Post by Granny Smith on Apr 20, 2008 21:48:19 GMT -5
HOW TO GROW A SWEET POTATO PLANT - Use toothpicks to suspend the sweet potato over a clear glass of water with the tip down, having enough water in the glass to cover the bottom of the sweet potato. Keep it in a warm, sunny spot. Soon vines with morning-glory-shaped leaves will appear and climb anywhere you train them. Keep the water level constant (covering just the bottom of the tuber). Change the water occasionally and DO NOT plant in soil. When the individual slips put out four to five leaves, you can snap the new plants off the mother potato.
HOW TO GROW A PAPAYA PLANT - Remove the slippery coating from brown seeds and plant 1/2 inch down in soil. A plastic bag will keep the seeds warm and moist while the green stem topped with finely cut leaves emerges. As it grows, it resembles a small palm tree. Grow in bright sunlight.
HOW TO GROW A POMEGRANATE PLANT - Let seeds dry out for a few days, then place them in potting soil and keep warm and moist. Place pot in a sunny window. The seeds will germinate in about 2 months. Don't let the soil dry out while you're waiting. To keep the soil moist longer, slip the pot into a plastic bag and tie it closed. NEVER mist the plant. This will grow into an attractive, compact shrub which may eventually produce edible fruit.
HOW TO GROW A PINEAPPLE PLANT Cut off the top of the pineapple, about two inches below the leaves, with a sharp knife so that the surface is level and flat, (make sure you take off the extra flesh or it will rot) with no jagged edges. (you should cut the fruit part down until you can see little round circles which will become roots later) Remove some, but not all, of the leaves (bottom leaves... this is to give you room for planting) and let the pineapple top dry out for a few days before planting it (5-7 so it has time to heal). Start the pineapple in a shallow dish or container that has adequate drainage holes, such as an aluminum pie plate that you poked holes into. Fill the container with a starting medium such as vermiculite to within a half-inch of the rim. Imbed the pineapple one inch into the vermiculite (with half the fruit below the surface and half the fruit above the surface). Place the container in a bright, but not sunny, window. Keep the vermiculite just barely moist - never soggy. If humidity is very low, put a plastic bag loosely over the top and remove the bag when new green leaves appear. The pineapple needs bottom heat to grow properly. On top of the refrigerator is a good spot. A few weeks after planting, new green leaves should start to appear. That's the signal to replant the pineapple. Pot in loose, porous soil. If you use standard potting soil, add some sand - about a handful of sand to a 6-inch pot. Use 1/3 each packaged soil, sand and small fir bark. You can also pot in fir bark alone. It allows air to reach the roots.
HOW TO GROW A COFFEE TREE Its flowers are very fragrant! Buy green coffee beans at a gourmet food or kitchen store. DO NOT USE ROASTED BEANS! The beans will sprout in 10 to 14 days. Keep the soil evenly moist. Dry soil will cause the tips and edges of the leaves to turn brown. Give it some sun, such as in an east window, or back a few feet from a southern exposure. When it is young, repot it yearly, moving it to a container that is one to two inches larger, until it is in an 8- to 10-inch pot. Thereafter, top-dress it each year (remove the top one to two inches of soil and replace with fresh soil).
HOW TO GROW A MANGO PLANT Pry open the pit of a ripe mango with a knife, being careful not to pierce the seed. Plant the seed on its side, 1/2 inch below the soil's surface. Place in full sun, and cover with a glass or plastic until it sends up a leafy shoot. The seed will sprout in two to three weeks.
HOW TO GROW AN AVOCADO PLANT Remove the pit covering from the avocado. This is a little difficult to do, but if you slip the tip of a paring knife under the thin side just right, it makes it a little easier. Use toothpicks to suspend the avocado pit, flat side down, over a glass. Add water until the base of the pit is immersed. Keep it in a warm, dimly lit spot. The pit will crack eventually, and a root will emerge, followed by a stem shooting upward. To encourage branching, cut the stem halfway down when it's from 7 to 8 inches high, cutting directly above the spot where a tiny leaf is forming. The stem will branch at this spot. Put the plant in bright sunlight. As branches grow, periodically pinch off the growing tips to promote fullness. Avocado plants can be started and grown in soil or water. Keep the soil evenly moist. Leaves will brown if the soil dries out.
HOW TO GROW CITRUS FRUIT PLANTS (Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Kumquat) These same directions will work for kiwi, squash or melon seeds, olive pits, litchi nuts, whole Jerusalem artichokes and unsulphured date pits. Plant seeds as soon as you remove them from the fruit. DO NOT LET THEM DRY OUT. Plant about 1/2 inch down in soil. Water well, then cover with plastic and place in bright light in a warm (75-80F spot). In three to four weeks, the weed will germinate and glossy, fragrant plants will begin to develop. Leave plastic on until plants are a few inches high. Allow soil to dry somewhat between watering. Mist leaves occasionally, especially in hot, dry air. They thrive in cool, sunny spots. The plants should be repotted every year until they are in 8- to 10-inch diameter containers. NOTE: If you are growing kumquats, keep the soil evenly moist.
