What is the gas inside a capsicum comprised of

Have you ever wondered what the gas inside a capsicum is comprised of?  Or the composition of the gas inside a pumpkin?  Or the composition of the gas inside any hollow fruits?  I have.  

When I was a child every time we would cut open a capsicum or pumpkin I would try to breathe in the gas.  I thought (because school teachers with a limited understanding of biology told me that "plants breathe out oxygen") that it would be almost pure oxygen.  I always wished I had some way to work out the composition of the gas inside a capsicum or pumpkin and be able to know for sure.

When I was in high school I thought if the gas was largely oxygen then I should be able to use the glowing splint test to prove it.  I tried several times, but never had any luck.  I was not sure if this was because the gas was not largely oxygen, or if the gasses mixed with the atmospheric air too much after cutting the fruit open rendering the test useless.  I always wanted to cut open a capsicum under water and capture the gas in an upturned test tube to try the glowing splint test, but I never did.

Now that I am older I still have no way of accurately measuring the components of the gas inside hollow fruits.  I could try to the glowing splint test, but the internet now exists which means that I have access to all kinds of information.  It is like having the world's greatest library.

So I did some research and found the answer.  There were a few forums and things where people made up the answer but mostly got it wrong, I even found a few books of 'facts' where they made up the answer and got it wrong.  None of this impressed me because I wanted to find someone who had measured the composition of the gas inside hollow fruit, not just guess the answer.

I eventually found a few places that actually measured the composition of the gasses inside hollow fruits.  It was strangely difficult to find the answer, so I thought I would share it here.

Hollow tomato fruit

Hollow pumpkin fruit

The gas inside a capsicum and pumpkin

The average concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

20.95% O2    0.4% CO2

The average concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide inside a capsicum
19% O2    3% CO2 
Oxygen ranged from 18% to 20% and Carbon Dioxide ranged from 0.5% to 3% depending on the stage of growth that the gas was measured.

The average concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide inside pumpkins
Oxygen ranged from 4% to 16%   Carbon Dioxide ranged from 6% to 8% depending on the stage of growth that the gas was measured.


The results
The gas inside a capsicum or a pumpkin is not high in oxygen or low in carbon dioxide.   Who would have thought!

The oxygen content of the gas inside hollow fruits varies a bit but is always lower than in the surrounding air.  There are some theories that this is due to the seeds requiring oxygen for growth or to reduce the amount of internal fruit spoilage due to oxidation.  It appears that we don't know why it happens at this stage.

The carbon dioxide content of the gas inside hollow fruits varies, but it is significantly higher than in the surrounding air.  There appear to be a few theories about this, again it appears that we do not know for certain.


Further reading

http://journal.ashspublications.org/content/131/1/164.full.pdf   

http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/17/4/509.full.pdf
http://asgsb.indstate.edu/programs/2004/99.html 

Days to Maturity Attila Strawberry

People often go on about how long it takes for alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca) to germinate, and how long it takes to get strawberries from seed, so I decided to record how long it took for me this year. 

Obviously these times could be shorter or longer if conditions were changed, but it is what happened for me this year.

Being in Australia the dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Days to maturity Attila Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

Seeds planted             08/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 21/10/2016                  Day 13
First Runners              21/12/2016                  Day 73 (more runners every few days, like a spider web)
Flowered                   03/03/2017                   Day 145 (5 months)
First fruit ripe              09/04/2017                  Day 182

Attila is one of the very few alpine strawberries that grows runners.  They have been named after Attila the Hun due to their propensity to take new ground.  In my opinion they are an excellent edible ground cover that should be part of every permaculture garden.

The seeds were very easy to germinate, the plants were simple to grow, and the strawberries are delicious.

Attila Strawberry, notice the first tiny runners

Attila Strawberry runner grown plant top right of the picture

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Yellow Wonder Strawberry Days to Maturity

I grew several different alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca) from seed this season.  I looked on ebay for seeds, but the vast majority of strawberry seeds on ebay do not exist, so I had to get seeds from other places.

