You can use this DIY neem oil spray recipe to get rid of bugs on your plants in your outside garden. If needed, it is also safe to use on plants in an inside garden. This DIY Neem Oil Spray is an all-natural organic bug spray. Therefore, it can be used to spray plant leaves in an edible garden. It is one of the supplies recommended on the gardening supplies for beginners page.
The DIY Neem oil spray recipe should be sprayed on your plants leaves in the evening after the sun sets. In this way, the leaves will have time to absorb the oil before they are exposed to the sun again. Spray both the tops and the bottoms of your infested leaves.
Repeat every 2-3 weeks as a preventative or maintenance measure.
Repeat as often as needed on plants that are infested with insects.
Water
Warm water is needed to help the mixture blend together when shaken. Plus, you do not want to shock your plants by spraying them with a cold water. You can use rainwater, faucet water, or distilled water.
Neem Oil
Azadirachtin is the active ingredient in Neem oil. Heat destroys the active ingredient. Therefore, a cold-processed concentrated Neem oil is required to make an effective DIY Neem oil spray.
Dish Soap
The dish soap is needed to quickly and easily balance the chemistry of this DIY Neem oil spray. By themselves, oil and water do not mix. Therefore, an emulsifier is needed to help the ingredients blend together. A small amount of Dawn liquid dish detergent is added to help the two main ingredients blend together.
Spray Bottle
When filling up your 1-liter spray bottle, remember to leave some room at the top to add the oil, the soap, and the sprayer. Most plants have a lot of leaves, so you want to get a spray bottle with a good sprayer.
Scale
If you get a 1-liter spray bottle, a scale will not be needed unless you want to make a smaller DIY Neem oil spray recipe. Then, the digital food scale can come in handy.
In Summary
This is a quick and easy recipe to make to help keep the plant eating insects out of your garden. You can find more gardening ideas on the gardening page. This concludes the DIY Neem oil spray recipe.
If you viewed the post from last Saturday, you got a brief update on the winter garden. I am going to share what I have planted for the spring garden in this post in case you want to plant some of the fruits and vegetables along with me.
While scouting fruits and vegetables that could be grown for spring, I came across a few spring gardening ideas that some of you may really like! But, for now, let’s just stick with the seeds that can be planted in your container garden. I just happen to come across some survival gardening seed collections online that the seller recommended placing in your DIY emergency backpack. That is something that I had not thought about doing. But it sounds like a good idea. So, if you are interested in that, I will include a link or two at the bottom of this post.
Currently In the Garden
Avocado Seeds – The avocado seeds were planted with the goal of growing at least one avocado tree in a container. So, the avocado seeds should be a very interesting development. So, keep an eye out for the post on how to grow avocados from seed. There are avocado tree growing kits available online.
Soybean Seeds – The soybean seeds are a complete source of plant-based protein and one of the few that do not contain a lot of carbohydrates. So, if you do not need or want to be on a low carbohydrate diet or a keto diet, you can plant a different bean with more carbohydrates. Based on my preliminary research, soybean plants are not the easiest to maintain. But you can look out for how to grow soybeans from seed to see what happens once the seeds sprout.
Eggplant Seeds – Eggplants can be used to prepare such delightful healthy meals. So, I planted a few eggplant seed to get started. They are sensitive to temperatures above 95 degrees. So, living in southeast Texas, the window of opportunity for growing eggplants is pretty slim. Nevertheless, the seeds are in a container. Therefore, you can look out for how to grow eggplants from seed to see how it goes.
Bell Pepper Seeds – I have successfully grown bell peppers once from a starter plant. But this year bell pepper seeds were planted. So, keep an eye out for how to grow bell pepper from seed.
Jalapeño Seeds – Jalapeños are a delicious, spicy green pepper that can be prepared in a variety of ways and served with many things. A few jalapeño seeds were planted in containers as well. Hopefully, the post on how to grow jalapeños from seed will be available soon.
Roma Tomatoes – The Roma tomatoes are incredibly easy to start growing from seed! In fact, one of the Roma tomato seeds are already sprouting from the seeds that were harvested last year. The Roma tomato is a bush variety. Therefore, unlike the vining type of tomatoes, the plant will grow to a certain size both vertically and horizontally and then stop. This may be the year I get to sharehow to grow tomatoes from seed!
