- I’ve had great luck with Miracle Grow. Just follow the directions on the package, one scoop of fertilizer per water can. You only have to fertilize outdoor plants once a week. Some indoor plants do require fertilizing, but only once a month or so. One box of fertilizer should last an entire growing season!

Get yourself a comfortable sized watering can and get used to watering your outdoor plants twice a day. Herbs, fruits and vegetables need lots of water to be successful. Their soil should be damp to the touch. You can actually by little metal devices that measure soil dampness, but I would recommend that you just go based on touch.

Similarly, you can buy self-watering pieces that water your plants throughout the day so that you don’t have to worry. These stick right in the soil and allow the plants to absorb the water as they need. I will add a link later to the fancy ones, but you can fill up a water bottle and stick that in the base of the soil and that works just as well.

Water at the base of a plant only! Please don’t water the leaves, some plants (tomatoes, for example) can actually catch blights if you water their leaves.

Once a month sit down with a big trash bag and take any dead leaves, vines or branches off of your plants. If the stem is already dead, the plant doesn’t need to be funneling energy into it. Your plants will be happier, healthier and will produce more if cleaned regularly.

Don’t let your herbs start to flower! Take any flowers off of basil, thyme, oregano immediately. Flowers mean that the plant is starting to seed and will stop producing. Removing the flowers (or even cutting the stalk with the flowers on it off completely) will stop this process.

On buying pots: Make sure to buy pots with drainage! Little holes at the bottom of the plant. It doesn’t matter if they are ceramic or plastic or even metal. Drainage holes help plants expel excess water. Watering a plant in a pot without drainage can lead to the plant essentially drowning if over-watered. This is especially important for outside plants. Because it will rain at some point.

Harvesting your plants on a regular basis can increase production! Don’t let fresh basil and tomatoes just sit around. Harvest, harvest, harvest! Make tomato sauce with garlic.

Make sure your plants are in sunlight for the majority of the day! Plants need sunlight to photosynthesize and produce food.

Good luck! Sorry this took forever. 🍃

[vampurrring]

Saved a friend at the pool today 🐝 💕

[beekeeper-khaleesi]

🌸Vintage Flower Diagram🌸

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fairy witch self-care post ✨

- snack on yummy, tiny foods (like nuts and berries), to help you feel more delicate

- add a soft sparkle to anything - your face, your clothing, your notebooks, your spells, your bedroom

- draw a small wing, mushroom, or leaf on your wrist, gently running your fingers over it for encouragement when you’re feeling a bit rundown

- take a walk or hike somewhere peaceful, like a meadow or a forest - taking in the soft blow of the wind and the sweet smell of grass and flowers

- make some pretty homemade bracelets or headbands to wear as aura boosters, gently stating your intentions with each bead added

[solarpunk-aesthetic]

Six Low Maintenance Houseplants

For anyone who’s busy, forgetful, or doesn’t have many spoons to spare. These are some of the easiest ways to green up your home. The titles are links which may help…

Marimo

Marimo are sometimes called moss balls, and most aquarium suppliers stock them. They’re actually a type of algae and require very little care. Just drop one into a large vase or jar and leave it to do its thing. They naturally live at the bottom of lakes, and do best in dim lighting. Keep them out of direct sunlight!

Tillandsia

These are usually known as air plants. If you live somewhere humid, they’ll grow very happily. If not, try keeping them in your bathroom. They need plenty of light, but can grow well just from moisture in the air. If the air is dry, misting them a couple of times a week should suffice. Try keeping a few of them in a bowl.

Lucky Bamboo

It’s not technically bamboo at all, but this stuff is easy to care for. All you need is a vase of water. Just keep refilling the water and the plant will grow fine. It grows best in bright light, but can survive well in lower light too.

Spider Plants

Spider plants are lovely. They’re also the first plant on this list that needs soil. These are typically forest plants, so they can survive well in a small-ish pot without too much light. They’re also great at purifying the air. It’s ok if you forget to water them for a while, just give them a drink when they start to look droopy.

Cacti

The easiest way to kill a cactus is actually to give it too much attention. As houseplants, cacti usually die from overwatering or being left with their roots in water – both of these things will kill a cactus quickly. But give your cactus bright light, a warm spot, and water it maybe once every month (once every two months in summer) and it should be just fine. Unless it’s just a baby, in which case it’ll prefer water every week (less than this and it won’t really grow).

Bottle Gardens

These are a little more effort to set up, but once you do, you can pretty much just leave them alone. Just find any old glass container – old jam jars work well, or any interesting old bottles or jars from thrift stores, flea markets and other places are great. Moss is ideal to grow in these, and it’s very easy to care for. Why not try making one, if you can?

This post is for @fathermartinarchimbaud, and anyone else who needs it.

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Plant Cuttings!

Most plants can be grown from cuttings meaning that, if you know what you’re doing, they’re a great way to rapidly grow a whole garden full of plants. Or a whole house full, if you’d prefer. 

The simplest type are stem cuttings, but many plants can be regrown from other parts like leaves or roots too. As long as there are stem cells in the cutting it’s possible to, with some care, regrow a full plant. In practice, how easy this is depends on the specific plant – but it never hurts to try!

So here are a bunch of how-to resources for anyone who wants to know more.

