LUT garden report #1
I've been really chuffed since I moved into my new place and have great plans to finally properly grow some veg and plants. But first of all, I have to sort out my garden and get some planters in. I'm hoping to do that over the winter so I can start growing stuff in the spring. In the meanwhile, I've only grown limited things this summer.
Tomato
My sister gave me lots of tomato seedlings earlier this year and now I can finally grow them outdoors in the garden in full sunlight. Previously when I was living in a flat, I only had a little patch of north facing patio and my tomato harvest was disappointing.
Here they did much better and within two months they had grown a lot. However, they didn't start to flower till quite late and there weren't many fruit. My sister said it was the same for hers.
I harvest them all last month, a bit prematurely in hindsight, as I should have left them on the vine to grow longer. And then I had to go away to HiveBeeCon, so I gifted the basket away and never got to sample my harvest.
Pak choi
Quite late in the summer I sowed some pak choi seeds. My first batch a few months ago (in front of the tomatoes in the first image) were all eaten by caterpillars before I could say boo. Surprisingly, this batch survived two weeks indoors without watering when I went away recently.
It's a bit too late to plant veggies outdoors now as it's getting quite cold but I figured I'd test the laws of nature today. I will cover them with big plastic bags for extra warmth at night time. Fingers crossed they will survive in the cold, and I can give you you an update soon.
Wolfberry
The other thing I planted today are these Wolfberry twigs that I cut from my brother in law's garden last month. They've been growing in water for a month and made quite a nice table display. Some have shoots and they have all grown roots. Hopefully the remaining ones will shoot as well.
Wolfberry is from the same family as goji berries, the super food that has become very popular on recent years. These twigs are from a slightly different variety to the goji berry plant, and I'm growing them to harvest their leaves to make soup. Hopefully I can share a foodie post of the soup in future.
Potted plants
As a total garden novice I thought it would be nice to create my own potted plant. There were so many to choose from in the garden center and I choose a few which I thought would look nice together without understanding their properties. I have some height at the back, some with flowers,and two shades of different green. I was pretty proud of my creation.
It even continued to grow, which was a good sign as most plants tend to die in my hands. However I noticed the plant in the front had spread to the left. Luckily I had saved all the plant labels and googled them. It turns out the plant in the front is sedum, a plant known to spread quickly. I also Googled the one on the right. It's a choiysa, a shrub, which means it will grow quite bushy. Woops! Looks like I'll have to repot my creation, maybe after winter.
I shared my eculyptus tree in a post last month. It's actually my husband's tree as he wanted it.
And this is my tree 😊. I've always wanted a lemon verbena plant ever since I first used some lemon verbena toiletry products in a hotel some years ago. I love stroking the leaves when I walk by as it has this lovely smell. The leaves adds a hint of fragrance to water, and I'm trying to see if and how I can extract some oil to add to my toiletry products I future. Not sure if I'm being a bit too ambitious here. What do you think?
I hope to be back with my LUT garden report #2 soon with some interesting progress.
The tomato harvest seems good, nice amount of harvest as a beginner. I am sure soon you will be a pro at gardening and next spring hopefully will see some good harvest from your garden :D Maybe next chili, squash, strawberry, and cucumber are on the list as well, right?:D
That'll be so awesome if I can grow 4 or 5 different products next year, I'll be over the moon!
Tomatoes again. I remember, back on the legacy chain, I was following a guy's journey of creating a home farm with DIY racks and everything. He once replied to me saying Tomatoes are the hardest thing to grow properly since there's too many sensitive variables, yet everyone begins with Tomatoes. I wonder why everyone starts with that. 🤔
Lemon verbena is amazing. I might sound fruity, but it's the only kind of handmade soap I got from Italy. I love it. It has a 59-60% olive oil base.
I'm sure you'll do good. Go for it!
Not that I'm a expert in any way, I think all plants depend on many variables to survive, that's nature. The first time I grew tomato was during lockdown in 2020 and I had the plant ilon a window sill indoors. That was actually my biggest plant and produced the most fruit compared to the subsequent years.
Lemon verbena products! They're so lush, but also quite expensive, that's why I want to see if I can extract some oil and save a few pennies
Those veggies you have planted now you are trying to test the laws of nature - if they survive the cold, they grow and you harvest some - those will be the "sweetest" ones 😇
Two days, they're still going strong 💪
OMG I see hope in me 😂
Plants tend to die too in my care.. or wait do I care for them really? 🥲
Moving away from a flat to this - It’s kinda envious that you can now have a bunch of plants!
You can code wicked stuff on the chain, I'm sure you can handle a little plant!!! I have full confidence in you!!
Hahahhaa I don't have confidence. 😶 Coding and planting are two different things 😂 Next Spring I'll try my luck on plants again~
Nice to see you garden @livinguktaiwan! Especially I'm interested in the berry cuttings and your future soup 😊 How did you do the green tomatoes? It can be slow but if you put them on a window side, they get color.
Happy gardening from Germany to UK!
The soap is a very ambitious project!!! I'll be happen if I can extract a few drops of oil to add to my hand washing gel or to use as aromatic oil, but it looks like quite a complicated process.
I tried to google for green tomato recipes but couldn't find many. It seems I harvested them way too early, next year I will leave them till the very last minute.
Thanks for dropping by @akipponn
That's a lovely tomatoes💕
thanks
I love all your tomatoes and the pak choi. As for me my tomatoes are still growing. Hopefully, they will be ripe next week. Have a nice day ahead.
You're in much warmer climate, so envious that you can grow a lot more around the year. Hope you have a bumper tomato harvest!
Thank you, and I hope so too. I am very grateful because I can plant any day of the year.
