Journal June 9, 2013

I know, they are not much to look at right now, however, they represent a lot of effort and experimenting to get them to this stage.

They are my very first successful, I hope, olive clones.  The cuttings were taken on April 22 and 23rd, and been under a humidity dome, sitting on a heating mat, and lit with a CFL fluorescent light since then.

I am calling them a possible success, as they still look pretty much exactly like they did when I struck them from the parent plant.  Neither cutting has dropped a single leaf, but that said, neither cutting has grown one iota either.

Today, I decided to force the issue, and removed them from the humidity dome and placed them in the greenhouse, where they will get partial shade and receive the same nutrients that the other olive trees receive.  

The problem being: I am not sure why these cuttings have apparently taken, and my previous attempts failed; as I followed pretty much the same procedures.  It may be the variety of plant, or taking them in spring, or where on the plant they were taken from.  I know that not all cuttings take, so, it may just be the law of averages at work.  Still, I am a happy camper, just to have arrived at this stage. 

While removing male flowers from the cucumbers in the greenhouse today, I was sort of surprised to find a female flower on one of the plants.  I say surprised, as the plants are just starting to grow, and it is unusual to see a female flower this early in the growing cycle.   Also, I can tell just by looking at the flower, that this will indeed be my first cucumber of the season.

The grow chamber has pretty much been shut down since I rearranged the LED lighting, with the exception of one system.  Seeds have been started, and all systems will be back in operation in a week or so, and I am anxious to see what the results will be with a light for each system.  

Reducing the photoperiod to twelve hours, and really cutting back on the nutrient to make the lettuce "struggle" a little, is really working out well.  The prizehead and baby romaine, shown above, have absolutely no tip burn, and they look fantastic.