Pōhutukawa - New Zealand Christmas Tree

I was very lucky to find a BBC Garden of the World series on YouTube. The series is called Around the World in 80 gardens. The first episode that I watched was about South America. Did you know that in the Amazon they grow their gardens in pots on the river? I watched the episode about Indian gardens, those were just amazing. Finally, I ended with gardens of Australia and New Zealand which brings me to the topic of this blog - Pōhutukawa - New Zealand Christmas Tree. 

The brush-like blooms of pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) add brilliance to a Northland beach in summer, and signal the arrival of Christmas. Related to guavas, feijoas and eucalypts, the pōhutukawa is a familiar sight on the northern North Island coastline, which is its natural range. It was favoured by early European boat builders as the timber provides natural curves and is immune to sea worms. The trees have since been planted in coastal areas throughout the country.

This tree blooms every December (summer time ), in New Zealand . The tree grew quite large and the blossoms were beautiful. I would love to have a couple of these trees one day. I came to discover that this plant does very well in parts of California.  If you are interested in buying seeds, here is a link to a New Zealand vendor. 

First Cute Little Potato Harvest

potato flower means it is soon time to harvest

I planted a single seed potato in one of my ten pound green planters from Lowes. It was my first time growing potatoes. I wanted to first discuss why I chose to grow potatoes instead of any other exotic herb or vegetable. Potatoes are a staple in our diet. They feed the poorest of the poor. They are starchy, versitile, and are used in any cuisine. I cannot think of a world cuisine that does not use potatoes.

Potatoes are easy to grow and can be stored for a very long time.They prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH factor of about 6. They should be planted in early spring, and the soil should be at least 45 degrees F. They should not be grown in the same soil year after year. I grow them in pots and my soil is always new, so crop rotation is not an issue here.

One week before planting, I set my seed potato on the dry warm balcony with full light to induce sprouting. Then I chopped up the sprouts, with the eyes or ´buds´ fully intact. The seed formed a thick callous over the cut which helped prevent it from rotting once planted. This is an important step that should not be over looked.

The best way to get more potatoes is to keep covering the plant with soil. Do not bury the plant entirely with soil. Leave just enough for the plant to push through. Some people do this with tires, others build potato boxes.

Why do wine makers plant mustard seeds in young vineyards?

Mustard planted in vineyard

Lately I have really been into wine making.

Unfortunately I do not  have the space to start making my own wine. All I can do is read books about it, and daydream about the day that I will be able to press my own grapes. As I was looking at vineyards, I noticed that many wine makers planted mustard seeds in the vineyards. In fact, in California´s wine country, many vineyards are awash in yellow mustard flowers.


When soil temperatures reach about 60 degrees, nematodes gear up to start damaging the vines. At this moment mustard seeds destroy the nematode reproductive cycle. Crisis Averted!

 The best type of mustard plants to grow are those with high levels of Glucosinolate, or extra spicy compounds. Examples of these are black mustard, nemfix mustard, ida gold mustard, oilseed radish, diakon radish and wild radish. Mustard plants help break down the nematode population just as they gear up to damage young vines. Young vines cam be very sensitive to nematodes.

Plants and Poison - Cherry Laurel Water

For the past few weeks I have been doing my family genealogy. At the same time, I have been watching a series Who Do You Think You Are, where a number of celebrities from the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom trace their ancestors. Today I watched an interesting episode about Alexander Armstrong. The episode I am referring to is featured below.

Armstrong is one of those rare people that come from an aristocratic family. One of ancestors was poisoned by something called Laurel Water. Before watching this episode I did not know what laurel water was, so I went straight to google. The Laurel plant is grown usually as a shading shrub but can be pruned into a tree. It is not uncommon for animals to die from this poison. Farmers need to be careful what kinds of plants they put on their property.

Growing 17 types of tomatoes!

I had no idea that there were so many varieties of tomatoes.

Cloning Ancient Trees

I few years ago an article was featured on Yahoo discussing a group of botanists, Archangel Project, who made it their life work to clone old growth trees. When I first learned about this project, I was amazed. I really hope others can appreciate the significance of this.

These images shows us 100 percent DNA of a living 2500 year old Giant Sequoia, over 200 feet tall with a circumference of 50 feet.

They have a presence on Facebook. There are other arborists that clone ancient trees. We can find them by conducting a quick google search. Today I learned that it is common practice to dip the cutting into rooting powder. This will stimulate root growth when the stem is planted directly into the dirt. I am very interested in cloning ancient trees.

If there is anything I would like to do before I die, that is clone African Shea Trees and make an orchard in Chihuahua Mexico.

Transplanted my Basil Plants Today

For the first time ever, I rooted Basil cuttings. My interest in rooting basil was peaked after I stumbled upon some online drama. Apparently, some guy claimed that his cutting rooted in one day. I had to find out for myself if that was possible.

This is what my basil looked like
 after a couple weeks

The rooting process is fairly simple.

1. cut off some fresh basil stems from your plant
2. put them in a cup of water
3. change the water once a week

i used two clear, empty jars of baby food to root my basil. After about two and one half weeks my cuttings finally started to root. This morning I planted them in nice, warm soil with the mother plant. This got me to thinking, how many plants are propagated by rooting, using this same process?

How to Root Pineapple

I had no idea how pineapple was planted, grown, or harvested. All I did know was that pineapple grew in Hawaii, and that the plant was engineered to fit into the Dole pineapple machines. They appear red, yellow, green and brown.

So how to propogate a pineapple plant? Go to the grocery store and buy a pineapple with healthy green leaves. Make sure that the leaves look strong and healthy. If the leaves are brown or orange, do not use it.

Grab the leaves and pull it out of the pineapple. Remove any additional flesh that comes out.

Washington State Blackberries Are Coming In

It is late July, for all of you living in Western Washington you know what that means. Blackberry season is coming! I took the boys down to the Marina yesterday with the double stroller. There are many more blackberry bushes in this area than where I lived last year. I say only five ripe berries, the rest of them were green. I would give it a few more weeks and blackberry season is here!

jobes tomato spikes

for spikes in each pot

I purchased some tomato spike fertilizers yesterday at Fred Meyer. They were very cheap. The ingredients are...


• 1.3% Water Insoluble Nitrogen 
• 0.9% Urea Nitrogen
• Available Phosphate 24%
• Soluble Potash 8% 

I can tell that my plants have a huge root system, and I need to repot them. With the babies, I do not have any time to do it. What will happen to my tomato plants if I do not get them into bigger pots? The pots currently have 3 to 4 cherry tomato plants.