My garden now, updates January 2018

Hello my gardening friends,

I hope you're all having a great gardening journey this year. We had our ups and downs. My downs were weather that hotter than usual (I guess we shared this one), late planting time and being overwhelmed because I wanted to grow so much. I also wanted to do a deep amendment of my soil so I have spent a little more than I had initially intended (this is not a down but a budget challenge). But my ups were more and I'm happy with the results. 

I have done a deep amendment of my soil, written about in this post , and I was honestly afraid that I went a little overboard. My main concern was the manure that I have added. I didn't know if it was well aged, though I had been assured that it was, and I was worried about it inhibiting germination and burning the plants. Well, manure still contained some seeds though that attracted some birds. There was also an issue of "weeds" all over the garden that came from the seeds in manure. This was taken care of: manually pulling the seeds with your hands is a great exercise and a way to bond with your garden, so we handled that. 

Another up this year is starting transplants. I was in way forced to start some seedlings in advance (due to heat and the fact that it took time to amend my soil). I'm not a fan of transplants and was afraid I'd be wasting time, seeds and my patience with it. I started indoors which proved to be a disaster. There was not enough lighting and the indoor ones were 99% a waste. But being a stubborn person that I am I started outdoors again. I diy'ed this shadehouse (greenhouse) using a gazebo frame, written about in my Facebook post here, and used it to start seeds. Guess what? It worked and I had a great success. 

I did learn that some plants, such as cucumbers, are indeed better of planted directly in the soil, and that some should be started after the heat is gone, such as lettuces and spinach. But, I also did learn that planting under shade net can give you a jumpstart on your season. Cool weather plants, such as cabbages and lettuces, can be planted a couple of weeks earlier under shade than in open ground. So more experimenting with seed starting next season Inshallah. 

Another thing I learned that works, is consistent use of liquid fertilizer and seaweed. It works and it works very well. Seaweed is more like growth stimulator rather than a fertilizer, though can be labeled as such. Seaweed also helps plants adapt to weather extremes. Organic liquid fertilizer, I use fish fertilizer, provides essential nutrients to your plants and makes them available right away, and are less likely to burn your plants. So why do we need them? Well, our desert sand is not very fertile, if at all, and any nutrients available tend to leach out over time. That is why additional feeding throughout the growing season works great. I alternate between weekly feeding of seaweed and liquid fertilizer. This also helps me bond with my plants and my entire garden. 

I was also able to grow plants I failed at before. I have successfully grown borago for example. It would only grow a few inches tall before, but has grown properly this year. Maybe it was due to being starred under shade first, or because it was planted in a very rich soils, or even because it is not in full sun but rather shaded by the tomatoes behind which it is growing. More experimenting in sight. 

Here are some pics from my garden, hope you enjoy them. 

Happy Gardening

Yana