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igenlodeThe sweet peas are all now finally over, with the plants dried up and no longer green (along with the pods, of which I found three or four in the end; it will be interesting to see if anything grows from them and whether it rivals the first-generation seed!) So I was finally able to clear all the pots, which has freed up a lot of space. The problem was previously that some of the plants had died while at least one was still flowering, but that the stems were so tangled together that I simply couldn't tell which pots could be safely disposed of without killing off the live buds!
I was then able to separate out the two Swan River daisies that I had put together into the same pot at a much younger stage, and which keep wilting in the heat; once I got them out of the pot it was obvious why, since there was practically no earth left around the mass of roots, which were very dry despite having just been watered until the drips came out of the bottom. Both have now been potted up separately in slightly larger pots. I also repotted another, smaller, Swan River daisy simply because its recycled yoghurt pot had reached the end of its life and was busy photo-degrading into splinters every time I tried to lift it :-) Plastic *does* break down, even if it doesn't decay into anything more useful than plastic sand particles.
I repotted the three basil plants which were crowded together into a single largish pot, as they keep trying to flower and were presumably under stress; it's probably a bit late for that to help now. I ought instead to move the ones that are in ridiculously small pots but *not* yet trying to flower into decent-sized pots now that they have grown... I still have some surviving seedlings in the original cardboard eggbox-lid tray, which is now very slumped; I was consciously keeping those back in the hopes of delaying their development and hence having a fresh set of basil to plant up when the first lot inevitably runs to seed, and the plan has sort of worked. I don't know how much longer they will survive in there, though!
The kale that was pricked out is not doing nearly so well as the seedlings that were left in the original (with no drainage holes, since it was supposed to live on the windowsill) tub, which is mainly because they are being eaten by caterpillars still :-(
The beetroot on the windowsill (of which I now have four plus a runt) badly need potting up as well, but I don't have the energy left for that...
I was then able to separate out the two Swan River daisies that I had put together into the same pot at a much younger stage, and which keep wilting in the heat; once I got them out of the pot it was obvious why, since there was practically no earth left around the mass of roots, which were very dry despite having just been watered until the drips came out of the bottom. Both have now been potted up separately in slightly larger pots. I also repotted another, smaller, Swan River daisy simply because its recycled yoghurt pot had reached the end of its life and was busy photo-degrading into splinters every time I tried to lift it :-) Plastic *does* break down, even if it doesn't decay into anything more useful than plastic sand particles.
I repotted the three basil plants which were crowded together into a single largish pot, as they keep trying to flower and were presumably under stress; it's probably a bit late for that to help now. I ought instead to move the ones that are in ridiculously small pots but *not* yet trying to flower into decent-sized pots now that they have grown... I still have some surviving seedlings in the original cardboard eggbox-lid tray, which is now very slumped; I was consciously keeping those back in the hopes of delaying their development and hence having a fresh set of basil to plant up when the first lot inevitably runs to seed, and the plan has sort of worked. I don't know how much longer they will survive in there, though!
The kale that was pricked out is not doing nearly so well as the seedlings that were left in the original (with no drainage holes, since it was supposed to live on the windowsill) tub, which is mainly because they are being eaten by caterpillars still :-(
The beetroot on the windowsill (of which I now have four plus a runt) badly need potting up as well, but I don't have the energy left for that...