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[muze801]

Hi all,
I joined this fine site some time ago, but haven't come out from lurking to say 'Hello' yet.  I am a novice gardener but long time plant lover. This is really my first season actually cultivating any plants (if you could call it that; apartment dweller here) but I spend at least a couple hours every week out walking and admiring every friendly plant I encounter and doing my best to study, identify, research and chat with them. I am especially interested in traditional, sacred, aromatic, edible, medicinal, and entheogenic species but the more I learn, the more I find those distinctions blur.

I am currently growing:
A little Mimosa pudica (I'll admit she's not too happy in the dry air here, not to mention starved for light  )
A small (~10" now) Peruvian torch
Salvia lavendufolium - Lavender scented Sage
N. rustica - Wild Aztec Tobacco (who has been flowering beautifully and is first to provide me with seeds)
Ephedra Sinica - 3 little seedlings, who are just budding their first true leaves (I think)
Hierochloe odorata - Sweetgrass
A couple young Milk Thistles
Aloe vera
Spinach
Kale
Radish

I hope to eventually live on a larger, more hospitable piece of land, and wish to experiment with some urban farming/aquaponic/permaculture systems as well as essential oil extractions, and synergistic combinations for supplements, etc.

Who really knows where anything will take us but I've already learned to appreciate so much and discover as much.

Look forward to sharing,
muze

2 Likes New Wisdom and Roze like this.

[Frog Pajamas]

Hi muze801,

Good to have you here. Please feel free to contribute or join in as much as you'd like- we're happy to have enthusiastic new members regardless of experience, space for plants, etc., and this place is perfect for growing your collection and knowledge.

Let me know if there are any seeds I can share with you once you get promoted (quick here, not like some other forums). I love sharing with new gardeners, as many here did for me when I was new.

Peace,
Frog

[New Wisdom]

Welcome to STS! I'm glad that you came out of hiding. We are in need of more active members. So, do you use an artificial lighting set up in your apartment? 

Anyways, you can easily become a member by contributing in some way (adding to the plant/seed galleries, posting useful information, ect...)  I hope to see you around the forum more often!

New Wisdom

[TBM]

Welcome! I also dwell in an apartment Over the past year and a half I have filled this little place with seedlings of all sorts I used to be able to grow in a flower bed outside my windows, but they recently revoked that I've still got a few potted plants outside on our shared front patio though (no one seems to care). Do you have any ability to grow anything outside? Some apartment complexes will allow a few outdoor potted plants if nothing is allowed to be planted directly in the ground.

I've had some trial and error with Mimosa pudica as well, what's your soil mix for it? They prefer a more loamy soil. How are you sure it's because the air is too dry? I have my seedling growing without any means to raise the humidity past whatever my apartment is. I found that if the soil wasn't well draining enough, it had issues living past the first month or two.

[gnosis]

Welcome to STS!!

[fairdinkumseeds]

Pleased to meet you and I hope you enjoy your stay! 

[nahuatochtl]

Welcome!

[Roze]

Great to have you here!

[muze801]

Thanks for all of the warm welcomes! I'm usually a frequent lurker on a small handful of forums, but I think this is one I'll actually post to regularly as I do my best to document my experiments. I'll get to filling out my profile right away.

I am currently growing in a west facing windowsill augmented with some large CFL's. The location used to get a good 6-8 hours of almost direct sun when I started in spring, but as the season's shifted to summer there's only a small window anymore. To add insult to injury (Ok, maybe a bit dramatic), the neighbors just installed a tall wood fence <3 feet away from it (this is a ground/almost basement level apartment so I have been doing my best to add lights as I am able while also trying to manage my light better with some mylar coated reflectors.

I think that you are right that humidity probably isn't my Minosa pudica's issue since I guess the humidity is a lot higher than I suspected (I live in a "desert", but inside it seems to hover between 35-45%); it's soil mix has got a good bit a perlite and some sand in it but I inspected it and realize that it's drainage was blocked considerably by debris in the dish under my pot. It is mostly just hungry for light as it is getting pretty leggy and only has leaves facing the light bulb (I'll admit I played favorites and gave most light and care to the tobacco and sages).  I put another light in the other day and it seems to be perking up already.

I definitely have considered putting a few pots outside but was reluctant as there are always kids running around the perimeter (just this morning I watched a couple boys whacking a police car with a twig - the officer is a tenant in my building) not to mention I also like having my babies close by .  My lease is up at the end of July, so I'll manage with a sub-optimal setup for another few weeks.

2 Likes TBM and Frog Pajamas like this.