#Ficus experiment.

The tree is a Ficus Obliqua, one of a bunch I started from seed in 2022. It had eighteen siblings once, but the lankier or bigger leafed ones I gave away and I'm down to three now.

It was in a two gallon-ish flower pot until last month. Now that I find myself in a place with a large window and a balcony, it's been de-potted to give it room to grow.

The tray underneath is filled with expanded clay and baby watercress. The mound is seeded with mini-clover and alpine wild strawberries. I didn't have quite enough clover seed to get good coverage on the first pass, so had to give the bald spots a second rub-down once the first batch was established.

The mound consists of a base "pillow" of burlap stuffed and stitched with planting mix, a burlap pot containing the transplanted tree stitched tight to that, and then more soil mix and a wrap around all of that, stitched top and bottom to the other bags.

The mix is 50/50 orchid potting mix (bark, chunky perlite, some charcoal) and potting soil.

It looks like the clover will handle the vertical sides, and I'm sure the strawberries will if any are actually hiding in there somewhere.

As an unexpected (bonus?), it's now growing mushrooms. I *think* they're "Shaggy Ink Cap", and I'll take it as a sign that a healthy soil ecosystem is getting established in my little hill. Once the clover and (hopefully) strawberries are established enough, I won't need to keep the mound nearly as moist so the 'shrooms should calm down I expect.

My first time growing #watercress -- I'll be using more on the deck under plants so I won't be raining on the downstairs neighbor all summer.

#ficus #bonsai #houseplants

TIL that watercress is in the nasturtium genus...and nasturtiums aren't.

Watercress is Nasturtium officinale, nasturtiums (at least the ones in my garden) are Tropaeolum majus.

The overlap in name is due to them both producing the same "nose-twisting" oil, which gives them their lively flavour.
#TIL #taxonomy #nasturtium #watercress

Includes plants -- like #SowThistle, #GarlicMustard, and #Watercress!

Welcome to Invasivorism

"Turning invasive species into gourmet meals could blunt #environmental and economic costs across the US. But can Americans stomach them? Chefs and biologists are taking a gamble."

Learn more:
http://eattheinvaders.org/

#SolarPunkSunday #Invasivorism #EatEmToBeatEm #InvasiveSpecies

Andover watercress farmer takes legal action over sewage - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8kn5801n4o

#Watercress
#Andover
#Water
#Sewage

This is the best song about watercress you'll hear today.

https://stickinthewheel.bandcamp.com/track/watercress-o-2

#NewMusic #NewMusicFriday #StickInTheWheel #Watercress

I'm trying to grow on my balcony some watercress (in Brazil, agrião), one of the salads I miss the most here in Germany. No idea why it can't be found here. It's so tasty when it's spicy!

I'm growing them using a water pot and a strainer, following the advice of this sir of the video. They are 10 days old in these photos. I hope it works.

https://youtu.be/CwfBnDbs8bA?si=ch2NZHpFtsSvGA0_

#salad #Germany #watercress #agrião #Brazil #plants