Strawberry Seeds – Hoping to harvest strawberries this spring or summer, I transplanted a strawberry plant from the store into a container. Later, I came across a strawberry grow kit. So, you can see how to plant strawberry seeds with a grow kit.
This is just one survival gardening seed collection. However, there are a variety of gardening seed kits that you can currently choose from. If you are just getting started, you may be interested in learning more about container gardening for beginners or gardening for beginners. There you will find step-by-step guides on how to get started gardening. That is all for now! You can find affordable gardening supplies in small bulk orders here. Hopefully I will be able to share pictures of the spring garden soon.
Learning how to grow rosemary from seed is simple with this little how to guide. You will see from this post, that rosemary is one of my favorite herbs to work with. It is a very fragrant piney scented herb that you will grow to love. It not only has a wonderfully fresh clean smell, it has many beneficial health properties that can be captured in a variety of different ways. Fortunately, it can be grown indoors in containers all year long.
How to Use Rosemary
Once you learn how to grow rosemary from seed, you can easily make your own antioxidant-rich rosemary tea. In addition to being used to make tea, rosemary is also a very popular culinary herb used in many cultures for cooking.
Rosemary is a cousin of lavender. While they do not smell anything alike, their fragrances compliment each other very well in a variety of ways. For example, Herbs de Provence is a culinary blend prepared with multiple spices that include dried rosemary and dried lavender. This blend is then sometimes fused into an extra virgin olive oil resulting in an Herbes de Provence Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It is wonderful with meats and tomato sauces. Discovering how to grow rosemary from seed will allow you to make your own rosemary olive oil fusions.
Then too, another one of my favorite ways to use rosemary is in DIY body and DIY face products like shampoos, hair balms, soaps, lip balms, and face wash for mature skin. The DIY rosemary soap is one of my favorite smelling DIY soap bar recipes. It is made in part with dried rosemary leaves and lavender.
With its fragrant aroma and potent antibacterial properties, rosemary is also an excellent choice for DIY Teeth Cleaner products as well. Rosemary is used to prepare one of the DIY oil pulling recipes, herbal tooth powders, and mouthwash tablets. So, I am excited to share this little guide on how to grow rosemary from seed. Let’s get started.
Growing Conditions
Rosemary is not a heavy feeder, therefore there are not many additional nutrients required for plant growth. It prefers a slightly acidic soil with a pH between 6-7. While not a heavy feeder, rosemary does need direct sunlight for 6-8 hours each day. When growing in pots, it is recommended that you water the plant once a week. When planted in the ground, you may only need to water it every two weeks.
Temperature Requirements
GERMINATION:Rosemary seeds germinate best at a consistent temperature between 70 and 80oF with moist soil. The dome for the seed germinating tray should be used to allow sunlight.
GROWTH: Once the seeds germinate, the rosemary plant prefers to grow at temperatures between 55-85oF.
TOLERATES: Most types of rosemary cannot tolerate temperatures below 30oF.
Plant Depth & Spacing
Place the rosemary seeds in loose soil. Then cover the seeds with a thin layer of dirt. Pat the dirt gently to ensure seed contact with the soil. Now water the seeds with a water diffuser of some sort to avoid displacing the seeds. Cover the container to retain moisture and maintain the temperature required for germination.
When transplanting in soil, you can do so after the rosemary plants have 4 true leaves. It is recommended by some, that the rosemary plants are spaced 18-24 inches apart in an in ground garden.
Days to Germination
Rosemary seeds were planted in a container about 2.5 weeks ago. It can take up to 3 weeks (21 days) to germinate rosemary seeds. However, one of the three rosemary seedlings popped up in just under 2 weeks with no signs of the other two at 2.5 weeks (17 days).
Day 12: One seedling started emerging.
Day 14: The same seedling with some maturity. No sign of others.
Day 25: Still only one seedling. The leaves are a little larger and starting to separate making room for a second set of leaves to grow. No sign of a second set of leaves thus far.
Day 32: A second set of tiny leaves are visible.
Day 12Day 14Day 25
Days to Harvest
Rosemary is a very slow growing herb. It may take up to 3 months (90 days) before you get your first harvest. While you can grow rosemary from cuttings, it is a good idea to know how to grow rosemary from seed as well.
