Lunar planting, anyone?

In the last meeting with the gardening group, the subject of lunar planting, or gardening by the phases of the moon, was brought up. That was actually in the context of a much broader discussion regarding the definition of "technology" - how certain types of knowledge is gradually made illegitimate, its practitioners invalidated, just because it is no longer compatible with the current concepts and notions of "modernity" and "science". But this warrants another separate, and definitely long, post.

So, I was saying, the subject of lunar planting was brought up. Personally, I had heard about the concept, but never looked deeply into it or properly researched it. Since I am reviving my spring garden, and having some plants (old and new) in need of potting-on, I thought I would check whether doing it at the time was inline with good lunar gardening practices. Seeing that we were in the last quarter, and that this phase of the moon is deemed particularly suitable for that kind of activity since root growth is promoted, I went ahead with the potting-on curious whether I would notice any different results than before (I had never observed the moon phase in any of my gardening activities).

The repotted plants do seem not to have lost as much of their sheen and vitality (if at all) as they usually do after this strenuous transition, but I am not sure how objective an observation that is and whether I am simply eager to see any results from this newly applied knowledge.

I have yet to sift through the wealth of material and sources I found online on the subject and to properly research it - I will probably want to share the useful information I find; but for now I am curios to know how novel or not lunar gardening is to you, do you plan your gardening activities around the moon phases? Would you? Take the poll below and see where others stand on the subject.

I am finding the green.

So I am finally reviving this blog, and my gardening activities. My gardening projects for the past two seasons did not come to fruition (no pun intended - quite literally too really). I know I should attempt a lessons learnt list of sorts but possibly that warrants a dedicated separate entry; however, in this post, I would like to focus on the new plans for this gardening season: spring is upon us, it is already warming up here and I am a few weeks behind in starting the seeds, but I can't be any more excited about this project.

I am now a proud member of التعاونية الزراعية المنزلية (وِرْوِر) - the charmingly named "Domestic Agricultural Cooperative (Wer'wer)" - a group of Cairo based gardening enthusiasts and wanna-be urban farmers brought together by a friend of mine. We've already had a first meeting, and despite having the camera on me for the specific purpose of taking a photo to share in this post, I just somehow didn't get around to snapping that shot. 

In addition to all the potential activities and plans we discussed, I also have some pending ones of my own, which I am hoping to be starting and documenting here soon enough.

In all cases, I am also hoping to develop this blog into a collaboration tool for our gardening group (in addition to others like a calendar an mailing list), and am so looking forward to comparing notes and getting feedback and sharing experiences with other fellow gardeners and friends in my city. So I think I will be posting here more regularly again. And I am feeling good about it.

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is now.
 

new seedlings, more veggies

So I had been away over the weekend. Before I took off, I had started a number of seeds (on the same day that I sowed some carrot seeds). Returning home, I was so happy to find that the okra and zucchini (batch 2) seedlings have emerged.

Growing Carrots

On my last trip to Ahmed Maher Street, I got some more crop seeds to start. This post is about carrots and starting them. Carrots can be started about any time of the year, but early spring and early summer, yielding summer and fall crop respectively, are the most important planting times as they give the most flavorful carrots.

Carrots are not a fruit in that they are a root crop: the edible part is the taproot (although the greens are sometimes eaten too). They are biennial, completing their life cycle in two years; during the first one, the vegetative state, the leaves, stems, and taproot (which we harvest) grow to store the necessary sugars and nutrients for the flowering in the second year (for more details about plant anatomy and their life cycle you can check out this post).

Being that August has already started, now is not necessarily the time to grow the most delicious of carrots, but they are among the most adaptable crops that are tolerant of mismanagement - so I am eager at trying my hands at growing them in a container. In this post I detail how and include a factsheet containing key information you will need to start yours.

Ready, set, TRANSPLANT!

In my last post I announced the transplant of my first seedlings (yes!). In this entry, I want to share my experience in starting the seeds and caring for the seedlings, the lessons learned, as well as hands-on tips and practical advice to guide you through transplanting the seedlings.

First Seedlings Transplanted!

This is an entry I so have been waiting to post: on the evening of July 30, and with guidance from my father, I transplanted my first seedlings! (excitement, excitement!)
Unfortunately, I don't have many decent photos to complement this post: I started work around sunset to spare the young plants, and myself, the ardor of the Cairo daytime sun; armed only with a point-and-shoot for snapshots, I needed to use the flash by the time I was done - not necessarily the best way to go when you are after nice close-ups.

