My Swiss Chard and Purple Kale have stayed the same size for months.
My strawberry plants have put out some leaves, but haven't made much progress otherwise since I planted them. I'm serious, there is a problem somewhere. Why do my plants not grow?
One exciting thing is the Angel's Trumpet plant, which seems to be doing quite well, despite the fact that it's growing in a bicycle basket lined with a grocery sack and rattan!
The one on the left germinated a couple weeks before the one on the right, so it's bigger and leafier. I "tipped" both of them last week to make them bushy. (To "tip" a plant is to snip off the top part of its growth. This forces the plant to put more energy into making leaves at lower levels, instead of just growing upward. This gives you a nicer looking and healthier plant. One thing I remember from my high-school job at the greenhouse!)
I'm waiting for them to get big enough to cover the ugly plastic from the grocery sack, as well as cover that Perrier bottle better. The inverted bottle helps me water the plants efficiently, to their roots, but you have to admit, it does look a bit tacky.
And I can't wait to see and smell their fabulous flowers!
Your chard and lettuce is probably not growing any bigger because you're growing them pretty close together. Why not thin some of the plants out (and enjoy the baby greens in a salad) and then see if that helps grow the remaining plants to their full potential.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. Congrats on you new baby! Swiss Chard and Purple Kale are so yummy, they will grow faster it has more space and sunlight.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew what to tell you about your strawberries. Do they get enough sun hanging there? I grow mine in grow bags hanging along my fence and they're thriving. Maybe try this fertilizer from Gurney's... I use twice a season: http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=80008&utm_source=cs&utm_medium=base&bhcd2=1278192895
ReplyDeleteFern: I'm planning on making a quiche this week, so I'll put some of the baby chard in it. We'll see if the other plants get bigger after that.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I can eat cabbage leaves, even if the cabbage hasn't made a head. They are kind of prickly; I don't think I'll try. But I'll remove a few cabbage plants and see if the extra space helps the remaining plants any.
Kimberly: The strawberries get sunlight from the morning to the mid afternoon, since they are hanging on the south side of the building. However, the fertilizer might be a good idea. I think the soil in those hanging pots is rather poor after a few seasons of reuse. They have put out runners since I took these photos, but other than that they still look about the same. This fertilizer you linked to is actually not too expensive, surprisingly! I may have to give it a try.
The kale is just stunted; that's all I can think of. It gets lots of sunlight, it's not crowded, the soil in that pot is decent, I water it every day... oh well!
Thanks for your comments everyone!