Cilantro Bolting Stages So Far

What's this, again? I know. I am so posting again today, cause I love it and you guys and girls.

So please don't get too excited, 'tis yet another plant post. But hey why not because the Cilantro has reached an interesting stage.

A while ago, one of the things that I learned when I was Googling facts about my plants was that Cilantro seems to be troublesome to grow because it has a tendancy to bolt at the first sign of warm weather. That doesn't mean it goes screaming across the backyard with me chasing it with a butterfly net, it means that it begins to flower.

There are many plants that are basically 'ruined' if you will when they bolt because they are no longer tasty or beautiful because all of the plants nutrients are going towards the flowers which make seeds or fruit. In the Cilantro's case (and apparently not the Bok Choy or I did something wrong cause 'tis so not growing) this is not the case. Cilantro seems to be one of the more versatile herbs out there. Versatile how?

Well, let me show you. ^.^

These are my three Cilantro (and sneaky pots of Basil and Oregano in the top left corner).

This is a picture of what Cilantro looks like when it is grown.

This is what Cilantro looks like when it matures just before bolting.

...And these lovely little buds below in the center right will soon be Cilantro flowers.

Best thing about Cilantro and why it is so versatile is that you can use the initial leaves and the flowers and they both have a unique flavour, so I am told. I will be sure to try some at some point and let you know.

So lets say you stumbled upon this page because you don`t want your Cilantro to bolt. My tip: KEEP IT THE HELL OUT OF THE SUN. Ambient bright light yes, but do not plant it in the center of your garden for not only will it bolt, those seeds from the bolt will keep coming back again and again. My Cilantro get about two hours of direct sunlight a day and plenty of water, and even then after the temperature hits a certain degrees then your Cilantro is going to bolt unless you put a bag over it, which makes Deadlantro.

It's definitely past the days when the only way I could tell the difference between my Parsley and my Cilantro (AKA Chinese Parsley) was the label or the smell when I watered them. Ah, how things change and grow...

©reated by ŊetHerŊøte  

A post about Postings and an Apology

Forgive me readers, 

for I have sinned: 

it has been four days 

since my last blog session.

"But WHY, Nethernote? How could you LEAVE us like that, wondering about the PLANTS?!"

I know--but reality called. It wants my life back. What kind of reality? 12 hour shifts type of reality. It is only a temporary job--I don't know if I will be working the next day or not until the night before--but in the mean time I am making some money again, finally. This is a great thing and I am so not going into how badly it is needed.

Other than that, let's just say I am overjoyed to have found something I could do for work. I have rediscovered my love-hate relationship with getting up early and staying up until retardedly late--but somehow I am surviving. I even managed to do some baking and such last week, which was a great success. I won't promise you that I will post the recipe, but I am SO going to make it again and then I bet I will post it.

"But WHY, Nethernote? How could you BAKE something and not SHOW us the product and the RECIPE?!"

I still have a few recipes that I promised I would post eventually and I just have not gotten around to it. Eventually, my friends, eventually. That is what I keep telling myself, anyway--I want to update Ghost Of Android Market, but I have yet to write said (yet again, previously promised) review on aquarium Live Wallpapers. Yes I have done ALL the research and have it all in my binder... Just have not typed it out.

I want to update Sticking With My Story as well, for I have SO much to just... 'talk' about, if you will, regarding my writing of that paticular project. It has indeed been consuming me of late, filling my head, messing with my dreams and destracting me from everyday life. I want to be writing it right NOW but this is somehow paramount to me. One of the things I wrote in my 'Notes To Self' gadget a while ago on my laptop was:

"Delegate your time as much as possible. Giving too much attention to only one thing can be detrimental to your other projects."

And thus, I had to get back on here. 

Seriously miss this whole blogging thing when I don't do it. 

o.o

In addition to that, I have more to add to Figuring Out Freelancing (which within itself should be interesting when I get around to it) and again, the Gluten Free Recipe section of my blog (Rice Is My Friend Recipes) needs me to add many new things. Am I doing any of these today? My bleary eyes behold you with blunt betrayal! No, no. ^.^ But seriously I will add these things eventually. Think of it as scrying some of the future for Nethernote blog.

