Kathleen's Garden!

It's been a very busy year and time is going so fast!! No one can ever know just how time consuming it is to move from one house to another, especially a new construction home, until they actually do it!! I have spent so much time getting it set up the way I dreamed it to be, and simply need it to be. Between everything on the inside and the outside, it is "all-consuming" alright! Which leads me to the message of this post...

I have been dabbling in growing vegetables and flowers (once again). Let's just say that the last time I did this, the results were "less than desirable" to say the least! I applaud anyone who does this for a living because it is an art! There is so much more than simply sticking a plant or a bulb in the ground:

* You must have it in just the right sun, for just the right amount of time.
* You must water it enough...and not too much.
* You need to position the water at the roots, and do it early in the day to avoid burning any young and tender leaves.
* You need to police each plant routinely for fungus, insects, and other issues.
* You need to fertilize with the right fertilizer, and with the correct amount.
Blah. Blah. Blah! LOL!!

So, here are "the fruits of my labor" thus far:

This is a Meyer's Lemon Tree which was looking mighty sad on the shelf indoors at Home Depot 2 months ago. I took pity on it (as Charlie Brown did for his Christmas Tree) and took home my little troubled seedling. There were only a few leaves on each branch, and it was in a tiny pot. It is labeled as an indoor plant, however, after researching them more, I felt it best to move it outdoors in indirect sunlight. I have re-potted it into a larger pot using Miracle-Gro potting soil. I've watered it daily in the early mornings, and have learned not to over-water it! I was so over-zealous with the water at first, I almost drowned it! You MUST stick your finger into the soil and test for dampness. Even if the top looks dry, the inside may be perfectly damp. I've used Miracle-Gro liquid plant food on it once. It's important to also wrap the branches to a stake because it is not strong enough to support itself yet. It has grown so much, and turned a rich green color. Exciting!

This is a strawberry plant that I have grown for 1 1/2 months now. It was a seedling and about 2 inches tall with a few little stems at Lowes. I re-potted it and also used Miracle-Gro potting soil. It's been lightly sprayed with my mix of Epsom salt, baking soda and a dash of Dawn liquid which has helped with insects and with growth. I've placed it into a very sunny spot, that also has nice shade in the afternoon. I've also routinely plucked off some of the runners. You can see one right now in the picture. This helps young strawberry plants, as the demands to fortify the runners can be too much for them. We have enjoyed it's sweet fruit already. It has not given us too many, and they are all rather tiny. We have still loved it, and my son gets so excited to see the little berries form. It is actually quite low maintenance. The other plant I had, did not fare well. It was a hanging strawberry plant, and placed in all-day direct sunlight which it did not enjoy! Thankfully Lowes has a "no questions asked" return policy for 1 year!! Nothing worse than someone grilling you as to why you brought them a brown, wilted, and sad plant :-)!

Here is our cucumber plant. I feared it was done, but it has come back to life with a full gusto! It was also a tiny thing (about 2 inches tall), and about 3 stems when I bought it. I re-planted it into a wider, deeper pot, and also bought the standing trellis. It started off well with the Miracle-Gro soil. However, I over-zealously sprayed it down with my Epsom salt, baking soda and Dawn mixture. Oops! The leaves turned pale yellow and many of the leaves turned brown, curled up, and died. So, I washed down all the leaves very well with plain water, and added another layer of soil to the top of the pot. I left it alone too and didn't spray it with anything further. Thankfully it has rewarded me with dark green leaves again, and many new cucumbers!

I have learned that there is definitely such a thing as too much of a good thing! I've yet to snip off the first cucumber, but it will be exciting alright!

This is my Cherry Tomato plant that has been a steady grower. Like my cucumber plant, I almost killed it too!! It did not appreciate the Epsom Salt/Baking Soda /Dawn bath. I feel that it has been more of an issue with the full, direct sunlight. I had sprayed the mixture early in the day and directly on the leaves. That afternoon was scorching and it sure did a number on the leaves which then turned brown and died. I re-potted it into a bigger pot, washed it off real well, clipped off all of the damaged leaves, and left it alone. New leaves started to grow very quickly and it has never stopped giving us sweet cherry tomatoes that are so yummy!

Here is my tangerine tree. I actually purchased it at Walmart for 1/2 off as it was toward the end of the season and the last one. It also wasn't looking so healthy either (again, it just needed a little TLC :-)). I re-potted it into a larger planter, and will eventually plant it into my backyard. It's been very low maintenance. I've made sure to keep it in full sunlight for at least 6-8 hours. I water it daily and it drinks it up! I also mist water on the leaves several times per week. I've used liquid Miracle-Gro on it once in the month I've had it. It's filled out so much more and even has a few flowers on it where the fruit will eventually produce. It smells so wonderful too! I'm going to apply mulch to the top soon, as the roots are showing. It doesn't seem to bother it though.

These are my absolute favorite plants! They are Cannas and grow about 6-7 feet tall! I've actually had them for 4 years and had originally planted them from bulbs. However, I dug them up last year before I sold my house, and put them away in a cool, dark place for the winter. I re-planted them in the spring here at my new house. I wasn't sure how they would fare as I'd never done that before. The tubers did just fine thankfully! I made sure to use a slow release fertilizer in the planting hole. I really like Osmocote fertilizer. These multiply ever year and are soooooo low maintenance. They tolerate extreme drought and extreme moisture. I feel they do better in an area with afternoon shade. I really don't do much to them, and they grow so beautifully on their own. You do need to cut them down in the winter though. Thankfully, they will come back every year with plenty of babies too!!

So, that is just a little update on my attempt at earning a "Green Thumb" this year! So far, so good! Today I did apply an organic insecticide. Let's see how that goes. Agh!