Winter Gardening....

Below are pics from the seeds that I planted in November. I was worried that the plants would not survive the frost last week. However, the plants were cozy under blankets and made it through. Here are the most recent pics of the plants. Last week, I planted radish (watermelon, globe, french breakfast, and icicle), mustard, spicy lettuce mix, arugula, spinach (tyee and teton) and bok choy. The lettuce will be ready in a couple of weeks and the radish will be harvested in a month. Today, I planted sugar snap peas, radicchio, fennel, broccoli raab and parsley. Below are pics from the garden.

Moss growing in the backyard.....



Look what I came home to after my trip...the oranges ripened after 4 months on the tree! What a perfect Christmas present!!





Russian Red Kale



Curly Blue Kale



Parris Island Romaine Lettuce



Marvielle of Four Season Red Lettuce



Chiogga Beets





Rainbow Swiss Chard. The seed packet comes with seeds that are hot pink, red and yellow. In the past, the only seeds that germinated were the hot pink ones but I was dying for yellow and red ones. That's the point right...getting a rainbow of colors. It's not much of a rainbow if you only get one color ;-) This year, I finally got them all. Yay!!









Indian Mustard



Cilantro. I planted a purchased cilantro plant last year from the nursery. The weather became hot shortly after and the plant bolted. I let the plant go to seed and left it alone. I collected some seed and let the rest just disperse in the garden. This year, I have 6 cilantro plants which is great for me. Can't wait to make some salsa!!



Spring is around the corner...new chives sprouting....

Garden Update

The garden has been flourishing and has become quite the jungle. I have given up taming the beast. This week, we harvested beans, okra and zucchini. It appears that the cucumbers have succumbed to disease. The beans are also showing signs of disease. It looks like rust. I purchased some Organocide to combat the disease. Hopefully it will work.

Yesterday, I noticed tindoora (dondakai), tiny Indian melons. Tindoora is a root plant, meaning that it cannot be grown from seed, you need a root from the previous year. The roots are collected in the winter and stored until the spring. I looked for months for a root asking everyone Indian person that I knew and finally I found one (Thanks P!). Pictures of the garden as well as the most recent harvest are below.



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Tindoora:



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Harvest:



Thanks for visiting!!

Bees and Blooms

Bees are buzzing and the garden is blooming. Lured by the sweet nectar on the fragrant orange blossoms, families of bees visited my backyard over the past week. Hopping from one flower to the next collecting nectar, the bees unknowingly pollinated the flowers.

Eggplants:



Trellis' galore (Tindoora, Ridge Gourd, Indian Broad Beans, and Bitter Melon):



Okra, Sweet Peppers, and Squash:



Pole Beans, Basil, and Cucumber:



Blooms and More:

Okra Lee-



Eggplant-



Bitter Gourd -



Thai Pepper -



Jalapeno Pepper -



Bell Pepper -



Burgundy Okra -



Eight Ball Squash -



Lettuce -



Pole Beans - this plant is prolific. I harvest 10-15 beans a day.



Orange Tree (Honestly, I am surprised that this tree bloomed again. Apparently it is quite difficult to grow citrus. The whole backyard smelled like orange blossoms. I just sat outside with my Mom enjoying the fragrant air.)



The bees buzzed around and viola...we have tiny little oranges...





Cucumbers - I only planted these about two weeks ago and look how fast they grew. I attribute their growth to the monsoon we experienced recently in Houston.





I saved the best for last. This is a ridge gourd flower. When I spotted it, I couldn't stop staring at it. It's amazing how nature creates such beautiful things. It was like looking at white star with a floating halo. The tendrils reminded me of lace fraying at the edges. Hope you enjoyed this week's post!

2010 Spring Garden

In our efforts to become more environmentally conscious, we are attempting to live sustainably from our "land," as tiny as it may be. Our goal is to eat at least 60% of our food from the garden. We built a raised garden that is 25 feet by 4 ft. We planted the following:

Herbs: Cilantro, Parsley, Basil, Chives, Dill, Rosemary, Sage, Mint
Vegetables: Hestia Bean, Kentucky Bean, Okra Lee, Snow Peas, Eggplant (2 types), Red, Green and Yellow Bell Pepper, Thai Pepper, Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, Carrots, Swiss Chard
Fruits/Berries/Citrus: Blackberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Blood Orange, Calamuddin Orange, Mexican Lime

Raised Beds:




Blueberries:

Citrus Trees:

Calamuddin Orange:

Hestia Beans, Bush Beans, and Okra:



Snow Peas:

Limes: