When on vacation, I love to seek out plants! Whether I buy seeds or sneak a pod or cutting off of a tree or vine, there's plants in my car when I arrive home. I have been know to pinch a tip off of a plant and stick it in my pocket to root later. Around here there is a saying that, "stolen plants grow better" and "never say thank you for a plant or it won't grow". Maybe there is a way to test this theory. I'll just go around stealing plants without even a "thank you"!
So now there are a bundle of new seeds waiting to be fit into the planting schedule. There are several packets from the Thomas Jefferson Heirloom collection and some I found at a seed store in Bird In Hand Pennsylvania. I have heirloom Anne Arundel Muskmelon, Red Wethersfield Onion, Golden-rain tree, striped french marigold, Romanesco cauliflower, Early green broccoli, Broad Windsor bean, Dutch Beets Baby Ball, and Henderson's bush Lima beans.
Here in the New Orleans area there are three seasons, hot and humid, warm and humid, and cool and humid. We have few frosts and even fewer short freezes. Once in a 10 to 15 year period there will be a freeze long enough to threaten citrus. The upside of this is we can grow all year long. There is time for a second crop of tomatoes. So maybe I can find redemption. We ate maybe two tiny tomatoes from my first crop before the armies of armoured stink bugs took over. Hand picking does not work. There were just too many of them. I am going to give it another try this fall and I am going to try planting earlier next year. Hopefully I can get in most of the crop before the plague o' stinkbugs shows. If this doesn't work, I am considering building a screen house. Kinda like a greenhouse except made of screen. Maybe this will allow me to grow tomatoes organically and actually eat some.
So far I haven't found a local resource that can provide me with all this information so I don't have to learn the hard way. C'mon Dan Gill, Give up the chemicals. Teach us how to grow Louisiana the healthy way...hmmm? Please!?
3 comments:
What a fun idea! I always buy a Christmas tree ornament from the places we visit. Now I'll have to start seeking out seeds & plants. My husband will give me that "you're crazy" look, but I think secretly love it ;)
wow one day I want to grow my on crop's!! =] love carmencita
This makes me laugh because you do sound like my little cookie grandmother. I didn't even realize you had written about pocketing plant snippings. Yes I can see it if you would have known my grandmother she would have probably called on you to go plant swiping....well not the entire plant but little snippets.
Funny.
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