Growing In The Bathroom

 

 I recently converted my bathroom into a seed starting and winter growing room. It didn’t take much, really. I built a drain-pan by nailing some 2×2s to the floor and lining it with tarpaper and plastic sheeting. I then bought a bunch of shop lights and plastic shelves from Home Depot. Wha-lah! Instant plant room-

 

 

  This is a great place to start my spring vegetables, since the temperature inside the house is next to ideal for tomatoes and other veggies. It’s a tad cramped in there… Okay, it’s really cramped in there, but I can squeeze my slender frame through with relative ease and still manage to take a shower each day. I still prefer this to a greenhouse, at least for right now. Although the space is very limited I don’t have to worry about heating a separate structure. It’s greener, since I only have to heat one building instead of two. Also, building a greenhouse would have taken much more work and work = unpleasantness.

 Although I’ll be starting my spring plants relatively soon, right now I’m using it to overwinter some of my more interesting edible plants; mostly tropicals.

 Neem Tree Azadirachta indica

    

  Neem is a miracle plant. It’s used for a myriad of purposes in many places all over the world; including such uses as treatment of snakebites, an ingredient in toothpaste, flea and tick control in pets, as well as many other things.

 In organic agriculture, it’s used as a mild organic insecticide and fungicide. That’s the main reason I’m growing these plants. I’d like to try my hand at making my own Neem Oil for pests since the commercial stuff is pricey.

   I tried to germinate Neem seeds once before, and failed. I think I had old seeds. The Neem Trees I’m growing now are from Neem Tree Farms (descriptive name, no?) based in Florida. They sell older plants, but I bought a dozen young seedlings for $7. Not a bad price for 12 amazing plants. So far they have all survived, I potted them in 1 gallon plastic pots filled with a mixture of compost, vermiculite, and a little garden soil sprinkled with blood meal.

   Neem is tropical and must be kept inside during the winter.

 Natal Plum- Carissa grandiflora

 

 I got these seeds from a GardenWeb trade. I had never heard of the plant before this, and I still know very little about it. It originates in South Africa. It’s supposed to be a quick grower and a candidate for hedges in other regions. It’s tropical, taking cold damage at 28 degrees or lower, so I’m figuring I’ll end up growing these guys in pots. The fruit is supposed to be tasty, although I’m not sure if it reliably fruits in sub-tropical Louisiana. I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?

Cranberry Hibiscus- Hibiscus acetosella

   This is an interesting Hibiscus with edible fruit, leaves, and flowers and unique red foliage.  The leaves are similar in taste to sorrel, and the calyx of the flowers are often used to make a cranberry-like drink (when I get flowers I’ll post on how to make it). It seems to be widely used in tea as well. Huh.

 

Purple Passionflower- Passiflora incarnata

  

 Passionfruit is awakening in the U.S. public consciousness. Many grocery stores sell this tasty fruit now, as well as flavored juices. Passionfruit is a tropical plant, and can take no frost, unless you’re growing it cousin Maypop, the only perennial passionfruit in our region.

  Passionfruit sets after the ever-popular, wild and crazy passionflower that we all know and love. So aside from the tasty fruit you get to enjoy the really freaky looking blooms.

  I got these seeds from a seed trade. I know nothing about the variety other than it’s purple, because that’s what the seed envelope said.

Cherimoya Annona cherimola -

 

  A tropical fruit tree that I doubt can successfully be grown in a container, but I’m doing it anyway. Also called Custard Apple, Cherimoya grows to 25 ft or more. While tropical, it does need a period of cooler temperatures in order to keep it from dormancy. The fruit is kinda freaky looking and the size of a large apple. It’s a relative to the PawPaw- which I can’t seem to grow successfully either.

 

 

Chaya Cnidoscolus aconitifolius -

 

  I’ve talked about this before, and I finally bought one. Chaya is a tough, frost hardy (to a point) tree that has edible spinach like leaves that must be eaten cooked due to some toxin or other. Many tropical trees have edible leaves, but this is the only deciduous one I know of other than Fragrant Spring Tree.

 That all that’s in the Bathroom right now, other than some heirloom lettuce and some pepper plants I’ve kept in containers and brought inside.

 Sorry for the lack of postage going on around here. Holidays and all that. I’m looking forward to posting more frequently now.