2016-17 Winter Indoor Garden

[applestar]

My little tea shrub Camelia sinensis var. sinensis has started to leaf out since mid-February or so. It had a bit of set back last year, but seems to be recovering. Hoping to get an extra surge in growth this year after putting it outside... larger container? More fertilizer???? But maybe it would do better with a colder winter dormancy period... (this is in a cooler southeast window with blocked heating vent and positioned near the right/darker side with no direct supplemental light)

[applestar]

[applestar]

I discovered ladybug eggs on the plastic panel guarding the Not Peach Bhut from the pepper foliage munching kitties



It looks a bit messy because this is one of the mite-infested peppers that is recovering, so I drop mite-killed leaves at the base of the stems as much as I can, and the ones that fell between the container and the shoplight are left where they are -- in case there are predatory mites on the leaves (it stands to reason there would have been some on the heaviest infested leaves). I want them to climb back up the plant rather than tossing the leaves in the compost collector without any way for them to get back on the plants.

[applestar]

The eggs were ready to hatch today -- haven't gone to look...they may have come out already There was also a pupa on the shoplight reflector. Not sure if the dark color means it's ready to come out (it could be -- reminds me of the color of Monarch butterfly chrysalis when they turn clear on just before eclosing). I usually see the opaque lighter orange colored ones. On the other hand, this might be the big larva I saw earlier which had been crawling around on the reflector, and maybe it had molted into the pupa form.

[john gault]

Ladybugs love to lay eggs in my live oak tree and every year about this time I see tons of their larvae; what's cool about them is they remind me of little battle vehicles (like a humvee) and they do have a tremendous appetite for aphids.

[applestar]

Yep, it's always good to have something large, like trees that provide attractive habitat for predatory ladybugs. In my garden, I discovered to my delight that the plum tree in the back yard and golden locust in the front yard serve this function. Not only the trees but areas under them to just beyond the drip line become full of mature ladybug larvae and pupae, and we have to be careful of weeding and mowing until they eclose.

[applestar]

Winter Indoor Garden -- the coffee tree is in bloom again.


Garage V8 Nursery is getting busy. The upper shelf is dedicated to the started seedlings waiting for their chance/turn to go outside to harden off.



The container fig trees will need to go outside soon -- the New unfolding and developing buds•fruits are in danger to being rubbed and bumped off while I'm tending to the seedlings, and they are basically in the way.

[john gault]

Winter Indoor Garden -- the coffee tree is in bloom again.

That first pic is a Coffee tree? I've been wanting to get one, but what caught my eye is that those flowers look much like the flower of a citrus tree. Am I seeing that correctly? Are the flowers fragrant, like a citrus?

[applestar]

Yep. More about this tree -- shrub -- here Subject: COFFEE SEED IS SPROUTING!

The flowers don't have significant fragrance, but line each branch so it's very pretty when in bloom, and it blooms in several flushes through the year.

[applestar]

Here are two of my overwintered peppers being readied to be planted out. As you can see, this Aji Pineapple and Jalapeño were dug up and crammed into the doubled grocery bag *to be potted up later* ...but they seemed fine all winter in their bags and I never got around to potting them up. They spent the winter by a SE-facing upstairs bedroom window with nominal supplemental light -- it was a double CFL bulb 2.5 feet away with other plants in between.



They both began showing signs of mite infestation but recovered after predatory mites were released. You can see some ripe fruits in the photo. Jalapeño is getting old and may not recover its vigor. I have several new jalapeño-type varieties that I started from seeds for this season.

[al3tte]

I just binge-read this whole thread and I am so impressed! This is so beautiful and interesting. I had 5 little herbs in pots all winter - only 1 of the originals survived when I moved them to a more evenly warm/humid window by the kitchen sink - and even then my SO thought I was crazy (though he did very sweetly humor me). I can't imagine what he would think of this - especially releasing ladybugs indoors!

He's since come around a bit, realizing how much better it is to have fresh herbs in our food, and how much more cost effective it is just to keep them around both for that and for the pests that they deter!

Thank you for sharing

[applestar]

Thank YOU!

I'm so glad you enjoyed my little winter adventure. Yes, just show this thread to your SO and say -- "Look at this CRAZY person. At least I'm not THAT bad." Haha -- I would think anything would seem reasonable by comparison.

...I'm still occasionally finding ladybug pupa or larva (I didn't take a picture of the larva I found today )