Being in Australia the dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Days to maturity Yellow Wonder strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

Planted                       08/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 22/10/2016                  Day 14
Flowered                   17/02/2017                   Day 129
First fruit ripe              28/03/2017                  Day168

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Yellow Wonder starting to flower

Micro Tom Tomato Days to Maturity

Micro Tom are the smallest tomato variety ever bred.  I like Micro Tom tomatoes, while they are not hugely delicious or massively productive, they are tiny little plants that are very cute.  I have read on seed company websites many different days to maturity ranging from 50 days to 120 days and everything in between.

Micro Tom starting to ripen

I keep records of when I grow things, especially rare or difficult to find things.  To make it easier to find in the future I am recording some of them in this blog this year.

The following are the Micro Tom tomato days to maturity in my garden this year.  Being in Australia the  dates is written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       02/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           11/10/2016       Day 9
Flowered              22/12/2016       Day 81
Harvest start         07/01/2017       Day 97

The previous time I recorded Micro Tom tomato days to maturity it took 113 days from planting the seed until picking the first ripe fruit.  They were very old seeds so it is to be expected that the plants would be weaker and slower than normal.

My best guess is that 50 days is quoted by some seed companies is the amount of days to maturity from transplant, which is arbitrary and pointless unless you transplant at a standard set date.  I find it far more useful to know how long it takes to pick ripe fruit from planting the seed.

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Micro Tom Tomatoes

Micro Tom starting to flower

Purple haze carrot days to maturity

I bought and planted some Purple Haze carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) seeds.  I didn't have great germination rates, probably only about 10% which was rather unimpressive but not really surprising as I bought the seeds from Bunnings.

Purple Haze carrots had dark purple skin and an orange interior.  They didn't really taste like a purple carrot, instead they tasted much like an orange carrot which was rather disappointing.

I am not terribly fond of carrots and don't think they are worth growing at home as the yield is small for the space and time that they take.

The following were the days to maturity for Purple Haze carrots.  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       23/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           03/11/2016       Day 11
Harvest start         04/03/2017       Day 132

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Regina Strawberry Days to Maturity

I grew several different alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca) from seed this past summer.  I looked on ebay for seeds, but the vast majority of strawberry seeds on ebay do not exist.   Due to this I had to get seeds from more expensive, but more reliable places.

Being in Australia the dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Days to maturity Regina Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

Planted                        08/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 19/10/2016                   Day 11
Flowered                    13/02/2017                   Day 125
First fruit ripe              13/03.2017                   Day 153 (about 5 months)

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Strawberry seedlings

Jade Bean Days to Maturity

Jade Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) were grown this year, they are a nice variety of heirloom bean that is both rather tasty and pretty.  I planted 3 Jade bean seeds that were 5 years old and was surprised that they all grew and cropped well. Even though I find it difficult to find green beans among green foliage it is still a good variety of bean.

The following were the days to maturity for Jade beans.  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       03/12/2016       Day 0
Germinated           11/12/2016       Day 8
Flowered              14/01/2017       Day 42
Harvest start         05/02/2017       Day 64

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Snake Bean days to maturity

Snake beans (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) are also called yard long beans or asparagus beans. 

I was always told that snake beans took too long to mature and may not crop in cooler regions.  I am glad to say that this is not quite the truth.  They are quite an impressive looking plant, which grows an impressively long bean, that tends to crop well even in short seasons.  So this year I recorded the dates. 

The following were the days to maturity for Snake beans.  This year I grew a mix of red and green snake beans (as well as crosses).  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       03/12/2016       Day 0
Germinated           07/12/2016       Day 4
Flowered              ??/??/2016        Day??
Harvest start         03/02/2017       Day 62

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Snake Bean flowers

Snake Beans starting to ripen

Days to Maturity Pumpkin Kaempw Melon Rilon

This year I planted seeds of a pumpkin named Kaempw Melon Rilon.  I was told it was Cucurbita pepo but I am almost certain it is actually Cucurbita maxima.

Below are the days to maturity for this pumpkin in my garden this year.  I possibly could have harvested the pumpkins a lot earlier (perhaps Christmas time) or a bit later, I don't really know how to tell when pumpkins are ripe.  I don't usually pay them much attention and normally just wait for the plant to die back somewhat and then harvest.