You may also enjoy learning how to grow more cool season edibles:
You may also like gardening or gardening for beginners. Please subscribe via email to get the latest blog posts and latest pictures on how to grow rosemary from seed. You can learn something new everyday. This concludes how to grow rosemary from seed.
Learning how to grow cilantro from seed can add some fresh flavor to your recipes! While cilantro from the store is usually fresh, it goes bad relatively quickly. Just when you thought you had fresh cilantro to use in the refrigerator, it can frequently leave you hanging.
This delicious leafy green is one of my favorite fresh herbs to use. It is enjoyed mostly in fresh mixed salads and fresh homemade salsas. Fresh cilantro makes an excellent addition to tomato, avocado, or shrimp salsas. However, while preferred fresh, there are numerous ways to cook with fresh cilantro leaves as well. Then too, fresh cilantro makes a lovely green garnish or topping for all kinds of savory Mexican foods and Indian foods.
Growing Conditions
I had no success with growing cilantro from cuttings, so learning how to grow cilantro from seed is definitely the way to go! Cilantro grows best in moist, well-drained, nitrogen-rich potting soil with a pH between 6.2 – 6.8. It requires full sun for 6 or more hours each day in the cooler months. As the temperatures rise, you can shade them to delay bolting. warmer, they will need to be shaded receiving only partial sun.
Temperature Requirements
GERMINATION: Cilantro seeds can germinate best at temperatures around 70oF.
GROWTH: Cilantro is a cool season crop. Therefore cilantro grows in temperatures ranging between 50-85oF.
TOLERATES: Cilantro can thrive very well in temperatures as low as 10oF! Living in a region with really mild winters, the cilantro can likely grow indoors or outdoors during the entire winter and spring. However, cilantro will bolt in warmer weather by flowering and producing coriander seeds. Bolting will start to occur once the temperature reaches 85oF.
Planting & Spacing
Cilantro can grow to be about 2 feet tall. Fresh green cilantro leaves are grown from edible coriander seeds. Direct seeding is the recommended planting method when learning how to grow cilantro from seed because the seedlings develop a tap root that does not like to be transplanted. If directly seeding in the ground in an outdoor garden, plant the seeds in a row with 6 – 8 inches between them. The row spacing will need to be about 1 foot apart.
Cilantro is a container friendly indoor herb. When planting in containers for indoor or outdoor gardening, the seed spacing is not that crucial. Cover the top layer of soil with the coriander seeds and then cover them with a thin layer of dirt. The cilantro leaves can grow and develop well without having much space in between. This is a 6 or 7-inch pot used for indoor gardening with 8 seeds ready to be lightly covered in miracle grow potting soil.
Coriander SeedsCrushed Coriander Seeds
Days to Germination
The days to germination can vary significantly based on how you prepare the coriander seeds and the soil. You can plant the coriander seeds as is from the package to let the seeds germinate from inside the hull in about 14-21 days.
Research shows that you get a faster germination rate by gently crushing the hull of the coriander seeds between your fingers before planting in soil. The cilantro leaves will grow from one or sometimes two small seeds inside the hull of the coriander seeds. Either way, gently crushing the coriander seeds will keep the soil from having to break down the hull on the coriander to get to the one or two seeds inside. Therefore, the cilantro seedlings may start to emerge in as little as 7 days. So that is basically how to grow cilantro from seed.
Cilantro is ready to harvest in 60-90 days. You can start harvesting cilantro a few different ways. First, if you are harvesting to share or to sell the cilantro, you will basically just cut the small bush of cilantro about 1/3 of the way down. The remaining leaves will continue to grow as long as conditions are ideal. A second way is to just cut the leaves you want or need to add to your food. And the third way is to trim an entire stems. If done properly, this will turn out to be another cut and come again method for harvesting once you have discovered the simplicity of how to grow cilantro from seed.
Cilantro is a short lived herb. Harvesting it frequently will greatly encourage it to keep producing. When the temperature starts getting warm, you can harvest as many leaves as possible for drying and making it into a dried cilantro. When it bolts, you can eventually harvest the edible coriander seeds to use for seasoning food or for growing more cilantro when the weather becomes cool again.
Day 6: A single seedling is visible just below the soil surface with minimal lighting.