"But WHY, Nethernote? How could you TANTALIZE us with these thoughts on future updates and not give us something NOW?!"

Come come now, I would never leave you empty handed!

FIRST:

Of course this is obvious because I always do eventually, but I updated Operation Grow-A-Garden. Apparently the Tomatoes can get larger than what I (and the seed package) said was their full height--they are now taller than my significant other and STILL growing. Creepers, I love it! And, if you have been following along on my merry planting project, you will now that said Tomatoes are flowering. No longer are they just a few little flowers--no, now most of the plants look like this:

SECOND: The Bell Peppers and the Celerew Round Two that I planted recently are progressing very well. How well? This well:

The difference in this Celery compared to the first Celery is so substantial. 

Method really is everything.

THIRD: The three Basil I harvested have been growing like the dickens every since I 'pruned' them. They went from looking rather sparse to this in just a few days:

 And so what did I do with my first bowl of Basil? After some poking around and Googling, I decided to do this:

You may be thinking, "W.T.F... Is... That." Well, that is three leaves of fresh Basil drizzled with oil and gently covered with water before freezing.

That there--is a Basil cube. The only downside to this is that they only last a few months and I should have chopped the leaves up... Next time. This time, however, I managed to create cubes that I can add to whatever I want--soups and sauces among other things. I still have about half a bowl of Basil in the fridge--which I need to do something with but it's not going bad and I seem to have zero energy and initiative when it comes to it so far. Besides the Basil Cubes, I have been eating them.

Yep, just like they are--a tasty, tasty sweet leaf. Other than that these leaves have managed to find their way into everything I consume lately it seems, from in a tequila lemonade (see now THAT is a recipe I should post too! ^.^) to chicken stew and many things between.

Okay, fewf! 

I think that was all 

I had to say and post about.

Not true.

But I am petered right out, 

and I have to get up in seven hours.

>.<

MUST.

STOP.

Calculating.

HOURS

of SLEEP

remaining

before I have

to ARISE

like an undead THING

again tomorrow morning.

Be well all, and thank you for reading my blog. You rock! ^.^

©reated by ŊetHerŊøte  

Ride To Reedman Park

Luckily, despite the fact that it has been stormy this afternoon, my power has yet to go out. This is a good thing, not only because I dislike setting digital clocks but because I can bring to you more pictures of my ride to Reedman Park.

In addition to discovering a strange, deceased denizen of the deep and checking the comment box due to curiosity, I saw other things in this small, foot or bike accessible park. At first--even though I have lived in this area for months now--I did not even know this place was there, so you can imagine my intrigue when I saw this on my bike ride down Blind Bay Road.

 And I peered down the path to see...

 ...And I knew I had to check it out.

 At the bottom was a lovely wooden bench that someone handcrafted--chained to a post so it could not float away by water or other means--and a half submerged boat and a plaque. I being me went straight to the reading material (armed with my Samsung phone camera, of course).

 You learn something new every day. Interesting that this park used to be where the ferry landed!

 Things sure have changed since those days. 

Below is a close up of the bottom paragraph and its pictures:

 Finished reading the plaque and looking over to the side (irresistible due to how high the water was then) I gazed out across the lake. Looked like this:

 Next up, I had to see this half-sunk boat. Interesting that it hasn't floated away--but maybe it is so waterlogged that it won't even float anymore (who knows, I did not attempt to overturn and test it) and that is why it has been abandoned here.

 Drawn to the flowers next, I noted that there were multiple varieties growing here. At first, I though there was two...

...But upon closer inspection, 

I could see that it is a harmony of three.

