Garden Update #1

I got a bit distracted with the news that our stand-in church organist is down with the flu. No news yet as to whether the flu is of the 'swine variety'.

While I await an update in that regard, I have an update of my own...

Since the last time I wrote about any sort of gardening, quite a bit has transpired:

The Good:

1. I actually enjoy watching things grow (particularly things I can eventually eat). ;)
2. My original plan went out the window, but our flower beds are being converted a little at a time to accommodate edible greenery.
3. The cucumbers did really well, and the only regret is that we had not planted more. I kept turning the vine to encourage it to bear in a small area, and it worked! (Ignore me, that's my amateur enthusiasm shining through) :)
4. We are now reaping from the okras and (cowpeas?) DH planted. I'll update this post with a photo in a little while... you may know it by a different name.
5. Sometime ago we discovered a passion fruit vine out in the yard. Some pregnant person who consumed a lot of passion fruit 'straight-up' a couple years back must have dropped the seeds. I wonder who that may be? Hmmm.... Anyhoo, we allowed it to overtake our june plum tree. We figured that 'itty-bitty' plums and passion fruit would be infinitely superior to large plums and no passion fruit (the plums will be smaller due to the lack of sunlight, esp. on the lower branches). Anyway, it is just bearing like crazy now, so we are anticipating a summer filled with cool glasses of passion-plum drink. Ahhhh! Serendipity at its Jamaican best! :D
6. There is a melon vine in our front yard now that came about because some little man (less than 4ft tall) dropped seeds where he ought not to. Ah well, I'm not one to complain about more fruit, so let's see what happens.
7. A couple of the tomato plants now have blossoms, and we are praying that we will be able to taste the fruit before a storm hits.

The Bad (sort of):

1. Container gardening does not work for me... well, sort of. It works great for starting seedlings, and there one pepper plant still standing in a container that is doing very well (bearing elongated fruit). What I had planted was a packet marked 'hot pepper mix', so - for now - it is chilli/cayenne/jalapeno/any-other-elongated-variety. As soon as they are mature enough to take inside, I will post a photo and let you decide.
2. Seeds sown from a packet marked 'parsley' are capable of mutating into unidentifiable vegetable matter. Don't ask... we uprooted and returned them to the land from whence they sprouted, and I forgot to take one inside for a photo op.
3. The experiment with celery seeds from the health food store brought about some things that are looking more and more like carrot tops every day. :-? How long does celery take to start getting 'chunky'? It has been months now. Ahem... Ann? I'm looking at you here.
4. Some creature cut the tops off all the beets we had planted. We may have put them out too early? I don't know, but we will definitely be trying again.

There you have it. The pros still outweigh the cons, so we'll keep plugging away and see what comes of it.

Gardening is an excellent way to learn total dependence on God. His loving care and attention to detail amazes me every single day... a constant reminder of how He wants me to live my life. Oh, how great is the faithfulness of our God!

Be blessed!