Phaedra's 2023 Adventure

[Phaedra]

New experiment - water spinach

Originally, I just wanted to do my last harvest and cleaned up the planter. But their roots are so tough! I want to see if they can overwinter.

So, I pruned both roots and stems and then transplanted them back to individual pots.

A small harvest, too

From the close observation, I realized that they can produce basal shoots easily. As the roots are strong, the chance should be good?

Similar way for young asparagus - trimming back the roots and let them stay in the individual pots. Now I have three batches - batch#1 just simply transplanted, batch#2 divided and transplanted, and this final batch#3 - young or divided.

On the surface of the batch#1, I sowed some mustard seeds as green manure.

Okay, always some new things are going on - so much fun.

Something interesting, I thought I grow the same type of Artichoke, but obviously no. They look so different.

Viability test for home-saved seeds (this July) - sweet peas, lupines, and honeywort - very satisfying.

Viability test for home-saved seeds (Last week) - Romaine lettuce, very quickly germinated

 

[Phaedra]

The first frost might arrive one week later, according to the forecast. So, I started transplanting plants back to the pots and ensured that they are ready to retreat to the greenhouse.

In the plastic planter I put in the front yard, plants are growing happily. A rose growing from cutting finally catches up. I dug it out and transplanted it to an individual pot, too.

It has a good enough root system now.

Hopefully, it can be a happy and beautiful rose next year.

Small harvest, not bad at all

 

[Phaedra]

Heavily rainy day, nothing to do outside - I just cleaned, sharpened, and oiled all my gardening scissors and secateurs.

Now they look nice again!

 

[Dahlia]

Heavily rainy day, nothing to do outside - I just cleaned, sharpened, and oiled all my gardening scissors and secateurs.

Now they look nice again!
View attachment 61403

Phaedra, you are so cool and such a inspiration to me!

 

[Phaedra]

Rainy day, we went to Lidl in the early morning and picked two 3-Euro veggies/fruit bags. Not bad, I wanted leeks and onions this week and got them with a nominal cost.

The oranges are pretty small, so I just made some juice.

After cleaning up, they look great.
I fall in love with such food-saving bags - just like some sort of cooking challenge - you don't know what you will get, but you have to make the most of use of everything inside.

Such a beautiful flower!

There are plenty lettuces growing in the raised beds, and the next batch of seedlings are also ready to be transplanted soon.

Three Eucalyptus growing from seeds this spring, I am so proud of them (and myself). Tomorrow they will move in the greenhouse with other plants that can't tolerate frost.

My first time trying to grow purple napa cabbages

I felt a bit sorry for them as the first frost might arrive soon.

As the growing season is moving to the end, I am grateful for the extra joy and energy brought by all those plants in the newly-established patches.

 

[Branching Out]

I just ordered seeds to grow my very first Napa Cabbages. Any tips or tricks that you can share Phaedra??

 

[digitS']

I'm not Phaedra but here is my tip for Napa cabbage, @Branching Out .

Grow them at an elevation below 610 meters and not too far from a large body of water so as to moderate temperatures.

It seemed that the only way I could grow napa cabbage was under the cover of the temporary hoop house and leaving it up through the months of Spring and the first month of Summer until they were ready to harvest.

Steve's digits

 

[Phaedra]

I just ordered seeds to grow my very first Napa Cabbages. Any tips or tricks that you can share Phaedra??

I just started growing them from last year, so my information might be limited.

1. They are more autumn crops than spring/summer, because they need decreasing light to grow the heads/hearts.
2. It's still possible to do that in early spring if you choose the smaller varieties, and try to harvest them before summer heat arrives.
3. For autumn crops, you will need mesh to protect them from both flea beetles and cabbage flies. It's generally suggested to sow them in July and transplanted in another few weeks when they are ready.

 

[Phaedra]

Cake first, I added the cream cheese frosting on the banana bread/cake I baked yesterday. The overall flavor is more balanced.

The temperature dropped a lot today, and the first frost will arrive next morning, pretty on time. I harvested all corns, grapes, pumpkins, and some autumn raspberries. The grapes look like different precious stones.

I also harvested most of the flowers in the garden - it's again flowers everywhere in the house.

Many plants are now in the greenhouse - chilis, jasmines, sweet osmanthus, water spinach, eucalyptus, some geraniums, and all propagated young plants.

 

[Phaedra]

Goodbye 2023 summer, we had our first frost this morning. It was a mild one, and only killed some basils and sweet potato leaves. Most of the flowers are safe and sound.

I will miss such colorful harvest in the coming few months.

Remember them? I had three chili plants that overwintered from 2022. Two of them were pruned this morning and ready for winter.

To be honest, how if I turn one into a Bonsai? The main 'trunk' looks pretty nice!

Let's see. I will try to train the right one into a Bonsai plant.

The rest of the chilis (two are volunteers.) were transplanted into a bigger container and will stay in the greenhouse from now on. I will treat them like perennials, too.

The autumn raspberries (Aww, so lovely) and a very mini honeydew melon. The melon plant was transplanted in an outdoor raised bed, but the summer isn't warm enough for it. The plant tried very hard to bear one tiny fruit, and the fruit smells so fragrant. But I don't want to cut it, way too cute.