Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Tomato Terror in the Kitchen

At first, I thought these were worms! These are tomato seedlings growing inside the mothership. The condition is called vivipary - Latin for "live birth." Seeds contain hormones that control their dormancy. This is likely a tomato that was picked weeks ago, and then it sat on the counter in the kitchen. The warmth of the kitchen and moisture inside the tomato caused the seeds to use up all the hormone that controls growth and boom! Babies arrive. 

These new plants would eventually poke through the skin of the tomato and keep on growing. You could plant these sprouts and eventually get new tomatoes. They likely would not be just like the tomato they came from, since the seeds were the result of pollination that included another tomato flower and genes from a different plant. I'm not sure if you want to eat these sprouts. In my research, there was conflicting information about whether or not they can cause tummy trouble and I'm not up for that gamble.

By the way, although this commonly happens in tomatoes, it can also happen in an ear of corn, peppers, apples, pears, oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines and avocados. 

Monday, July 30, 2012

Hops. Arrgh.

I know. I know. Some people grow hops on purpose for beer. But in my yard, they're an invasive weed and it takes constant vigilance to keep them out. Here's a vine I dug out last night.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Butterfly on Agastache

Western tiger swallowtail. Agastache is often also called hyssop. Hummingbirds love it, too. The leaves smell like licorice.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

So Blue that I'm Happy

Another successful year of my Nikko blue hydrangea actually blooming blue. The first two years I had this shrub, it bloomed pink. Our soil is naturally alkaline, and Nikko doesn't turn blue unless the soil is acidic. So elemental sulfur has to be worked into the soil each fall and spring.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Johnny Jump-Ups

Sweet violets that volunteer around the yard each year.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Hummingbird in Mallow

Add mallow to the list of plants hummingbirds like. I've seen them dining on honeysuckle, agastache (hyssop), delphinium, zinnias, orange carpet, cat mint, bee balm and lavender this year. They also sip from the hummingbird feeders.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

House Finch Cozy with the Cat Feeder

It did take the birds a while to use this feeder....