Poor little sucker, how will it learn? When it is climbing, which way to turn?

[venta]

I see. It seems that a side effect of putting plants on a balcony is that they grow away from the building and towards the sun. Can't blame 'em, really.

So, all the seedlings in West Window Box are now growing at an angle of approximately 45°. It occurs to me that I could turn the window box round every few days, thus on average they will grow approximately upright and make best use of their space. Or maybe they'll just wear themselves out leaning backwards and forwards.

[Poll #1589662]

Edit Can't edit polls. The above should, of course, say "leaning". Not "leavening". Seedlings make terrible bread.

Comments

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

You could also gently tie them to stakes to keep them on the straight and narrow?

[venta.livejournal.com]

When they grow up, they're going to be lettuce. I'm not sure one stakes lettuce. Though I guess I could use weeny little stakes to guide them through adolescence.

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

Though I guess I could use weeny little stakes to guide them through adolescence.

Toothpicks?

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

Vampire lettuce???

[paste.livejournal.com]

i have two plants in my room, both of which grow towards the light, and both of which i turn regularly to keep them from being too wonky. in fact, i might even have to give them a twist now!

[venta.livejournal.com]

I certainly do it with houseplants, but I thought that was largely for aesthetic reasons. I don't mind if my lettuce is mildly aesthetically displeasing :)

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't bother, especially when they're just seedlings. For one thing, seedlings don't like being disturbed and for another, unless they're decorative plants, you're going to eat them anyway and it won't matter on the plate or in the mouth if they grew wonky. Only you and they will know, and they won't tell.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I don't mind eating wonky veg - I was just concerned that if they all crowded over to one side of the pot they'd have less room for growing.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

I'd say wait until they've established themselves a bit, then turn it - you don't want to do it when they're really little as even moving the soil a little bit in the process can damage their roots.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Oh, OK. I hadn't realised they were quite that fragile.

Probably shouldn't have dumped East Window Box on the floor this morning in order to use the support bracket as a base to screw a vice to while bodging a plumbing repair... :(

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

They might not be, and it depends on the plants. But since I'm not very greenfingered and pretty much kill plants as soon as I look at them, I tend to err on the side of caution!

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

I just like the idea of messing with their sense of where the sun is :D

[venta.livejournal.com]

One of my favourite lesser-known tourist attractions in London is the tree in the reception of Coutt's bank on the Strand. It grows through the floor and, if you watch very carefully, you can see that underneath the floor is a giant rotating mechanism which makes the tree turn very slowly over the course of the day.

That must be one confused tree :)

[ebee.livejournal.com]

I asked sue. She knows of these things and says turn them.

[ruanae.livejournal.com]

I am completely useless at anything gardening related so I have no opinion on this...

I am wondering however if the title of this entry is making reference to the Flanders and Swann song about the Honeysuckle and the Bindweed?

[venta.livejournal.com]

Of course ;)

[exspelunca.livejournal.com]

Turn, turn 'til it comes out right.

[ar-boblad.livejournal.com]

Seedlings might make terrible bread but seeds make good bread, and seedlings are very nearly seeds.

[ulfilias.livejournal.com]

I would have said they would make good bread. Sprouts as in just germinated seeds do as they are full of energy and stuff.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Seedlings make terrible bread - they can't even reach the oven door to open it, and they have no hands which makes kneading difficult.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Yes, turn them round, otherwise they will make the box fall over.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

(when they get bigger)

[venta.livejournal.com]

I suspect they won't, really, because it's quite a substantial box - but I suspect it's better to be safe than to be picking bits of broken box/plant up out of the garden when it turns out that they will tip it over!

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Well, think of a lettuce, think of the box, make your own judgement. Soil is pretty heavy...

[venta.livejournal.com]

No, my own judgement is terrible!

So I shall go on assuming that it won't tip over, but carry on acting as if it could :) Thanks for the thought, though, it hadn't occurred to me that it might be a risk when the plants have grown up.