Do you have a green thumb? Love plants, gardening, growing stuff? Then this topic is just for you.
I like plants but Iām awful at keeping them alive. Iām an orchid serial killer particularly 
Weāre currently in the early throes of revamping our back garden; tearing out old decking and the sad dilapidated garden shed. Iām planning a reshaped lawn with gravel and paving areas for various āzonesā - an outdoor dining set /bbq zone, an outdoor lounge zone with firepit, a hot tub and sun loungers zone - all covered with enclosed mesh gazebos (apart from the sun loungers duh) because I have a mortal fear of winged buzzing devils (not a fan of insects generally and wasps are my absolute nemesis) but I also want some flowers in the garden! Win/win 
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Gardening is one of my hobbies, but unfortunately I live in a condo with a small balcony that only gets 1-2 hours of sun in the morning. So itās hard to grow things even during our limited growing season. I have pots out there that I use for beans and flowers, but donāt have a ton of success with other things. Iām going to try zucchini this year and see how it does in a pot. Hopefully smaller than when the plant is in the ground!
Inside though, I have a DIY hydroponics set up. I used to grow a lot of lettuce when it was super expensive, but the price has come down and I also am having less salad in general, so have switched to grow beans, and also strawberries. I had taken ābabyā off-shoots from existing strawberry plants and planted them, but the strawberries didnāt look great - I had a ton of them, including on the parent plant, but they just were small and went from not-ripe directly to mushy-overripe. So, I took seeds off of a strawberry from the store, germinated it and planted in the hydroponics set up. That initial plant has now given me a baby plant, and both are flowering for the first time! Super excited to see if they turn into strawberries; Iāve been hand pollinating them but these flowers arenāt staying open for too long, so I have to be quick about it.
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Iām in awe and also jelly of your plant skillz!
I hate weeding but i love planting my garden.
I keep trying to grow hot ghost peppers every year so i can make hot sauce. Last year i only got 1 hot pepper, so this I am trying to grow them in flower pots instead of in the ground.
Wish me luck.
I am also trying to grow purple cherokee tomatoes.
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I grow all of my hot peppers in raised beds as opposed to in the ground.
By raised bed, I mean that I have two 2āX4ā planters that are about 2 feet high. Theyāre filled with a combination of potting soil, raised bed soil, and compost. Peppers LOVE being in pots or planters like this. It allows you to keep them watered properly and they like it hot and full sun. Iām sure you will do fine with yours in a pot.
Cherokee Purple is a great tomato! If you havenāt grown them before, be aware of two things:
They are very thin skinned, which is great for eating, but they will crack while theyāre still on the vine. Itās no big deal. Just pick them and cut off the split top.
They will very likely be fully ripe but still show some green on the top of the tomato. Again, also fine. Just cut off the top.
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thanks for the advice!!!
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I harvested my first strawberry from my hydroponics plant! It was red and juicy and delicious. And I have a few more that are starting to turn red, and about a dozen that are growing. Since I started the plant off of a seed from a store-bought strawberry, I donāt know what variety they are, but Iām wondering if they are June-bearing or if this is just coincidental timing.
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I have a large, potted philodendron that my daughter gave me when she moved a year ago. At first it did very well in a western window. Lately, it has been listless, with dying or darkened leaves. I finally bought some philodendren food and dosed it. I hope it improves. I feel like itās not getting as much sun as it used to. I may try a grow light next.
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Food might do the trick! I am so good with feeding my garden plants, and so forgetful that my indoor plants also need food.
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I have a large (plastic) āhalf barrelā planter in my driveway. Last year I planted a bunch of sunflowers in it, and that was a fun one. I probably got about 15 healthy sunflowers of various heights and sizes.
I planted the seeds again last Sunday. By this Sunday morning I had a whole bunch of seedlings popped up with the first two leaves. At some point yesterday, something ate all the leaves off of all but maybe two. I have no idea who did this. A rabbit would be my first guess, but this planter has high sides around the soil, so thereās no way a rabbit could get in there, let alone even know there was something to eat. I didnāt see any beetles.
Iām wondering if there is a bird or chipmunk that would do this?
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Caterpillars?
I see no bugs. I put a stretch of 2X2 plastic garden fence over the top, which would only stop birds, or possibly the chipmunk if it was not motivated enough to easily pass through the fencing yesterday. As of this morning, the couple of surviving seedlings are still alive. Weāll see if they survive the day.
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Update: The one big seedling that was there this morning is now a 2 inch round hole in the planter.
I think Iām going to replant the seeds and then wrap the whole thing with plastic wrap to give the seedlings a chance.
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