FarmTina

How My Garden Relates to Pantone's Color of the Year

Pantone, the international color authority, has announced their official Color of the Year for 2012: Tangerine Tango.

Goofy name, but awesome color! It's like a natural tangerine fruit got a sunburn, and then went dancing so his cheeks got red and sweaty and he had that free-wheelin' happy glow. And I must say, for the record, that I predicted the 2012 Color of the Year would be a lavender, but my Domestic Partner was spot-on when he predicted "a mesa orange". He's obviously a genius.

I did a quick brainstorm of plants that are in the color range of Tangerine Tango. From left to right, we've got an actual tangerine (not quite tangoed), Chinese Lantern, Ranunculus, Hubbard squash, Tulip, and fall in New England.

"What about Amaryllis?", you ask. Well here's where the universe gets awesome: I was already planning to write about Amaryllis today and then the universe chooses this color of the year and validates my place in the world.

Amaryllis flowers are one of those things that people often confuse, kinda like the difference between macarons and macaroons. This, my friends, is not a true Amaryllis:

Fungus On My Wintering Carnivorous Plants... Yikes!

Well now, this is awkward.

As you may have read earlier in the Winter, I put my carnivorous plant collection in the refrigerator to simulate the cold hibernation period they get in their natural climate. At the time, I said--and I quote--

"Some people recommend adding a bit of a fungicide to the bag, but I've never done this and so far my little guys have always been fine."

I really should have listened to "some people". Today, about 2 months after I put them into hibernation, I checked on my Ziploc bag of carnivorous plants in the fridge and whaddya know, they were covered in fungus. The Sundew Plant was the worst, but the Pitcher Plant and the Venus Fly Trap also had some pretty big spots of fluffy grey grossness.

Carnivorous plants are very sensitive to moist conditions and grey mold is a persistent problem. This fungus thrives in humid conditions, so your carnivorous plants need excellent drainage (see my double pot trick) and ventilation. Hanging out in a Ziploc bag in my cold cuts drawer? Not very good ventilation.

I purchased a simple plant fungicide at Target with a gift card that my Auntie Sharon gave me (thanks Auntie Sharon, you saved my plants!). It's nothing fancy, just Garden Safe brand spray fungicide. To be honest, I chose it because it has a cool turquoise bottle that matches the color scheme in my apartment. Hey, if a girl's gotta have fungicide on her shelf, it might as well match the decor.

I sprayed the fungicide onto the plants AND the soil, to the point where the plants were moist and dripping with solution. I made sure there was fresh water in the bottom pot (remember, my double pot trick) in case the mold spores were in there as well. I need to spray it every day for a week, and if the mold doesn't show signs of improvement, I might actually uproot the plant to see if the roots are affected as well. Fingers crossed that it won't get that far.

I placed the plants back in the sun where they can dry out and wake up from their nap. I don't think this early Spring awakening will affect them too much, but who knows. I might be writing a "Well this is awkward..." blog post again in a few months.

Winterizing Carnivorous Plants

I put my carnivorous plants in the refrigerator for the winter. They are in the cold cuts drawer!

Carnivorous plants, such as my Pitcher plant, Venus Fly Trap, and Sundew, are very picky about their environments. They are temperate zone plants that need warm, wet, swampy conditions with mineral-free soil. And just like many perennials that are native to my part of the world, carnivorous plants require a dormant cold period in the Winter to stimulate new growth in the Spring.

Most of these conditions are pretty easy to replicate when keeping carnivorous plants as houseplants. I use only peat moss in their pots and never fertilize the moss. I keep them in direct sunlight in the warmest space on my windowsill.

I also do the double-pot-trick so they always have a swamp underneath them.

And right now, to simulate dormancy, I have the little dudes in the refrigerator for a few months! Why not just put them outside, you ask? Well the winters here in New York are very harsh, much colder than winters in the rainforests where they originate. Plus, keeping them indoors ensures that they won't get knocked over or stepped on or nibbled by critters.

Here's what I do:

How To Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Fruit flies are really stupid. With the exception of that one in the movie "Fruit Fly to Harvard", they are all very dumb and easy to kill.

Lately, I've had a fruit fly problem around my indoor herb garden that I keep in the kitchen. I have 80 zillion tiny flies hovering around my plants! Fruit flies are annoying, but they can also carry disease and bacteria, so I definitely don't want them hanging around my kitchen. Here's how I got rid of them:

Green Thumb Conundrums: How to Harvest Your Container Herb Garden

I have a problem with over-harvesting the herbs growing on my windowsill. When my rosemary starts branching out, I can't help myself from cutting it to bits. What's a good way to cut herbs to encourage growth and not kill your plants?

-Andrea from Brooklyn, NY