HOW TO GROW A GINGER PLANT With toothpicks, suspend a 2-inch piece of gingerroot horizontally across the top of a glass. Fill with water until the bottom third of the root is submerged. When roots are 1 inch long, plant in soil just below the surface. Place in a north light. Slender stems and leaves will appear.
Note: If you start these now, they would make nice (not to mention frugal) Christmas gifts.
HOW TO GROW A PAPAYA PLANT - Remove the slippery coating from brown seeds and plant 1/2 inch down in soil. A plastic bag will keep the seeds warm and moist while the green stem topped with finely cut leaves emerges. As it grows, it resembles a small palm tree. Grow in bright sunlight.
HOW TO GROW A POMEGRANATE PLANT - Let seeds dry out for a few days, then place them in potting soil and keep warm and moist. Place pot in a sunny window. The seeds will germinate in about 2 months. Don't let the soil dry out while you're waiting. To keep the soil moist longer, slip the pot into a plastic bag and tie it closed. NEVER mist the plant. This will grow into an attractive, compact shrub which may eventually produce edible fruit.
HOW TO GROW A PINEAPPLE PLANT Cut off the top of the pineapple, about two inches below the leaves, with a sharp knife so that the surface is level and flat, (make sure you take off the extra flesh or it will rot) with no jagged edges. (you should cut the fruit part down until you can see little round circles which will become roots later) Remove some, but not all, of the leaves (bottom leaves... this is to give you room for planting) and let the pineapple top dry out for a few days before planting it (5-7 so it has time to heal). Start the pineapple in a shallow dish or container that has adequate drainage holes, such as an aluminum pie plate that you poked holes into. Fill the container with a starting medium such as vermiculite to within a half-inch of the rim. Imbed the pineapple one inch into the vermiculite (with half the fruit below the surface and half the fruit above the surface). Place the container in a bright, but not sunny, window. Keep the vermiculite just barely moist - never soggy. If humidity is very low, put a plastic bag loosely over the top and remove the bag when new green leaves appear. The pineapple needs bottom heat to grow properly. On top of the refrigerator is a good spot. A few weeks after planting, new green leaves should start to appear. That's the signal to replant the pineapple. Pot in loose, porous soil. If you use standard potting soil, add some sand - about a handful of sand to a 6-inch pot. Use 1/3 each packaged soil, sand and small fir bark. You can also pot in fir bark alone. It allows air to reach the roots.
HOW TO GROW A COFFEE TREE Its flowers are very fragrant! Buy green coffee beans at a gourmet food or kitchen store. DO NOT USE ROASTED BEANS! The beans will sprout in 10 to 14 days. Keep the soil evenly moist. Dry soil will cause the tips and edges of the leaves to turn brown. Give it some sun, such as in an east window, or back a few feet from a southern exposure. When it is young, repot it yearly, moving it to a container that is one to two inches larger, until it is in an 8- to 10-inch pot. Thereafter, top-dress it each year (remove the top one to two inches of soil and replace with fresh soil).
HOW TO GROW A MANGO PLANT Pry open the pit of a ripe mango with a knife, being careful not to pierce the seed. Plant the seed on its side, 1/2 inch below the soil's surface. Place in full sun, and cover with a glass or plastic until it sends up a leafy shoot. The seed will sprout in two to three weeks.
HOW TO GROW AN AVOCADO PLANT Remove the pit covering from the avocado. This is a little difficult to do, but if you slip the tip of a paring knife under the thin side just right, it makes it a little easier. Use toothpicks to suspend the avocado pit, flat side down, over a glass. Add water until the base of the pit is immersed. Keep it in a warm, dimly lit spot. The pit will crack eventually, and a root will emerge, followed by a stem shooting upward. To encourage branching, cut the stem halfway down when it's from 7 to 8 inches high, cutting directly above the spot where a tiny leaf is forming. The stem will branch at this spot. Put the plant in bright sunlight. As branches grow, periodically pinch off the growing tips to promote fullness. Avocado plants can be started and grown in soil or water. Keep the soil evenly moist. Leaves will brown if the soil dries out.
HOW TO GROW CITRUS FRUIT PLANTS (Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Kumquat) These same directions will work for kiwi, squash or melon seeds, olive pits, litchi nuts, whole Jerusalem artichokes and unsulphured date pits. Plant seeds as soon as you remove them from the fruit. DO NOT LET THEM DRY OUT. Plant about 1/2 inch down in soil. Water well, then cover with plastic and place in bright light in a warm (75-80F spot). In three to four weeks, the weed will germinate and glossy, fragrant plants will begin to develop. Leave plastic on until plants are a few inches high. Allow soil to dry somewhat between watering. Mist leaves occasionally, especially in hot, dry air. They thrive in cool, sunny spots. The plants should be repotted every year until they are in 8- to 10-inch diameter containers. NOTE: If you are growing kumquats, keep the soil evenly moist.
HOW TO GROW A GINGER PLANT With toothpicks, suspend a 2-inch piece of gingerroot horizontally across the top of a glass. Fill with water until the bottom third of the root is submerged. When roots are 1 inch long, plant in soil just below the surface. Place in a north light. Slender stems and leaves will appear.
Note: If you start these now, they would make nice (not to mention frugal) Christmas gifts.
