Thanks, babushka!

I promised in my last posting that this would be a more optimistic blog entry, and so it shall! Does anyone remember that I had planted a tomato in the topsy-turvy upside-down magic planter? You may have thought that story would be finished by now, considering it's the middle of winter. But then you would be wrong!!

Because we didn't get to plant the tomato until relatively late in the season, I had my concerns that the weather would become cold before the plant would produce edible tomatoes. These concerns turned out to be well-founded, but I decided not to let it get me down!! Adam helped me bring a giant hanger made of a 2 by 4 inside, and set it up in my office. The tomato has a place right beside the window, and I simply place a rubbermade tub underneath it to catch the dripping water. In fact, the tub is Howlie's old litter box--never thought I'd get a use out of that again. It's so tall, it reaches from the ceiling to the floor!


For the longest time, the tomatoes remained green. My optimism persisted--I was happy that they existed at all. Eventually, one turned red. We ate it and it was easily the most delicious tomato I have ever had!! It really shows the difference in fresh and grocery-store-fresh. But a month or so passed, and the rest of the tom-toms remained green. A couple of them fell from the tree, and as I was loathe to toss them, I kept those on the kitchen counter. Well this week, a miracle occurred! All the tomatoes are becoming ripe! The ones on the tree, as well as those in the kitchen!


We have plans to eat a Russian salad before we leave for Oregon tomorrow (Christmas day). This is what we were fed in Severobaikalsk this summer by babushka in the homestay. They had a Russian garden, and at every meal we ate a salad of sliced tomato, cucumber and scallions, tossed lightly with olive oil and salt. This is hands down the best salad I have ever had (especially since we'd been starved for days on the train). I've been craving it since we left, and have made it numerous times, though the Harris Teeter produce cannot compare to home-grown! Babushka's salad, anyone? I say yes!

All I want for Christmas is...

Happy Holidays everyone!! Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged. However, there are lots of sprouty happenings these days, so I am happy to be reporting again.

Unfortunately, I cannot report good news. This post in particular is a cry for help! My beloved pepper plant is infested with aphids. These are nasty little bugs that slowly kill the plant. They are so stubborn! We have tried the normal home remedies, including spraying regularly with a castille soap and water mix, as well as leaving it out in the cold for short periods, and picking the bugs off by hand. These creatures refuse to die!

Adam is now convinced that the only way to get rid of them is to introduce live ladybugs. Please keep in mind that the plants need to be inside now because it is winter. And they are all residing in my office!! Needless to say, I am a little terrified of more bugs coming in here. It also seems to me that whenever a pest is introduced to kill another pest, the results are less than satisfactory (rats to eat the mongooses, anyone?) However, all I want is for these aphids to get lost! So I am willing to try anything. Does anyone have a new suggestion? If not, I am going to be sharing my suite with a bevy of insects!

That's it for now. Good news to come in the next post...

8th Time's the Charm

Every summer, I try to set a few goals for myself. This year, one of those goals was to sprout an avocado. After doing some research online, I learned that this should not be a difficult task. It is in fact a popular activity among children. All you do is take an avocado seed, rinse it, pierce it with toothpicks, and set it in some water. It should sprout on its own within a few weeks.

Well, I started with my first seed sometime in May. About a month passed, and there was no sign of sprouting, so I tried another seed--in fact, I tried two. When July rolled around and still no joy, I decided to kick things up a notch. I took it upon myself to eat a few avocados (quite the hardship) and set out yet more seeds. By the time we left for Siberia at the beginning of August, there were 5 seeds located in all manner of places: outside, in the sun, in the shade, in my office, etc. I also modified the amount of water from almost full to less than 1/4 of the seed covered. In total, I had used 8 seeds.

Imagine my surprise when we returned to Nashville and found that one seed had actually sprouted!!! I do not know why I had so much difficulty obtaining a sprout. Luckily, persistence and dedication are two of my strong suits, so I kept trying until success was achieved. After waiting another week for the sprout to mature a bit, we planted it in a pot. This pot was purchased back in May with the exact purpose in mind of holding an avocado sprout. This whole venture will be deemed a success as soon as the sprout emerges from the top of the seed (above the soil.) Keep your fingers crossed!

