Did you know that carrots can be readily transplanted? I didnt till I realised my 18month old son was busy 'helping' me. My first reaction was to go crook but I didnt. We used a pencil sized stick and they all went back in and grew beautifully. I am always finding material I can take cuttings off with lots of success. I plant some straight into a pot, some into sand and always put a few in a jar of water. I cannot remember my last failure doing this. I also cant remember all 3 ways being successful on the same plant. I am not a horticulturist so am never sure how to propogate a new plant. My recent success was a stolen bit of a cane type ornamental [perhaps a succulent] with a red cone type flower on it. A quick grab and 3 cuttings later, 2 struck, one in dirt and the other in water. Many natives will strike if you rip off a tiny [3'' long] branch near the growing tip make sure you get the 'heel' and a bit of bark. They sometimes take months but they will get there. I have at times, run out of patience, written them off as dead. Tossed them under a tree and some time later noticed they were growing. One grevillea I have at home is an unnamed one and was spotted by a [very good] amatuer botanist at my place. This was one of 3 I have that I had looked after for 6 months ish and decided to 'toss' them out of the shadehouse and see. It may be named after me.... yaaay...grevillia floot-ensii.. :shock: Another one I have growing in my garden is a talking piece. It's called Turkey Bush [calytrix exstipulata ?? spelling] and I tried for 5 years to dig up seedlings, take cuttings , find seed etc. The last year I went back to the spot and found an icecream container I had forgotten with TWO seedlings in it. One survived and is about 1.5m tall. Same with cycad seeds, I found about 2 dozen, planted a dozen and threw the rest under a tree. The potted seeds didnt ever grow but 2 years later 3 cycads popped up under the tree. Interestingly, the seedlings that took were on the 'dry' side of the tree where the sprinkler missed. We can grow strawberries here, wonderfully, but they die off ever year. I have tried strawberry seeds a number of times and never a plant. Any suggestions? If you have ever pruned a tomato plant next time poke the pruned bit in the ground. They dont even act like transplants, they just carry on growing. With tomatoes too if they are lanky you can plant them 'up to their armpits' in the dirt and they do just fine. This is something I just do because my mother showed me how. Whenever I am planting big seeds like pumpkins I do the wedding ring & string thing and pick the 'female' seeds. Same with pawpaw [I still get males nearly all are females. For anyone in the tropics... Yellow bell tomatoes, the little ones. I dont know where I got the seed from but they grow like crazy and produce until you stop them. Just shake a branch and pick the ripe ones up. Dont be fooled the bushes can be 6' across. The fruit is nice in salads, freezes well. It can survive the build-up and the wet season itself. I used to cut whole branches off them and throw them into the chooks. I have not been successful with tomatilloes [seeds from a bought woolies one] they have grown quite well and about the time I expect something to happen they just die? Have any of you grown this plant in the tropics? I had always thought it should grow in the Top End. Cheers Floot
So, sideways is male, is that right? Can't remember... When I was a kid I remember sitting strawberry tops on wet cotton wool on the window sill, but I can't remember if it was actually successful??? I just buy a few punnets each year and go again, but I do have one 'wild strawberry' that never actually seems to die off, or get any bigger - and has never fruited! Very odd. I bought some of those Moon and Star watermelon seeds a couple of years ago, and got all excited. They have blue and yellow outer skins and just look really interesting. After fussing about waiting for them, nothing happened. Guess what? One has shot this year! Just one. Has a lovely leaf and I noticed it a week or so ago. Am excited again. I will definately try some native cuttings. I have to remind myself, as all cuttings here go straight to the goats - but will have to start keeping bits.
Great tips! I've grown tomatillos here. It was a few years back when we had a really WET wet season and they got to the stage of forming the fruit in the husks and all died from some disease. I've never had luck getting them past seedling stage since, but I'm not the most attentive gardener! My kids like to propagate cacti in pots and sell them or give them as gifts. They also grab snippets of herbs - esp. goto kola and mints and get those going. I like growing pineapples from their tops. It always makes me feel clever! Must try the yellow bell tomatoes. We grow the red 'cherry' variety here as weeds. They're still going in some spots, but have succumbed to the heat in other parts of the yard. Bel
Corn, I think I remember that strawberries don't grow from their seeds, most of them are sterile. There is one variety that will grow from seed though, it's the Alpine strawberry. You can buy strawberry seeds, I think Yates has one, but I'm pretty sure it would be the Alpine. Strawberries should grow from runners where you are. Here they grow really well, I have four plants that I can't kill with an axe. They've been going two years so far, but I hear you should replace them after three, because of the potential of viral problems.
Re: tomatillos, if you have a really wet season pull all the mulch back and replace it with a layer of kitty litter, this will draw up wetness from the roots, which will rot in this type of condition. I lost one and saved one this year, this was advice from my nursery.
Forest...have some Apline strawberry seeds here..have tried a few times over the years to grow them....prefer to get new plants from runners...but me thinks it has become a crusade of mine to grow some from seed....if for no other reason than to say I've done it!
Bazman, You might be onto something with the plants being 'drowned'. I like that kitty litter suggestion. It might just be a Tomatillo Grower Conspiracy too. From my reading I wanted a few of them as a 'chook plant' with me harvesting some. Corn, I purchased strawberry seeds in a packet so they should have been able to germinate. I think they suffered 'damping off' but I didnt ever try to cure that. The seed is like dust. I know your pain, I will have a go at growing them from seed again. My wife recently got a lot of portulaca to germinate and grow and they have tiny seed too. Cheers Floot
Cobber, I currently have about 8 or so strawberry plants from seed - Diggers seeds (https://www.diggers.com.au/RNLS05/VegSeedsL_W_2.pdf). There are Alpine and Temptation...I can't remember how many of each and they are at home and I am at work so I can't check...but both germinated. I am finding that they do grow fairly slow though.
Got my seeds from Diggers too. Will wait until I have the time to try to grow them in a few different ways....hopefully that way I will work out which way is best. Though obviously much easier just to buy a plant and let it shoot off runners in all directions!
