Hollywood,Blushing Bride and Ballerina Amaryllis

Amaryllis

These lovely amaryllises bloomed in early January. The Ballerina was very bright tangerine, double and frilly. It seemed like a smaller flower but it more than made up for that with quite a statement of color. Blushing Bride reminds me of Apple Blossom’s color but it has some different patterns and is lighter in color. The Hollywood Amaryllis is definitely showy with the decorative speckles showing behind the bloom as well.

Amaryllis Hollywood
Amaryllis Hollywood
Amaryllis Hollywood
Ballerina Amaryllis
Ballerina Amaryllis

French Quarter Red Okra Trial

Vegetable gardening

I am growing Red French Quarter Okra, Baby Bubba Okra, Dwarf Beefsteak Tomato F2, Golden Berry Peruvian ground cherry, ginger, and turmeric among an assortment of other garden and house plants. I also planted a single satsuma seed I found in what was a mostly seedless harvest of satsumas from a friend’s tree. I peeled the skin off the fresh seed and planted it hoping for the best.

Satsuma Seed
Red miniature Okra
Grow Room dwarf tomatoes and miniature okra
small beginnings
Dwarf Beefsteak F2

A look inside the Grow Room

General gardening

The house plants are loving their life in the cozy grow room. I have started some tomato, pepper, okra, and flower seeds recently. The golden berry plants were started from a grocery store golden berry a few months ago. I simply squished the ripe berry and planted the seeds in the soil. I watered them in and forgot about them. They spouted in 7 days. The orchids have actually started to bloom and I feel better about neglecting them last year. I am learning that if they are potted up correctly, fertilized occasionally, and most importantly in the right place they will thrive with very little care. I actually had these orchids placed on a ledge in the partial shade close to the house where they get mist from the rain but are not constantly drenched and they have done well. I will update and share the blooms later on.

New Seed Starts
Golden Berry Plant
Orchid budding
Orchid budding
Orchid budding

Sunflower Seed Reveal

General gardening

This is a review of growing Giganteous from Park seed. It actually is an F2 selection where I grew some out and picked the seeds from the largest flower to plant the following year. This thing got huge from growing in the compost pile. Next year, I will do the same thing by growing an assortment of seeds from this one and a few others to encourage genetic diversity and hardiness. The parent to this giant sunflower was not this big so I believe each seed is a little different from the parent and we will see various different results meaning I will grow enough to increase the chances of getting what I am looking for in a giant sunflower.

Sunflower Seeds Giganteous
This is a F2 selection
Sunflower Seeds Giganteous
Sunflower Giganteous Huge Stalk

Ice Bucket

General gardening, Vegetable gardening

I found this “ice bucket” to be amusing while checking on my vegetables. It resembles a shot glass but is actually was dumped out of a 5-gallon bucket covered in ice. Thank goodness the cabbage has survived high teens low twenties for days with a blanket covering them. I will not know the full outcome until next week after everything begins to grow again.

Ice close up
Ice close up
Ice bucket
Cabbage

Easy Simply Delicious Collard Greens

General gardening

No need for a recipe or slicing, dicing or chopping. Just cook them up and enjoy for every day.

Simply Delicious Collard Greens

To make simple collard greens collect a bunch of collards from your garden or buy them from the store. There is no chopping, slicing, or dicing in this recipe. Wash the collards well rinsing each leaf. You will see the sand collecting at the bottom of the sink. Let the water out and keep going until they are clean and then begin tearing the tender parts of the leaves away from the tough center stem. You can toss the tough stems into the compost pile. Take a pan and heat some bacon grease, light olive oil, or anything that will sautee well then start adding the collards a little at a time sauteeing them down until they are dramatically wilted down. I like to add salt and pepper, garlic, and onion powder. You can experiment with your favorite soup seasonings including onion soup mix, hot sauce, pepper flakes, and try a bouillon cube if you like. You can add bits of ham. Cover this with chicken stock or vegetable broth and simmer for about 15 minutes until tender and you have a wonderful side dish. If your greens have experienced cold weather like mine they will be super sweet and tasty!