The last two months were the worst months of our gardening life, that's the reason why I haven't joined this monthly contest. First, because it is summer here in our country and it is very, very hot. Some of our plants withered because of the intense heat. Second, rodents are attacking our plants. It is really heart-breaking to see beds and beds of of freshly transplanted pechay be eaten by them.
I have researched why there are rodents in our garden. One of the possible reasons is that the clutter in the garden itself. It was mentioned that rodents build their homes in piles of woods. And we have those. We have piled the trunks of the fallen trees from the past typhoon alongside the fence, thinking that it is biodegrable anyway and will eventually decompose. But we were absolutely wrong! It is the main culprit! So now, we need to get rid of those, and hopefully, we'll get rid of the rodents as well.
"Life fails to be perfect, but never fails to be beautiful."
That was the downside. But, as that saying has stated, though there are some negatives in life, it is still beautiful. We'll just have to look at the bright side and focus on them.
First that I would focus on is the remaining pechay that was unintentionally left in the pots, which served as our nursery. There were no space left in the beds, so we left them out. (Perhaps the rodents can't climb up the pots hence they were not able to devour it.) We're so, so thankful that we did, because they are still alive and healthy! And it somehow eases the pain of losing the other ones.
Few weeks from now, these pechays are ready to be munched! 😋
Second of the things I'd like to focus on is our cassava. It has been our "Monday addiction" to pull two cassava plants so as to harvest the root crops. We have been doing this religiously ever since the lockdown started a couple of months ago, and to date we still have up to three months of unharvested plants!
Everytime we uproot a cassava, we immediately plant a replacement. I don't know if it is noticeable in the above picture, but these cassava are planted one week apart, that's why one is bigger than the other. It takes 7-8 months to grow cassava, and the first one we planted was already over two months ago. Only 5 months more and we can already harvest the first one! And we shall be willing to repeat this cycle all over again! 😜
Next is the bitter gourd. This has been planted at the same time as the pechay, but apparently, because of its bitter taste, the rodents don't like it so it survived! Maybe we will just plant bitter gourd all over our garden. Hahaha! 😂
These are some of the okras that survived. I don't know how or why they did, but they somehow escaped of the rodent's noticed!
Some of which are already bearing flowers, so sooner or later these will bear fruits. Hopefully, we'll be blessed to have those this month.
We also have two papayas that are bearing fruits! They are not ripe yet, but it gives joy seeing how fast they grow. One is elongated, the other is round. Hmmm, how do they taste? We will learn in a few months.
This jackfruit is already taller than me. We are expecting that this will bear fruit next year.
The onions are very much alive and healthy. They have grown so big these past few months, to my heart's content! ❤
We also have welcomed the newest member of the family--GUAVA! It wasn't planted, thanks to Jehovah God and to the birds and to whatever natural way nature has, it grew in one of the pots so we transplanted it into its new "home."
So, now I realized that if we don't dwell on the negative, we will be able to pass every problem with flying colors! 💕
And just like that, my Garden Journal for May2020 is over! This my entry to #GardenJournal by @simplymike.
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Sorry to hear about the trouble, @gingbabida. 😕
But it does seem like you have plenty of good going on too.
Except for the onions, all of the things you showed are fairly unknown to me (i.e.: I've never grown those myself.)
Okra is still on my list of veggies to try. I have never even tasted it, so I'm not sure I will like it. but hey, I won't know if I don't try, right?! 😉
Last year, I got some seeds of strawberry guava, but then found out it grows really, really big, and since we don't have any space left, the package is still unopened.
I wonder, how do you use cassava? Is it the sweet or the bitter kind? I actually know little about it, only that it can be poisonous....
Wow! You are fast in replying @simplymike!!! Hehehe! 😁
Okras are slimy. We plant it because studies shows that it is good to lower blood sugar counts. And since my dad is diabetic, we make a lot for him.
A friend visiting from America doesn't like okra because it is slimy. So we make her try okra omelette, because the egg somehow absorbs the slime, and she liked it! Others also wants their okra grilled. Hmmm, there are really a few ways of enjoying it.
Srawberry guava? I haven't heard of those yet. Can you send the unopened package to me, please? Hahaha! 😂🤭
Cassava is poisonous when cooked with its skin. That's why you need to peel them before cooking. I don't know how to describe its taste. It has a flat taste. Not too sweet but creamy, and definitely not bitter. Because of its flat taste, most people make it into sweet delicacies. Some make it into cassava cake, sweetened cassava in coconut milk, cassava rolls. But I love it plain. I'm too lazy to make it into something else. Hahaha! 😂
Awwww.. Thank you @Qurator Team and @blacklux for curating this post! 😍
You have lots of goodies there! 😀
Do I? Hahaha! 😁 Thank you. ❤
Sorry to hear about it, but again it's all about how you see it. I see it as an opportunity to make it better for the next time if I see something like this. I have just added two plants in my house, hopefully I will add few more in coming months.
Yes, there are still a lot for me to learn, that's why whenever there are problems, I researched and gain additional knowledge and apply what I have learned! 😊
That's great to hear, we all should always thrive to learn and apply knowledge whenever possible.
I definitely agree, because unapplied knowledge is meaningless. 😊