 Taking one last look across the water, I put my camera away and snapped on my helmet. Time to go! Hope you liked the little tour of Reedman Park. ^.^

©reated by ŊetHerŊøte  

Harvester Of Basil

Not only have my Basil three been creating delicious leaves that I have used for a few dishes so far (the difference between the fresh and dried herbs is so huge that it is nigh indescribable--but if I were to try I would say it is like using a machete to cut down reeds versus ones bare hands.) Despite the fact that I have taken a few times from these plants, they are still growing like mad--and thus I decided that is time to become the harvester of Basil. I gave them excessive water today and took some pictures of their voluptuous veined leaves before I started to pluck them. (And you are not surprised, are you? ^.^)

 A view from above of the first two.

 A view from above of the third one.

 Looking up close, you can see that there are three generations of leaves growing here--the largest being the oldest, obviously. These--especially the ones that are growing under two or even one other set--are the ones that I pinched off during my harvest.

 Even after removing one leaf, you can see that it allows much more sun to shine down on the rest of the growing leaves.

 And more and more is allowed in when you remove the mature leaves. Thus, I set to work on all three of my plants, armed with a bowl to collect my Basil. 

Eventually...

 This is what the first two look like now that I have done with them--and even though I gave them a huge amount of water, they promptly sucked it up just after I was done harvesting. The third Basil, pictured below after its harvest, did the same.

 This cluster has the most mature sets of leaves--I wound up leaving some leaves with a few generations still growing on this one due to the pristine nature of the leaves. The other two--while having produced significantly larger leaves--I wound up plucking most of the leaves from because they had been bitten or otherwise occupied by something somewhere along the way instead of based solely on maturity.

 Done and proudly packing a bowl full of fragrant Basil, I headed inside and ran a sink of cold, clean water and began to soak the leaves. This is going to not only get rid of some of the dirt that remains, but hopefully frighten if not drown any critters that still lurk in among my herbs.

And so, there it soaks. And now, to decide what I want to do with it all...

©reated by ŊetHerŊøte

Immersed in Imagination

It has happened again.

There is nothing I can do.

It is not hopeless, but if I continue like this, my fate is inevitable.

My free time is being devoured by more than just frivolous things these days.

I have things to show for it.

Like my plants,

But the other main consumer of my time--aside from this blog, which I have found is the best writing exercise I have ever done--is my story. I keep calling it my book, but it's not yet--not exactly. I could talk about it until I am blue in the face, but I would rather post a new fresh picture of one of my tomato flowers for you and go and continue my trek of thoughts. 

I must go;

My characters need me!

(...Me to punish them and write all these insane things? Apparently. o.0)

...She says, being sure to finish all responsibilities before immersing self in imagination. Indeed.

Don't forget to create something everyday. Though it may not last, 

it can be well worth it.

...and I won't forget the promised plant picture.

...And then it starts to rain like hell.

THE PLANTS!

THE PLAAAAANTS!!

Are they well??

-dash!-

©reated by ŊetHerŊøte  

Tomato Flowers!!

Ah, the anticipation is killing me! Not only have the tomatoes in my garden reached their full height, (1.2 meters as it says on the seed package, I checked today) they have been budding. I, being the excitable creature I am, have been taking numerous pictures of said buds over the past few days and I believe now is the time to show you some of the best ones...

 Fuzzy little things, aren't they?

 Yet another lovely cluster! This photo and the previous photo were taken on July 13.

This one was taken the next day...

The flowers are coming! The flowers are coming!

And this was taken today. 

So awesome. Did I mention every time I touch these tomatoes I can't stop smelling their potential deliciousness? Love it. ^.^

©reated by ŊetHerŊøte

The Transplanted Peppers

From the file of 'the OTHER plants', comes the story of how I over watered the new sprouts of bell pepper that I had growing in the brown pot.

Just a little bit too much.

Just a little.

Okay, a lot.

  So now what was I to do? Indeed I have a couple more empty pots left, but they are spoken for in the future for other plants. I moved my waterlogged sprouts out into the sun (this was Friday the 13th, so it was nice and hot outside) after dumping out what I could from the sopping soil without spilling any of the sprouts. They moved within their mud pie rather well, and it made me want to transplant them. A good idea indeed for they are going to need more space sooner rather than later, but what to plant them in?

