Growing a plant from seed ourselves gives such a satisfying feeling. Growing a more exotic or unusual plant, like an avocado, is even more satisfying. When watching something so tiny develop into something so much larger in comparison, I still ponder at how...
Growing an avocado plant from seed is obviously more involved than just burying a seed in a pot and leaving the rest to Ma Nature. or is it? The current status of my avocado plant is just that, a seed buried in a pot, only the seed was germinated and nurtured for a year in an adapted plastic bottle, to get it 'started off' before being potted up. It was left for a year to enable a casual study of the root structure and development. The root system is the part of a plant that absorbs water and nutrients from the soil to feed the plant.
Pictured below is the basic technique used to germinate the avocado seed.
SOAKING AVOCADO SEEDS
SCRAPING WAY THE SKIN FROM THE HAIRLINE CRACK
After soaking the cleaned seeds for a few days in water, some develop a hairline crack in the outer shell indicating that something inside is expanding. Hopefully, it's the tiny seedling germinating in the centre of the great nut. To relieve a bit of tension from the constriction by the hunky shell, the brown skin of the nut is scraped off along the split line before being sat in water and placed in a warm area.
SEED GERMINATING
SEED IN WATER POT
AVOCADO SEED GERMINATION TRIAL IN A PLASTIC EGG BOX. 15th February 2018
The avocado shown in the images below from 15th February 2018, was germinated and has been growing in this pot since 14th February 2017. Twelve months is long enough. Time for potting up.
AVOCADO SEED AFTER TWELVE MONTHS ON THE WINDOWSILL. 15th February 2018
ROOT STRUCTURE OF AVOCADO AFTER ONE YEAR IN WATER. 15th February 2018
The roots appear to have a deep penetrating tap root with a strong developing root structure. Happy Days.
After potting on, the plant appeared non the wiser come the following day. No death!
AVOCADO PLANT POTTED ON 15th FEBRUARY 2018. Image taken 16th February 2018
The video below demonstrates how I potted on the rooted avocado seed and its' current state.
The two images above, taken on 25th February 2018, show how the avocado plant has adapted to potted life after ten days. The pair of top leaves, the newest growth, have flourished and increasing their size quite noticeably. It currently sits on a sunny windowsill indoors as avocados love the sun. Young plants should be protected from the cold during winter although the more established plant can survive outdoors.
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MY GENERAL NOTES on AVOCADO GOODNESS
Avocados are generally accepted as a 'wonder', 'super' or 'marvelous' food based on their highly positive nutritional and dietary values and health benefits, obviously. The benefits of eating avocados are numerous, too many for me to mention and non of which are the results of my own deduction. I will urge people to research more thoroughly and with more interest and concern about what they eat, particularly as 'reliable' information is readily and freely available to many. With the agenda complicit corporates dominating the global food chain and showing signs of skullduggery between the ever developing cracks in the rind, knowing where food comes from should also be of suspicion raising interest.
Are We What We Eat?
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The information detailed below has been compiled from a number of different sources from both online and hard copy publications and gives average values based on variations found in the different varieties and sources analysed. Whilst the information is, to my understanding and acceptance, accurate at the time of publishing, it is intended for my own personal use only and should not be totally relied upon to be accurate for your own personal acceptance or use. This is obviously a disclaimer of responsibility, written in to protect myself from negative retribution. The information should only be used as a general, non binding guide for furthering interest . NOTE: I am not a nutritionist, a herbalist or a medical practitioner, so please do your own research.
The two website links printed in the above nutrition chart are informative portals for food nutrition and personal health advice and links to these sites have been included below. I am in no way affiliated with either website or company and am merely sharing their sites to enable a reader to access the information I frequently browse.
The George Mateljan Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation with no commercial interests or advertising. Their mission is to help us eat and cook the healthiest way for optimal health.
Self Nutrition Data use the motto "Know What You Eat" and is a mine source
of interesting and valuable information regarding food nutrition and personal health.
I arrived on the allotment at 2 o'clock on Monday afternoon, adamant that the week would see me achieve the first major aim, digging up to the planting area boundary at the far end to establish the base line from which I can begin setting up the area for planting.