Defying Gravity

We are leaving tomorrow for a 3 week journey through Siberia! I can hardly wait. In anticipation of the long absence, I decided that a blog post is in order. When my dad and I were in Disneyland, we had a lot of time standing in lines to discuss all topics under the sun. Naturally, the conversation steered towards sprouts from time to time. He recalled an infomercial he had seen for a contraption that makes tomatoes grow quickly. To my surprise, he actually found one in a store in Honolulu and sent it to me! I was delighted, and set about using the Topsy-turvy planter right away. We went to Home Depot and bought a small tomato plant (and some 2 by 4's to build a frame to hang it from). This was a little disappointing, of course, since I didn't sprout the plant from seed. The decision was made in the interest of time, as the Fall is approaching (NOOOOO!!!!) and we want to get as many tomatoes as possible before it gets too cold. The idea of the contraption is that it will use gravity somehow. You put the plant into the planter upside down. We found a nice sunny place on the side of our apartment--it hangs right above the pumpkin patch! We have already pinched down the buds of the plant twice in an effort to let it grow a little bigger before it produces fruit. My dad claims he won't be satisfied without at least one bushel! I am just hoping that in 3 weeks we return to little tomato-lings. Since, as anyone who knows me can attest to, I LOVE love LOVE tomatoes! Ha!

"Expecting" Good News...

About 3 years ago, we planted some pepper seeds purchased from the store. The seeds came in a variety packet, so when we got a sprout, it could have been any of 5 kinds of peppers. Luckily, it turned out to be a spicy one--what I was hoping for!

After about 6 months, we were so proud of how the little sprout was growing that it was featured in our Christmas Card (circa December 2007).

With the help of some Mexican fertiliser purchased this Spring, and the nurturing efforts of the last few years, the pepper is now a full tree! It has not only grown so tall, but it keeps adding new branches, and even has bark at its base.

There are many new peppers that we anticipate eating soon--they are beginning to turn from green to red.

This plant is like a little ecosystem. There is a spider living it it, as well as several other bugs I cannot name, such as this fellow.

When admiring the plant the other day, Adam became alarmed. He noticed that a pepper was missing, and worried that a bird had swooped down and eaten it (and probably burned its tongue!) What he didn't know at the time was that he was seeing my handiwork. It feels like time for this beauty to produce some offspring. I've picked a pepper and prepared the seeds. Let's just say that I am "expecting" some new sprouts soon!!!

99 days till Halloween...

I just got back into town from Orlando. I had a great trip to Disneyworld with my dad!
Right before leaving, Adam cleared a small patch of soil for pumpkins. Last Fall, when I was alone and Adam was working in Florida, I tried to sprout a pumpkin. It did grow and even produce a beautiful orange flower, but then it just up and died. So I'm hoping that this year things will work out better. The seed package directions say that it will take about a week for the seeds to sprout. So imagine my surprise when the very next morning, eager little me went out to check on the seeds and voila--sprouts!

These sprouts are just so cute and so strong, I became
overwhelmed with optimism. After getting back from the Magic Kingdom, I rushed into the backyard to check on the little pumpkin-lings. Aside from the fact that an animal dug one up, and one of the sprouts is stunted and refusing to grow, I am amazed at the height the have achieved in a short six days. I have all the hope in the world that we'll have a jack-o-lantern at Halloween!!!

I grew a sprout and I liked it

Welcome to Tara's sprout-rageous blog!! This all started when my Japanese teacher asked me to compose a letter about my hobbies. After thinking for a while about what to write, I realised I have an unusual and (maybe?) interesting hobby: sprouts!

I'm crazy about them! In addition to planting seeds bought from the store, I get hyped about taking random food and putting it in the ground. :) I've done everything from sprout garlic and potato to plant banana and alfalfa. I'd never even heard of alfalfa before a couple of weeks ago when we bought some for our burritos, but I thought, hey, this thing's already sprouted--maybe if I put it in the ground it will grow. Turns out, not so much. But it didn't matter--growing a plant isn't the goal of sprouting as a hobby. In fact, I'm a terrible gardener. What I love is the experimentation aspect--seeing what's possible when it comes to seeds and sprouts. I'm just as happy when an old clove of garlic sprouts to incredible heights for a week and then dies as I am in the unusual event that a plant actually survives.

However, I want to get this blog off to a good start, so I've posted a picture of my pride and joy: the lemon sprout! One recent night during dinner preparations, I grabbed a lemon seed off the cutting board and planted it. Several weeks later, this little sprout emerged! It was at a time that there were about 5 other things planted in my special mini-planting pot, so I'm still not 100% sure it's a lemon. However, the leaves smell of citrus, so that's a good sign! This sprout baby grows slowly, but I have all the hope in the world that it will continue to be healthy. Because let's face it, in the world of sprouting, it's nice to have a triumph now and then!