Those tomatoes would have easily survived your vacation in the kitchen on the counter top 😊
I haven't heard of wolfberry before, but will google it as I can always find some spot in my garden for cool new stuff. Stefan loves soup 😁
Maybe instead of pots you could try to build some simple raised beds? It's better from space perspective and I find it also easier to maintain..
Your potted creations are pretty!
I'm sure you will have a much better gardening year next year 😉
I saw your garden, is it an allotment? Actually, I will head over to your post in a minute. I'm lagging behind with my engagement.
I'm definitely going to put in some raised beds at the end of the garden, want to grow some proper stuff next year as I love seeing other people harvest their products all the time
Oh yeah, we haven't bought any vegetables since June. Indeed, it's an allotment, 200 sqm. We got it last year, so this was our first year of gardening. It was a crazy difficult time, but we loved every bit of it 😊
Well done you!! nice job
PS. cut the grass or buy a sheep
cheers
🤣
I cut it before I went away at the beginning of the month, and it's been raining all the time since I have been back. Looks like will continue to rain this month, which is going to be a pain. Will seriously have to consider the sheep, or maybe cow, I can get free milk 😃
LOL, nothing wrong with a freebie, and all the cow pats will help as organic fertiliser.
All I know about wolfberry is that it thrives in cold places. Does it also do well in waterlogged conditions?
Cold place is good as we're starting to turn cold now. Not sure about the waterlogged condition as I've never grown them before. I'm really bad when it come to gardening, I just plant everything in the container and hope they won't die 😣
Don't worry, vegetable plants won't die if they lack nutrients, but they won't grow properly. It's essential to avoid overwatering your plant as excessive water can lead to root rot.
You are doing great LUT! I especially love the tomatoes, they are shining brightly, some look like they are not ripe yet. What are you planning to do with them?
I gave them away to someone before I went away to Hivebeecon as I was worried they would rot during these two weeks and make a mess at home.
I love your garden. I can't grow anything. I remember a friend was at our home once and saw my pathetic looking cactus. He said, "Hey, you can't even grow a cactus!" It's true.
Anyway, I remember my parents always had tomatoes (they were great right off the vine), rhubarb (still my favorite pie), and roses. I don't know why they chose tomatoes, since most of the time a neighbor had to get them and eat them, because the biggest harvest was always in August, when we would be on a family trip.
I wish I could grow rhubarb here, but the climate doesn't work for it. I can't even find it to buy it (most people here, in Texas, have never even heard of it), so I just have to do without, except when visiting my parents.
When I was a little child we had rhubarb pudding at school dinner which I didn't like because it's quite sour, but the dinner lady forced me to eat it. So now I have bad memories of rhubarb, probably won't be growing it!!
It's interesting to learn that rhubarb is so unknown in Texas. Just out of interest, which state does your parent live? Just want to know how much distance is needed to make a difference in people's knowledge of different produce.
Guess you'll have to visit your parents more often for the rhubarb pie!
My parents are in Wisconsin. I grew up there.
By the way, when I moved to Texas, there were a number of things I had never heard about. For example, grits. I'm thinking, what are grits and why would someone want to eat something called grits! Well, I found out I LOVE grits. Okra is another thing I never heard of, but that's one thing I didn't like at all.
Wisconsin to Texas.... that seems pretty far (i had to google it 😅) even by US standards, But then all distances seem far to us across the pond as America is sooooo big!
that's my first reaction as well!!! I haven't seen it in UK before, maybe it's more of an American thing. Orka I don't like either, the slimey texture inside is not appealing at all!!
Grits, I don't know where it came from, but it is basically corn ground coarsely, then cooked/boiled. My husband will eat them with sugar - yuck! I put butter and salt in them, much better!
I do have a great recipe for jalapeño cheese grits! Even my husband will eat those without sugar!
By the way, if I were to drive to visit my parents, I have to take two days to get there. It is far, from where we live it is almost 1200 miles (about 1900 km). Last time we were there (in August for their 65th wedding anniversary) we flew.
I'm from Texas and grits are not something I've taken a liking to. I once had grits at a Waffle House that were delicious, but I'm just not a grit connoisseur. Now okra, I do like. I cook it frequently with cajun meals. I enjoy eating fried okra, but have never learned to make it. So, I consider it a going out to eat treat.
I think it has a lot to do with how they are made. My husband will only eat grits with sugar, except when I make the jalapeño cheese grits. He LOVES those - no sugar added! He'll even ask for them. So, I think it all has to do with how it is made.
But I still like grits with butter and salt the best.
A shame you didn't get to eat your tomatoes. That'll happen to me too I bet. The housesitters will love them.
I'll take a photo of me verbena for you today. It's massive and I have to keep cutting it back.
How long have you had your verbena? And any tips on growing them? Currently I've just planted it and not done anything to it as it's been raining quite a lot recently. It hasn't died yet, and I think it has grown a little, so that's a good sign for me 😀
It's wonderful to see your enthusiasm for gardening. look forward to hearing more about your gardening adventures, maybe in your LUT garden report #2?
Having some nice outdoor space make so much difference and motivation to do more.
I couldn't agree more! A beautiful outdoor space is a fantastic source of motivation. It really makes you want to get out there and make the most of it. I wish you good luck.
Everything looks very good, healthy. Are you planting everything in pots? Well, the project of producing your own oil is interesting, it is not at all ambitious. You focus. 😅
I want to get some planters so I can plant things in the ground, like a proper garden 🌝. Hopefully I can get it done within this year
Well, don't stop, everything you've done so far is very nice.
Cool.. this year is a bad one for tomatoes here at my place. They wouldn't ripe anyhow.
It's been kind of weird, my didn't start to flower till quite late in the summer. Must be mother nature testing us