THE PLOT AT 2 O'CLOCK ON MONDAY 5th FEBRUARY LOOKS 'DORMANTLY ACTIVE'
As this boundary is at the north of the plot I've decided to plant the tallest
growing vegetable along this line so as to not block out any direct sunlight
to other crops and to give a nice backdrop to future photographs. The
obvious contender is the runner bean, so, although it's a little early
to plant out, I will at least aim to get the supporting framework set up soon. This will make a change, visually and motivationally, from just digging. I'm
aware of crop rotation and intend moving next years runner bean planting to the rear of the area of 'scrubland' which is visible to the right. This will be cleared and prepared at some point in the future in readiness for the 2019 season.
THE NORTH END OF THE PLOT ON MONDAY 5th FEBRUARY AT 14:00hrs. MY 'DOGLEG DIGGING' SHOWN IN ITS' EXTREME.
The image above, taken at 2 o'clockish, shows the string line set out on the boundary of the growing area and the amount of digging still left to do to before I reach the great northern edge.
5 O'CLOCKISH ON THE RUN UP TO THE GREAT NORTHERN EDGE 01.
At 5 o'clockish, with the light dimming and the temperature dropping, I decided to call it a day.
5 O'CLOCKISH ON THE RUN UP TO THE GREAT NORTHERN EDGE 02.
TUESDAY 6th FEBRUARY 2018
A 12:24 ARRIVAL ON THE PLOT SAW LITTLE, IF, NO CHANGE FROM THE LAST 'PLOT SHOT' FROM VIEWPOINT 01.
With the recent action mainly taking place at the far end of the plot at The Great North Boundary, noticing any differences between 'PLOT SHOT' images taken of the allotment upon arrival from Viewpoint 01 is much akinned to looking in a mirror every morning to watch ones' hair grow or weighing oneself every hour, when on a weight control diet, and expecting to see dramatic results every time...
I will, however, persevere with this routine and formulate a montage on the twelve month anniversary of the very first plot shot.
SCREENSHOT TAKEN FROM 'THE RACE TO THE BOUNDARY EDGE' VIDEO BEFORE ANY DIGGING TAKES PLACE
The race to reach the Great North Boundary edge, highlighted above with a string~line, would mark a milestone in my digging plan. I began tilling from the centre of the plot working outwards as, from a psychological perspective, it would visually reduced the distance to a boundary improving morale and increasing the number of 'milestones' and of celebrations for goals achieved.
The video below was taken spread over two days, the 6th and 7th of February, and is a compilation of a number of individual videos. It is hoped to serve several purposes: Firstly, to demonstrate trench digging and leaf litter distribution. Secondly, to entertain those who enjoy watching and who benefit from other people working hard or 'grafting', politicians, bankers, the tax man and weirdos as examples. Finally, this video is an attempt to win the coveted 'YouTube Award For The Most Unwatchable All The Way Through To The End At Normal Speed And With No Fast Forwards Video Excluding Paint Drying Demonstrations 2018'. It really is a duel of tolerance.
The video below is the shortened version, the main purpose of this recording being
to make the footage available to those with more sense than time.
WEDNESDAY 7th FEBRUARY 2018
Below are a few images taken on the 7th of February, beginning with some views of the trench as left at the close of 'play' from the previous day and ending with the final celebratory result.
MY VIEW OF THE GREAT NORTH BOUNDARY LINE 'CUT IN' WITH TRENCH AWAITING BACKFILLING
RATS EYE VIEW OF THE GREAT NORTH BOUNDARY LINE 'CUT IN' WITH TRENCH AWAITING BACKFILLING
DOGS EYE VIEW OF THE GREAT NORTH BOUNDARY LINE 'CUT IN' WITH TRENCH AWAITING BACKFILLING
By ten past five in the dimly lit afternoon, the trench had been back~filled and the area completed.
THE GREAT NORTHERN BOUNDARY COMPLETED AND READY FOR PLANTING 01.
There was nothing more to add as an update to the week as I had developed an excruciating back injury, no doubt brought on by the poor raking technique of over stretching when pulling heavy soil.
I did return to the site, for a plot update and inspection, on Friday 9th and Sunday 18th Feb., only since then have been unable to dig so have very little to report.
