Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Rosemary and Pablano Update



Well, it has been a very busy couple of weeks. Yesterday we finally had some spring-like weather here, so things are starting to perk up outside. Still, it is amazing how far behind everything is from last year. Or maybe it’s just where it ought to be, since last year was an unusual case.

I thought I would update two of the projects I had going on in the seedling room. It turns out that the rosemary propagation method I tried (putting the stems directly into soil) didn’t work out well, as all of them dried up and died.

Sticking with the water this time around...
Not to be deterred, I decided to try putting new cuttings in water. I have rooted several plants in this way (purple passion in particular) and it has always worked. I’m happy to say that after about a week in the water the rosemary cuttings are just starting to show tiny roots, so in another couple of weeks they should be ready for dirt. If successful, I’ll likely do another batch so that I can dry some rosemary and leave one plant for fresh cuttings all year round.

On another note, I am happy to say that the poblano seeds that I sprouted on top of the Bunn coffee pot (which is always warm) have caught right up to the rest of the peppers despite being planted a solid 6 weeks later! After going in quite skeptical, I can say that I’m a believer in the plastic bag method. The backup poblano seeds that I planted just in case on the exact same day right in the potting soil have yet to sprout.

Pablanos have caught right up!
In other seedling news, the tomatoes are just starting to get a few true leaves. It’s amazing comparing 2012 to 2013 in terms of how far along things were last year. I think the major difference has been the lack of warmth, which has made the seedling room significantly cooler for most of the “spring” so far. This might be a blessing though, since I don’t foresee putting everything out in the first week of May this time around. Better to have smaller plants to transplant than massive juggernauts!

April 16, 2013
April 15, 2012
 Until next time, happy gardening!

4 comments:

  1. I found a link to your blog from the GW's Container Garden forum. How happy I am to find it. Have read all your posts on the first page and now am going to go to your past garden's section. Thanks for posting your experiences. It is an exciting time of year!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! It is an exciting time of year, especially since we finally got a halfway decent day today here in Buffalo, NY... Yesterday it was snowing with 50 MPH winds!

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  2. I totally agree with the first commenter. Found your blog today and have loved the last two posts. (Will definitely be reading through previous posts over time). Thanks for all the details.

    So glad you posted on what worked in propagating your rosemary. This was something I've tried before with no luck. I always thought it was too woody to place in water, so I'm happy to see this method yielded results. (Currently, I have some seeds, just waiting to pick up some soil. Hoping for better results this time around).

    Thanks again,
    Anna

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  3. I started these plants from seed last year, and since they grew well I just brought them inside for the winter and placed them in a bright sunny window.

    The rosemary cuttings in the water are working fairly well, as one of them has very long roots and is ready to go into soil (I'll post an update on that this weekend).

    Thanks again for stopping by!

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