Pack rat mode, activate!

...Into the storage room I go to see if there was anything that could be used. 

Behold:

A plastic dishpan and a plastic aquarium. From there I got to sweat in the sun and play in a mud pie. I must admit, it was fun--and it got me wondering just how long it had been since I had done anything like playing in water and dirt just because I wanted to.

And here we have the finished product! Not only was this one of the easiest of my transplants so far, it was a good experience. I may wind up intentionally flooding something I plan on moving if I have to do something like this again.


The funny thing was that right after I transplanted them, I had to water the soil around them. Seemed strange after they just had a prolonged bath. The next day they had grown almost a centimeter, and they close up at night. I like them. True I won't be seeing any peppers from these guys for a long while, but that's okay. If naught else I am happy they are growing. ^.^

...I really hope that the roots become prominent enough that I will be able to see them through the aquarium eventually. That would rock.

©reated by ŊetHerŊøte

Comment Box of Curiosity

Today has been filled with writing for me. So far I have managed to write pages 117-126 today alone. I am proud of myself, but in a lot of pain. Doesn't stop me from wanting to write more, and it's sure not going to stop me from blogging.

Picture time!

Back when I went for my bike ride, 

in addition to sitting on this very fine bench at the lake side:

 I saw this:

 And of course, my curiosity got me immediately and I had to know what was in it. Perhaps I would even fill out a form, if there is a pen or pencil... So I opened it up. What did I see? I shall show you:

Basically? Nothing. ^.^ But there is a heart shaped rock, a few comments and a screw with some spiderwebs. So much for writing a comment or there being a writing utensil--too bad, because you know I wanted to write 'visit nethernote.blogspot.ca' in there. ^.^ Maybe someday I still will...

Ever curious and perhaps thorough, 

I wanted to see what was behind that little wooden divider.

Behold! Air and shadows!

Upon closing the box back up, I had the door almost come off in my hand--and that broken hinge on the left hand side is why. Welcome to CSRD, I suppose ^.^

I will be posting more pictures of my sojourn to Reedman Park soon. 

In the mean time, keep curious... About everything.

©reated by ŊetHerŊøte 

Bok Choy Redeploy and Celerew Round Two

Looking at it today sort of makes me sad, but these things happen--and besides, perhaps these seeds will take. Sure, I could Google it and see if those were even seeds that I planted and see what sort of situation they need, blah blah blah, but I'd rather wait and see. What am I talking about?

In another edition of "the OTHER plants" I have dealt with the Bok Choy today. If nothing else, this has been a merry run, and so with that in mind let's do some peeking back into the past of this particular Bok Choy. Here's your flashback glasses. ~0-0~

Lovely, right? Made a post and did some research on bolting Bok Choy, and though the flowers smelled marvelous (which was surprising) and over the next few weeks they promptly withered and died. Patiently waiting to see what sort of seeds (if any) it was going to create, I watched it and continued to water it.

Soon enough, the leaves began to lose their color and recede.

Today, it looked like this--so I brought it in, for it was time to deal with it.

She be pretty much a dead issue, as you can see below.

So what of the seeds?

I peered over the stalk...

The one in the bottom right corner seemed to be the most promising due to its size and the fact it actually has a little bulb in it.

Looks like a good seed there in the center but that is actually a little green worm masquerading as a seed. Bloody troll.

Unsure, I promptly picked all of them off and put them into a small pot of soil to see what they will do. In the mean time, having an extra pot of soil around that the Bok Choy had vacated, I went to the fridge. It's time for round two of 'Celerew', but this time with no unnecessary soaking for days before I transplant it. Chopped it up, left the center this time and promptly planted it.

And thus, as I have said many times before, 'tis now wait and see. Other than that, everything in my garden is growing splendidly! Look how tall my tomatoes have grown since I moved them:

Before: (July 3, 2012)

Today: (July 11, 2012)

So cool. They are starting to form tiny buds--soon, flowers, and then FRUIT! 

So exciting! ^.^

©reated by ŊetHerŊøte