Cat Damages

So I came home from work today and checked the recent transplants to see how they were doing. I can no longer fit the strawberries and the kiwis and grow house together so the kiwis were to the side but bordered to prevent the cats from getting into them.  They were fine when I got home.  Not 30 minutes after I got home though the cats had chewed the kiwi and at some point got into the strawberries. See how pretty they are now...(Sarcasm) And see how I safe guarded the kiwis after they got ate.

Kiwi Protection

Chewed Strawberries

Chewed Kiwis

Strawberry Sprout Pictures

I'm up to 17 strawberry sprouts.  Here are some pictures:

This is a close-up of my first sprout.  It's still small but has 1 true leaf on it.

Strawberry Sprouts

As of today, Jan. 5th, I have 4 sprouts.  All of them are from the extracted seeds.  The strawberries I planted whole have not produced a sprout yet.   My camera is not good enough to get a picture of them yet because they are so tiny.  Each sprout starts with 2 very round leaves.  All of mine currently only have 2 leaves.  I'm excited to see how many more pop up within the next week :)

A single sprout

It's been 5 weeks and about 3 or 4 days and I have a single, tiny sprout from my strawberry seeds.  Hopefully more will sprout too.  If it survives I'll post some pictures.   It is too small to get a non-blurry picture right now.  

Another Update

My strawberries still have not sprouted. :(  I am definitely going to buy some seeds/starter plant from a nursery in the spring.  


Also, my pineapple didn't make it either.  It began to rot.  Two days of drying out must not have been enough.  Not to mention that Smyrna tap water is horrible and what I put the pineapple in to start rooting.  I never buy distilled or spring water.  I do good to filter my own drinking water.  

Updates

It's been 3 weeks and 3 days since I planted my strawberry seeds.  So far, nothing.   I'm giving it up to 8 weeks which will be January 12th.  I found sites that listed 3 different germination times.  1-2 weeks, 2-3 weeks, and 2-8 weeks.  


In the mean time, I obtained a pineapple top and have it growing some roots.  I'll put a blog post about that when I put it in a pot of dirt.  I got my pole connectors for my greenhouse, now I need another set of shelves and another grow light.  

Planting Strawberry Seeds

I planted my strawberry seeds on 11/17/2011.  The seeds I used came from store-bought strawberries (fruit, not a growing plant).  The strawberries have been frozen in my freezer for a few weeks now.  

The method I used was found at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070606083415AAIuOMQ 

1. collect the seeds by placing 4-5 whole berries in a blender filled with water. 2 Frape the berries. Seeds that float are not good discard. 3. Strain out the sinkers. 4 Take seeds and scatter them over a something like a baking plan filled with a comercial potting mix. 5 Scatter a light dusting of potting mix over the seed (1/8 - 1/4 inch). 6. place pan in the sunlight somewhere in your home. 7. Seed will germinate over 2-8 weeks. 8. As you see the small plant emerge, carefully pluck them out and move to Dixie cups or some such container and allow them grow to a transplantable size.

For step 2, my blender did not have a frappe setting, so I used the puree setting.  I had to strain the mixture with a wire hand held strainer because coffee filters are too thick.  

On the left is stuff that was at the top. On the right is stuff from the bottom. A close-up of the stuff from the bottom of the blender.

The make-shift greenhouse.

My watering "door."

View through the "door."

What to grow in my greenhouse....

So progression on my greenhouse is a bit slower than I planned.  I had hoped to have it functional and ready Saturday Nov. 5th.  Finances are not as available as I'd thought they'd be; they ended up fixing vehicles and buying food lol. (I do get paid tomorrow though.. so we'll see where we are at with $$.  I may cheat and make a greenhouse using only the bottom shelf since I can get that grow light from my dad.  That way I can at least get stuff started in dirt.)


The cool thing about this is that I don't have to use all the space but if I need to or want to I can.  I thought the dip in our ceiling would prevent me from having anything too tall, but where it sits is just a few inches away from the dip.  :)


To get the greenhouse completed I need to order another set of poles to make the shelving unit taller and thus give more space between each shelf.  I also need to pick up grow lights for the shelves I plan to use right now and pick up a shallow plastic tub to catch any condensation, just in case.  I don't want to ruin my dinner table.  My step-dad has one grow light and a few timers he is not using so I'll get those from him too.  The final thing I will do is cut the plastic and velcro it to the unit.


What will I be growing, you ask??  Well, I want to start some fruit since it will take more than a season to be able to produce edible fruit.  I'm thinking of strawberries and pineapple.  When local nurseries open for spring I'll also try to pick up some blueberries.


I've done quite a bit of research about growing pineapple and strawberries.  Everyone says it can be done various ways.  My plan is to try a few of them and document the process and any success I have and then share the info with you guys.  Well that is all for tonight.  Cross your fingers for extra money in the bank tomorrow!!

Indoor Greenhouse

Now it's fall and I really want to grow fruit, especially since it will take a long time to bore fruit.  So I decided to make an indoor greenhouse.  I looked all over the web to how-to and DIY projects.  Finally, with the space I have, I decided to go with a wire shelving unit with plastic connected with velcro.

I am going to order another set of poles so that I can extend the top to utilize the top shelf and have more room between shelves.  I may also use the table as a shelf (with something under the whole thing to protect from any condensation). I plan to affix lights to the under side of each shelf.  I am waiting to cut and affix the plastic until I have the unit exactly how I want it.


As the project comes along, I will update the blog and give some details and a run down of the diy project.