From the hot tub... well, hot jam jar

I ended up putting about six apricot stones in the jam jar, and a particularly pointed avocado stone. I meant to leave them in for a few days, but it ended up being a couple of weeks. It has been very, very hot here, so I haven't had the will power for a lot, and they have been gently simmering on a hot kitchen windowsill.

The apricots I took outside and broke open the stones with a hammar. Apparently for stoned fruit you need to get into the kernel inside. This was mixed sucess, as in having to wack the stones hard to crack them, I ended up breaking or mashing most of the kernels inside. I managed to get two out in one piece. I don't know what would have happened if I had tried this without a soak first. I have planted the whole and slightly broken kernals in a pot which I'm leaving outside because it's hot everywhere so I don't think they're going to freeze at the moment.

The avocado stone I have pinned up for the jam jar and water method. I am calling this one Mick II because it seems a tragedy that I should be growing the stones, and have Keith and Charlie (leaved up and away) and Ronnie (still doing nothing) but no Mick!

Let's face it, we'd all be disappointed if this website had uploaded the photograph the right way up.

Apricots

Keith Mossman has nothing to say about apricots. I was eating one this morning, and left with the kernel, I got to wondering.... well, as this will be a bit more of an experimentation, and the apricot nut does come in a hard shell, I am starting out with the same advice he gives for avocados and peachs. Soak the nut for 48 hours.

So here is an apricot stone in a jam jar of water. Exciting days.

Although I have it standing up straight in the kitchen... nevermind...

Avocados are enjoying the heat

Both Keith and Charlie are growing away, clearly this crazy heat isn't a problem. Keith's leaves are growing, and whilst Charlie doesn't seem to be growing as vigourously tall as Keith did, he is already sprouting leaves in advance of me needing to prune the first stalk....

This is Keith. Obviously I am not growing him on the ceiling, it's just that the photo upload on this website continues to take the mick. Take the mick... maybe this is Mick's revenge for me having to throw him out???

And this is Charlie....

For some reason Charlie is allowed to stand up correctly.

The latest news

On the avocado front, Charlie has sprouted his first stalk out of the top. It's only an inch an a half tall at the moment, so I will still have to wait a while before the first pruning. His roots were starting to coil around in the jam jar, so I have planted him into soil today.

Keith is growing leaves of a few centimetres in length (I love mixing up measuring systems).

As for Ronnie... well, he was the avocado nut I stuck straight into soil. No sign of anything at all as of yet. Might be a dud?!

Keith's side line

Keith is starting to grow a side shoot - so the trimmings didn't finish him off. According to Keith Mossman, I should let this one grow until it reaches the height I want for my avocado plant. Then I should nip out the top.

Keith... and this website is determined to put in all my photos on their sides! Aghhh....

Charlie is taking root - textbook style

And on more exciting news on the avocado, Charlie is growing just as Keith Mossman said they would grow in the water jar method - two roots!!!

Cutting Keith Down to Size

Keith Mossman recommends that when your avocado sprouts, let the lead shoot grow to six inches, and then cut it back to four inches - otherwise you're going to get a monster of a plant which isn't going to be suitable for a house plant. I never thought I'd even get this far, but yes, Keith was trimmed today...

 This is Keith before the trimmings... and then...

Good Morning Sleepy Head!

I never thought I'd manage to get this far, especially considering the fact I've had to throw out about 3 avocado nuts now. But Keith has actually woken up after all this time.... it's not a lot yet, but it's actually something!!!! I never suceeded with getting to see the roots in a jam jar, but at least there's a stalk now.

Why will this stupid website not upload photos the right way around....????







On other news, a third clemtine has hatched!

Seriously.... none of my photos want to come through correctly. Perhaps the website is sleeping at the moment and needs all the photos on their sides so it can look at them properly.

The continuing tale of the stones

It's now April. I am still having no success with the avocados. Keith is still at status quo, and Charlie and Ronnie haven't done a thing! I put 3 more stones in for a soak 2 or 3 weeks ago (I forget exactly) and I have gone straight to planting on these three to see if I have any better success this way.Surely one of these will turn into a plant!

R.I.P. Mick

Mick went in the bin today. His bottom was black, I think he must have been rotting off...the first casualty of the avocado trials. I've yet to really get one of them to sprout. Ah, Mick, it wasn't meant to be.

Come in number two

With most things, nothing has happened. However, there is action in the clementine pot. A second germination has appeared after all this time!

A continuation of not a lot

Due to a mixture of forgetfulness, trying out a new strategy and pure bone idleness, the 48 hour warm water soak to start off an avocado stone lasted a bit longer. I took Charlie and Ronnie out of the water today and suspended them with hair pins over the tops of jam jars full of water. Charlie has taken over Keith's old jam jar, and Ronnie is over a new little jam jar. There's no change in either Mick or Keith. I know plants take a long time to grow, but oh this is infuriating.

The clementine is growing... well, the leaves are probably a bit bigger but that's about all. Which is about all that can be said for the lemon babies as well.

I "pruned" my goji berry plants this morning. Goji berries didn't seem to be around when Keith Mossman was writing his book, so I have no advice on how to care for them. I am just muddling along.

More?!

Well, there's not a lot of action at the moment - nothing that was growing last week has died; but likewise nothing much of any description seems to have happened. I have grown tired of constantly topping up the water in Keith and Mick's jars with nothing happening (Mick has still not sprouted!), so I've left Mick where he is, and with Keith I've gone over to the soil and planting method of getting your avocado to grow - half the stone in, half the stone out. We'll see if this has much effect at all.

We ate avocados for dinner last night, so I thought I'd have a go with two new stones, so now there is Charlie and Ronnie. They are both in Keith's old jar soaking at the moment. Charlie is quite round and looks like Mick and Keith did when I first got them. Ronnie is much more egg shaped, and possibly the runt of the litter I fear. He may come to nothing. Time will tell.

The lemons are out of the bag

My four lemon seedlings are still growing, but they were starting to push against the crinkled edges of their freezer bag greenhouse; in fact I think one of them lost a leaf this way. So yesterday I decided to take them out of the greenhouse, and to put them into seperate pots.

Well, here's three of them straight after. The other one flopped right over onto its side and laid on the compost - I thought it was a gonner. And then one of the others did the same thing. Those two have been sat on top of the radiator for a day now, and I'm pleased to say they've bucked up their ideas.

No one's looking sad like this now.

Little Clementine is still fine. Keith and Mick haven't done anything of late....

It's cold outside...

It's covered with snow outside today and it's generally cold. Feels like nothing is growing or wanting to do very much, so there has not been a lot of action with my pip growing.

As far as the clementine piplets go, only one has germinated, so I guess it's just Clementine the clementine now. One of her seedling leaves had been knocked off by the plastic bag greenhouse so I've decided to bring her out into the open air and put her on a window sill.

Again this silly website insists on putting my photo on its side and I have no idea how to rotate it around.









 On the avocado front, Mick is starting to crack... ever so slowly. He really is a late developer. Keith is a nut of two halves, and is growing... but nothing has grown beyond the safety of the nut area, so it's not really like he's speeding away either.

New Year, New Shoots

After the Christmas festivities and so on, I took a look in my plastic bag greenhouses - things are starting to happen! So far it appears that the lemons are more successful than the piplets (clementines). I have four lemon shoots - one from each lemon pip seemingly, so I'm still not sure about Keith's comment that you can get several plants from one pip.... in the meantime on the piplet/clementine front there is only one shoot so far.

On non-pip growing news, my lemon tree has had a proper wobbly over Christmas. It has one leaf left. I suspect its days are numbered now. Sadly.