Day 7: Half the seedlings are visible just below the soils surface with minimal lighting.
Day 10: Currently 5 of 8 seedlings are above the soil surface with 4 clearly shown.
Day 14: No signs of true leaves yet. Still only 4 seedlings clearly shown. One still tucked away just below the soil surface.
Day 21: The 5th seedling finally made its debut! It came in strong as it is already the same size as the others. The true cilantro leaves are coming in.
Day 10Day 14Day 21 (True Leaf)
If you enjoyed learning how to grow cilantro from seed, you may also enjoy learning how to grow more cool season edibles:
Learning how to grow bok choy from seed is an excellent place to start learning gardening for beginners in the cooler months. When you are just getting started with gardening, it can be discouraging when it takes longer than you would like to see the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor. Well, if you have experienced this feeling in the past or recently, learning how to grow bok choy from seed is for you!
You will discover that learning how to to grow bok choy from seed is really easy. I planted the fast-growing baby choi seeds for this biennial about four days ago and the seedlings are already standing tall with four small leaves. There are many simple name variation for this Chinese cabbage. The term choi or choy means vegetable while pak, bak or bok means white. There are other minor variations with the word for white ending with c instead of k.
A “bok choy” is a fully grown cabbage with a slightly bitter, leafy green taste. The stem is juicy and crunchy. Since a baby choi cabbage is not grown to size, it has a smaller and more tender stem. While you may see the same type of bok choy or baby choi at your local grocery store, there are different varieties. I am growing the baby choy variety shown in the pictures.
You can eat this Chinese cabbage raw in salads and slaws. Or, it can be sautéed or steamed for a delicious stir fry or side dish. So, let’s get started with how to grow bok choi from seed!
Growing Conditions
The bok choy needs fertile, well-drained, nutrient-rich soil to grow. It prefers a slightly acidic soil with the pH ranging between 6.0-7.0. As a leafy green, it will need adequate nitrogen and sunlight to grow well.
Temperature Requirements
GERMINATION: The seeds will typically germinate quickly. However, it can take up to 10-21 days depending on the soil conditions and the temperature.
GROWTH: Bok choy plants thrive at temperatures between 55-70oF.
TOLERATES: Bok choy will bolt if exposed to temperatures below 50 degrees and it will also bolt when it gets too warm. So this is a factor to keep in mind when learning how to grow bok choy from seed.
Planting & Spacing
You can directly plant the bok choy seed in the ground or in seed starting trays. The spacing will depend on the variety and when you intend to harvest. If you intend to harvest the leaves when they are young and tender, less spacing is generally needed. When growing to full size, more space will be needed based upon the variety.
I initially planted four of the baby choi seeds in a 6-inch container with a potting mix and watered well. The three seedlings that are currently doing well will get transplanted into their own 4.5 inch containers to finish growing the baby choi.
Days to Germination
The seed package for the baby bok choi says that the seeds will germinate in 10-21 days. However, the seedlings started popping up in 2 days. So, you may almost be ready to harvest baby greens in 3 weeks, not waiting on the seedlings to emerge. It turns out that this is not the bok choy variety shown on the package. I kept waiting for the stalk to form and it never did. With a little research, the one shown appears to be a B. rapa chinensis variety that does not form a stalk. The picture of the containers of boy choy (30++) is a picture after the bok choy had been harvested. So, that is a picture of the second set of bok choy leaves.
Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 10Day 16Day 24Day 24Day 30+ Day 30++ (Post Harvest)
Days to Harvest
After germination, you can often harvest your full grown bok choi in 5-8 weeks. However, this will depend on the variety. To harvest, simply cut the entire bok choi just above the soil line.
If harvesting just the tender baby leaves, you can do so when they are about 6 inches tall at around 4-5 weeks. In this case, just cut the leaves to enjoy in a salad, soup, or stir fry.
This plant can also be harvested using a cut and come again method. Instead of cutting the entire bok choi above the soil line, cut it about 1 inch above the base of the plant leaving about 1 inch of the stem in the ground. In this way, the plant will keep growing back.
Learning how to grow spinach from seed is a really easy thing to do! Spinach is basically an edible green plant with an annual production cycle. So, it does not re-grow from year to year. There are three main types of spinach: (1) savoy, (2) semi-savoy, and (3) flat leaf. The types refer to the fact that the spinach leaves can be either (1) curly, (2) semi-curly, or (3) flat. The spinach shown in the picture below is a flat leaf spinach.
