Desert Roses

I have changed to growing Desert Roses. (Photo above)
In the past. I liked to grow Cactus.
Due to a disease which go to them I lost all but one. Its just hanging on for dear life. The plant rotted after being covered by some mildew type of fungus.

Now. I'm having fun finding different colours in Desert Roses. I have been collecting them when I have been visiting markets. But there are only some many different colours.

For some reason. I went searching for different colours on the net. Well. Not at first. I searched for another plant I had been trying to find. Searching I found all these different Desert Rose plants. More seeds then plants.

The packets of seeds are arriving. And I'm busy germinating. All have sprouted plants. I just have to wait to see if they flower is the same as the picture I liked.

The above photos are of different stages of the germinating process I have been using.
Once I planted seeds but receive nothing for my trouble. Planting in the soil didn't work. Or I'd been given the wrong seeds.

Then the next time I tried. I had success. I filled a flat plastic container with potting mix. Made a shallow gutter in the middle. About the depth of the first knuckle of my finger. I laid the opening pod face up in the gutter then scraped a little of the potting mix over the top.

What a success. I ended up with over 40 seedlings.

Then. Not wanting to waste money buying seedlings. I decided not to place them in soil. I had read up on different ways to germinate the seed. I put all that together to come up with my own version. I placed water in trays I'd placed on the bench. Sat cotton wool balls in the water. Then I placed a seed on each one.

Surprise. Surprise. Within a few days. The shouts were coming out of the shell. Once they were big enough I planed them into small pots. I have another two trays set waiting. And watching. For the shouts to appear. I've had a 100 percent strike rate so far.

I just have to wait for them to grow to produce the first flower.

Chili Thief

Ah! Caught you.

My Bird's Eye Chili kept disappearing. Not that I use too many.

I knew there was some bird taking them but I could never take a photo of it. I looked out the window one morning and there it was perched in the bush eating the chili whole.

I quickly rushed to the kitchen to grab my camera. Without out making too much noise to alert it to what I intended to do. I set the camera for distance. Pulled back the curtain. Aimed the lens through the security screen design to focus on the bird. I snapped a couple before it flew away.

Its stomach must have been on fire. Or by swallowing the chili whole the heat didn't affect the stomach.