As much as I am able to in a small apartment with no balcony, I did a little fall planting recently.
There is a small nursery near Bishop Aimilianos Laloussis Park on Massachusetts Avenue, NW which I have been wanting to check out for some time. This past weekend, I did. In addition to some rather interesting black and white gourds, I found a beautiful ornamental pepper plant (Capsicum annuum).
Aren't these colors beautiful and perfect for fall planting. I loved this the moment I laid eyes on it.
As much as I loved the plant, I did not love the container it was in. I had some black containers that I thought would work so much better for this, so I transplanted it as soon as I got home.
As I no longer have an outside space in which to garden, I covered the dining room table with newspaper and then set about repotting the pepper plant. Why, you might ask, would you rent an apartment without a balcony? The building is odd in that only one side has balconies and the other side does not. The side with balconies overlooks the pool and the reserved parking lot for residents. The non-balcony side has beautiful views of the National Cathedral and residential Upper Northwest DC. I chose the side with a view over a balcony.
I used this inexpensive black plastic pot that I picked up at Lowe's several weeks ago. It's not perfect but it looks nicer than the pot it was in. This will do until I can find a pot that I like better.
I am using these black river pebbles in the bottom of the pot this time as opposed to my usual pea gravel. Pea gravel comes in bags that are heavy and unpleasant to handle. I was okay with buying it when I was at Crest Avenue because I could store it in the outdoor shed in a metal container with a lid. When I needed some for planting containers, I could scoop out what I needed and it was not a big deal. Not so anymore. I do not want, nor do I have room for a bag of pea gravel in the apartment. So this small container of pebbles works perfectly for me these days.
Just a handful, maybe two, in the bottom of the pot to allow for good drainage.
Then it was time to get to the task at hand.
The soil was relatively dry so I was able to remove it from the original pot with great ease.
Same routine we used when repotting at Crest Avenue. One you remove the root ball from the original pot, loosen the potting medium and open up the root system before potting in the new container. This stimulates the roots and actually helps to form a new, vibrant root system.
Here we are with the root ball in the new pot. I did not have to add soil this time. This root ball fit in the new pot perfectly. I might repot it again in about month and add some perlite to help keep the roots from getting waterlogged.
And here on the hall table. I think this is quite a nice look for the fall. These ornamental peppers are considered annuals, so I do not know how long I will have this. If it stays healthy and vibrant through Thanksgiving, I will be happy. If I get longer, all the better. They like about 8 hours a day of sunlight; southern exposure is preferred. The windows in my apartment face north, so I don't know how this will play out. We will revisit in a few weeks. Oh, if you are wondering if the peppers are edible - according to my research they are. However, I would not advise it. Supposedly these peppers are extremely hot and not at all enjoyable to eat. So we will just enjoy their beauty for as long as we can.
There is a small nursery near Bishop Aimilianos Laloussis Park on Massachusetts Avenue, NW which I have been wanting to check out for some time. This past weekend, I did. In addition to some rather interesting black and white gourds, I found a beautiful ornamental pepper plant (Capsicum annuum).
Aren't these colors beautiful and perfect for fall planting. I loved this the moment I laid eyes on it.
As much as I loved the plant, I did not love the container it was in. I had some black containers that I thought would work so much better for this, so I transplanted it as soon as I got home.
As I no longer have an outside space in which to garden, I covered the dining room table with newspaper and then set about repotting the pepper plant. Why, you might ask, would you rent an apartment without a balcony? The building is odd in that only one side has balconies and the other side does not. The side with balconies overlooks the pool and the reserved parking lot for residents. The non-balcony side has beautiful views of the National Cathedral and residential Upper Northwest DC. I chose the side with a view over a balcony.
I used this inexpensive black plastic pot that I picked up at Lowe's several weeks ago. It's not perfect but it looks nicer than the pot it was in. This will do until I can find a pot that I like better.
I am using these black river pebbles in the bottom of the pot this time as opposed to my usual pea gravel. Pea gravel comes in bags that are heavy and unpleasant to handle. I was okay with buying it when I was at Crest Avenue because I could store it in the outdoor shed in a metal container with a lid. When I needed some for planting containers, I could scoop out what I needed and it was not a big deal. Not so anymore. I do not want, nor do I have room for a bag of pea gravel in the apartment. So this small container of pebbles works perfectly for me these days.
Just a handful, maybe two, in the bottom of the pot to allow for good drainage.
Then it was time to get to the task at hand.
The soil was relatively dry so I was able to remove it from the original pot with great ease.
Same routine we used when repotting at Crest Avenue. One you remove the root ball from the original pot, loosen the potting medium and open up the root system before potting in the new container. This stimulates the roots and actually helps to form a new, vibrant root system.
Here we are with the root ball in the new pot. I did not have to add soil this time. This root ball fit in the new pot perfectly. I might repot it again in about month and add some perlite to help keep the roots from getting waterlogged.
And here on the hall table. I think this is quite a nice look for the fall. These ornamental peppers are considered annuals, so I do not know how long I will have this. If it stays healthy and vibrant through Thanksgiving, I will be happy. If I get longer, all the better. They like about 8 hours a day of sunlight; southern exposure is preferred. The windows in my apartment face north, so I don't know how this will play out. We will revisit in a few weeks. Oh, if you are wondering if the peppers are edible - according to my research they are. However, I would not advise it. Supposedly these peppers are extremely hot and not at all enjoyable to eat. So we will just enjoy their beauty for as long as we can.
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