Planted quite a few seeds today. Planting is now really beginning as we are nearing the 8 weeks before the last frost mark. A few of the seeds I planted tonight were quite strange, one is possibly the most unusual shape I've seen, 'Quaking Grass' seed - at first I thought they maybe gave me the hulls not the seeds?? They are probably little wings with seeds attached, as so many seeds are.
This is what the plant (grass) looks like - sorta crustacean meets cuttlefish?
Reminded me of fossils like these, don't know their name
Planted the 'Quillquina' seeds too. Apparently this is not the same herb as 'Papalo', though all my internet searches seem to say it is. So, I guess we'll see once it starts growing and I taste it. I read in the seed exchange that these go to seed quicker than papalo, which is what I was after since my last papalo plants did not go to seed for me. I found this little blurb on this herb a little while ago, I noticed this part in particular because somewhere on a thread I read that cilantro taste like soap to some people -
"Quillquina is preferable to cilantro for many people. It has less of a citrus taste than cilantro does, and also has less of the soapy taste that some people may find in cilantro. For people who dislike cilantro, but want something with a bit more punch than parsley, quillquina can provide an excellent alternative."
Here is the dainty wee little seeds -
Planted my first tomato seeds too. Might plant a few more, but I ran out of steam so that was it for today.
I noticed tonight a couple of my newly transplanted eggplants are doing much better, and actually showing some characteristic leaf shapes. It has been a long time since I grew any of these and forget nearly everything about them, so I'm enjoying seeing them grow all over again. This on is 'Striped Toga' - little bit of waves goin' on here
And Petch Siam
, also showing some wavy leaf shapes. I quite like these 'wilder' more rugged type eggplants. Their growth is strong and they produce so many more eggplants, though, the eggplants are quite small compared to the large eggplant types. I also got an eggplant called 'Melanza Rossa Di Rotondo' (Solanum aethiopicum) but planted it only a few weeks ago (when the seeds arrived) so I'm yet to see what it's foliage will really be like. Judging by it's looks right now I'm already wondering if it is the same variety as Turkish Orange. Both their leaves are quite shiny and smooth, unlike the others which are a bit more fuzzy.
Lots of flowers etc. went into the soil today too - nicotiana, lunaria, soapwort, maralroot, cardoon, emerald tassels amaranth, zwolse krul. Many were older packets, so I thought I'd see what might come of them. I do hope the maralroot sprouts, it is from Russia but hardy to my climatic conditions, and for whatever reason I never did get around to planting it. Interesting trivia tidbit, Russian athletes have used this plant for it's steroids for improved performance in sports, better endurance and increased muscle mass. I hope it sprouts!
And DH bought me a bunch of new LED grow lights (early Mother's Day present), so I get to plant even more! I think it was 6 sets altogether for hanging. Now to figure out where to hang them...
I still haven't found a good way to eat Striped Togo (which I assume is the same variety) but they sure made interesting Halloween decorations last year.