THE GREAT NORTHERN BOUNDARY COMPLETED AND READY FOR PLANTING 02.
THE GREAT NORTHERN BOUNDARY COMPLETED AND READY FOR PLANTING 03.
Away from the plot I did manage to pot up an avocado plant that I'd grown from a seed germinated twelve months ago and this will be the next post, so if you want to be informed of future posts as they appear subscribe for post updates using the app. in the right hand sidebar menu.
This article was posted on 23rd February 2018. Despite a vast improvement to my back, I have still been unable to toil, although things are looking promising for some of the lighter duties next week
Tuesday 30th January was an absolute corker if you like cold and frosty mornings as I do. Obviously, wrapping up in suitable attire is a necessity for total enjoyment of the perishing, crisp temperature, which was a nipple numbing minus three degrees celsius when I arrived on the plot at around 08:00hrs.
Not having spent the night sleeping rough, like so many people do in this town, is also a bonus. Being #homeless in this day and age is an unforgivable for which our local MP, who does less than zero to address the issue, and the government on the whole, really should hang their heads, both in shame and on the chopping block ready for a lesson in consideration and respect. My thoughts are never far from rough sleepers and the homeless and particularly at this time of year and in these difficult conditions.
I digressed... No apology forthcoming!
We are very fortunate in Britain to have such a diversity of climate. I have been hoping for a hard frost to help to break down, or up, my clayey soil into something that isn't just a solid lump and my desire was granted by Mother Nature in such a beautiful way.
ARRIVING ON SITE, WITH A BROADER VIEW OF THE ALLOTMENT GARDENS ON A FROSTY TUESDAY MORNING IN JANUARY.
CLOSING IN ON MY PLOT, EXCITED AT THE FIRST HARD FROST OF MY TENANCY AND OF THE YEAR.
Below is a short video of the glory of the crisp morning on the allotment.
MY CRISP LEAF LITTER GLISTENING IN THE GLORY OF THE MORNING GLOW, GREETING ME, SMILING, WITH A "Brrrrrr... HELLO!"
The plan for today was to continue on from Sunday and finish collecting the remaining leaf litter from the latest 'Leaf Litter Central' which is a few hundred yards up the road on a small piece of common ground at the junction of Stoke Road and Chestnut Drive.
Armed with wheelbarrow, rake, fork, 'leaf boards' and a couple of large bags, plus a camera, I trundled off to the site, arriving at around 08:25hrs.
The image on the right is a reminder of how the leaf litter site was left on Sunday gone.
By 11:20hrs, well beyond the anticipated finish time due to
chatting with a few passers~by, mainly on topics such as town and county
council and government mismanagement and failings including council tax
irregularities and the dubious merger of Taunton Deane and West
Somerset District Councils, Common Law and its' supersedence by
corporate, capitalistic laws and extortionate and increasing taxations,
austerity for the poor, including the abuse of the elderly and less
abled, and continued prosperity for the well orf including the
privatisation of deliberately 'run down' national public services by a
very select membership, ye goode olde days of resource appreciation,
make~do~and~mend, like it or lump it, love thy neighbour, communicising and the conspiracy
to subjegate and alienate individuals from their neighbours including
the loss of basic traditional social interaction due to the closing of
community meeting places such as libraries, village post offices, community and youth centres and
increasing taxes on the brewery and public house industries to name just a few, combined with technological distractions including time and mind
draining television and computerised entertainment and 'exercise' and
the conspiracy to undermine natural and organic foodstuffs by companies
such as #Monsanto and #Bayer, among other issues, ....
WORKING ON COMMON GROUND CAN ATTRACT ATTENTION SO SITES ARE LEFT CLEAN AND TIDY FOR NO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
...the site was cleared and I trundled back to the allotment to release my treasure unto the Earth.
Below is the full video of the days leaf litter toil.
MY GROWING COLLECTION OF SHITTY BROWN GOLD AWAITS BEING CALLED INTO ACTION IN 'OPERATION SOIL UNCLAG'
As fully demonstrated in the above video of the days leaf litter toil and pictured below, the leaves, which in the main are tightly bound together due to wetness and compaction, are raked to separate, aerate and make easier to evenly distribute over the heavy ground before being dug in.
