Flower

Clay Soil Test and Improvement in Okinawa

Clay soil is what we’re working with in Okinawa. In addition to our potted flowers, I am considering planting in ground this year.

In ground gardening could be a huge risk for a newbie since clay soil can be very hard to plant in successfully. However, I’ve been researching online and have found a glimpse of hope for our upcoming clay planting endeavors.

Here’s a few helpful links I’ve found on clay soil and how to amend natural dirt. Hopefully I can use a few of these tips to make our soil suitable for planting flowers.

Gardenzine.co.uk – How to Improve Heavy Clay Soil

In the above article I learned I may not need an expensive soil testing kit, but rather I could test at home with only a glass jar and water. (see article for a visual description of how the soil should separate and settle)

Top Soil Sample

Bottom Soil Sample

I attempted to do this home soil test. Unfortunately I didn’t have any glass jars (recycling had already picked up). So I substituted plastic Glad containers with lids. The first bowl is surface top soil. I dug about 6″ down to get heavier soil for the second bowl. The article did not say to do this, but I was curious enough to do my own experiment. I assumed that the lower the soil, the heavier the clay.

Added water. Shook it up til muddy. Labeled the lids and waited for the clay to settle.

There looks to be no separation whatsoever. Only clay at the bottom, water in the middle, and a few floaties on top in both bowls! Either I did something wrong, the plastic affected the test, or our soil is nearly 99% clay (which is unheard of!). Of course it’s not a scientifically proven percentage. Merely a guess based on what I’m seeing.

eHow.com – Plants That Grow Well in Clay Soil

Based on the above soil test, I may be better off just planting flowers that are proven to grow in clay soil.

Finegardening.com – Improving Clay Soil

May need to buy some stinking manure. I wish I had started a compost pile last year. I think back on all the rotten veggies and used coffee grounds thrown in the garbage. Newspapers and old cardboard that we’ve recycled. All of these things and more can be used for compost to help improve soil.

WildflowerInformation.org – flowers listed by soil requirements

This last link has a list of wildflowers and the types of soil they will grow in. I only found a few of the seeds that I have listed, but nonetheless a good go to for future reference.

March 23, 2012 0

5 Foot Tall Coreopsis in Okinawa

A nice height comparison with my daughter Justice and myself. She took this picture with the remote you can see in her hand. (She just loves to be in control).

For months I thought this was a weed, because it transplanted itself into a pot that was 2 feet away from where these mixed seeds were originally planted! Before it bloomed I swore I had accidentally cross pollinated a weed with a Cosmo. As soon as the yellow flowers popped out I realized they were Coreopsis.

5 ft Coreopsis Flower Height Comparison — 2012©J.Martinez

One of the only flowers to survive the Okinawa rainy season. I often joke about which season is which. Seriously it’s rainy and rainier. Through the months of November to March these Coreopsis flowers seemed to come alive.

The plastic pot resided in a partially sunny location near our porch. Sun until noon and the rest of the day they were completely shaded. They never got watered. To be honest, I thought they were dead and it was the rainy season anyway so I left the plants alone.

Coreopsis Flower Close Up — 2012©J.Martinez

March 19, 2012 2

The Ugly Duckling Cosmo

For the most part the flowers have been dainty all year and then out of nowhere comes the one pot that looked different. The stem was fat and tree trunk like. It was much darker than the other plants of it’s kind. It was the last to bloom.

Not a day after I thought our Cosmo growing season was coming to an end come the biggest and most beautiful blooms of the year. So awesome in fact this flower gets a post all to itself.

2011©Jennifer Martinez — Shot on iPhone 3GS

October 24, 2011 0

Enchantment Mix Cosmos

Cosmos Sensation Mix — 2011©Jennifer Martinez

The Enchantment Mix Cosmos took off faster than any other we planted this year. A beautiful addition to a struggling garden. I misread the Burpee seed packet: 4′ (feet) but I thought it said 4″ (inches) so I planted them in our smallest pots. It didn’t take long to realize that these babies had out grown their intended size within the first few weeks after planting. Oops. Oh well, they are still our most healthy flowers to date.

