I started gardening in 2020 when we were all stuck in the house and I needed something to keep myself occupied. I discovered it was a rewarding and relaxing past time. This page will share some of the different types of plants I have been growing.
The Beit Alpha cucumbers are almost big enough to pick now. I am thinking of trying pickling them with some onions. Can't wait to see what these taste like I've read some wonderful descriptions online.
The Beit Alpha cucumbers have almost grown to the top of the 6 foot trellis I made from bamboo poles. It has been amazing how quickly they have grown.
The zinnias in the front bed have bloomed and the disk florets are starting to open up as well. I'm getting a nice variety of colors.
The cosmos have had their first bloom as well.
The marigolds are well established now and are getting some bees and other polliantors which I like to watch in the morning.
Zucchini in the grow box are doing well and I'll probably move outside and start hardening soon.
The zinnias in the front bed had some tops eaten off so I made a impromptu fence to put around them.
Some of the buds on the zinnias are about to open I like the deep reddish color.
Tomatoes on side of house, cosmos and zinnias are doing well. Getting some blooms on the flowers and the tomatoes are starting to turn red.
The marigolds in the front bed and planters are also doing nicely. I've started to deadhead some of the older blooms.
This week the Beit Alpha cucumbers had some blooms and also some cucumbers starting to grow:
The zinnias I planted in some grow bags have been hardened and are doing well.
The zucchini seeds I have in the grow box are sprouting:
I also harvested some bush beans and okra. I have 5 okra plants and so far I get about this many a week. Good enough for a side at lunch!
Having some good weather for growing. Having to water everyday. Beit Alpha cucumbers are growing over a foot per week! I built a simple trellis from 6 ft bamboo poles. I have also used those poles to make supports for the other vegatables that need them. Very versatile.
Zinnias, cosmos and marigolds in front beds are doing well.
The bush beans have started turning yellow. I tested the soil with vinegar as I'd seen suggested and it seemed OK. From what I can tell there are diseases that can affect these plants and not much you can do about it. A few seem OK so I moved the diseased plants away from them.
Rear garden is doing fine as well. Lots of peppers and tomatoes on the way. Okra is doign fine but not producing much. I got enough to roast some for a meal the other day and they were really good!
Getting some good growth in the zinnias and cosmos:
I put a layer of some nice soil on the zinnias bed which I think looks nicer.
Rest of vegatables are growing well except the bush beans which I am afraid may have some disease which is turning them yellow. I did get a few beans which I roasted and turned out great.
The flower beds continue to do well. Zinnias had some problems with something eating them at night. I have tried to water them early so they can dry some before night which I think will keep the snails/slugs off them. I also put some snail/slug bait down which is supposed to be safe for animals which seems to help. I had some growing in the rear garden bed but it stays wet and I just didn't want to keep having to put down bait to fight them back there. I just decided to let them eat what they wanted and I'll figure out something else to grow there. I really prefer not to use anything not organic if I can avoid it as this is just a hobby and I want to have as little impact on the environment as I can.
Bush beans are growing well and I'm getting some blooms.
I decided to get some nice masonry blocks and put a border around my flower beds.
If you look closely to the zinnias bed you can see the grid of string I used to layout where I planted the seeds.
I also used some rocks I dug up when making the beds to make a border for the cosmos:
Tomatoes on the side of the house and the rear garden vegatables continue to do well.
I harvested my first okra also!
Got my first okra bloom!
Put the plants I was hardening into the rear garden finally:
I have some bush beans and beit alpha cucumbers I have started in the grow box.
I've been hardening some plants I transplanted from the grow box. I put them out in the sun in the driveway and them move them into the garage at night as the temperatures have been getting very cold. It is a bit of work but seems to be doing the job.
I started to clean out the rear garden area. I had left some radishes growing in the ground in the Fall and they survived the winter. Now they are growing quite large and putting on flowers! Very pretty. I never knew this is what radishes would do if left to their own devices.
I transplated some of the plants (tomatoes and okra) from the grow box into some containers I saved from the recycling bin at home. I will start to harden these plants.
After some success in 2020 with roma tomatos I decided I wanted to grow those again. I also enjoyed the marigolds I grew along the front walkway. Last year I decided last minute to try growing anything so this year I setup a simple grow box with two 60W Philips LED grow bulbs in my office and started the following from seeds:
