But enough talking . Let me show you in pictures ...
Herbs:
(1) Cilantro : The cilantro started very well .It grew easily and quickly and it was beautiful ...
...at first... Then we got some hot weather ...and I think the pot was a little too small as well ..and it kind of dried out ..
(2) Dill : The dill started growing really well if you remembered ! We used some for a couple of dinners . Then some warm weather ...
I thought it would just die , but for whatever reason I kept watering it ... and guess what ! It came back to life ! Look at it ! And we just had some with our potatoes tonight .
(3) Sweet Basil : After a slow start , our basil has changed a lot since our last post . It is now growing beautifully and I can't wait to use it with some pasta :)
Isn't it gorgeous ?
(4) Parsley : Our parsley had a slow start . It is growing slowly , but it seems well and healthy .
It is looking better everyday :)
(5) Spearmint : I kept watering the pot even though nothing was happening for weeks ....And guess what ...something is starting to grow... and I believe it could be some spearmint ...Take a look :
Vegetables : Time now to check at our vegetables . Some are doing incredibly well while others are gone :(
(1) Tomatoes : Our tomatoes started very well , as you saw in our last post .And they continue to strive . We planted grape tomatoes .The plants are now bigger , they have flowers and even some tomatoes are starting to grow . Here are some pictures taking at a few weeks intervals , so you can see their progress with your own eyes :
Amazing transformation , isn't it ? And it is not over yet :)
(2) Radishes : The radishes are kind of interesting . We planted two batches of radishes . One in a small planter that I put on a shelf .Another in a big box . The one on the shelf has been growing quite well . It started really fast , but then it became weird . The leaves are growing higher ...and the radishes themselves , are slow to mature . I think the reason is that they are behind other plants ... and the radishes' leaves are "fighting" for getting some nutrients from the sun ...On the other hand , the one in the big box all died . They were growing slowly at first . This box is placed in a more shady area , so I think , the first thing , they couldn't strive . Then with the heat and a lizard...they did not survive .
Here are pictures of the radishes from the shelf :
A few weeks later ...
A few more days later ...
And I couldn't wait any longer ... I had to take one out to see what was going on ...See how it is long instead of being round ? I think it needs a few more days .....or a week ...
(3) Zucchini or Italian squash: It is more or less the same thing for our zucchini plants . I have four of them . One was in a pot , by itself ,on the top of the shelf, getting plenty of sun . The other three shared the same planter , and were in the back of the shelf , not getting sufficient sunlight , I guess .While the first one thrived , the other three are slow to grow . I let you see the results for yourself :
As you can see from last post , I had to transfer this zucchini plant to a bigger pot . I was a little bit shaky , because I usually kill the plants when I try to transplant them. But I am really happy to report that this one made it :)
Just like the tomatoes , this particular plant has been growing a lot . It has flowers and the vegetables are starting to grow .
That was a the "good" zucchini plant . Let's take a look at the other ones ...
(4) Green Beans : Ok , the green beans were interesting . Three plants are growing , the other ones , didn't . I replanted a couple of them . They are growing a little ....but they are not really thriving . I believe it may be due to a lack of sunshine .
I do not know yet , if they will survive ...We'll see....
(5) Spinach : They started off really well ...but then a lot of them dried out . I am not sure if this is due to the lack of sun , the heat , the lizard ...or some other insects ...Here ... they are a few more standing ...for now ..
Several weeks later ...
(6) Peas : Here is the sad story . The peas had an excellent start as you saw on my last post . And on those two following photographs :
But then they started drying out completely and they did not survive :( I don't know the real cause . The heat , the lizard , some bugs ,or some disease ? I have read that peas can easily get diseases . Oh well , we'll try again another time .
(7) Onions : The onions are not doing too well either . They started to grow , but then , the didn't progress much ....
Here is some good news : some more vegetables a growing .....
(8) Yellow squash : The yellow squash did not grow on the ground , so we tried to grow a couple of them in pots ...and it seems to work out just fine :)
At the beginning :
A few weeks later ...
(9) Carrots : Several carrots started to grow . Some of them mysteriously disappeared , but others keep growing . Here are their progress :
In this last picture , you can see the dead peas in the back ...We'll see what happens to the carrots ....
(10) Lettuce : The lettuce was growing ..then something ate some of them , so I replanted some lettuce . And it is growing slowly ...very slowly !
We'll keep our eyes open ...
(11) Peppers : Last year , we planted different kind of peppers , including sweet peppers and cayenne peppers .But it did not grow . This year I planted some radishes in the same planter ...and out of nowhere ...one of the pepper plants from last year started growing...I took it out from the planter and transfered it to a different pot where it can keep growing ...I don't know what kind of pepper it is yet , we'll have to wait . But look at it grow :
To wrap our vegetables section , I would advise to anyone who want to start growing veggies , to start with some tomatoes . They are very easy to grow and to care for ! Anything else will be quite an adventure :)
Fruit trees :
Both our mandarin tree and our lemon tree keep growing and adding leaves . New flowers and beginning of new fruits are showing as shown this photograph from our lemon tree :
Flowers : The flowers we planted on the porch and in our backyard are growing slowly .
(1) Nasturtium : We planted those flowers in a very dry area of our yard ..and it seems to work out fine .
We'll continue to watch them grow .
(2) Mammoth Sunflowers : Ok . The one that was on my last post .....Hmmm .. How should I say that ? .. I killed it :( We planted new ones .Five started to grow and I got all excited ! ...But this time they were all eaten by rolly pollies . I don't care what you see on the internet and what some people say . Roly pollies do not only eat decomposing matter ! They love sunflower seedlings!! I caught them red handed !! They were all over the leaves ..eating them away !!!! But we did not give up ! We planted new ones again . And this time , as soon as I spotted the seedlings coming out of the ground , I placed a toilet paper roll around each one . And guess what ? It worked ! Yeah ! So now we have some mammoth sunflowers growing .
Hopefully they will keep growing nicely :)
Garden creatures : And of course , when you are gardening , you'll always come across some little creatures visiting your garden . This time we have a small lizard . Meet Leo the lizard :
I hope you had fun listening to our gardening adventures . Hope you'll try your own . We will keep you updated on the changes . In the meantime have a wonderful weekend :)
