Month of Macro: Spiky succulent

I know I've mentioned this before, but my brother has a really cool succulent garden at his place in Detroit.

Last time I was in town, he not only hooked me up with some cuttings from his plants, but he also took me to his "Succulent Guy" at the Detroit Eastern Market. (On a side-note, I love visiting the market and highly recommend it if you're in the area!)

The "Succulent Guy" sold me a bunch of plants for $1, and they were all SO cool. However, since I have the opposite of a green thumb, I was pretty convinced that they wouldn't last more than a week in NYC.

Lucky for me, they are all thriving!

And this weird little guy (I have no idea what he is) has been a blast to photograph with my new lens!

I can't wait until he gets even bigger (if I can keep him alive for that long)!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

Fabulous fern

My brother is turning out to be quite the horticulturalist. Even though he lives amongst the high rises of downtown Detroit, he's cultivated quite an indoor oasis in terms of house plants. He has a beautiful collection of succulents and ferns that thrive under his care; every time I visit him I gaze in envy at his "garden."

So earlier this summer, when I visited my brother, he surprised me with a garden of my own, grown from cuttings of his plants! I was thrilled (as you can imagine) and couldn't wait to get back to NYC to plant them.

Of course, getting them here to the city meant somehow getting them into my luggage, which was no easy task. Luckily my brother is quite brilliant, and grew one of my cuttings in a sandwich bag, which made slipping it into my carry-on surprisingly simple.

See? I wasn't kidding! And while this sandwich bag was meant as a temporary solution, by the time the plant made it to my apartment, it was surviving so well that I didn't feel the urge to replant it. This went on for a couple of weeks, and then I started feeling really guilty that this poor little guy was struggling (quite successfully, I might add) in a plastic bag with no soil.

However, I also knew that he would only grow bigger, and I didn't want to invest a lot of money into a planter that he would outgrow in a few short months.

Enter: my recycling.

That's right- I did what any creative/cheap person would do: I looked around my apartment to see what I could re-purpose into a temporary planter that I wouldn't mind ruining in the process. Of course, this 'miracle' planter had to fulfill several requirements: I wanted something that I could drill/poke holes into to create drainage (so no glass/ceramic), and I wanted something that wouldn't rust/decompose (no cardboard, etc.). So I eventually turned to a can that until quite recently enclosed a handful of artichoke hearts.

The first step of my planter transformation had to do with the can itself. After I had removed the label and washed it with soap and water, I made my drainage holes. Using a can opener I inherited from my grandparents' kitchen, I punched 4 holes in the bottom of the can.

Since my can at one point had held a liquid substance, it was lined with a plastic-y coating, so I was pretty sure the can wouldn't rust from the inside. However, those little holes I poked and the exposed edge at the top seemed more susceptible to water and rust. So I grabbed a bottle of nail polish in a color I no longer wear...

And proceeded to seal the edges of the exposed can. (As you can see from this somewhat blurry photo, I painted the edge around the top of the can as well as the punched holes.) It's not the best paint job I've ever accomplished, but since most of it would be covered in soil, I decided not to sweat it!

Now, my brother's beautiful fern couldn't be planted in an ugly, old can! So I grabbed some paint, a foam brush, and sandpaper in order to transform my new planter.

I sanded the can a bit, so that my layers of white paint would adhere. I used regular craft paint (acrylic), but I'm sure there are special paints out there for metal surfaces that would be even better for a project like this. Once the base coat of white was dry, I used an old cork to dab abstract red dots all over the can.

And once the dots had dried, I planted that poor fern in as much soil as the can would hold...

And put it on display in a prominent corner of my little kitchen!

While it's not the most 'elegant' planter I've ever seen, it fits my aesthetic (and budget) quite well! And I think my little fern is much happier with his new home!

Thank you for stopping by- I hope you have a great day! (And SBV- thanks again for the plant!

Mushroom Teepee

Ready for a really interesting guest-post from my mom?

Like most brothers and sisters, my brother, RMM, and I are very different, but we also have a lot in common. I have noticed over the years that we both have quite varied interests. If we become interested in something new, we jump right in and enjoy every minute of our new discovery. RMM became interested in growing mushrooms, and has now grown a variety of mushrooms. The mushrooms have grown amazingly well, and he reports that they seem to spring up overnight. He has grown his mushrooms in the ground, in wooden logs drilled with holes, and on stacked wood in his basement. Of course, I wanted to try it! So, last February, I received a surprise package in the mail. My brother had sent me the "Mushrooms of Many Colors Teepee Kit" from Field and Forest Products. It's a kit for growing mushrooms on rolls of toilet paper. I was so excited, I couldn't wait to get started!
This kit required 15 rolls of plain, unscented, smooth, white toilet paper. (The cheap stuff!)


The kit arrived with spawn for three varieties of oyster mushrooms; Grey Dove, Italian, and Golden Oyster Mushrooms.
We dipped each roll of toilet paper in boiling water and placed it on a cooling rack .
The kit arrived with 15 sturdy plastic bags. These bags had a special air filter patch to allow air to flow into the bag, yet keeping the spawn in the bag. Once the rolls were cool, we placed each roll in a plastic bag.
Using a funnel, we filled the center of each toilet paper roll with the spawn of one type of mushroom. The kit suggested the need to be careful to keep the spawn in the bag. (No, we didn't want mushrooms to be growing in the corners of the kitchen, on the kitchen sponge, etc....yucch!)
We put a twist tie on each bag and placed all of the bags in a dark room for 6 weeks. Our daughter's bedroom became "The Mushroom Room." After about 3 weeks the rolls were covered with mycelium, a white lacy growth.
Mycelium covered toilet paper rolls.
After six weeks, we placed the mushroom rolls in the refrigerator for 48 hours to stimulate fruiting.
After 48 hours, we opened the bags and placed the mushroom rolls in the sun.
And, voila! Golden Oyster Mushrooms
Grey Dove Oyster Mushrooms
We harvested the mushrooms with scissors, or by twisting them off of the stems. They continued to produce for 1-2 weeks. Then we started the process all over again.
The mushrooms were wonderful sauteed in a little butter.
Delicious!
I think I'm ready to start a real outdoor mushroom garden! I better give my brother a call.
Have a wonderful day!