The smaller pots stunted the growth of our Cosmos for the most part, however they have been our most productive plant this season. I read online that Cosmos are generally wild growing flowers. That is so true. My initial plan was to keep them against our side wall that leads up to our front porch. The area gets good morning sun and shade in the mid afternoon. It was good for about 2 months, however once the flowers started blooming and the stems continued to grow taller and taller (2-4 feet) the tops started leaning. I mean REALLY leaning. I’m talking V8 style lean. Drove myself nuts trying to decide what I did wrong. So a bit more research online and I understood the problem.

As a garden newbie and former black thumb, I assume that since these plants were tall they would benefit from the wall they rested upon. WRONG. Basically the opposite is true. What our tall and lanky Cosmos needed was more sunshine and wind. That’s right, wind.

It scared me at first honestly, because I just knew that I’d regret moving the pots based on something I read online. But thank you to the random person on a random forum that lead me to find the saviors of our beloved babies. Wind and sun. What the wind does is make the stems stronger and thicker to be able to support blooms. Exercise… it’s like Cosmo Calisthenics:)

So we moved the pots to the edge of the yard where they now enjoy full sun and wind all day. Okinawa has no shortage of wind and rain so we’re in luck. Speaking of rain, the Cosmos can go without water for longer than most other plants. As long as they get a bit of aqua now and again they will do their own thing. Not drought resistant though, because they will curl up and die after a week. Mostly the blooms last 4 days before a new one takes it’s place.

From spring to autumn (that is if Okinawa had 4 seasons…) here is the gallery. Click any image to enlarge.

How to beautify your garden’s borders (telegraph.co.uk)
Growing Together Part I (greeneyedgoldie.wordpress.com)

October 24, 2011 1

Time to go Carpet of Snow :(

Alyssum Carpet of Snow — 2011©Jennifer Martinez

We’re back online and trying to catch up on all the progress we’ve made in our Okinawa garden. We haven’t given up on our gardening duties but I’ve been too busy to blog. Although to mark our success and failures we took plenty of pictures. We will NOT make the same mistakes next planting season.

If I knew when & where we went wrong, we may have may have actually had a Carpet of Snow.

What I know:

1.We did follow instructions to keep the plant in half sun/half shade.

2.The Alyssum grew fast and started to become very full. Which makes sense because they are ground cover/spreading plants. The flowers that did bloom were tiny and looked like a much smaller version of the picture on the Burpee seed packet.

3. At one point I pulled a dying piece out during thinning and may have damaged root. (Not to mention I waited a month too long to thin.) However this was only in one of the 3 pots.

4. We had a series of over water / under water indecisiveness… thanks to internet searches.

5. The pretty, bright green petals that once were… quickly dried, curled, and shriveled up until falling off completely.

6. Taking matters into my own hands I decided I’d add more soil mixed with Miracle Gro Blood Meal. Now I had no clue what it needed to survive so I gave it a shot. This unopened bag of organic matter was just staring me in the face.

Conclusions or lack there of … we’ll call my best guess

Theory 1: Unknowingly sentencing the Alyssum to death by over crowding pots that were too small to begin with.

Theory 2: Planting a few months too late. The Okinawa heat is NO JOKE! We are much closer to the equator than North America, where this flower is said to bloom very well with little effort. So this leads me to believe that if we had given the Alyssum an earlier start closer to March/April instead of June/July they may have thrived.

Theory 3: Alyssum do not do well with organic matter Blood Meal. (Note to self: research the effects of this product on this plant)

After countless attempts to bring back a struggling plant… I gave up.

Time to let nature take it’s course and see what happens. While the plant is still green, it’s dried up and very unhappy. No blooms, no foliage, no leaves, no petals; just a maze of little twiggy green stems. Looking more like an ugly weed.

However I’ve noticed that there are beautiful weeds that fool me into watering them! Weeds really do get a bad wrap. Although since I’ve quit maintaining the Alyssum pots, I’ve noticed that weeds are starting to grow freely. (Notice the clovers and other strange growth in the last few pictures below) Really we could play the which plant does not belong game.

Either way the Alyssum adventure is over for us. At least until next year.

