Plant Study

A few weeks ago--or was it last week?--I happened upon my indoor sill plants in glorified light.  Not a glowing, halo-esque type of lighting, but the bright-yet-moody, ambient light that characterizes the time in-between late afternoon and dusk.  It's perhaps an hour at most that the light stays within this range, for it's not the soft drape of morning light, nor is it the harsh tint of the afternoon's.  Clouds were rolling in haphazardly, staggered in their movement, much like a child's first time on the ice: I had but a half hour's time before the clouds overtook the sun completely.

I usually edit my photographs on standard PicMonkey for clarity, color, and brightness.  But today, in this blog post, I wanted to capture the stillness and depth of my original shots--so here they are in their unedited forms.  Not too scary a sight to behold.  However, these images are the first that I've posted on this blog that have not been edited in some way, shape, or form, even if slightly.  Maybe you can tell the difference?

Oregano

Shiso

Arugula Roquette

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Welcome, dear September!

P.S. All Internet connection issues--our outdoor connection wire was cracked, plus our modem was overheated--have been solved.  A new modem and some new holes in the wall later, everything is as good as new.  Thank goodness, I say!

Of Month Past

In a blink of an eye, there goes July.

These images visually sum up the past month...

Arugula roquette variances 

New hand-stamped book page listings

Forest City, CA ghost town

Wildflowers at the Sierra Buttes trail--
and no, we didn't do this due to my fear of the 20-30mph wind gusts
we experienced at the base of the stairways leading up to the lookout area.
Perhaps next time...

Fog-laden sky with five noticeably different cloud formations...

Nature and creativity--

need I say more?

Plant Variety: Arugula Roquette

Remember my arugula roquette seedlings from this post a month ago?  Well, I've found out why coco coir is a versatile seed-starting medium rather than a good long-term soil substitute.  Due to the porosity of coir, the arugula seedlings sprung forth so many roots that they were literally choking one another out, like a painful survival of the fittest competition.  The end-result battle wounds were wilted, soggy leaves above coir, and inseparable, multilayered roots below.  Action needed to be taken to salvage these once-hardy plants, so I replanted them in three upcycled containers.

Prior to replanting, the resemblance between all three arugula roquette plants (middle planter) was indisputable, as shown in the following image:

So, it was to my surprise that once in their own designated planters, each plant recuperated differently.  As seen below, the one in the milk carton planter (covered with book pages for aesthetic purposes) grew tall and lanky; the arugula in the oatmeal container flourished all stout and wide with warm, forest-green growth; and lastly, the arugula in the can went to seed, both flowering and flower-like. 

And yes, I did use good old organic soil for these planters, for I have learned my lesson.  I've actually converted all my indoor plants to organic soil or a coco coir-organic soil mixture--except for my oregano plants, which currently reside in pure coir.  The oregano may be replanted soon...

A hard-to-grow (for me, at least) shiso seedling is making its new home in the dark green planter that once housed the arugula.  I am looking forward to sharing some photos soon.