The transplanted seedlings are very well settled in their new permanent home. I will be following up this entry with a post discussing my experience so far in growing the seedlings successfully, as well as some mistakes I made (I did lose a number of seedlings), and I will also detail how to correctly transplant the seedlings including all the useful tips I got from my father. Here's to a fruitful growing season!

Chili, Chili

This entry is about chili (or hot peppers), one of the crops I have always been so excited about planting; and not that I am such a big fan of sharp food, but I think I like the idea of an ordinary perennial, that is fairly commonly kept as an ornamental house plant, producing as an offspring a spicy, and therefore, I guess, interesting, fruit.

And so, I am excited about the seedlings and this entry. In the post, I am embedding the by now habitual factsheet following the same template of the previously posted ones. Like aubergines, chili is well suited as a container or house plant, especially in our climate. With an optimum growth temperature ranging between 24 and 32 deg C, now is practically an ideal time to easily start the seeds succefully in Cairo. So if you are interested in growing your own, check this entry.

Aubergine, Aubergine

So, as I excitedly posted earlier: more planted seeds germinated. I was waiting for chili to germinate before announcing that the eggplants seedlings had emerged because, for some reason, I am more excited about growing chili.
This post is about starting the eggplants, they being the first to germinate and all.

Now is a good time to start aubergines, a crop that grows well in containers and that, in warm conditions like Egypt's, will also grow as a perennial - so, I guess if they fail to produce fruit, mine can always function as ornamental plants, provided they make it successfully to the transplant stage. Here I share how they are faring so far; you will also find a factsheet in the same format as the previous one.

New Seedlings: Presenting the Solanaceae Family

On June 15, the first eggplant seedlings emerged. Big news in this blog's world.
Only my excitement was damped a little by the fact that my chili seeds (sown on the same day and under the same conditions as the eggplants) had not germinated yet. I had somehow always known eggplants and peppers to be related (they are in fact from the same family) and therefore wrongly assumed that they take the same germination period.

I was relieved to learn that chili, peppers in general, does have a longer germination period than eggplants. However, I still wouldn't post an announcement until the eggplant seedlings were joined by chili. And today I am happy to announce that this morning I spotted a couple of emerging chili seedlings, eleven days after their planting.

Coming up are posts about starting chili and eggplant seeds that will contain factsheets in the same format as the previous ones. Eggplants and chili grow well in containers, so if you are looking to grow your own container vegetable garden, here's a crop to start.

Propagation for Fun - Growing Ananas

Growing your own ananas is easy as one, two, three. Quite literally too. Check out the post for the three simple steps to starting an ananas, or pineapple, plant and a couple of photos as well.

Courgette, Courgette

So, as per my last notification, my zucchini seedlings emerged on June 12, four days after planting. I can happily state that, so far, all seeds sown are progressing exactly as they should be; I don't know if this is because starting these seeds is a foolproof business, or because I am doing it right. For the case it is the latter, here is a post about my experiences starting zucchini from seed so far.

In this post, you will find a factsheet in the same format as the previous one. In addition to the details about starting the seeds and their progress, the post also includes photos of the seedlings and some observations about zucchini as a container garden crop.

Zucchini, the New Kid on the Block

I want to announce that on June 12 I first spotted the zucchini seedling above ground. These seedlings grow big! An entry with photos detailing their progress so far and a downloadable factsheet to help you start your own will be posted soon.

Cantaloupe Germination: Emergence of a Seedling

It's the emergence of many actually, just thought the singular made for a better title. I am so excited. As I last posted, barely three days after I had started the seeds, the cantaloupe seedlings were already emerging from the soil. Cantaloupe is cited in many sources as being a seed that readily germinates; but I was still surprised by that rate. I also placed some seeds between two damp towels in a sealed bag in the fridge, as I had learned this can be done to accelerate germination - I am not sure how much speeding up I can add to an already pretty fast rate. Nonetheless, I do intend on planting the cooled seeds after a week or so and comparing the germination time in both cases. In this post, I try and summarize all the relevant information I came across about starting and growing cantaloupes, you can also view the factsheet here (embedded below).

Starting Seeds - An Introduction

Starting plants from seed is an exciting pursuit for any aspiring gardener. Whether you choose to grow food crops as a healthy supplement to your kitchen, or ornamental varieties to compliment your display, that - usually quite impatient - wait that starts the moment you bury the seed will more often than not be rewarded by the magic of a seedling emerging from soil.
This week, I have started a number of seeds.

In this entry, I write a general introduction about what you need to consider when starting your own seeds. I will be following up with detailed posts and factsheets about each of the crops and varieties I have started. Currently, the focus of these posts will be on container gardening.