The Fog is Thick

The fog is thick this morning.  Outside our back window the fog hangs over the neighborhood.  You can barely see the trees at the edge.

The drive in this morning to work was not as bad as I'd figured it would be though.  Some coworkers had some slower traffic but for the most part it was smooth sailing.

If this was more consistent, there are quite a few plants that would love this kind of weather.  Mostly vines and such like ivy or cucumber.  Orchids like this kind of high humidity as well since they take moisture out of the air rather than from the ground.

I don't expect these kinds of days to happen too often though.  Sure we're on the lake but this is really the first good fog we've seen.  Sure there's been more dew around us but that's not the same thing.  It is promising for our grass though since a good dew will help keep everything greener.

Do you have a favorite kind of weather?

Sprout Survivor

As hoped this guy is springing back!  One of the leaves is still shriveled up and drying out but the other one has new life in it and the new little leaf in the middle is getting bigger.  And of course it's standing up as well instead of just lying on the dirt....

Several of the other plants are also now springing up out of the ground.  Nothing too showy yet but hopefully soon it will be worth its own post.

Working on a few other things seeing what I can come up with on taking care of the inside plants.  So far some of the small trees have died.  I think the shock got to them.  Claude (the big cacao tree) has a new leaf coming in though and seems to have finally acclimated to his new home.  Just keep 'em fed and watered and remember to open the blinds during the day I guess.

Also still dealing with fungus gnats.  Can you have humid loving plants without them?  Any tips would be great.

Orchid Blooms

Some friends gave us another orchid.  We usually don't do too well with these but this one has decided we've done a good enough job that it's blooming again.  These flowers have been forming for weeks and now there are cracks in the buts where the petals are starting to separate.

If only my vanilla orchids would agree and bloom as well.  They're big enough but still they just sit and wait for just the right conditions.  I guess I'll have do do some more research to see if I can improve on their growing conditions.

In the mean time, YAY BLOOMS!

Hygrometers (Humidity Meter)

Apparently I should have waited longer to see how humid it was getting.  The water wickers have been there for over a week but the hygrometer I just put there a few hours earlier.  Checking it later that day it had gotten to a little over 60% now it's a whopping 70%.  No wonder the orchids like it there.  It' a very localized humidity but that's exactly what they need.  Of course I'll need to change them out every week so they don't grow mold but that's a small price to pay to keep these babies happy.  I do think I'll be adding a third though. Although 70% is on the high side of normal, it's on the low side of what orchids prefer. 85% would be a sweet percent to be able to get to and really get these guys comfortable.

The humidity is still creeping up.  It says 71 now.

Inside humidity (Orchid Care)

Orchids need humidity and the winter time is about the worst time to try to keep it up.  It just seems to fall out of the air once it gets inside.
The relative humidity outside is at a nice 73% but it's at a temperature of 54°.  Once it gets inside that drops to 42% at a livable temperature of 72°.  Placing these wet containers with paper towels to wick up the water into the air have helped the humidity come back up to about 57% so far.  Not ideal but a lot better for these tropical humidity loving plants.  I might just have to add some more of these guys to further boost the moisture so these guys can thrive.

Vanilla Orchids

Vanilla orchids are tropical climbing orchids that can reach such lengths that you would probably cut it back before it reached its full potential.  Some say 80 feet while others claim hundreds of feet in length in its native habitat.

While typically considered a Mexican native, the USDA also shows it to be a Florida native.  Other sites say it has also been found to grow in Texas and California, of course only in areas of high humidity and mild climates.

Shown here are my two vanilla plants, recently acquired from a nursery out of Lewisville, Texas, Steve's Leaves.  As you can see I have placed some items that are releasing water into the air to keep them happy.  The one on the left is a cut out water bottle bottom with paper towel bits layered to stand up a it and water poured in.  The other is a cotton crochet cloth.  The many holes and twists give it plenty of surface area to evaporate water from.  So far we're on week 2 and they seem healthy enough. During the week I place them in a box lined with plastic overnight to give them a nice humidity bath.  So far so good.  They've already grown about three inches since they arrived.  I plan to find a cheap misting bottle soon so I can mist them in the mornings and early evening.  So far I haven't gotten them any plant food but I should look into that. As far as water, I've been using Ozarka natural spring water.  I don't want all the chemicals from the tap water on the plants.

The future plans for these guys is to set up an area where they will get enough humidity and light that they can really thrive.  Of course it would be great in time to be able to make my own chocolate from the cacao trees and vanilla plants, but that's still a ways off.