Tag Archives: greenhouse

Good House Keeping

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August 13th. I’m glad it’s a Thursday and not a Friday. I am superstitious. I used to cross my slippers when I go to bed to ward off ghosts. I was plagued by nightly visits then. You have to remember I ‘saw’ them when I was a child. I no longer do but I still sense their prescence and give them due respect.

It’s another grey morning. I made my daily visit to the garden and greenhouse. I did some housekeeping there yesterday. The bitter melon vines were overgrowing into every space possible. They were blocking the sunlight and air flow. It’s hard for me to trim them as I like to hang on to them for more fruit. It was creating a lot of humidity which led to red aphids on the pepper plants. Some of them were on the bitter melon leaves also. I sacrifice the pepper plants that had no fruit on them. I sprayed the others with soapy water. I trimmed off all the affected bitter melon leaves. Thank God they were just on one side.

After a severe pruning of the vines sunlight can get in and there is better air flow. It’s a lesson in letting go and not hanging onto every little things. More could mean less. This morning’s count of bitter melons is 22 big and small. hanI have given away 6 to friends at coffee, 2 to my father and we’ve eaten a few. I shall blanch and freeze some for winter.

I’m applying the ‘pruning’ rule to my closet this morning. What use are my high school grad and bridesmaid dresses hanging in the closet? They are taking up space and gathering dust, not only in the closet but also in my head. Yes, I take pride in that I made them both. Then there’s my mother’s 3 dresses also hanging there. One of them still have the price tag on it. She had not worn it. The original price was $100.00 marked down for $50.00. I was surprised that my mother did this. This was a dress from a long time back. I was happy that my mother valued herself to buy that dress even though she never wore it.

Against well given advice, I did try on my mother’s dresses. It did make giving them up harder. Two fit very nicely. They made me feel beautiful and elegant but where would I wear these dressy dresses to? I decided that they would all be donated. They would make nice gifts for someone. They do not look dated as I had thought.

A Healthy Obsession

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Most days I am in the greenhouse first thing in the morning. I love to take in the sweet scent of the bitter melon blooms. This year I am blessed with 13 healthy productive plants. This morning’s count was 20 melons that I could see. Now there’s one less. I cooked photo #7 for lunch with an eggplant from my sister.

I haven’t master the art of growing eggplants. I am still waiting for my first eggplant. The blossoms keep falling off before becoming a fruit. I looked into reasons why. Too hot, not enough water, severe pruning, etc. My best bet was unsuccessful pollination. It’s flower is like the tomato’s. It contains both male and female organs. I had been shaking it once in awhile. That hasn’t worked so I’ve been hand pollinating it with a small brush. I have only one bloom left. Cross my fingers and toes.

Talking about tomatoes, I have one ripe one on the vine. So far I’ve always had a big crop of tomatoes because I plant a lot of tomatoes except for this year. I’ve cut back. I might be sorry because this is the year of not great results.

However, we do have alot of beans. Buckets, buckets and buckets. I’m up to my ears blanching and freezing. I’m taking a little rest break to write this post.

All Gardened Out

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A cloudy and cool June 2. A tired me. This is my usual state at this time of the day. Living seems to be a busy affair. There’s no end of things to tend to once you get out of bed in the morning. Once I started moving, there was no stopping. There’s laundry to put away, floors to vacuum, lunch to be made and dishes to do after. If I stop, I won’t be able to start again.

Today is a rest from the garden. I am itching a bit to do some more planting but I am tired. I have done a pile of gardening in the last few days. Our allotment is all done. I did most of the seeding and planting as the guy’s back is acting up again. He does the stand up stuff and I do the squatting chores. I am sure my thigh muscles are pretty strong now. At times they were screaming with pain as those rows of onions went on and on. Then there was the beets and peas. The beans and corn seemed easier and faster. The potatoes were the easiest, as I only have to drop a seed potato in hole the guy made. I have the pea and bean picking to look forward to in the fall. I will take a stool along for that job.

On the home front, all 6 raised beds are planted. There’s still parts of the ground garden to do but all the squash are planted. It was the hardest part as the bed was overgrown with weeds and hard as rocks. It took me a good part of the morning to weed, mulch, add manure and plant. Of course, it was when it was really, really hot. I was sweaty as a pig after but I was happy with how happy the squashes looked. I hope they each will have enough elbow room.

These are the 3 raised beds in the backyard. I will show the 3 in the front and our community garden another time.

Meanwhile in the greenhouse, things are looking pretty good. I’ve harvested some snowpeas for my dad. The lettuce and Chinese cabbage are doing great. The cucumbers are slow and still small. I think I will get some bitter melons this year. I have 11 plants in the greenhouse. I put 2 in the raised bed outside to see if they will have enought time and heat to produce.

Growing Pains

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Now that we are not having rain or snow, we are having a yellow warning – heat! It’ll be 30℃ temperatures for the rest of the week. On Thursday it’ll be 34℃. We had snow only 9 days ago. Not much was growing for much of spring. Then all of a sudden things sprung up. I harvested asparagus and rhubarb last night. Some of them are already getting old. What a roller coaster of a spring.

Now we are on a mad dash to get things planted. Who knows what kind of a growing season we will have. With this teeter totter heat and cold, I am having alot of aches and pains. Getting the yard clean up and garden in is very challenging. Having an allotment garden adds to the challenge. I just have to keep pushing through everything. It takes quite a bit of pain to get any gain this year. Maybe I will appreciate everything more come fall and harvest time. For now I am grinning and bearing it.

