Before I Leave

Of course everything is beginning to bear fruit, just as I am preparing to leave the country. My good friend Megan is going to take care of them for me while I am gone.

Look at how big these beauties are!

I hope there is something for me to enjoy when we get back. But if not, I am thrilled that we made it this far! So so so happy!

First Harvest

Here it is! There is one beefsteak tomato, and rest are Amish paste tomatoes. That is yellow squash. I probably should have harvested it earlier, but I didn’t even notice it until today.

And in the pots we have a banana pepper that I got a few weeks ago for a dollar at Lowes,

and eggplant from the Fullerton Arboretum.

I need to keep a close eye on my fruit or someone else will. Isn’t she so cute! She just loves fresh fruit from the garden. Can’t say that I blame her.

Not Dead, but Not Exactly Thriving

So the tomatoes are still sprawling, but some of the leaves are starting to turn brown and die. Not exactly sure why? But even though there are dead leaves, there is still fruit. I will have to wait to see what happens.

Oh, look! There is a red one. How exciting! Even if the leaves around it are shriveling and falling to the floor.

Which reminds me of the words of my mother-in-law. While showing her my garden, I commented on how I may not be able to count this as a success exactly, but it is better than last year, and who knows, maybe by the time I am 50 I will finally be able to support a garden that is beautiful and bountiful. To this she responded by recounting how her own mother-in-law tried throughout her 80+ years of life to keep a plant alive to no avail. I’m pretty sure that story was meant to encourage me, I think…

In the meantime, her are the Mr. Okra, and Ms. Strawberry, thriving.

I think this might actually be my first okra for harvest. So happy they survived the transplant.

Maybe I Didn’t Expect You to Last

Not this long. You did look healthy and strong, but so did many others before you.

These are my tomatoes. They are out of control. Which is an entirely different type of problem than any I have ever faced with gardening. I am used to caterpillars eating my crops, fungus taking my plants, and death by dehydration (or over-hydration). But now I face crops being suffocated out by the success of my tomatoes. You can’t see it in this picture, but underneath this tomato plant are small okras (planted by seed). Remember I showed you them here? Anyway, it is time for me to move them, or else say a final prayer for them.

So with the help of my wonderful husband, I have made a new home for my Mr. Okra, Ms. Strawberry, and Mr. Bell Pepper. They are quite happy to be out of that old crowed place.

Before I go, I wanted to show you this. I am not sure what it is. I planted cayenne pepper seeds in this pot, but I have no idea if this is cayenne or a weed. I wait in anticipation of a pepper, but if it is a weed, it will the healthiest weed there ever was. Time will tell…

Good News and Bad News...

Well let's start with the bad new, more like sad news...

So my container garden that I have been proudly updating you on, well something has gone terribly wrong. Let me remind you of the family I was growing. We had Ms. Strawberry, Ms. Tomato, Mr. Pepper, Mr. Cucumber, Ms. Okra, the twin Misses Basils, and Mr. Cilantro (technically I also tried to raise a Mr. Chives, but that was a failure I don't like to think about). Okay now you remember them all, right? So here is the bad news... I can't even bear to tell you! Just scroll down.

This was baby Basil. Now there is only one of the twins left. There used to be full green leaves on here! Can you tell what happened? Let me give you a hint.

Caterpillars!!!! It happened over night. One day I was commenting on how big the basil leaves were getting and how I would probably buy some pizza dough to make a yummy basil and tomato pizza (dairy-free of course! I swear they taste GOOD!) then the next morning I come out to water the kiddies and... the horror! Meanwhile the caterpillar just looked up at me and smiled! Can you believe that?!?!? He had the audacity to thank me for the yummy dinner! Now I know why farmers use pesticides. All that time and energy and resources, and it's robbed from you just like that.

I managed to save one of the basils, and she is doing fine now, but I have resorted to a caterpillar pesticide. I'm not proud to admit that, and I did feel guilty as I sprayed my leaves with the poison. It was a tough decision to make. The little buggers decimated my cilantro, so Ms. Basil is all I have left of my herbs. 

I wish that was all, but I have saved the worst of my bad news for last. Are you seated? Good. Mr. Cucumber is terminally ill. Oh it kills me to say it! He was flourishing, I mean really growing super fast! And big! And green! And lush! I was the proudest of Mr. Cucumber. Then slowly I noticed spots, and the leaves and stems began to die off. Through the process of elimination (I made many attempts to treat potential diseases) I have finally concluded that Mr. Cucumber has bacterial wilt. There is no treatment for it, he's a goner. It is depressing to walk outside and look at him. And three cucumbers were starting to grow too! But they also will be taken by the disease. I think I will remove him this weekend...So sad. 

