Tulips care

Tulips care

Apr

21

Hippeastrum x Johnsonii

Filed Under Amaryllis, FLOWERS, Hippeastrum | Leave a Comment

hippeastrum x johnsonii

Neighbor: why does your Hippeastrum x Johnsonii looks exactly like my Amaryllis flower?

 

…That’s what the lady buying our organic eggs asked when she saw the grow and care instructions next to my new Hippeastrum flowers I got from one of my children last weekend.

 

Isn’t it all the same like taking care of a normal Amaryllis bulb?

 

Well, yes and no… The confusion starts in the name: almost all Hippeastra out there are sold under the name Amaryllis. Although in fact there is only one African Amaryllis which is native to South Africa and looks like this:

 

african amaryllis

South African Amaryllis of Amaryllis Belladonna with their typical pink flowers in late summer.

 

Most people blame the Dutch for the confusion, which explains the use of the name: Dutch Amaryllis in stead of Hippeastrum.

 

Amaryllis care instructions

 

Dutch amaryllis are perfect indoor container plants. They make marvelous flower gifts because they are beautiful and amongst the simplest of all flowering plants to grow. Normally an amaryllis will produce 2 to 4 flower stalks from their enormous bulb.

 

Pot the amaryllis bulb as soon as you get it in a pot not much larger than the bulb.

 

Use a well drained commercial potting mix and make sure the bulb is about 1/3 to half above the soil.

 

Keep the pot slightly moist until the bulb sprouts. In Case of amaryllis this means you will first get flowers and only then leaves. Make sure to place your amaryllis in a well lighted area to avoid stretching or tipping over.

 

After blooming you can plant your bulb in your garden.

 

How do I get an amaryllis to rebloom?

 

Bring the amaryllis bulbs back indoors in the fall before the first frost. Place them in a well lighted yet cool area (50-55°F / 10-13°C for 2 to 2 and a half month.

 

Put the bulb back in a pot as stated above and return the amaryllis to a warm, well lighted growing area. Like this, your amaryllis or to be correct your Hippeastrum could be nicely blooming around Christmas.

Apr

20

Tomato flowers

Filed Under FLOWERS | Comments Off

tomato flowers

Amazing how these cute little tomato flowers are at the origin of your next delicious tomato harvest. And you can grow your own tomatoes from the seeds of any tomato you buy in the shop, but you have to start now!

 

Grow tomatoes in pots

 

grow tomatoes in pots

 

We grow tomatoes in pots to give away to our children who live on apartments and of course we grow tomatoes in our own garden.

 

Wherever you grow them, now is the ideal time to start sowing tomatoes in little pots indoors or in a greenhouse.

 

Best of course is to buy the seeds from your florist, but if you feel like experimenting, you might as well take a tomato in your fridge and use the seeds inside. Just don’t be surprised that the tomatoes you harvest won’t look similar to the tomato you started with.

 

This is because lots of industrial grown tomatoes come from so called F1 hybrids: these seeds are used to produce a good tomato harvest without taking into consideration a next generation of tomato seeds from these tomatoes.

 

What we did is starting with tomato seeds from the shop ages ago and keep on harvesting some tomatoes just for their seeds. Heirloom tomatoes they call it: tomato varieties just grown by farmers or horticultural people like you and me from year to year.

 

Tumbling Tom and Topsy Turvy

 

All tomatoes start from seeds. We start sowing our tomato seeds indoors from the middle of March onwards till the end of April. Main thing is to keep them warm and for sure don’t put them outside in the frost.

 

If you grow tomatoes on your patio, balcony or any other sunny yet confined space, we recommend you buy tomato seeds from determinate or bush varieties. These tomatoes stop growing after about half a meter (2 feet) of height, but produce a great crop of tomatoes.

 

Tumbling Tom is a great tomato variety to grow in pots. If you are as adventurous as the people from the upside down tomato garden you can grow your tomatoes hanging upside down.

 

You can make your own upside down tomato planters or buy the ones from Topsy Turvy that come with an easy inbuilt water reservoir.

 

Main thing however is to start sowing your tomatoes now unless you want to start with "ready" tomato plants sold at your florist in the month of May.

 

Why May? Because depending on where you live, May in general is the month that night frost will top to occur. And tomatoes just can’t survive the frost.

Apr

15

How to start an organic garden

Filed Under Organic Gardening | Leave a Comment

how to start an organic garden

Enjoy living for 100 years by going 100% organic. Learn step by step how to start an organic garden.

 

One thing all the people have in common in the so called "earth blue zones" – zones where people tend to live and enjoy life above 100 years old – is eating organic food.

 

Part of their daily exercise to get their organic food is growing and cooking it themselves. Both gardening and cooking are known for relieving stress. And we all know that less stress means more years to live!

 

Before you start an organic garden

 

Before you start you have to remember that the rainforest has the most abundant and differentiated plant life on earth, without any pesticides nor fertilizers. The common idea behind going organics is:

 

If you know how to take care of nature,
nature will take care of you.

 

Of course you don’t want the whole rainforest growing in your garden. You need to start small and once you see your success, start expanding your garden until you are completely organic.

 

Do know that lots of seeds sold in shops are produced to be used with chemicals. If you can find seeds and plants from organic farmers and organic gardeners, you are already 1 step closer to eating healthy fruits and vegetables from your own garden.

 

Step by step starting an organic garden

 

1. Start now

 

Seriously: start today as you have already everything you need to become an organic gardener.

 

2. Choose a spot where you want to start your organic garden

 

Think small: you are not growing plants for a living, but you want to start living healthy. A small organic garden takes less work and fewer materials than a large one.

 

Be surprised: a well-maintained 4 feet by 4 feet garden (1.20m x 1.20m) can grow all of the fresh vegetables that one person will eat.

 

Even if you live on an apartment: a window box or a few containers can be your start for a perfect organic garden. I grow tomatoes in any pot I can get my hands on!

 

3. Make a compost pile.

 

how to make organic soil

 

Before we tell you how to make organic soil: this is a little compost corner in the tiny organic garden of one of my children.

 

Compost is the most essential part of your organic garden. It’s as essential as water and food is for you. Best of all, making compost is free and you have lots of compost ingredients available.

 

Compost is the main ingredient of a rich organic soil. Use almost any kind of organic material that you find in your garden – fallen leaves and weeds – and any uncooked organic vegetable waste from your kitchen.

 

4. Make more soil

 

The key to organic agriculture is organic soil with lots of compost. This soil is rich in living organisms, especially earth worms which are the best creatures worldwide to make organic fertilizer. Best of all: they work for free!

 

Add as much organic material to your soil as you can because :

 

  • compost feeds your plants without chemical fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers boost fast growth but don’t boost immunity therefore need chemical pesticides to survive. Compost fed plants grow slower because they also grow their own natural immune system.
     
  • compost loosens the soil, making it easier for you to shovel and easier for the roots to penetrate
     
  • compost improves both sand soil as clay soil to retain just an ideal amount of water and air to help your organic plants growing better.

   

5. Keep weeds under control

 

Remove any plants you don’t want to see in your garden. Give your produce a better start by seeding or planting them close together.

 

In a small garden, hand weed:

 

  • to reduce your own stress (it really works, try and see)
     
  • to remove the roots of perennial weeds that grow back
     
  • to carefully avoid uprooting the plants you do want.

 

dutch hoeIn a big organic garden, the utensil of choice is a Dutch hoe. It’s much easier and less tiring using a Dutch hoe compared to a traditional gooseneck style hoe.

 

My father always said: one good hoe is as good as one good watering. Meaning : hoe each area frequently enough to keep green weeds down and air the soil.

 

Make it difficult for weeds to grow:

 

  • plant thickly, particularly for ornamental or decorative areas. Companion plantings can fill in spaces in vegetable gardens: for more about companion plants, read My Organic Food Garden.
     
  • thickly mulch unplanted areas around plants and trees where you wish to have no weeds. Organic mulches include bark, wood chips and grass clippings. Mulch gradually breaks down and enriches the soil while controlling weeds.

 

6. Variety is king

 

Life brings life, it’s as simple as that in organic gardening.

 

ladybugInvite birds, worms, and friendly insects, for sure don’t kill ladybugs. Many creatures can help your garden. Learn which ones they friendly creatures are in My Organic Food Garden and arrange conditions to encourage them.

 

Your lawn goes against all rules of organic gardening; it’s a mono-culture. Consider sowing clover and other plants in, and don’t panic if a few weeds spring up.

 

If you have "too much lawn", consider using the area to grow organic chicken for the produce of organic eggs. You will earn some money in the process when you start selling your organic excess eggs you don’t consume yourself.

 

How to start an organic garden summarized

 

Always make the most of a small space and keep the example of the rain forest in mind: more variety is always better. Spaces that are planted thickly enough will leave no space for weeds to grow.

 

If you know how to take care of nature,
nature will take care of you

 

The basic rule for organic gardening is: variety is king. The basic ingredient for organic gardening is compost you make yourself for free.

 

Start on a small area and even in containers.

 

Learn more about how to start, grow, maintain and enjoy fruit and vegetables from your organic garden in My Organic Food Garden.

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