PS. My little helper turned 4 and now could care less about our garden most days. She waters her feet and likes to cut the Zinnias and Cosmos. Which are coming up on the blogroll in the next few posts.

Resist the Urge (greeneyedgoldie.wordpress.com)
My Garden in July (adnelg.wordpress.com)
The Strong Survive? We Shall See (greeneyedgoldie.wordpress.com)

So let’s take a look at the Alyssum from start to finish:

Justice laying seed tape — 2011©Jennifer Martinez

: 2011©Jennifer Martinez

Carpet of Snow Alyssum — 2011©Jennifer Martinez

Dried up Alyssum — 2011©Jennifer Martinez

September 28, 2011 3

Return from Oura Wan

Oura Wan Bay_2011 — 2011©Jennifer Martinez

Home to our garden after a 4 day, 3 night vacation to Oura Wan Beach on Camp Schwab. Worried? Yes, but not enough to let it spoil our trip. If our soon to blooms died while we were away, then it wouldn’t be our first flower funeral.

The difference here is that I’m genuinely attached to our new plants like babies. However, right now they are more like troubled teenagers, they don’t know which way to grow… they’re just growing. And as the parent, I made plenty of mistakes. Mistakes I shall remedy the next time around.

The difference between my flowers and my actual children: the perennials will start over next year, the kids will live with our mistakes forever… {insert going insane, pulling my hair out smiley face here :0}

Burpee Mixed Flowers - Unknown — Burpee Mixed Flowers ©Jennifer Martinez

Burpee Versatile Mix - unknown — Burpee Versatile Mix ©Jennifer Martinez

Cosmo getting ready to bloom ©Jennifer Martinez

Snowdrift Marigolds Leaves ©Jennifer Martinez

Snowdrift Marigolds white stem — Sick Marigold ©Jennifer Martinez

Snowdrift Marigolds with Mites ©Jennifer Martinez

Viola - not looking good — Viola ©Jennifer Martinez

We think it is a Coreopsis... — We think it is a Coreopsis… ©Jennifer Martinez

August 1, 2011 0

The Strong Survive? We Shall See

Alyssum Carpet of Snow

First to bloom were the Alyssum and they seem to be holding up well so far. The seed packet says they are spreading plants and are good for use as a ground cover. Once they take off I have a feeling we may not be able to see the pots anymore! We shall see.

Viola Helen Mount

After all other Violas drown in flooded pots from Tropical Storm Maeri, we were left with a sole survivor (below left). For a few days it thrived. This plant has sprouted taller than expected and is very sturdy. The stem is very stiff and strong like a tree trunk.

Not capturing a photo during the week after the storm is disappointing to me, because it was truly a beautiful plant. Honestly I took its rapid growth for granted assuming if it’s this pretty today just think what next week will bring. By the time my camera snapped it was too late. The leaves had started turning a lighter colored green and thinning out. It’s not looking good for our survivor.

But… we shall see.

Helen Mount Violas — 2011©Jennifer Martinez - Shot on iPhone 3GS - Collage designed on Diptic App

The small specks of green growth (above right) are new violas sprouting in the same soil. Replanting plans got put off by our daily life and we never got around to emptying these dainty tin pots. Before we new it new life had shown its beautiful face!

Snowdrift Marigold Stems Turn White

After researching what could possibly turn a flowers stem white, I came up short. Rephrasing that 10 times or more and searching through tons of articles all contradicting each other, I quit. Not the first time that internet research has failed me. Makes me think it’s time to take a trip to an old-fashioned place we call the Library.

What I was able to determine is that one of the following is probably true:

Too much water
Not enough Water
A case of Root Rot (moldy soil and roots, etc) which is a huge possibility due to the humidity in Okinawa, however the soil seems well-drained and dry 2 inches below the surface.
Mites (which are nearly invisible to the human eye) are destroying our prize marigolds.

We will keep a close eye on our previously favored plants and try to determine what is causing this ugly white stem. Hopefully we can solve this problem before it’s too late. But again, we shall see.

Note to self: No more playing favorites. All flowers are created equal.

