Friday, April 3, 2009
Spiral Garden Update
Remember our tarragon that grew more than 4 feet? They were growing so fast that the basils near them can't keep up. And the lavender beside them were overshadowed. To give way for new growth, we decided to prune our "giant" tarragons. It worked well and now all the herbs beside it are happy, especially the lavender which is now taller than the tarragon.
how do you propagate the tarragon? will stem cuttings work? this is offtopic, how do you propagate fire tree? i really want to grow my own fire tree:)
ReplyDeletehi,
ReplyDeleteWhat's your opinion on the so-called SNAP Hydroponics?My brother mentioned this to me but I am a bit skeptical about it. The Snap Solutions they use, are they safe? thanks & regards,
Ysabel
Hi Anna, Yes you can propagate tarragon through cuttings. You can plant fire tree seeds. :)
ReplyDeleteYsabel, nutrient-wise, Organic is the best. I would practice hydroponics if I had no choice - meaning I have no soil to grow my plants into. And I will only use nutrient solutions I mixed myself.
Right now there is no shortage on soil here in our country... :)
For now, I might set up a hydroponics system for the fun of it, as a small project but not as a source of our nutritious vegetables.
But I can guarantee that building one will teach you a lot about plants.
HI Raymond and Mariel,
ReplyDeletethanks for your reply, I'm a big fan of organic farming! :-) that's why I asked my brother to check the ingredients put in those solutions cos I have a phobia with the usage of any chemicals that might be dangerous to our health and the environment..I'm an organic freak and I love your website so much. and it's nice to see you both into organic farming, wish I can do the same here in our place. Will you sell/teach others once you come up with your own safe nutrient solutions?
thanks and God bless
Ysabel
i'm a gardening newbie and i'm very glad i stumbled upon your site. i envy your herb mound, it's very bushy! :) how do you propagate lavenders? i bought a young lavender from the manila seedling and so far it's doing well in a small container.. but i want to see it grow and have a lot of it (like yours hehe). can you give me some tips?
ReplyDeleteregards,
tin
Hello Tin,
ReplyDeleteDon't rush on propagating your lavender if it came from Manila seedling bank. They are leaded with lots and lots of fertilizers and, sad to say, herbicides. Trust me, i've beed behind their greenhouses. :) but dint tell Ms. Adela Ang, she's a friend of mine. :)
What you need to do is look for a spot in your garden where the lavender will get about 4 hours of sun. I would suggest watering the soil rather than the leaves. keep the leaves dry as much as possible.
When you start noticing growth, carefully transfer then to a bigger pot. Again, same watering procedure.
Apply some compost at the bottom of your new pot. Vermicompost is best.
When they are comfortable enough in their new pot and you are comfortable enough to take cuttings, this is the best time to do so. it will encourage branching and turn your small lavender into a small bush. :) Oh! wash (sterilize) your cutting instrument before using them with your plant.
I hope this helps... :)
thank you for that tip! i have done what you've suggested, now i'm waiting for it to get comfy :D i read in some forums that it takes about 3 yrs to let the plant "flush out" the herbicides.. is that true?
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on the kind of herbicides used. Systemic herbicides are the worst. Pro-biotics will help flush the toxins out much faster.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do is I let the herbs with herbicide grow to full size without using any chemicals. Then I take cuttings from them. I let the cutting grow and that's what I use for my kitchen.