Basic how-to guide

More basic info

Detailed advice

Taking summer cuttings

Taking root cuttings

Taking leaf cuttings

Taking tip cuttings

Taking hardwood cuttings

Using potatoes to grow cuttings

Some plants which grow well from stem cuttings

Here are some random ideas of things to do with cuttings…

Buy a rose bush. The good ones like damask roses can be expensive, but that’s ok. Prune it extensively and plant the stems as cuttings. You’ll soon have a whole host of rose bushes! The same thing goes for any other bush or tree. Plant yourself an apple orchard or a raspberry grove!

Buy fresh herbs. Cook with the leaves. Save aside the stems. Grow them as cuttings. Create a herb garden in your windowsill.

Going out for a walk? Carry a small jar in your bag with some damp tissue in the bottom, and a small pair of study scissors. If you see any wild plants or trees you like the look of, snip off a small stem (from somewhere discrete!) and keep it in the jar. Grow it as a cutting when you get home. (Note: I’d advise against doing this in gardens, parks, or other privately owned areas. Technically, that’s theft.)

Grow kitchen scraps. 

When you buy potatoes, check them for sprouts. Sprouting potatoes can be cut up into pieces, so each piece has at least one sprout or eye. Leave them overnight to dry off a little, then plant them. Soon you’ll have a whole potato patch. Just like Mark Watney. 

If a friend has an interesting plant in their garden/home/office/wherever, ask them if you can take a small cutting. Most people won’t mind.

If there are trees or shrubs in your garden, you’ll probably need to prune them occasionally. Grow the pruned stems and branches as hardwood cuttings. If you don’t have space for more trees in your garden, they make good gifts once they’re established.

[solarpunk-aesthetic]

So I went to the store this afternoon and impulsively bought a cute little strawberry plant. but the thing is, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO TAKE CARE OF IT😂😂. I know the basics of gardening (water, soil, sunlight) but almost nothing after that. Is there any way I can make myself a tiny strawberry patch in my apartment with a little balcony?

Ok, so strawberry plants are really easy to care for and I’m sure you’ll do just fine – but here’s some info which might help you anyway. 😊☀️🍓

First, there are a lot of different varieties out there, from alpine strawberries which give tiny fruit, to strawberries which can give fruit year round. Your plant probably had a tag with the name of whatever variety it is. Google that for specifics, if you like.

Generally, strawberries love bright sunlight and plenty of water. Make sure their soil doesn’t get too dry – especially while they’re still growing. You can help keep their soil wet by putting a handful of water gel or sphagnum moss at the bottom of the plant pot. You can buy both as gardening supplies, but be careful – let them soak up water before putting them in the pot, because they do expand.Strawberries also like a little feeding occasionally. They like tomato fertiliser.

They usually start flowering in the Springtime before the weather gets too warm. If you keep them anywhere above about 16°C they’ll probably flower less.

Strawberries can reproduce by one of two methods. Producing fruit is one, but they can also clone themselves by sending out runners. They usually try to do this if there’s a lot of nitrogen in their soil. If you see your plant growing a long stem with a little cluster of backwards facing leaves at the end, that’s a runner. If the runner finds itself resting on some soil, it’ll take root and grow as a daughter plant.

Usually, strawberry plants can only choose one reproduction method per season (any plant only has so much energy to grow). Letting them send out runners will mean you’ll quickly have a lot of plants but probably won’t get fruit this year. If you prefer fruit to an army of plants, just snip off the runners when you see them. The plant will eventually take the hint.

A very happy plant can actually give you both runners and fruit in the same season. If it’s well nourished, and has lots of sunlight, it may be able to. But don’t count on it.

In an apartment with a small balcony, you should maybe think about hanging baskets or window box type planters. They tend to grow quite well in those.

Here’s some extra info, in case you want more to read…

GrowVeg

Thompson Morgan

RHS

[solarpunk-aesthetic]

Hey, just out of curiosity, if I like throw some strawberries into the ground, will strawberries eventually grow? They would, right? Like, that's how you garden?

The short answer is, yes, that’s the basic idea.

But it’s always helpful to know how things work, and that way you can boost your chances for successful germination – and you’ll end up with many more plants and many more strawberries. That’s how you garden.

Firstly, you don’t need to throw the whole strawberry into the ground. All the seeds of a strawberry are on the surface, so you can (carefully!) scrape off a bunch with a knife, while trying not to take too much of the fruit flesh. Then you can still eat the berries, because they’re both delicious and very good for you. Use them to make a smoothie or something.

Strawberry seeds also need to be cold stratified – gardening jargon which means that they’re more likely to germinate if you freeze them for a while first. In nature, this is because if they germinate before winter, the plants will die. So if you want to grow your plants soon rather than next year, put the seeds in an airtight container (ideally without any fruit pulp) and put them in the freezer for 3 or 4 weeks. When you’re thawing them out, keep the container sealed until it reaches room temperature. 

Then if you sow your seeds, they’re much more likely to germinate. Give each one plenty of space too, and more plants will grow to maturity. Maybe plant the seeds in flower pots or seed trays so you can take good care of them and make sure they get enough water and light. Then when they’re large enough, you can transplant them into the ground and let them go wild.

Incidentally, in nature, the whole fruit would be unlikely to just fall to the ground and stay there. They tend to get eaten by animals first. In fact they’re designed that way, which is why the seeds are on the outside. If a bird nibbles on one (and they always do, believe me) it’ll eat several seeds. The seeds will pass right through the bird undigested, and they’ll grow somewhere else after the bird poops them out.

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