YJL

This morning, the lowest temperature of the year, 4C, its like a big refrigerator outside. My laptop temperature going down to just 35C with the lowest fan setting, 43C without fan.

The carrot top seems to grow even greener and busher in this inhuman weather, three weeks later, not sure when I can plant it, who knows, maybe it will just flower like that, but I doubt thats possible. However, around 9, 2 out of 22 stem flopping down, so I moved it in and placed on top of drying box. At 12pm, they all were back up.

Starting to roll bee house tubes, my thumbs are really tiring after making 37 of 17-21cm long tubes. I dont know which side should be the inside, one yellowish smooth, the other gray slightly rough. I think the rough side would be better, but Id go half-half. One pencil to roll with, one tape in middle. I dont want to use staple at one end as the instruction said, but I might have to find a way to close it up, or I could just see if they work without anything more, since I am using a small cardboard box to house these tubes.

Thinking about growing sweet potato, or just watching it rooting in water with tooth picks sticking into it. Already chitting three potatoes, why not sweet potato? I can plant just a few of slips, and keep growing for leaves to cook, even stick into a pot just for more leaves, just an idea, how it wont try to grow more sweet potatoes in small pot.

On the 7th of using my drying box, I finally realized that I could just pour water to seed trays saucer. I sprayed four or more times to keep seed tray moist, but still I could see edges dried out.

What else?

• Moved that single purple dick plant to my window sill pot along with marsh pennywort, moss, fern, and one succulent plant, all in on pot with existing golden pothos and self-seeded celery.
• Burying a Chinese cabbage bottom in soil, it might regrow. Also trying leaf propagating succulent and golden pothos, but I dont think that would work since I put the outside in cold. By the way, that tomato cutting is pretty dead to me, the only left leave is wilting.

Last night after going to bed, I made a decision to move all pots back out to the external window sill in the back. Ive noticed the tomato plants growing nicely and sturdy comparing to the indoors, which barely to grow true leaves. Also, bean plants are thin and leggy.

Its time to change and let nature take its course. Last summer, the typhoon one after another, one particular tomato plant caught my attention which has been struck twice. First time, it lost many branches which was flower; second time, the main stalk was just barely alive, which lasted for a while until it slowly died back.

I thought that was the end of that plant, then I saw a new green growth for about 30cm, which shot out just about 5cm above the soil level from the dying stem, it was when I knew they could take care of themselves and its still growing in this cold January.

All pots and containers are out and I have transplanted the celery bottom with other celery plants, onion bottom into three pots since that onion bottom gives me three new plants. Also four snow peas and one azuki bean, plus one garlic. In addition, I planted another garlic and two shallots.

Unfortunately, I have to declare losses on the pepper toppings, nothing rooted. I used the bottle to plant a golden pothos for the entrance of my room.

What else did I do today?

• Cardboards, I upgraded the cats bed, its cozy and dim; also built a cell for catching heat exhaust of dehumidifier.
• I wiped some windows, probably need to go over again with dry towel.
• Forked nInvaders to fix a critical bug that had existed for more than a decade, that means those who has played it never questioned why its so difficult to win, dont think its even possibly to pass first level.

I put some social media buttons on this blog, not sure why I wanted to do this. Maybe its after I switched back to Blogger comments system.

Since new years day, I had been collecting spam emails, the one uses Gmail emoji. Less than 15 days, I received 52 such spams and I dont believe I have seen any legit email uses those emoji. Should I give thumbs-up to spammers?

There is one thing I noticed about the cat, when he cries with a unique sound, he is telling me to clean up his litter box because he just peed or pooped. I will go to the box and he will look back at me, making sure I get the message before he walks back to his bed and continues his sleep. I wonder if this is nature or nurture or simply catgenius, perhaps that indeed is cat has staff as they said.

I googled right hand colder than left hand and found Raynauds phenomenon, I dont think I got that, but some of the pictures inside is quite scarily, not as in bloody scare. I then googled right side colder than left, because I could feel my right leg is colder, too, but not so if I used my hand to sense the temperature. It seems if you google something, there always is a thing to tell you that you might have some disease or illness.

Those azuki bean sprouts are doing good, but I decided to take some to plant in box planter, around 20, they would be like cover crop, since the plants in that container aint doing well, Perhaps they could fix some nitrogen in before spring.

Next Monday, I will scatter the rest into dick container. The weather is cold and wet, not sure if any of these bean will survive, if not, they can still be nutrient once they decomposed.

Sometimes, surprise comes from nowhere. I was going through some stuff, then I found a few packs of old seeds. Only one had packaged date, January, 2004.

Last night, I went to bed after seven, two hours later, still awake. That cup of coffee kept me awake for hours. I finally went to bed again, around 3:30, at 4 or 5, I got up and took a shower, then went back and got up again at 7. Basically, I didnt sleep much. I will never try to not wasting any coffee. Well, this morning I drank a small cup of tea, maybe 100cc with mint, again, didnt want to waste. I hope I wont be up all night.

The sugar snap and snow peas both have a few coming up, so is onion bottom, three green shoots. The celery bottom is growing even greener, more leaves. I hand-pollinated the Christmas cactus, if all goes well, fruits should be setting in a few months.

I pruned a bit of that purple dick and potted that new seedling, also saved a 1-2cm taproot of marsh pennywort, which was growing in the same container. I really hate that plant, it grows everywhere. I cleaned up most of roots, it will have its own smaller container.

51 radish, 5 sunflower, ~20 French marigold (Tagetes patula), and 50+ Hollyhock (Alcea). I sowed four radish seeds directly to the container of purple dick, the temperature is fine for the radish. The rest in seed tray along with kabocha squash.

Decade old seeds, if they do germinate, thatd be a record, even well stored, I doubt they would be viable. The radish seeds art not in sealed pack. The other three are in sealed plastic bags.

Going through those seeds, now I know I must be realistic, only a small limited space, virtually window sills. Even I got a big pot, its not as if I can put it on the sills.

So, beans, tomatoes, and chili peppers should be the focus. Wish list includes small squashes, passion fruit, okra, and grape. The last three are the wish list of the wish list. I really want to grow a grape vine, passion fruit is nice to eat, as for okra, it looks cool. They probably also need a pot bigger than sills can take, but its just a wish list.

Cucumber and bell pepper are doable, but I really dont eat them, as well as the eggplant and luffa. Watermelon, cantaloupe, and pumpkin and big squashes are just too big to have a pot small enough to sit on the sills.

I have planted some citrus seeds last summer, lime and orange, they even get some new green growth, but still just a very small plants. Also kumquat might be on the secondary wish list, but I dont know how it tastes, just a wish list item, anyway.

Today, I resowed runner beans, snow peas, and a peach. They all germinated in the paper towels nearly two weeks ago, so far, only one runner bean is doing barely okay, behind the coated window isnt helping, or just tainted, either way, I can tell plant doesnt grow well.

Also tomatoes, green beans, green yard long beans, Chinese red noodle beans, snow peas, and sugar snap peas into that box planter. I know most of them will come up, the question is how many of them will survive this winter, even the box planter is in enclosed window sill, which, again, is with coated window.

I also took a tiny king oyster mushroom, teared it off and shoved into a small used plastic bag with some shredded cardboard, watered in and tied closed. All did without pasteurization. I tried to grow mushroom a few times, sometimes, it seemed to work, but eventually, its just a bag or box of smelly things that you dont want to open. Now sure why I tried again, or have I tried?