The Yellow Farmhouse Garden

“…you make lemonade”, the old proverb goes.

Does the same principle apply when Bob gives you lemons from the greenhouse?

The lemon trees have been providing us with lemons for a couple of weeks now.  There are too many for us here to use so the best thing to do is to start giving them away.

I picked a 1/2 peck this morning…

These lemons are a bit larger than the ones you see in the produce department.  They are tastier too. The variety is ‘Beares’ and they seem to be quite happy in the greenhouse.

Maybe, a slice of lemon in a cup of hot water will go down better than lemonade on this cold and damp winter’s day.

Bob

Today was a great day to take out some plants and spray them off.

If you have house plants that are infested with  pests such as spider mites, mealy bugs or scale, a good rinsing will go a long ways towards cleaning them up.

Tomorrow is predicted to be very mild as well, so, take those plants outside where you can spray plenty of water without being concerned about making a mess. 

The stream of water you use must be strong enough to knock off the bugs but not so strong as to tear or bruise the leaves.

Citrus trees have very tough leaves and seem to be able take quite a bit of pressure. Others plants however, are more delicate. Start with a fine spray and increase the pressure if needed.   You’ll have to judge it yourself.

I use a 3-hole nozzle that puts out a very fine, yet strong stream of water that knocks off just about everything without damaging leaves.

Take advantage of this January thaw while you can.

Bob

Judy and I traveled to Florida a couple of weeks ago. One of the places we visited was Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota.

While we were there I bought an Orchid for the greenhouse as a souvenir. Instead of potting it, I decided to put it up onto one of the orange trees.

Orchids are epiphytic plants, meaning that their natural habitat is up in the branches of trees. The tree is only supports the plant but doesn’t provide any nourishment for it.

I needed a way to firmly attach the orchid without damaging it.

Regular twist ties and Velcro strips first came to mind, but then I remembered something I had acquired in the summer; a roll of Rapiclip Soft Twist Tie.

This Twist Tie is a foam rubber coated wire that is very soft and pliable and very easy to work with. I paid five or six dollars for this 16′ roll.

You can see here how it gently, yet firmly it holds the orchid to the tree.

This spot gets daily misting from the overhead misting system so my souvenir from Florida should be very happy there.

Bob

I have a few days between Christmas and New Year to take advantage of the fact that the north greenhouse is empty, now that all of the poinsettias have been given away.

One of the jobs I have been wanting to do for a while is wash the inside of the glass on the greenhouse.  It is covered with algae, mildew and other assorted nasty looking stuff. 

Since the peak of the roof is 15 feet from the floor, I bought a telescoping window brush handle to reach the top without having to stand on a ladder.  I tried using a stream of water to rinse off the dirt but, it just sticks to the glass.

At one time I used an expensive window concentrate to wash the glass. After running out of that stuff, I found out that ordinary liquid dish soap works just fine. Also, since dish detergent contains a rinsing agent and, I use RO water to rinse the glass, they turn out sparkling clear.

If I didn’t have access to 300 gallons on pressurized purified water for rinsing, I’d have to sqeegee  all that glass… now that would be a huge task!

The worst part of this job happens when you are washing the roof and skronky water  runs down the pole and  your arm  into your arm pit…yuck!

Look at the difference between a washed pane of glass and the adjacent unwashed glass.  How much light do you suppose  is lost to all of those dirty panes of glass?

The plants will certainly appreciate the effort and the rest of us don’t have to look at all that grime.

Bob

Have you seen the Amaryllis for sale at the stores? They are a bulb which is quite large that either come in a box and must be planted or are pre-planted.

Large blooms of red, white, or pink are the common colors at the “Big Box” stores. In the catalogs there are some unusual varieties. For example; white with streaks of red or green, pink blotches in the middle of the petals or my favorite; white petals edged in a fine line of red, called ‘Picotee’!

Any of these colors of Amaryllis make great presents since they are sure to bloom. Over watering or under watering makes no difference right now. Amaryllis bulbs, at this time of year, will bloom no matter what is done to them.

Some have two or three blooms from one bulb, and the blooms last for a long time. So, if a present is needed for your eighty-five year old aunt or anyone else who is hard to buy for, Amaryllis bulbs are the answer!

Bye for now,

Judy