Snowdrift Marigolds Sprout in 3 Days (greeneyedgoldie.wordpress.com)
Carpet of Snow Emerge in Rows (greeneyedgoldie.wordpress.com)
Thinning: a sad day (greeneyedgoldie.wordpress.com)
Marigolds (suburbhomestead.wordpress.com)

July 12, 2011 0

Double Edged Sword

The Good News: the garden hose allows me to stay in control

The Bad News: learning to give up said control at the sporadic whim of Mother Nature

Tropical Storm Meari Proves Fatal

Our garden was off to a great start. Giving credit mostly to the moisture in the air and warm weather in Okinawa. Quickly I’m learning that this weather can be a double edged sword. With the close enough to the equator sun on one side and the flood our garden mid-afternoon monsoons on the other. (Combined with tropical storms and typhoons… don’t forget we live smack dab in the middle of Typhoon Alley!)

Weeks of Drought

Both beds full of potted seeds growing faster than expected. Proper amounts of sunshine, shade, and hose water daily. The first 2 weeks after planting we had no rain, and we’ve used the hose more often than expected.

Days of Wind and Rain

The everyday moisture and humidity is wonderful majority of the time. The rain helps until it floods the pots and the ground underneath. Then the sun returns in full force soaking up every nutrient the plant was given in a matter of hours.

Due to the fact that I’ve never gardened before, it’s extremely hard for me to tell if the plants are waterlogged under the soil. If the top soil is the only remaining dry spot or if it’s dry all the way through. The soil has sunk down and settled into a compact mud that cracks at the first sign of sun. It feels soft when I push my thumb into the dirt, unfortunately I don’t know what any of it means. If only I could see what is really going on inside the pots within the soil.

Quickly I’m learning that if not careful this heavy rainfall, followed by high heat can be dangerous and life threatening to our poor little plants. At the moment it’s just tough to tell what they need. It’s not as simple as wet and dry soil. For now, I’ll need to do some research on how to keep our new garden progressing.

July 5, 2011 0

Growing Together Part II

New and Old Growing Together

The Violas are the only older growth that I am slightly concerned with. They just don’t seem to be doing so well. It’s most likely the fact that when we spread the seeds they were so tiny, like specks of dust, they all ended up in the same place. No idea how these will turn out, so we will follow up soon.

Yesterday we recapped on the 2 week old sproutlings. Today we document the growth of our latest seeds planted. Cosmos, Zinnias, and more Marigolds.

The newest additions are growing even faster than the first seeds planted 2 weeks ago.

Cosmos Sprout Overnight

Planted 4 pots of Sensation Mix Cosmos – (2 med. 2 small) By morning a few had already poked through the soil.

Zinnia Lilliput Mix

5 Snowdrift Marigold Seeds planted in the new long pot

New Snowdrift Marigolds in long pot — 2011©Jennifer Martinez

Tiny Snowdrift Marigold Sprouting in a new medium sized pot

Although not nearly as fast as the elder snowdrifts, they’re coming along nicely.

New Snowdrift Marigolds — 2011©Jennifer Martinez

Okinawa weather continues to amaze us. Planting late in the season, our garden seemed doomed from the beginning. Now realizing how fast our plants have matured, I’m left believing it must partially be the fact that we are so close to the equator.

Which makes me wonder how well flowers will grow once we move back to America and I must then actually pay attention to varying weather zones and specific planting times, etc. Sounds quite stressful to keep up with it all! Either way, everything is growing while we’re here and my daughter and I have 4 more years on island to become pros at this gardening business.

Here’s to new seeds and old sprouts; Mothers and daughters growing together in harmony.

Mother - Daughter — Photo by Armani Martinez©2011

My son was my photographic assistant this day and since he’s not at all interested in our garden, I must include him in our blog somehow. Introducing Big Brother and my only son… Armani Carlo.

Brother and Sister — Jennifer Martinez©2011

June 25, 2011 1

Goldie's Garden

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Tag

Clay Soil Test and Improvement in Okinawa

5 Foot Tall Coreopsis in Okinawa

The Ugly Duckling Cosmo

Enchantment Mix Cosmos