There are many different varieties of spinach that can fall under these three categories. So, generally speaking, as you learn how to grow spinach from seed, spinach grows in the sun with cool temperatures. When the summer heat arrives, spinach bolts leaving you with a flower that will have some seeds that you can harvest and replant when the weather cools. But before bolting, the remaining spinach leaves may start to become bitter in taste and tough in texture. In this way, you will know that it is about to bolt.
When learning how to grow spinach from seed, it is a good idea to re-check the seed package for instructions related to that particular seed variety. I planted the Giant Noble Spinach seeds. This is a large mostly flat leafed semi-savoy spinach. The leaves are among the largest spinach leaves that you can grow. The leaves are dark green, tender, and crumply. It is a heavy producing spinach variety that can be eaten raw in salads, cooked, canned, or frozen. So, let’s get to the details on how to grow spinach from seed.
Growing Conditions
Spinach grows best in moist, well-draining, nitrogen-rich potting soil with a pH between 6.5 -7.5. In the cooler fall, winter, and spring months, spinach likes and needs full sun. As the weather gets warmer, they will need to be shaded receiving only partial sun. The spinach plant can grow about 10 inches high.
Temperature Requirements
GERMINATION: Spinach seeds germinate best at temperatures around 50oF.
GROWTH: The spinach plants prefer to grow at temperatures between 45-65oF in the spring or fall-like weather.
TOLERATES: Spinach is able thrive very well in cold weather as it can tolerate temperatures as low as 20oF! Living in a region with really mild winters, the spinach can likely grow straight through the winter months and spring months. Then, the spinach will promptly bolt at the first sign of intense summer heat.
Planting & Spacing
Spinach seeds can be transplanted or directly seeded. When transplanting, you can sow the seeds in individual plant cells. The biodegradable plant cells can be used to reduce root damage when transplanting into the ground.
When directly seeding or planting directly into the ground, sow the spinach seeds at a 1/2 inch depth. It is recommended that you sow the seeds every 1 or 2 inches in a row. Then, as the seedlings mature, uproot some of the plants in order to leave a 6-12 inch space between each maturing plant. This is done so that each plant can reach their full growth potential. The uprooted spinach plants can be eaten.
With all that said, I have seen a gardener sprinkle a small, but very generous handful of seed in a raised garden bed, then covered the seeds with a very thin layer of soil, and then patted the soil down to make sure the seeds made good contact with the soil. This will result in a bush of spinach.
So, if planting seeds directly in the ground or in raised beds, there are a variety of spacing recommendations. Therefore, you can do what you think will work best for you and your space for gardening.
Learning how to grow spinach from seed also encompasses determining how many plants you want or will need to grow. I directly seeded the spinach in a large window plant container. The seeds were planted with about 5-inches in between them. If the seedlings sprout and do well, I may sow more seeds in 12-inch round containers or perhaps transplant them into their own larger container to maximize their growing potential.
Days to Germination
The giant noble spinach germinates in 6-21 days. So, you may have seedlings in a little less than a week. Or, you may be patiently waiting up to three weeks for the seeds to start growing. I planted four seeds in a container indoors. They were given partial sun (at best) and then gently watered most days. Here are the current results.
Day 5: One of the four seedling sprouted. However, it was accidently destroyed while adding soil. The spinach seedlings are very delicate, the stem snapped in two when dirt fell on it. So, keep this in mind when your spinach seedlings start emerging. The root was already deep, so it is a deep rooting plant.
Day 12: All four had finally emerged.
Day 28: The three remaining seedlings are all still green. However, with such slow growth, it has been a lesson on poor indoor lighting and a pour container selection. Last night I switched the two strongest looking seedlings to larger clay pots that have larger air holes at the bottom. They were then watered and placed under a lamp for some extra care. Hoping to get a relatively late harvest from the strongest one shown.
Day 37: The poor container choice and lack of sunlight stunted the growth of this “giant” noble spinach from seed significantly. But the new clay pot has made a difference – it’s actually growing!