RAKING THE DAMP, COMPACTED LEAF LITTER SEPARATES AND AERATES THE LEAVES FOR EASIER DISTRIBUTION
The final plot image of the day demonstrates the result of the leaf distribution and of the digging in process for 'Operation Soil UnClag'. Hopefully the worms will appreciate being given a hand too.
LEAVES ARE DISTRIBUTED OVER THE SOIL SURFACE AND INCORPORATED DURING THE TRENCH DIGGING PROCESS
At the end of a satisfying seven hours allotmenteering and to summarise the day, it must be said that gardening is great. What can be better than working in the great outdoors surrounded by Mother Nature and playing Father Nurture, meeting people from the community, strangers in the norm who we only know under the everyday circumstances of merely passing in the street on our personal journeys, with perhaps a brief glance, an acknowledging smile or a reciprocated "Hello" who then become social and sociable friends, interacting and sharing ideas and experiences, the older generations with their upbringings of resilience and respect, the younger with their wants for the future and their need for wisdom and guidance from 'Ye Goode Olde Days', and all because of shitty brown gold.
THURSDAY 1st FEBRUARY 2018 ~ Pinch, Punch, First Of The Month.
I arrived on site at approximately 09:17 with more digging to do. Need it be said?
THE PLOT ON THE DAMP, OVERCAST MARNIN' OF 1st FEBRUARY 2018
FREE RHUBARB (RHEUM RHABARBARUM) ARRIVES
Having never, to my degenerating memory, bought rhubarb, or even cooked it myself, although it must be said that I do love the dessert vegetable when baked in a pie, crumble or stewed, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or lake of custard, obviously prepared by someone else, I was pleased and grateful to accept the gift of a large crown, an exchange for merely digging a wee hole for a fellow allotmenteer. I'm both undecided as to where to plant it and how to care for it so for the time being it remains in the queue for attention. I have, however, been informed that the first years growth will not be edible so it may be wise to concentrate on the immediate and more pressing job of digging, in preparation for the rapidly approaching sowing and planting season.
GIFTED RHUBARB CROWN AWAITING A PERMANENT HOME
I shall address the technical aspects of rhubarb, including the myriad of
health benefits plus ways of storing and preserving it when the time for
planting arrives, which will be pretty soon.
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The main job for today was the clearing of an overgrown grassy mound of garden waste that was impeding what should have been the surrounding path and boundary of the plot and that had, over a number of years, developed into a valuable supply of compost. It is visible at a back corner of my plot against the railings, central in the photograph below which was taken on 16th January 2018.
GRASSY MOUND OF VALUABLE, YEARS OLD COMPOST, AWAITING RELOCATION.
With my allotment garden running parallel to and only ten feet from the ambling stream known as Blackbrook, which flows behind the railings, I was forewarned even before agreeing to the tenancy that planting potatoes near this edge would be a gamble due to the presence of rats which tend to burrow in from the river bank and destroy crops from beneath. I do intend to address this inconvenience and quite frankly 'liberty taking', by trialing rat discouraging plants, grown along the boundary and among crops, such as lavender, peppermint, spearmint, daffodils, marigolds, garlic, sage, grape hyacinths, tomatoes, the list is long and bodes well for the idea of cruelty free pest control. This procedure also ties in very nicely with the practice of companion planting, something which I am keen to trial and share in the future. It may not take much imagination to surmise that this rambling narrative is leading to the discovery of rats on my land. Whilst I don't blame a rat for being born a rat and have no desire to harm them, I'm sure there's a better location for them and am keen to motivate them to move to pastures newer, greener and possibly with a better, more varied supply of food, perhaps a messy persons back yard, a restaurant bin store or a fly tipping site.
Having unearthed a nest and managing to see off a couple of the little rodents I fortunately captured one, very briefly, on camera. I emphasize the word briefly. See short video footage below.
