Updates from the greenhouse (and basil!)

Hello again. Here are a few pictures from the greenhouse, along with a comparison of basil growth over the month of August.

Gigantic sugarcane

Buena Creek Aloe Vera

The above picture is of a pot of "Mexican Sedum", purchased in February of last year to determine how well it will stand hot and humid conditions in the greenhouse. It's grown slowly but has survived and seems to be doing well. Each leaf of this succulent can be plucked off and placed in soil, and it will grow into a new plant. This would be a great candidate for the green roof.

Another pot of "Redskin Pepper"

Below is a pot of six spicy globe basil plants. The first picture was taken in late June, two weeks after planting, and one week before spraying with a 150 ppm solution of gibberellic acid.The second picture was taken in late August, just before harvesting for pesto. Notice that the basil in the background is quite tall for such a plant.





The basil produced the most scintillating pesto ever, turning the parmesan more cheesy, the pine nuts more like peanut butter, and the garlic more intense. Compared to the pesto made from Dolly Basil it was gone much faster. There's still a bunch left, if anyone needs some (just email uhgreenhouse@gmail.com and ask for Yosef's basil).

Horticulture Society Membership Form Fall 2012

Please fill out the HS@UH Membership Form .

(posted for the Fall 2012 semester, but is applicable for all semesters)

 

 

 

 

 

New Plants for the Fall

Hello all. During the summer I started growing some new plants for the Fall Plant Sale, and they are doing great. Here are some pictures to show how much they've grown. Most were started in June or July.

This is a cherimoya seedling about a month old. Cherimoya is a fruit tree originating from South America but is now grown all over the world. I started it from seeds that a friend gave to me. Various sources told me that you should place the seeds in water before planting and that any floaters are 'duds', and every seed I wanted to plant floated. Fortunately, three of those four floaters were not duds and are doing just fine.

Only two leaves for now. 

Stevia is growing a bit slowly, and I actually haven't seen any new growth in a while. They're not the easiest herb to grow from seed, though, so I think it will just take some time for it to really get going. 

One of the many Thai basil plants I have. They are also growing very slowly now, though if you go close you can smell their fresh fragrances. 

I started this Christmas cactus from a cutting I took from one of the original Christmas cacti in the greenhouse. All you need to do is take a cutting with 3-5 segments, bury one of the segments below the soil line, and keep the soil moist but not too waterlogged. After about 2-4 weeks, the cutting showed signs of new growth, so I know that it has begun rooting. 

Note the red growth buds.