Day 13Day 28Day 35
Days to Harvest
That is basically how to grow spinach from seed! You can start harvesting “baby” giant noble spinach leaves from the outer edge of the plant when the leaves are about 3 inches. You can harvest the entire plant in 25-50 days depending on its size and the temperature. The giant noble spinach leaves can grow quite large while remaining tender with a pleasant taste. However, when the weather starts getting warm, you will want to harvest what you want before the spinach become tough and bitter as it starts bolting.
You may also enjoy learning about these cool season edibles:
Please subscribe via email to get the latest blog posts and the updated spinach pictures. If interested in gardening for beginners, you may also want to visit the main gardening page for more gardening ideas. When ready, you can start perusing the nutrients required for plant growth. You definitely do not have to learn everything all at once, but you can learn something new everyday. For now, this concludes how to grow spinach from seed!
You can quickly learn how to grow parsley from seed with this simple instruction guide. I enjoy cooking with and using fresh parsley to garnish some of my food recipes. But the grocery store parsley that gets stored in the refrigerator wilts and can sometimes leave you hanging when you need it. I have tried to root parsley from cuttings in the past with no success. So I had to learn how to grow parsley from seed. Today I finally planted some Italian Dark Green Parsley Seeds in a container.
Growing Conditions
Parsley needs full sun to grow in mild climates. But it may need partial shade if grown in a really warm climate. Parsley grows best in nutrient-rich moist well-drained soil. Therefore, the soil used should be a vegetable potting mix to ensure that the parsley has the nutrients required for plant growth. The soil should be kept moist until the parsley develops a strong root system. Then it can be watered once or twice a week giving the soil time to dry before the next watering.
Once the parsley grows roots, the roots should not be disturbed. Therefore, if you intend to transplant the parsley, it may be a good idea to sow a single seed in 1-inch seed germinating cells. In doing so, the roots are not disturbed by adjacent developing seedlings when you transplant the parsley.
Temperature Requirements
GERMINATION: Parsley seeds germinate best at temperatures between 65-75oF.
GROWTH: The plants prefer to grow at temperatures between 50-70oF.
TOLERATES: It can tolerate temperatures as low as 20oF!
Plant Depth & Spacing
Parsley should be planted at a 1/4 inch depth. The suggested row spacing may be somewhere in between 12 – 20 inches apart. But the spacing will vary based on the type of parsley that you are planting. So, just check the seed package for specific guidelines. I planted a container seed variety that suggests a 12-inch pot. However, I do not need a ton of parsley, so I am only trying to germinate a few seeds in a 6-inch pot.
Days to Germination
As mentioned in the post about what to plant in winter garden season, parsley seeds typically take a long 3-4 weeks to germinate! However, there are at least a couple of things you can do to speed up the germination rate. You can soak the seeds in warm water and store them in a warm room for about 24 hours before sowing the seeds in the soil. Another option is to sow the seeds in soil and then initially water the planted seeds with boiling hot water to get them started. Both methods can shock the seeds into activity and can reduce the days to germination by half.
I planted 3 parsley seeds and then watered them with boiling hot water. They had only partial sun for the first 7 days. So, giving them full sun would have made them sprout much faster. However, a 10 day germination period is better than a 21-28 day germination period.
Day 10: A single seedling sprouted.
Day 12: All three seedlings were visible.
Day 24: The first set of true leaves are forming! Yay…
Day 28: Signs of true leaves starting to show in the second (not shown) of three seedlings. The true leaves on the first parsley seedling are developing well thus far.
Day 35: All three seedling have true leaves growing!
Day 45+: I lost track of the days, but the parsley grew beautifully in less-than-ideal sunlight conditions. I have harvested and dried what is shown.
Most parsley plant varieties mature in 70 -90 days. However, once the seeds germinate, you can start harvesting this very pleasant fresh tasting dark leafy green when the main branch has at least 3 branches with leaves growing from it. When you have a number of true leaves growing, you can cut some of the fresh parsley leaves when needed. This is a cut and come again method to harvesting your parsley. When its season is nearly over, you can also dry the parsley to use as a dried seasoning in some of your food recipes.
You may also enjoy learning how to grow more cool season edibles:
You may also like gardening or gardening for beginners. Please subscribe via email to get the latest blog posts and latest pictures on how to grow parsley from seed. You learn something new everyday. This concludes how to grow parsley from seed!
