Rooting in Water

Articles by Master Gardeners, Bee, carrots, Cubanelle, Cutting, lettuce, Ottawa, pepper, peppers, pimento, Potato, potatoes, Sprouting, Suet, sweet pepper, Vegetables

I can take a cutting and put it in water where it will root and then I can plant it. It will be interesting to see if supermarket herbs will root.

Image: Sprouting Bok choy and Romaine lettuce

Greetings fellow gardeners,

It is so cold! I am making sure that the bird feeders are full and that there is suet in the suet holders. It would seem that the too-many cats would like more food as well but so far, I am standing firm. The woodstove is burning constantly and I keep extra wood on hand so I can start it first thing in the morning.

A Seed Order

I just sent a seed order to OSC Seeds. I decided that I really wanted to try their sweet pepper collection: Early Calwonder, Sweet Pimento, Sweet Cubanelle and Hungarian Sweet Banana Pepper. To me, ordering from seed catalogues is like Christmas dinner. You wait for what seems to be an eternity, smelling the dinner as it cooks. Once you get access to the food, you pile your plate. You are so sure the mountain of mashed potatoes and the river of gravy is not nearly enough and by the end of your meal you are near to bursting and there is food left uneaten. It is so tempting to order everything from your seed catalogues, and I always order more than I actually need each year although now I am exercising more restraint. You can order less and if it is not enough you can get more at your local nursery. I ordered all those peppers as I have opened up a new spot and they will be great there. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I have been adding to my collection of what I like to call ‘recycled salad.’ Along with the romaine lettuce, I have Bok choy. I haven’t tried this one before.

Some other vegetables that I can sprout this way are onions, fennel, cabbage, turnip, celery, leek, and carrots. The next thing I might want to try is to root cuttings of herbs. If I have basil for example, I can take a cutting and put it in water where it will root and then I can plant it. It will be interesting to see if supermarket herbs will root.

Getting a Head-start with Seeds

I have been checking to see if any of the seeds that I planted had germinated. The pepper seeds I collected have not germinated, but I know them to be very slow to grow. This is why I like to get a head-start on growing peppers. The white sage has sprouted. I am very happy to see that. The huge surprise is that the raspberry royal sage has sprouted! I had been told by several people that the seeds would not germinate. While I am excited to see the raspberry royale, I am also curious to see if it will grow true to the sage I grew in the summer. It will be so exciting to see what I get.

Four pots with raspberry seeds from root — White Sage and Raspberry Royale Sage

This freezing weather is hard on your perennials. Be sure the garden is covered with that snow from last week. The birds will need extra food to stay warm and it is the best time of year to make cookies. Enjoy your week. Judith.

Contact Judith: sghorticultural@gmail.com

About the Author

Judith Cox

Judith Cox is a Master Gardener and President of the Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society . The many topics covered in her blogs include starting a garden, planting seeds, selecting the best seeds, identifying specific plants, and growing produce other than what is found at the grocery store. Every issue offers solutions to common issues faced by gardeners, including wildlife, whether to water, pests, snails, and other issues. During the winter, Judith writes for local journals and newspapers, give talks at local horticultural clubs on a range of gardening topics. She also finds time to run a small business selling watercolor and pen and ink cards.