Monday, March 30, 2020

Special Potting Soil

A couple of weeks ago I made a quick stop at a hardware store to get potting soil and fertilizer as I was concerned that it might be difficult to get them later on.  I didn't want to take any longer than necessary and grabbed a couple of bags of the first potting soil I saw.  A few days ago, I went to use it and looked more closely at the label :  "for all your weed needs"?  Then I noticed the "POT" at the top. So now I get it.  This is premium soil to grow your own pot at home since it is now legal in Canada. Very funny.  Anyway it seems like really nice potting soil and they claim it has extra minerals in it for a more bountiful crop. I'm sure my veggies will appreciate it.

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Pink Chinese Celery and more

 The pink Chinese celery is coming along well. There are several plants that could be potted separately I don't want to fill up my windowsills with celery so it will have to stay crowded until I can plant it outside.


 Many echinacea varieties are hybrids or patented but I was able to buy Green Twister echinacea seeds. So far about ten have sprouted so I'm pretty pleased. I saw individual plants selling for $8 so my packet at $3.50 is quite the bargain.  They may not have time to mature enough to bloom this summer but hopefully most of them will survive until next summer.

This is black-eyed Susan vine, a cheerful annual vine that blooms in shades of yellow, orange, and peach. These seedlings were starting to show roots at the bottom of the pot so I put them in a larger pot  To save some potting soil, I thought I would try just putting soil half-way up the peat pot. The vine doesn't seem to be making much in the way of side roots, and  if roots start poking out the sides, I can put more soil in then.
Years ago I bought some salpiglossis plants from a local nursery.  I loved the metallic veining and rich colours of the petunia-shaped flowers. They struggle with strong summer heat but I felt I wanted to give them a try again so I bought some seeds. The seeds are very small but they have sprouted like crazy. I have 7  2-1/2" peat pots of them and each one must have about 20 seedlings. Yikes, that's a lot of salpiglossis! They are not small plants like lobelia; they are more like pansies or petunias. I will try them where they get morning sun and afternoon shade where the sweet peas were happy last year.

I made some red lentil soup for lunch and it was quite tasty. I like making soup because it's not something you have to be precise about.  I used about 2 cups red lentils, 1 large sweet potato, 3 sticks celery, a small onion,  a third of a yellow pepper and seasoned it with salt, pepper, ginger, dried parsley. I put enough water in the pot to cover everything by 2" and simmered for 40 minutes. It made a thick, hearty soup. Other ingredients that would have worked with the lentils: squash, carrots, green beans, ground beef, chicken.

Hope you all stay well.

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Fancy Rocks - Museum of Nature

 Some rocks and crystals from the wonderful collection at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa.




I hope you are all keeping healthy. Every day brings changes here. The nursing homes are on lock-down which is sad but necessary. My mother can't read a letter or work a phone by herself, so I am left with messages given to the workers in the home to be passed on to her. We are cutting back on socializing and outings. At least the weather is sunny and going for a walk or a drive is pleasant. The people in the cities will have a rougher time of it.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Dinosaurs

 I was going to put up some more butterfly photos but I am feeling like a bit of a dinosaur today so I went with dino pictures from the Museum of Nature.

 Definitely experiencing some "hole in the head" moments myself.

I like this fellow. I think I feel a kinship with his ridiculous face.


 Going hither and yon. Lead the way fair dinosaur.

My physiotherapist told me I was walking improperly. Sigh! After all these years, I still need to  learn how to walk.



However, like this turtle-like dinosaur, I can float. Even old dinosaurs can swim:)