Growing celery in water involves putting celery in water to grow. Once you put the celery in water to grow you are either (1) rooting celery in water or about to (2) regrow celery in water. This gardening post is about rooting celery in water. Celery grows in a cool climate. Therefore, growing celery in water is ideal when it can be done in the cool fall months for a winter harvest.
#1 Choose the Celery
When growing celery in water, it is important to start with a fresh celery stalk and root cap. When the celery stalk and root cap are healthy, the celery leaves will also appear to be fresh and green. This is the hardest and easiest step for growing celery in water.
#2 Cut the Celery
Use a sharp knife to cut the celery near the bottom. Cut the celery stalk leaving about 2-3 inches above the root cap. This should be sufficient for standing upright in a container of water.
#3 Place Celery in Water
Place the remaining stalk and root cap in a small container with about 1 – 1.5 inches of water to cover the root cap. You can use bottled water or tap water. Then, place the container near a sunny window. When growing celery in water, you should replace the water every 1-2 days as needed.
#4 Observe the Celery for Signs of Growth
After 1 day you will notice signs of a growing celery in water. After about 5 days, you should start to see a well-defined center stalk emerging with healthy green leaves. Within 10 days, you should see a few roots develop. However, when growing celery in water, it may not grow an elaborate root system. You may only see 2 -3 fragile roots. Nevertheless, this is enough for you to transplant the celery into soil. Now that you have finished rooting celery in water you can transplant it to a container in soil.
#5 Transplant in Soil
Celery will grow really fine hair-strand like roots in the soil. Therefore, you will need a really fine dirt that is loosely packed and free from debris. You can grow a single celery stalk in a 12-inch plant container. Water the celery well the first couple of days after transplanting it into soil. Then, you can water the celery once a week.
#6 Mark Your Calendar
Now you can mark your gardening calendar and wait! For a new gardener, growing celery in water can seem like a failed attempt because celery takes 3-4 months to grow.
What to do with tomato plants in winter? Tomato plants are a warm season crop that thrive in the sun with well-drained fertile soil. However, under proper conditions, you can grow tomato plants all year long! So, if you just love eating fresh tomatoes or had a few tomato experiments that went well, you have options for what to do with tomato plants in winter months. There are a few things to keep in mind while making your decision on what to do with tomato plants in winter.
Temperature Requirements
The tomato plants can be brought indoors during the winter month to help keep them warm enough to produce fruit. Tomatoes thrive at temperatures between 55 – 85 degrees Fahrenheit. They will stop thriving at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and die at 35 degrees F. However, these temperature parameters can vary somewhat depending on your tomato plant variety [0]. Therefore, you can check the label on your tomato seeds or research the temperature required for that tomato variety to grow. But overall, tomatoes will not grow fruit when the temperature goes above or below this temperature range.
Tomatoes thrive in full sun. They require 6-8 hours of sunlight each day with a rest period at night. So, deciding what to do with tomato plants in winter will involve placing your tomato plants near a really sunny window in your home that gets full sun for 6-8 hours of sunlight each day or using grow lights [0].
Sunny Window – If placing the tomato plants next to a sunny window, be sure that the window is not too drafty for the tomato plants. And secondly, rotate the tomato plants to make sure the tomato plants are getting adequate sunlight.
Grow Lights – Grow lights provide the electrical equivalent to sunlight. You can get a very basic or a very elaborate LED tomato plant growing light system depending on your needs. The one shown above is a simple inexpensive clip-on grow light. The grow lights come in various sizes and various shapes with different functions to fit your needs. You can even get a grow light with a timer as well.
Pollination
Tomato plants flower before producing fruit. So, if your tomato plants are not already bearing fruit, pollination will need to take place before you get any tomatoes. Fortunately, tomato plants are technically a self-pollinating plant. Meaning the flowers on a single plant are equipped with both the male and the female parts. So, a single tomato plant is fully equipped to do the job.
Tomato flowers are typically pollinated by the wind, movement, insects, or sometimes by bees [0]. Either way, with the tomato plants being indoors, it can inhibit the natural pollination process. Therefore, you may need to manually pollinate the tomato plants when they are grown indoors.
You can gently shake the plants for a few days in a row to help distribute the pollen. Upon successful pollination, the pretty flowers will wilt and start producing fruit [0].