PLOT BEFORE GRASSY MOUND REMOVAL FROM TOP LEFT HAND CORNER
PLOT AFTER GRASSY MOUND REMOVAL FROM TOP LEFT HAND CORNER WITH RHUBARB CROWN IN THE FOREGROUND
The compost collected from 'Operation Rat Mound Removal' was sieved and is stored in a one ton 'builders dumpy bag', which is beneath the tarp and green barrow in the above image, ready to be used for planting seed drills where the lumpy soil will make it impossible to maintain an even and acceptable distribution of seeds, for someone with an OCD character, and for planting out pot raised plants to give them something nice and penetrable in which to develop. This compost will also be dug in over time and hopefully improve the soil structure.
RAT MOUND REMOVED, AREA LEVELED AND SQUARED OFF UP TO THE RAILINGS. HAPPY DAYS
ANOTHER VIEW OF RAT MOUND REMOVED AND LEVELED, THIS TIME FROM EXCESSIVELY DAMP SATURDAY 3rd FEBRUARY
HUMANELY DEALING WITH RATS
The idea pictured below really does work and is particularly useful in the house and for people who don't like the sight of blood or dismemberment from snap~traps, or just don't like killing things.
FREE HUMANE MOUSE AND RAT TRAP
I used this method once in a dishwasher (Not mine. I'm old school hand wash only) and managed to catch two mice, they had made their way inside somehow and managed to survive several wash cycles, by tempting them with bird seed placed in the bottom of a tall, wide necked, jar balanced almost upright at an angle. Needless to say, although it must be said, they were whisked far away and released into the wilds of the countryside, away from the pest known as mankind.
SATURDAY 3rd FEBRUARY 2018
A RATS EYE VIEW OF A WELL LEAFED SINGLE DIG TRENCH WITH MY SIGNATURE DOG LEG
Just one picture from the visit on Saturday, which was a brief affair to check that the rats hadn't moved back in or vandalised the plot in revenge. Digging the heavy ground for hours on end does require a certain element of pacing oneself and a technique that offers some protection from backache, something I'm still trying to master and that I forget to or neglect to do due to the colossal amount of ground still left to till and my eagerness to get it done.
SUNDAY 4th FEBRUARY 2018
Sundays should be a milestone for my records. The end of the week for reporting on the achievements of that week. The day when I weigh up my harvests and list my completed chores.
There is only so much one can say about perpetual digging without perpetual repetition.
SUNDAY NOON AND THE PLOT IS BASKING IN SUNSHINE. I KNOW IT LOOKS THE SAME AS BEFORE ONLY BRIGHTER!
Come 4 o'clock the day was done for me. This could be a case of spot the difference for the unknowing or the sarcastic, although I hadn't stopped toiling as my back let me know. Minor changes that need an eagle eye to see can dampen the day sometimes, or leave one wondering,
"was I actually here?"
SUNDAY 16:00hours AND THE PLOT IS BASKING IN CLOUDSHINE. I KNOW IT LOOKS THE SAME AS BEFORE ONLY DIMMER!
What I did achieve was what is commonly known in stonemasonry terms as cutting the corner in. (see image below) I am nearing the far edge of the plot with my,.... digging, and to reach the far boundary 'finish line' WILL be a milestone. We would all benefit from setting little goals along the way of long journeys. I have a planting schedule that works from this end towards the front of the plot so next week I intend on reaching that first goal, backache or not.
CORNER 'CUT IN' IN READINESS FOR A MAJOR SPRINT TO THE FINISH LINE NEXT WEEK
I also have the idea of producing a contender for 'The Most Boring and Unwatchable All The Way Through At Normal Speed YouTube Video of 2018 Award' Wish me luck.
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Well that's Sunday and this week over. To summarise, I can't knock it. It's been quite tough going only I keep at it because gardening is great and I'm sure that the rewards will be well worth the effort. Personally I love grafting and grafters so I'm really in my element here. Some might say overdosing. To say I'd do it all again is true as I have to do more #DIGGING. I've met some great, like minded people and had some interesting chats. The socialising aspect has been an added, although not totally unexpected, bonus.
I'll finish this post with an image from Tuesday 30th January. It isn't the best quality shot, which is why I was going to leave it out, only the subject matter isn't digging so it at least gets a +1 for that, plus it shows one of those things that makes being in the great outdoors, being surrounded by nature and loving and appreciating life and creation a pleasure and a privilege. Catch you swoon.
GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER HUNTING IN THE OLD OAK TREE NEXT TO THE ALLOTMENT
