Kangaeroo’s Aussie seed experiment is moving forward, and today resulted in its first buds.
Seedling growth came from an everlasting, a pink, yellow and white flower native to Western Australia.
I potted everlasting seeds last weekend in humidity pods.
They’ve been growing under lights daily ever since, except for Tuesday night when the power plug short-circuited.
I’ve checked the pods daily to see how they are developing, so was delighted to see the little leaves sprout. Might have some stronger seedlings in the works.
Once they have grown big enough, I will transplant them into pots and move them into the hothouse outside.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to plant some and give the rest away.
Otherwise, Kangaeroo Corner is also providing some good news.
Parts of the garden are continuing to thrive.
The wattle, which sprung forth from what was left of a branch, appears poised to burst into flower.
Neighbors are also growing a wattle and their tree is already awash in the beautiful yellow blossoms.
More concerning are the one of the grevillea and tree fern, which appear to be struggling from the cold even though we have had a mild winter.
I’ll keep on weeding, watching over them and hoping for the best.
As I touched on over the weekend, I’ve started trying to grow plants from seed and I completed the first round of the process this morning before heading off on my bike.
Blend of potting mix, peat moss and pearlite
Dwarf wattle seeds that I soaked in boiling water last night were the final group of seeds that can be planted in the winter.
I managed to spread the seeds over a tray and put them in the humidity pod.
Most of the work was finished yesterday after the ride.
Potting mix
The process so far started in September and October of last year (2022) when I collected Australian native plant seeds, mostly from Bunnings.
Native Australian plant seeds purchased from Oz
Managing to get the seeds through Customs in Oz and Japan, the next toughest step was stopping myself from getting over eager and trying to plant them before they were ready.
Plant starter kits
I did start preparing, mostly by buying plant starter kits, which are lit and heated humidifier pods. They came equipped with diggers, cards and a scoop, all of which I’ve put to use.
Tools
Just before Christmas, I put some waratah seeds in the fridge and kept them there for the subsequent six weeks, as advised by the growing instructions.
Australian native plants often need to be smoked or exposed to boiled water to replicate natural conditions before they germinate.
I didn’t study that until now, so I missed the opportunity to get starter granules or smoke water, either of which aids in the process, and I couldn’t find them for sale in Japan.
But I did learn about pearlite and vermiculite, so I purchased a bag of both and got to work.
First, I sorted the seeds, setting aside those that could be planted in the winter.
Humidity pod covers with openings to let out the humid air
In addition to the waratah, the seeds were the dwarf wattle, Australian Christmas tree, red cap gum, honeysuckle banksia, orange banksia, everlastings and one of the two sets of kangaroo paw seeds that I have. I had kangaroo paw growing in Kangaeroo Corner from the outset, but I killed them through overwatering, so I am particularly keen to make a better fist of growing them this time around. Another set will go on a tray of their own in another month or so.
Labeled seeds
I took turns sowing each of the seeds in a blend of potting mix, pearlite and peat moss, then covered them with vermiculite.
Each time the seed was sown it got a card with the planting date added so I will be able to tell how long it takes to germinate: if they do, indeed, begin to sprout.
Humidity pods for growing seeds
They were then laid out in the humidity pods in the spare room.
The humidity pods are exposed to daylight (albeit north-facing), but get pumped up with artificial light overnight.
Lighting the humidity pods at night
I’ve never grown anything like this, but am having fun.
Well, what a bloody awful rabbit hole to fall into.
Today was supposed to involved delivering choccies to some cycling associates in Kawasaki.
But getting up and about with half an hour or so free before Mrs. Kangaeroo was due to head off to work and hanging out with the dinosaur led to messing about on the computer.
Unfortunately, this opened the door to a reacquaintance with Osama, a delightful performer who made his name playing renditions of famous Western tracks mostly from the 1970s in Japanese in a style he calls 直訳ロック (chokuyaku rock, “literal translation rock.”)
Didn’t take me long to be rolling around the floor at the hilarity.
Single kit
And that led further into a rabbit hole.
There will be more from him in the future, I’m sure. And others of his ilk.
All the while, Dino the dinosaur was clearly feeling out of sorts. She appears close to laying again, which is really dangerous. The vet told me not to let her put too much weight on. Considering my lifelong struggles being fat, I probably wasn’t the best recipient for these instructions and Dino has already added so much she’s in danger again. (And I am beating the shit out of myself for being a bad carer of a precious life again.)
Anyway, it’s now almost 2 p.m. and I have done nothing. The chocolate run is off because the potential recipients seemed disinterested and I didn’t want to push as we have never actually met.
With glorious weather this weekend, I planned to get the seed planting process started using the seeds I brought back from Oz last year.
Lit starter kits…this will be the key to propagation
Need potting mix, don’t I?
I had planned to go and buy some as soon as the store opened, but am still sitting here.
Will head down very shortly.
In the meantime, I set up the starter kits. I’m also bought Pearlite and Vermulite to add to the potting mix. I got some amazing instructions from Alex the Aussie gardener, too, so I hope I can put these into practice.
I need to learn how to use the starter kits, too.
Gonna be fun….if I ever move my arse and actually do something.