But not everything was lost. The strawberry, tomato and peppers are still doing good. And the salvaged basil is doing better than ever.

 

Jonathan and I have been eyeing the tomatoes and eating them as soon as they become ripe. They are tiny but tasty!

What a learning experience! If not for the tomatoes, and Jonathan's constant encouragement, I would have given up. I still feel a bit like a failure. But I haven't thrown the towel in yet, and I have learned some tricks along the way. So maybe next year it will be better... one can only hope.

Still Alive...and growing!

Remember about a month ago when I posted about my herb and vegtable garden??? Well this is an update for you all. I am sad to say that the chives did not survive. Well they never actually started. I couldn't get those babies to sprout! However everything else is just exploding!



This is my cilantro. Can you believe it?!?! Compare to here for the full effect! I think I should start eating them now. But I am not sure. How long do you let these guys grow??? Anyone know? I am clueless. Maybe I should pick a few to see if they are ready...



Oh and look at my tomoato plant! It is sooooo tall! I can't believe it! Tomato is going through puberty right now. Growing fast and tall, towering over his siblings, and his voice is starting to change too. Pretty soon he'll be headed off to college. Again compare to the last garden post. The tomato plant is the pot to the right.




So here they are. My kiddies. The cucumber plant is a bit bossy! That was surprising. It is shoving it's way around everyone. I might have to trim it a bit back, because it is now hogging all the sunlight the strawberries get. Or maybe I will just have to reposition all the plants. Ocra is short and small, but I wonder if that isn't because cucumber has overtaked the pot (they share a pot). Tomato is tall and getting taller, it out grew the tomato cage. Strawberries are short but stubborn. The basil is slow to grow and it doesn't help that there is some kind of insect that keeps taking a bite out of my 2 basil leaves >:( Now I understand pesticided! Grrr! And cilantro has an unruly mane, but I think it is ready for a trim.

There you have it. Maybe next time there will be fruit and veggies!!! I can't wait!

It all started with an urge for herbs...

My inner hippie is starting to get more and more bold. There was a time when I tried desperately to repress her. "You are not welcome here!" I would tell her. "I am a cynical sort of gal, and there is absolutely no room for you in my life! So get! Move along!" But you know the rule, the minute you deny something, that is the exact moment it becomes true. God has a way of proving us wrong. I love that saying "we make plans, and god laughs". This is certainly the case in my life.

About three weeks ago I planted my very first herb garden. I bought a small starter kit at Home Depot, which consisted of four small planters in a wooden box. The kit said that I would start to see the seedlings in seven to nine days. So I waited, and when day ten came and there was no sign of seedlings, I knew I had done something wrong. I failed! If I can't even grow a plant how can I ever have a pet or even a child?!?! What kind of a mother would I be??? I know I am a bit dramatic. And my husband, that wonderful man, put his arm around my shoulders and reminded me that it had been pretty cold that week, so maybe the herbs would just need a little more time. Thank god he was right! By day fourteen my cilantro had peeped his head above the dark dirt.




Everyday since has been a tiny adventure as I come home and see the subtle changes, noting the new height, or the new leaves and stalks. These are changes that only a mother would notice. Yesterday I saw mini-cilantro palms hiding amongst the rest of the stalks. My heart did a little diddy!

Encouraged by Mr. Basil, Mr. Chives and Mr. Cilantro, Jonathan and I went out to Home Depot yet again, this time in search of vegetables to adopt. I had some very helpful tips from a friend at work. He really encouraged me to consider container gardening, since I have limited space at my apartment complex. And thanks to him, I came home with a tomato plant, a pepper, an okra, a cucumber, and a strawberry plant. Below is a picture of all my kiddies. I am happy to report that they seem to be doing well and I haven't killed any of them...yet.



This is good for me. It is work, but it is rewarding. It requires diligence, but there is a bigger goal. It reminds me of my place on earth, my connection and dependence on this beautiful planet. It is humbling, and reaffirming. It reveals God's maternal traits as the nurturing voice that bears fruit. And dagnabit, it makes my inner hippie happy as she finally gets her place in the sun. Hopefully in a few months I will be able to have you all over for some salad featuring some of my fresh tomatoes, and I will formally introduce you to Ms. Hippie :)