It has been a weird November. For the most part it has been warm with kisses of frost. For the most part my plants did pretty well but I did lose my the last of my tomatoes, okra and habanada peppers. Comically, my potatoes, Chinese peppers and pimentos are all still alive. The joys of microclimates in keeping things above freezing. So lets look at how my experiments are going in the garden for November 2021. *

Experiment 1: Summer Potatoes

So this is the last full month of growth for my potatoes. A full month after my general first frost date. I will be cultivating them in December. That is a statement, I would have never thought I would write. A very lucky year weather wise indeed. Soon I will be tipping these puppies over to see how many potatoes I managed to get.

The plants are kind of scrawny so hopefully, size doesn’t matter.

I was hoping they would flower but it never happened. In my Spring potatoes, that is a key metric to know there are some to get. I am a bit concerned about the lack of flowers.

In short, I am concerned about the potatoes.

Experiment 2: Chinese Peppers

Honestly, these are still trucking. There is nothing to talk about other than they have been surprisingly cold tolerant. I assume it is the microclimate but the pimentos are not handling it as well. They are starting to droop and wilt while these peppers right next to them keep acting like it is spring. They still have flowers on them.

Experiment 3: My Mulberry Tree

It has been going strong all month. Some of the weaker plants are starting to die off. The costs of planting the whole berry rather than a single seed. I also needed to add a bit of fertilizer. I know this will be shocking but it wasn’t organic so I guess my plant will never get the seal of approval from the garden Nazis.

I tend to like to use artificial fertilizers for my indoor plants because the ecosystem that allows organic fertilizers to work is not present. I don’t have the fungi and bacteria needed to process these things so adding them won’t help anything in a timely manner.

Experiment 4: Dragon Fruit Attempt 3

It failed.

Nothing grew so I am going back to the drawing board and will attempt to water sprout my next attempt but success is not assured.

Experiment 5: The Indoor Potato

With my indoor potato experiment, it has been a success so far. What a week will give you. I have the first indications of plants. I need a classical song composed so I can show a video of my potatoes rising from the dirt under a purple sky. Maybe a Ride of Spuds!

This is exciting.

I am using a water meter to determine the water needs of the pots. When it reads in the red, two Joe’s cups of water are added.

It has been shocking just how fast these plants are growing. I really questioned myself on the my purple lights. I know they are missing some part of the light spectrum but so far so good. All the pots are looking like they have a healthy start. Apparently plentiful light and adequate water, makes plants happy.

Overall, I am really happy with most of the things happening in my garden for November, it’s a good 2021. I am frustrated at my failures with the dragon fruit. Four attempts is starting to give me a complex. At least if you are going to fail, fail on something that can’t grow in your climate. No one will ever know unless you publish your failings on a blog or something.

* I had a failing last week with my auto publisher so this is a week late. It is not that technology hates me, it is only that it actively dislikes me.