Around the yard

My garden had its first harvest this summer. The goal was to start small with enough garden ingredients for a bowl of salad to feed at least two people. My garden project has been successful and I am now in the process of expanding.

Anthurium Flower

Wild Chickens

Of course, there were a few hurdles to overcome. But as with anything, you live and you learn.

One of my biggest hurdle has been wild chickens. And they multiply like crazy! They will peck at anything in my garden. And because they're wild, I've had to re-evaluate and fix the fencing around my garden to make sure there were no holes they can slip through.

Fuschia - The decorative flowers are just amazing! The flower shown above have a purple and pink mixture. They also come in other colors.  It reminds me of a pear of dangling earrings.

Oriental Lily - The most fragrant of them all! There are different varieties of lilies. But only the oriental variety gives off a wonderful fragrant smell.

Another one of my model/garden buddy. She's loving the cat grass.

Tomatoes (left) and Cilantro (right)

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are great with salad. Just chop them up and add to your salad. It's crispy and adds flavor.

Sunflowers (left) and Passion Fruit Flower (right)

Spinach

I will be planting spinach from seeds indoors. I have made two rows and placed the seeds approximately 1/2 inch deep.

I usually space them out about 6 inches apart but because some seeds may not germinate, I planted more than the average. You can always thin out the plants when they're a few inches tall.

Spinach - day 7

Bell Peppers - Red

I decided to plant red bell peppers from seeds harvested during the summer. Red bell peppers are easy to grow. No need to buy the packets of seeds. Just collect the seeds from the bell peppers you typically buy at your local supermarket. Place the seeds on a newspaper and let them dry up. I usually store the unused seeds in a small zip lock bag.

Red bell peppers - 17 days

I almost forgot I planted these seeds. Some seeds have yet to sprout and since I'm growing my plants indoor, I can expect some not to survive.

Planting Amaryllis from bulb

While at my local hardware store, I purchased an "Amaryllis in a box" which included 1 bulb, a decorative pot and a growing medium. It was marked down to 50% off which I considered a good deal. Truth be told, I figured the reason for the markdown was because the plant was still in the bulb stage and most customers would prefer a nice winter bloom in time for the holiday season. Blooms usually take 8 to 10 weeks.

Amaryllis - Day 1

Day 1 - After planting the bulb in the pot per the box instruction, I placed the pot next to a window for warmth. Check your plant and make sure the soil does not dry up. Water once a week.

Planting lettuce from seeds

It's winter. I still get a lot of sun in a section of the house so I have decided to grow my lettuce indoor. I'm not a big fan of store bought lettuce and what better way to have fresh lettuce than growing your own?

I have have decided to grow lettuce from seeds bought from a local hardware store. These stores usually have limited or no selection during the winter months. I had to ask a store employee if they had any plant seeds available. One said no and the other said they put what seeds were left all the way in the back of the store.

I planted my lettuce seeds in a rectangular planter and sowed the seeds in rows. Don't worry about sowing too many seeds. You can always pull the a few sprouts out once the plants are a few inches tall.

Lettuce - Day 4

Seeds usually take 7-10 days to Germinate. Mine took 4 days. I recommend sowing your seeds 1/4 inches deep and 10 inches apart. I obviously didn't do that but I will thin out the plants once they are bigger. I prefer to over plant than have few germinate. With proper care, you'll have lettuce ready to harvest in about 60 days. It's worth the wait.

Lettuce - Day 7

Planting sweet basil from seeds

Rather than taking cuttings from a basil plant, I decided to grow sweet basil from seeds. I've chosen sweet basil because they're perfect for making homemade pest and Asian dishes.

Planting sweet basil from seeds is very easy to do and they sprout in days. In may case, my seeds sprouted in 8 days.

Sweet basil seeds

Just a little bit of basil seeds go a long way.

Sweet basil sprouts after 8 days

I placed a generous amount of basil seeds in a small, homemade pot made of newspaper. I used potting soil to fill half of the pot, placed the seeds in and added more soil to cover the seeds. Then water the pot just enough to moisten the soil. Don't worry about having too many seeds in the pot. You can always thin out the sprouts once the roots have grown and are healthy enough to transfer to a bigger pot.

Day 14

Day 14 - The basil sprouts continue to come up. Patience is the key.

I have a confession to make...

I have neglected my garden. In addition to a very dry season, I failed to maintain my garden and I have very few plants to look forward to next season.

 I guarantee the gophers enjoyed the carrots, the birds feasted on the strawberries and the slugs loved my oriental and asiatic lilies.

Fortunately, I was able to harvest some tomatoes, pumpkins,bell peppers, cilantro, cucumbers and melons.

It's now November and I have started some seedlings indoor so I'm able to control the temperature. My first project is basil from seeds. I see the sprouts pushing through the dirt and I'm looking forward to sharing the pictures with you in the next few days.