This year I picked an arbitrary day to harvest when the pumpkins had each set a large pumpkin that was no longer growing or changing colour and started to set a second round of fruit.  The pumpkins weighed roughly 8 kg or 9 kg each.

Being in Australia the dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Kaempw Melon Rilon Pumpkin days to maturity (most likely Cucurbita maxima)

Planted                       16/10/2016                 Day 0
Germinated                 26/10/2016                 Day 10
Started flowering         01/12/2016                 Day 46
Harvest                       05/03/2017                 Day 180 (possibly Day 70 if picked at Christmas)

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Pumpkin - Kaempw Melon Rilon

Immali Corn Days to Maturity

This year I planted Immali corn (Zea mays).  I am very biased because I created this variety, but I think that this is a great variety of sweet corn.  Being high in anthocyanin and other antioxidants that are not usually present in sweet corn it is also very healthy.

A while ago someone complained because I did not tell them how many days until harvest.  To be more accurate, they complained because they looked up a random variety of sweet corn days to maturity on the internet and assumed that Immali corn would be exactly the same, but it wasn't, and somehow I am to blame.  I think I have mentioned in other posts how 'days to maturity' mean different things to different people and is often a pointless number.  For this reason I record all the important dates.

Unfortunately until this year I had never accurately recorded the days to maturity for Immali corn.  Now I have.  Please note that this is simply what happened in my garden this year.  The days to maturity would be longer or shorter if conditions were different.  It is indicative only and I plan to use it as a guide to when to plant seeds next year.

The following were the days to maturity for Immali corn.  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       16/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           24/10/2016       Day 8
Flowered              21/12/2016       Day 66
Harvest ready       30/01/2017       Day 106
Cobs dry ready to save seed 05/03/2017   Day  140

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Immali corn cobs

Muffet Bean Days To Maturity

We planted Muffet Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds, they are a delightful little variety of heirloom bean.

The internet references a large bean called 'Muffet bean' that was bred in the Goulburn region around 1827.  The brief descriptions I can find sound very different from my Muffet bean.  My Muffet bean is a short bean plant that gives reasonable yields of regular sized green bean pods.

The following were the days to maturity for Muffet beans.  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seeds planted       23/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           31/10/2016       Day 8
Flowered              12/12/2016       Day 50
Harvest start         28/12/2016       Day 66

This year my Muffet beans and many other crops were almost entirely covered with Rutherglen bugs (Nysius vinitor), this has meant that the crops were much smaller and a bit later than normal.

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Water Celery

Water Celery Oenanthe javanica (flamingo)
Like many rare vegetables this plant has many common names including: water parsley, Java waterdropwort, Japanese parsley, Chinese celery, rainbow water parsley, and a bunch of other names.

Water celery is a perennial vegetable that is under utilised and strangely uncommon considering how prolific and simple to grow it is.

I don't really remember how I first got the variegated form of water celery, I do remember that I had hoped to get the pure green one and was a little disappointed to get this prettier version as the green one is meant to grow in a very aggressive way and the variegated one is said to be more tame.

The variegated form of water celery sometimes known as 'flamingo' or 'rainbow water parsley', the edges of the leaves are white and sometimes pink. Like a lot of other plants the colour becomes a lot more vibrant and intense in cooler weather.

It grows extremely fast when the weather is warm, it is often used to clean water, is sometimes used to extract gold from water, and most importantly it is edible.  It can be grown in a floating raft to clean water in an aquaponics type arrangement.

Water celery growing in a bucket

 How to grow water celery
Water celery prefers a lot of moisture to grow, I usually grow it submerged in a bucket of soil with a few cm of water on top.  This plant should always have the leaves emerging from the water or it will rot as it is not an aquatic plant.  Most people seem to grow it in depths of 10cm to 15cm of water.  That being said some of my plant's runners have made their way into other pots of soil not even near water and are growing happily enough if they get reasonable water.

I didn't plant water celery here, it found its own way in using runners

Water celery found its way into this pot has survived here

I am told that it can survive temperatures as low as -30C but find that very difficult to believe.  It seems to die back a little when the frosts hit and there is ice on top of the water, but as soon as the weather warms up it takes off and grows well.  This plant can become invasive so take care if you plant at the edge of a pond.

