NEW garden

*I have also put this up in my Japanese blog, but I will chronicle it here! Garden <3!*

I was sad to leave behind my first garden at home, which was blooming readily and giving us many goodies to eat.
So I took it upon myself to have another one! We have a rare and lovely little plot instead of a plain balcony behind our apartment.



So I bought a little shovel and rake and put all my energy into making a nice little area.



I know it is a little late to plant things, but since weather is a little milder here, I'm hoping for the best. In the meantime, I have also planted some of them indoors to keep them growing.



In the garden I have: Cosmos, Marigolds, Morning Glories, Mini tomatoes, Mini carrots and one potato.
The indoor pots are: Cosmos, Marigolds, Mini tomatoes, Mini carrots, and basil.

It's been 3 days, and the Cosmos have 4 sprouts indoors and one in the garden. It's very exciting!

Also in the garden, there is a little brown lizard that hangs around, comes and goes. I see him about every two days and then he scurries off. I've named him Willy.

Japan

I have moved back to Japan for awhile! I will still be updating this with interesting things and personal projects (curtains, bags, and napkins to come!).
To read about my strictly Japanese adventures & pictures, please go here:
http://jhenninjapan.blogspot.com/

Garden chaos

One day you have a gorgeous garden:


And then you go away for two weeks and this happens!



The lettuce grew about 4 feet high so they were ruined, the spinach all died, the top part of he basil and all the yellow marigolds were infested with Japanese beetles. But NOT the orange marigolds! They were untouched! So make sure you have normal orange marigolds to not have Japanese beetles!

However our green beans were all long and yummy, the eggplants were growing, nice big fragrant red onions, the potatoes were ready to dig up (as noted by them flowering and then dying), and our summer squash must have been some giant contest-type because These suckers were between 3 -4 lbs! Thankfully I was able to give away a few!
We also have many Roma tomatoes (some red, most green), 3 red peppers (still green), and a few clusters of light pink blackberries.



Oh how they grow! 2 weeks difference:






Mom has informed me that we have one blackberry ready to eat! I am jealous! And I miss my garden just as it's giving us so many goodies!

Garden, week 5

The garden is really doing great with all the rain we've been getting every night.
We have been eating a lot of the fresh herbs and leaf lettuce, and mom got her first red tomato on her plant. My Roma tomatoes continue to grow, but no color yet.
We have also introduced Grammie's big plastic owl to hopefully keep away whatever is eating the strawberries!



There is even a little eggplant starting!




Also:
more blackberry flowers
there are 5 tiny little rods of summer squash
ANOTHER potato plant has appeared from the compost pile. We will replant it somewhere less disruptive.

Christine

Christine is our dog. She's from the humane society and has been part of our family for 12 years. She is (probably) a German Shepherd/Greyhound mix. But I think she is secretly a dingo!


Christine


Dingo

You decide!

Garden

I haven't forgotten about my garden or you! I have been at the Outer Banks!


Ok! Garden!

June 9:


June 23:


Look at it go! You can really see all the lettuces big and scrumptious and the potatoes at the back left really shot up!


In the passed three weeks:
Something ate all the riping strawberries!
All the beans are up
Both potato plants are sprouting
Eggplant has a few little blooms
Thinned summer squash. 2 have flowers
Thinned spinach. It's trying hard to be sumptuous again
Onions going strong
1 head of lettuce died. the other 2 are flourishing
all 6 leaf lettuces are gorgeous and giant
herbs are amazing. made sage & thyme biscuits today
Blackberry bush had one flower. The branch was broken off! Rabbits?
Blackberry bush has many new little flower sprouts
Pepper plant JUST revealed its tiny little flower bulbs
Roma tomato plant growing a bunch! none red

BONUS: A mystery plant started growing by the strawberries. It looked an awful lot like the potato plants next to it, despite only planting two potatoes. Realization: The strawberry plant is on top of the former compost hole. I guess a potato escaped and is now growing!! wow!

I ate my first strawberry and found a rock shaped like Ohio. I also found a hunk of quartz that looks like a potato (not pictured).

Garden

Hey remember this guy from April?



Well it was time to put it to use. Here is the layout plan:



So last Monday we started planting!



Every Monday I will take a picture to watch its progress.




Week 1 Progress:
2 strawberries turning red
3 roma tomatoes started
4 green beans started to come out of the ground


You can't really tell from the photos so far but they are certainly getting stronger and growing!