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed the gardening for beginner’s tomato plant tips and ideas. Visit the gardening page to learn more about nutrients required for plant growth and to get more ideas on what to plant in fall garden or what to plant in winter garden. Now you know what to do with tomato plants in winter!
This is a simple guide for how to grow oregano from cuttings indoors. If you have never cooked with fresh oregano, you are in for a pleasant surprise. It is not the same as dried oregano leaves. Do not get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoying cooking with dried oregano leaves for years. But the fresh oregano is definitely next level. This aromatic, earthy, and slightly pungent herb adds incredible flavor to Italian, Greek, and various Louisiana Creole recipes. So, it is nice to have your own supply available when needed – not to mention all of the health benefits of oregano.
After listening and talking to different people, I discovered that oregano is not the easiest herb to root from cuttings. A friend of mine did not get her oregano cuttings to grow any roots when she just stuck them in water. And, every professional or semi-professional gardening video that I watched recommended using a plant hormone rooting powder. So, I am very happy to tell you that my oregano cuttings grew roots without any plant hormone rooting powder, and in less time than I was expecting.
The oregano cuttings used were first rooted in water. Once roots appeared, the oregano cuttings were eventually transplanted to soil. When using the plant hormone rooting powder, you simply dip the oregano root in the powder and then stick the plant into the soil or water. So, lets jump to the details about how to grow oregano from cuttings.
The Cutting
Start with a cutting that is at least room temperature. The oregano cutting that I started with was a grocery store cutting. After picking up the groceries, I intentionally did not place the oregano in the refrigerator while putting away the other groceries. Since the oregano had already been out of the refrigerator for a while, it was already close to room temperature. If you place a cold oregano cutting in tepid water, the oregano may go into shock and take longer to grow roots or perhaps never grow any roots. I am basing this statement on my experience with the second experiment on how to grow basil from cutting that I endeavored to root right out of the refrigerator. If the same is not true for oregano cuttings, feel free to leave a comment below.
It is recommended that the cutting(s) be between 3 to 5 inches long with the stem being cut diagonally. The cut should be made just above the point where a leaf grows or would normally try to grow. This area is called a node. Since the oregano cuttings used were already precut, they are all much longer than 5 inches.
The Leaves
When you get ready to place the oregano cuttings in water, strip off the lower half of the oregano leaves. This helps to accomplish two things. One, it helps the plant concentrate more on growing roots than on growing leaves. And second, it keeps the remaining leaves from sitting in water and ultimately rotting in the water you use to root the oregano cuttings.
The Water
Since it only takes a little bit of water to fill the small containers used, I used bottled water. If your tap water is heavy on the unwanted chemicals (i.e. chlorine) for plants to thrive, it could hinder the oregano cuttings from growing any roots. So, if possible, start the rooting process with bottled water. Once you switch them to a pot, you can eventually start watering them with tap water.
The Roots
The oregano cuttings will start growing roots in 1 to 3 weeks. To my surprise, the cuttings used grew roots in one week. I gave them another week to grow more roots before sticking them in the soil to grow.
Oregano likes full sunlight in winter months. In the warm summer months, it may prefer some afternoon shade. So either way, having a nice sunny window is an essential step to learning how to grow oregano from cuttings indoors.
The Soil
When you place your rooted oregano cuttings in moist soil, do not water the plants for about 2 weeks. Just keep your eye on them and the soil. If they start looking like they need a drink of water, water the oregano lightly – just enough to remoisten the soil. Oregano does not like to be over-watered.
The pot size will depend on the type of oregano you are growing. There are different oregano varieties some of which can grow up to 3 to 4 feet tall.
Greek Oregano (True Oregano) – This is the slightly pungent and earthy flavor used to flavor pizzas, tomato sauces, and meats. This oregano usually does not grow taller than 12-18 inches tall. You will need a medium 8-12 inch deep pot.
Italian Oregano – This is a hybrid variety of oregano. It is a cross between Greek Oregano and Marjoram. So, the flavor is slightly milder than true oregano.
Conclusion
So, this is how to grow oregano from cuttings. You can also read about how to grow oregano indoor from seed. That is all for how to grow oregano from cuttings indoors.
THE RUHMAGE 