Green Update

As apartment 303 becomes a more civilized place to live with each passing week, there have been some natural additions to the green family. Here are the latest and greatest in my organic adventure series:

After a failed attempt at home to grow moss in my Dad's garden, I am now trying to transplant a small palette of moss that I picked up at Naejangsan onto this little rock garden that I zenned up last week. If this dies, I am going whip up a moss mixture and spread it onto the rock using the moss blender method. If that fails, then I might as well just call up Greg Buddha.

Here is the newest member of the plant family, just picked him up last week. I know that my buddy Jeremiah Curtiss had one of these plants in his room last year in 773 Ostrom and I took a liking to the species. After a swift repotting, the desk organizer [recycled egg carton] now has a cozy new neighbor.

This is my latest project. The seeds above are of the Persimmon Fruit [pictured below]. After placing the seeds into a period of cold stratification - simulating their natural dormancy - for the past three weeks, they are now incubating on my windowsill in the morning sun. I hope that they will sprout within the next several weeks, then I will be able to plant the seeds and anticipate healthy growth in my warm apartment deep into the spring.

The avocado cores are beginning to split. These guys have been hydrating for 3-4 weeks now and should be sprouting within the next two. Right now, the seed is beginning to split itself in half, from which roots and a stalk will begin to sprout.

In the news of splitting, the living rock is beginning a new growth pattern as well. Now that the window is shut, its central pod is opening up and the room has become warmer. As the split widens, a new pod will begin to sprout in an alternate direction from the plant's center and continue to replace old growth.

Oookay...now someone please send me piece of pizza.

Plants

Before you get a bank account, before getting paid or even buying food - any cozy home must be fitted with its first plants. Walking the streets of Gwangju you will see just as many plant stores as we have Wawas back home. I have spotted fig trees, bonsai, pitcher plants, and my longtime favorites - succulents! There is a lady by my school who sells these little guys for "chun won" (1 Korean Won - the paper money here is produced in denominations of 1000, 5000, and 10000).
Here are the plants I have picked up so far, I am open to name/nickname suggestions for each.





Living rocks! The first time I was given one of these, I managed to kill it within two weeks. I am giving it a second try - this time I hope to nurture it towards a healthy bloom. These plants are aptly named "living rocks" for their surface patterns generally resemble that of their surrounding rocky landscape. As they grow, a new bud will slowly emerge from the center, causing the current body of the plant to split off and die. They are members of the Lithops genus, a family of plants native to the arid climate of Souther Africa.

The lady I bought these from also gave me a pocket-full of clementines with my purchase. Apparently, gift-giving is customary in Korean culture. It is not uncommon to walk into your local Bodega and walk out with a free treat.