Water celery, even the variegated flamingo form, is a productive and aggressive grower.  It grows long runners in an attempt to colonise as much suitable ground as possible.  I have read several studies which state that when grown on a floating raft type system it can be used to remove phosphates, nitrates and various other forms of pollution (apparently including gold) from water.

Considering that water celery loves moisture, and it is reasonably simple to remove, even if it does become a weed it should not stray too far from damp ground and should be reasonably simple to pull or dig out.  Guinea pigs and chickens seem to like it so if you ever had a patch that got out of control if you move animals onto that ground they should eat it out pretty fast.

This plant can and does flower and will set viable seed.  I lost all of my seeds so do not know if they will be variegated or if a percentage will be green. I am told that it will grow to 60cm tall but mine never reach half of that.

Water Celery and Vietnamese Coriander growing in buckets

Water Celery Flowering

What does water celery taste like
Not surprisingly, water celery tastes very similar to celery, and a bit like parsley.  We don't tend to eat much of it as I am not too fond of celery.  When fresh the celery taste and smell is strong, this decreases with cooking time.

Water celery can be eaten raw or cooked.  If you plan to eat it raw please be careful that it does not have any water snails on it.  Water snails can carry a host of different parasites which are bad for people.  Cooking, even briefly, can kill the parasites and make this plant completely safe.

Water Celery sending out runners

Where to buy water celery in Australia
Variegated water celery is sometimes seen in nurseries and for sale by specialist water nurseries and pond supply companies.  It is difficult to find and is normally very expensive for some reason.  I sell water celery, it is listed on my for sale page along with some other perennial vegetables.

Water celery plants ready for sale

Cape Gooseberry Days to Maturity

Cape Gooseberry (Physalis peruviana) is also known as Incaberry, goldenberry and Pichuberry and a few other common names. 

I find germination to be a bit hit and miss, I planted seeds that didn't germinate, then a few weeks later I replanted seed from the same packet and they all germinated.  They grew very slowly at the start and felt like they would never flower.  Once they started to produce fruit it was very productive over a long period of time.

Cape Gooseberry (Physalis peruviana)
Planted             20/08/2016       Day 0  No germination, seeds rotted so I needed to re-plant.
Replanted         10/09/2016       Day 0 again
Germinated       26/09/2016       Day 16
Flowered          09/12/2016       Day 60
Harvest began  14/01/2017        Day 86

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

Cape Gooseberry Fruit

Cape Gooseberry seedling

Cape gooseberry flowers and fruit

'Space Master' Cucumber days to maturity

We planted some green 'space master' cucumber seeds, they grew into a small shrub instead of a long vine.  The cucumbers tasted good, and the plants were reasonably productive over a long season, but I am sure I can find a better variety.

The following were the days to maturity for these cucumbers.  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

Seed Planted        16/10/2016       Day 0
Seed germinated   25/10/2016       Day 9
Flowers                06/12/2016       Day 51
First harvest          28/12/2016       Day 73

Obviously these dates could change significantly if grown differently.  They were simply what happened in my garden this season.  Even though, it gives a reasonable baseline for comparison against other plants grown in my garden this year.

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.

White Wonder Cucumber days to maturity

I planted some heirloom 'White Wonder' cucumber seeds.  They are an old heirloom variety of cucumber that is rather good looking.  The plants grow long vines and were very productive over a long period of time.  These cucumbers need to be picked young, if left to grow the skin becomes tough and woody and they become too bitter for my liking.

The following were the days to maturity for these cucumbers.  Being in Australia, all dates are written in the format of Day/Month/Year.

White Wonder Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
Seed Planted        16/10/2016       Day 0
Seed germinated   26/10/2016       Day10
Flowers                06/12/2016       Day 51
First harvest          01/01/2017       Day 77

Obviously these dates could change significantly if grown differently.  They were simply what happened in my garden this year.  Even though, it gives a reasonable baseline for comparison against other plants, such as the green 'space master' cucumber, which were also grown in my garden this year.

For a full list of vegetable days to maturity please click here.