Black Thumb

Remember this posting? Seems that shayla's black thumb has vanished.

That plant's now twice the size it was, and is growing off-shoots. The four that shayla'd removed and repotted are even growing well. Come to think of it, it's time to re-pot those, too. Anyone want some aloe starts?

And the aloe's now keeping company with a couple more plants. We'd gotten some ginger root at the store some weeks ago. Ginger's strong-tasting, and we don't use much in our cooking. So the remainder sat on the counter, keeping company with the onions and garlic until shayla noted the green sprout emerging from it. OK, we'll just toss that into a pot too & see what happens. That sprout's now about six inches tall, and leaves are beginning to emerge. There's even a second sprout next to the first. Apparently those root systems will get pretty big. Wikipedia's got a photo of a 20-pound one. Must keep that in mind when it's time to transplant.

Master's contribution is a pineapple start. He'd gotten a pineapple at the grocery store, and before he allowed shayla to cut into it he snooped a little on the web (he's a very good at that), and found a site with directions. This one has similar instructions, in case you're curious (can't find the exact site Master'd found). We didn't cut the top off, merely twisted it out & let it dry. Shayla was dubious about how well this would work. But, she kept quiet, and potted the top when it had dried. It's seemed to shayla all these weeks that it's not grown a bit. But Master was curious about it the other day and was surprised at how much it's grown. And it has gotten at least twice the size it was when shayla potted it.

This container gardening's actually fun, now that the fear of murdering the poor plants is gone. Shayla'll have to remember to save out some green pepper and jalapeno seeds next time she cuts into one. Start her own portable garden.

p.s. Jolynn, your kids would probably love the pineapple planting.

shayla