I am happy to say that the greenhouse is doing well. Thankfully there are no aphids this year. I am paying more attention at not overcrowding and making sure there is good ventilation in there. The lettuce is thriving. The spinach is over as well as the baby bak choy. It is too warm in there for them now. The snow peas are starting to produce. I think I will have bitter melons and cucumbers this year though it is early to be 100% sure. I am trying eggplants again. They need heavy feeding and pruning. I am excited to see whether I will succeed. It’s good to be excited again.

There’s still alot of planting in the garden yet. The 5 raised beds are mostly planted. I have yet to do the 6th one. The peppers will go there. The squash will all be planted in the home garden rather than in the allotment. It will be interesting to see how they will do. Gardening is not an exact science, at least to me. I have always garden by the seat of my pants. It wouldn’t hurt for me to find and follow proper guidelines though. Well, maybe next year. It is too late now to get into all that.

Christmas in April

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The wait is over. The snow came in the night and will still come till late this afternoon. It’s another Christmas in April. Traffic was heavy and slow this morning. I almost fell asleep in the car going to the gym. I wasn’t driving. Needless to say, the gym was fairly empty. I felt proud of myself for not slacking off.

I am proud, too, for completing my tax return and paying what I owe. The weight of avoidance and procrastination lifted. I feel so much better and lighter. I vow from now on to keep on top of my paper stuff by developing a better filing system. I will open mail and deal with them as they come. I tend to collect and hoard and not open. I think I have fear of opening and dealing with mail. It is odd, I know. I am odd. That, I know, too.

It is rather pretty with the falling snow flakes. It is not that cold. Everything is white and pristine. The snow peas, radish, spinach and lettuce seem to love the cool temperature of 4.6℃ in the greenhouse. The seedlings aren’t complaining either. I set a pail outside to catch the snow for water. It saves shoveling. There’s an upside to everything. And I’m still here on this 24th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

This Always Happens

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A cloudy snowy Tuesday evening. This always happen when I think winter is definitely over and spring is here to stay. It was so sunny and warm Easter Sunday. The greenhouse went up to almost 30℃. I merrily planted some of my snowpeas. They were very happy to have more dirt to grab onto. It got a little cooler the next day but still sunny. The temperature dipped at night and it went down to -1℃ in the morning. Still not too bad as we still had a sunny day. I turned on the little heater for night time insurance.

Now the snow is really coming down, soft and feathery. The forecast is for a heavy load – till 4 am. It is a pretty sight to watch. Not too much I can do about it. I might as well have some pleasure from it. The snow peas will be ok. They can tolerate cool temperatures down to -2℃. I have brought my little tomato and pepper seedlings back into the house. They do not thrive in cool temperatures.

I’m not thriving in our present climate either. I took a day off from my keyboard yesterday. I was out of words. It was a good reason to take a rest.

Something Good

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A sunny peaceful Easter Sunday in my neck of the woods. I cannot afford to be weighed down by all the troubles of the world day after day. I’m taking today off. So after a delcious dim sum at Yip Hong’s (our favourite Chinese restaurant) with the family, I pottered around in the greenhouse for an hour or two. I planted 2 short rows of snow pea seedlings. They are big enough with well established roots. They can withstand the cool nights. I don’t think it will dip below freezing now. It went up to 30℃ in there this afternoon. I had to open 2 vents and pull down the shade. I was getting scorched!

It’s a slow and late spring. It works for me. I am also slow and late. I am not as ambitious as previous years, planting and planting, crowding and crowding, to get more and more. Sometimes that works against me. Last year I had a big infestation of aphids with the peppers and bitter melons. I ended up with more work and less peppers and no bitter melons. I’m being more deliberate and trying not to overcrowd the greenhouse. Maybe that will prevent the aphid problem happening again.

There’s no lettuce, spinach or other greens poking their heads through the soil yet. But there are plenty earthworms where I was planting the snow peas. I seededed a row of radishes in front of them. It’ll be exciting waiting and watching. Green is such a wonderful colour. I feel its power such thinking about it. Here’s what google says about it:

Green psychologically promotes calmness,balance and rejuvenation by connecting to nature, which can reduce stress, alleviate anxiety, and boost feelings of hope and stability. As a central color on the spectrum, it is seen as refreshing, fostering creativity, focus, and productivity while signaling safety and growth.

I have no better words. They are good to end on this 5th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Getting Ready for Winter

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A rainy Thanksgiving Sunday. I’m happy to look out and see the bright pink garage door. The kiwi leaves are turning golden on the trellis. In its 4th year we are still waiting for blossoms. Maybe next spring. The rain is turning into snow as I tap. Hello winter? Happy we finished harvesting the carrots and leeks from the raised bed yesterday. The greenhouse got its last water from the rain catchment behind the garage. My avocado, rosemary and jasmine are repotted and brought in. The wooden compost unit moved closer to house for easy access in winter. It was hard work. But now I am sitting easy and cosy.

In the greenhouse, the bottle gourd is still going strong. It feels the end is near. It’s popping out little babies like crazy. Too bad pollination is not always a guarantee. They are delicious in soups when they are young. I have one that is getting heavy and needed a little support from an old pair of panty hose. It helps that I never throw out anything.

Time

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Isn’t it funny how time slips away? And isn’t it funny how memories can bring tears to your eyes? So not to let memories fill me with sadness and tears, I’ve made another run at my day. I don’t want my precious time to just slip away. What better way to bring myself back to the here and now than to step out of the house. I’m greeted with morning sunshine and blue skies. Hello Saturday! It’s nice to see you.

Then it is into the greenhouse. It is still green and lush with growth. I can’t complain of it being barren and empty. I might even get a bitter melon or two afterall. Aphids destroyed most of my plants early in the season. So I’m crossing all my fingers and toes.