I sprouted a Mango!

Quite surprising, because Chris cut into the pit, and I salvaged what I could of the seed inside. Now, if only the avocados would sprout…

So my plans for experimenting with cold frames in the cold fell through, but I got a job doing research for a winter CSA on campus. I’ve also been trying out sprouting stuff lately. No pictures right now, but so far I’ve sprouted peanuts, lentils, garbanzo beans and the green alfalfa type sprouts you can buy at the grocery store (see www.sproutpeople.com). Its been fun and delicious though Jessi is allergic to many raw foods. Earlier tonight I planted some lettuce in a green planter we used for herbs last year. We’ll see if I can get lettuce to grow amongst the papayas. I want to get an earlier start on the garden this year and maybe have some stuff (lettuce, radishes, carrots, etc) ready for eating on my graduation party!

In my research for my on campus job I’ve found a lot of info on organic gardening including this website with lots of old, free books. I’ve been reading An Agricultural Testament by Albert Howard and Weeds: Guardians of the Soil by Joseph A. Cocannouer. Both are great, but I especially like the latter because he is advocating weeds.

The papayas are very upset. As you can see, they aren’t looking as great as they did last summer, and I’m slowly losing them. I’m hoping that a couple will survive and come back this summer, but I saved a bunch of the seeds and I just put them in dirt on a heating pad – so maybe I can start again.

The biggest mistake was waiting until the end of summer to put the papayas in gallon pots. They’re herbaceous, so they would have filled up the pots quickly had I put them there in the first place. So maybe this year’s seedlings will grow faster, and have a better chance of surviving next winter on account of them being so large. Who knows? I’m not a tropical gardener, just pretend to be one.

The medjool dates, however, are quite happy living inside this winter. I only started with two, and still have two – and they have even grown some.

Looking back at posts from last year, it seems we’re behind with our garden preparations this year. But I think we started the seeds way too early last year (as the giant April tomatoes will testify to), and we’ll have the seedlings upstairs this year where it’s warmer, so they should grow faster and fare better.

We talked about tilling up another area in the yard for an additional garden, but haven’t yet decided if we are going to or not. We also have talked about planning to sell this house (or rent it) by next spring and move out into the country. So maybe ripping up more of the yard right before trying to sell it wouldn’t be a great idea…