The Growing Space of Karin – Toronto, ON
Q Where in the world do you grow your plants?
~ Toronto, ON
Q How Large is your collection?
~ About 40-50 “permanent” plants, and upwards of 500 seedlings and starters for club sales.
Q How long have you been growing African Violets?
~ About 5 years
Q Where do you grow your African Violets?
~ Office, Kitchen, Basement
Q What type of light do your African Violets receive?
~ T12 or Natural (NW windows)
Q How many hour a day do your plants receive light?
~ 10–12h
Q What type of water do you use?
~ Tap, ph adjusted with vinegar, lemon juice or PH down (whatever is on hand).
Q What type of fertilizer do you use?
~ House Plant 15-15-15, 1/4 tsp per 20L bucket of water
Q What watering methods do you use?
~ A combination of top and wick/mat watering. I top water until the reservoirs are full. starters are in trays on mats.
Q What are the temperatures like where you grow?
~ 22-25°C, basement can go down to 15°C in Winter
Q What is the humidity of your plant area?
~ Variable. Currently 44%
~ My main collection is in my (home) office, the basement is where i isolate new and “iffy” plants – though it has been invaded by seedlings… The bottom two ballasts are not working properly anymore, so i will be converting those fixtures to LED within the next few weeks.
I mainly collect trailers now, but also keep some rosette type plants that i enjoy or would like to use in hybridizing – i try to focus on Canadian hybrids, Imp’s, Morgan’s etc, but a few Shril’s and Rob’s have snuck in as well as a few lesser known plants…
I’m not at a point where any of my seedlings are ready to be named & released yet, but i enjoy the process, the “box of chocolates” – where you never quite know what you’ll get. They also grow and bloom better for me than most purchased varieties (natural selection for my environment i suppose, definitely not actually being “better” than the others).
Some of my plants are growing in 3D printed oyama-style planters, and they’re doing really well. But mostly i’ve got them in standard pots wicked above plastic cups or sour cream containers…
If you would like to share your growing space, you can submit it at Show Us Your Growing Space
Funny how things change. In the couple of weeks since I sent you these photos i have rewired the basement plant stand for LEDs, thrown out all the sad looking plants and finally got it back to a state where i actually like working on those plants again :)
(if you don’t look at the labels, it is easier to discard them)
Next will be to choose which of the “nice” plants to keep and which to take to the club sale in September – the aim is to reduce the number by 1/3 – 1/2. (not counting seedlings ;) )
I suppose it is part of finding your way as a grower, to figure out why and what you want to grow. My focus will likely shift to trailers with desirable characteristics for hybridizing (until now it has been “any and all trailers i can get my hands on” – which takes up a bit more space than comfortable), and a few select Canadian semis and minis, with some old favourites like Happy Harold thrown in :)
Karin – I completely get this. Just when you think you have things as you want them, something changes. Congrats, though, on doing some cleanup in the plantroom – that’s never a bad thing :-) Will be interested to see how your hybridizing efforts go!