Houseplants: Green Friends

I didn't go to the country house this weekend; it was cold and raining heavily in the morning. I had doubts about what the conditions would be like there—whether it would be warm or freezing. My brother and I decided to skip the trip. Meanwhile, the weather in the city improved, and it turned warm by midday. I spent the time tending to the flowers on my shelving unit. I started on September 1st—a fresh beginning right after the last day of August.

I planted daisies, portulaca, and dwarf roses. The daisies and portulaca sprouted from the soil after about four days—and in good numbers, too. You could say all the seeds germinated successfully. The roses, however, still haven't appeared. The plants are growing under a red-light grow lamp—a 25-watt model. This is my first time using grow lights.

The plants are still tiny right now, growing under that reddish glow. I only have one such lamp so far; it produces about 4,000 lumens in the center and 1,000 at the edges. I measured this using a light meter app on my mobile phone. There are plenty of daisies and plenty of portulaca. For now, they are growing in separate containers—one for the daisies and one for the portulaca. They look quite different. Both have small leaves, but the daisy is larger, whereas the portulaca is more delicate with smaller leaves. The daisy is simply a larger version of the same basic form; it stands out more. The portulaca sometimes blends in with the color of the soil—especially under the red light—looking like a tiny, barely visible black stalk. The daisy, on the other hand, shows two large leaves that are easy to spot.

One grow lamp is enough for now, though of course, it doesn't cover the entire area. They can be connected in parallel—or, as it’s also called, daisy-chained. These kinds of flowers are growing on the bottom shelf of my shelving unit; they are low-growing plants. I started growing them right around autumn. There’s cardboard and plastic sheeting laid out on the shelf surface, and everything grows in trays. I’ve got that part figured out. It’s convenient to sprout plants in practically anything. I use shallower containers—like chicken or yogurt packaging—for seedlings. Once they get bigger, I move them to larger containers, like big yogurt tubs. So, I have plenty of containers to grow things in.

Just to keep things interesting, I’ll be growing low-growing plants under a grow light for now. Other low-growing varieties include Nemophila, Horned Violet, and standard violets, for example. Since I skipped the countryside this time, I devoted my time to the shelving unit. I sorted through the clutter that had piled up there and checked the plywood for dampness—everything is in perfect order. Now I’m doing things the right way. The new addition is the grow light; I’m still figuring out the best way to position it.

So, I won’t be without my green friends during the time I’m away from the garden. I have various fertili
zers—I’ll try out a few different kinds. I even have OMU fertilizer for roses. I’ll keep growing my green friends. Daisies and purslane were the first to sprout; the bottom shelf is dedicated to them. The flowers have started to emerge—it’s great. The main thing is that it’s working. I’ve collected plenty of chicken and yogurt containers, so I have lots of pots for different plants. And the most important thing is just to start growing. I’m off to a good start.

I’ll have a small garden at home, too—with flowers all year round. The light is sufficient for now, though I’ve repositioned it a few times to get it mounted more securely. And the plants keep growing. I watered them, and they’re growing happily—my green friends.