August 26, 2022 - Louisiana Okra

 Tiptoeing doesn't work anymore. Step on something to reach and harvest the okra, or get a step-ladder instead.

These are our Louisiana Okra plants. I am not sure how tall they are now, but this plant can grow as tall as 8 feet.

Thursday, August 25, 2022

 Wolverine! 

Freshly harvested okra supposedly for our ginisang monggo today, but I didn't have enough mung beans. 

So, we will have sinigang instead. 

By the way, the longest one I harvested was the 10", the one in the middle.

Gardening Day

 

January 9, 2022.

 We had an icy rainy day today but in spite of that, I am so excited!

There are 70 days more until spring. The new season comes on March 20th.

I can not wait to garden again. I am already taking notes on what seeds to plant where. 

I am also planning on adding more sunflowers, corns, marigolds, milkweeds, and 1 persimmon tree. 

Both photos were taken from my daughter's room window.

HOT!

 I got out of bed earlier than usual to feed our cats, and water our plants. 

Although I watered them yesterday morning, today was just too hot. 

The temperature was  about 100°F (about 37°C). 

I didn't really want to go out, but I had to ship items today since it was a federal holiday yesterday.

I had to ship 9 items, but thankful that the mister helped me pack 1 order. I just don't have patience to pack 5 fragile items----a set of 5 small mini speakers going to California. 

I was so busy packing and shipping, that I forgot to harvest the early bulam (avocado squash) that is ready for picking.

I guess, I'll do it tomorrow. I just hope it wouldn't be scorching hot tomorrow. Again.

Under the Sun

 Spent the last two days mostly outdoors. We had our morning coffee with my homemade bread in the backyard. We loved to listen to a variety of chirping birds in the morning. 

Yesterday, after his office hours, the mister finished the new garden plot solely for flowers to attract more pollinators in our garden. 

I have been pulling out my strawberry plants as well for transplanting. Some still have fruits so I left some plants alone. 

I also harvested Tat Soi for lunch. I cooked most of it for Stir Fried Tat Soi in Unagi Sauce, and some of it for our Mung Bean Soup. Both dishes are plant-based. 

I had to pack and ship 6 items to my customers this morning. However, I was done with work way before the day was over, and got to do more gardening again. 

I cleared the ivy vines invading our grapes, and I hope I'll have more time after work tomorrow because I seriously need to finish half of the job.

Just in Time

 Done packing all 8 sold items 30 minutes before the post office closed at 5 PM yesterday! Phew! Just in time!

Since Mondays are the busiest days for me, I just whipped the simplest dish I can think of for lunch.

I made sautéed mixed vegetables (okra, long beans, and squash). Typically, this Filipino dish called Pinakbet is cooked with pork and salted shrimp paste. Since the mister and I opted to remove animal meat and products as much as we can in our diet, those 2 ingredients were omitted. 

I was so grateful that I got to squeeze in gardening before the day got dark. My Asiatic lilies and hydrangeas are all in full bloom at this time of the year. 

Honestly, the perennial flowering plants are the ones that I ignore in the garden, and every time they bear these beautiful flowers generously, I sincerely feel guilty.

Today will be spent for a little work, and maybe transplant some of the seedlings I planted from seeds a few weeks ago--- green long beans, love-in-a puff vines, bitter melons, zucchini, and some butternut squash.

Female Flowers

For weeks, I am frustrated but hopeful with my zucchini plants. This is my second time planting them. The first was the other year, and they all died while we were away on vacation.

My three zucchini plants have been producing lots of flowers already, but no visible fruits yet.

Why?

Skinny stem and flower at the end is male. Only females bear fruits.


I thought of helping them through hand pollination. I follow Bonnie Plants on Facebook and read most of their gardening tips.

Last Saturday, I brought a cotton bud with me when I visited our backyard garden, but I didn't see any female flowers.Yes, there were flowers but all were male. Cotton buds or soft water color brushes can be used as a tool to pollinate flowers if bees aren't frequent in your garden.

Yesterday, while watering them, I saw female flowers in all three for the first time.

Fatter stem and a flower is female.


These tiny fruits aren't out of the woods yet. I hope the gophers, rabbits and squirrels will LEAVE THEM ALONE!

The mister will be adding more beds soon for more varieties of vegetables! Yay!

By the way, we had our second mini harvest of our tomatoes yesterday.