Gardenjournal March: too much of a good thing
I'm back to having 2 usable hands so now my task has been cleaning up the rampant growth caused by 4 more weeks of rainy weather. The water-tolerant cacti don't mind the rain, provided they are in small pots that drain well. The eggplants are still blooming and fruiting and I've been harvesting them. I notice that there are cavities in the fruit, probably from too much water.
The lack of sunlight has ruined maize crops countrywide and my backyard was no exception: the single plant that came up never grew much and the ears it made are tiny.
I gave this little patch of ground to the tenant's son but like all kids, the enthusiasm exceeded the planning aspect so there has been a massive chillie crop so I am looking at pickled chillie recipes.
I've been going on about the horned melons for months and now the first fruit are almost ripe. I'd love to review them but there's no time for this garden journal. As a test of growing native plants, it's been interesting: the vines are mostly pest-proof compared to other vegetables, the fruit are not stung by the flies that ruin pumpkins. Although the leaves have a bit of fungus spotting, the vines have tolerated heat and dry conditions as well as excessive rain fairly well. It's a pity the leaves don't seem edible, I trimmed back large amounts of rampant growth after all the rain.
Next time, I'll grow them against a wall instead of in with the other vegetables where they have smothered everything.
Finally, a surprise: some late blooms on the peyote. I finally got around to repotting it in new soil, it was given to me in a compost mix which isn't suitable. Our native soils are rather acidic and I've read that it prefers alkali soil so I added a lot of crushed eggshells. It seems to be happy in the new mix and I'm becoming less scared of it.
I don't have much to show this month, thanks to my scooter, I had some other gardening planned that fell by the wayside but hopefully I'll get more done and I can start preparing for the winter crops.
@gertu and @ludmila.kyriackou don't forget to take a look at this: https://hive.blog/hive-140635/@riverflows/time-to-share-your-gardens-in-march
Oh seems many chilly recipes will come :)))
I have to confess, I have never heard about horned melons but looks amazing!
I can't wait to try them! They need to turn yellow first
I hope we will see it in some of the next updates :))
You have a peyote plant. Cool:)
Castaneda would be stoked:)
It was a gift from someone who emigrated :)
Good gift:)
That horned melon looks wicked cool! Also props for being able to cultivate peyote. I'd probably fail. I almost killed my baby psychedelic San Pedro cactus once.
Yes, all of these like plenty of sunlight. San Pedro grow like weeds here and I'm starting to think that I could actually just leave the peyote outside to do it's thing, they tolerate more water than I thought
Oh my, your cacti is so beautiful with its tiny flowers. And this is the first time I have seen a horned melon, it looks amazing and so as the peyote :)
It's a good idea to grow the horned melon away from other plants for it crawls and chokes the others on its way.
I'm learning!
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It's an awful lot more than I had to show!!! Everything, except the maize, looks so healthy and robust. Jealousy over here!
It's taken a few years of trial and lots of error to get a working garden out of my place: I think yours will be great soon
I'm happy to hear your hand has healed.
That horned melon is truly spectacular! Glad to hear your hands of healed. Everything looks amazing - I can't even imagine going back to an El Nino weather pattern and have got used to the extra water.
Thank you! I dread going back to el Nino because the heat is truly awful these days
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Thank you my dear @nikv, you are always so kind. I'm so glad that you already have your two functional limbs.
I don't have much to show this time, too much sun, not enough water and even the cacti are not blooming.
I've never seen such horned melons before.
You have had a good crop with some plants, I have had only bananas.
My plants are all full of pests. I think I will have to buy chemical products because none of the natural ones have worked for me and I have more and more pests on them.
I'm sorry to hear that the weather has been bad, it seems that La Nina affects all of us differently
Yeah, I think this girl is a badass, lol.
I love this cactus, it reminds me of my plan to plant some cactus, I wish I could grow that kind of cactus
It's an ordinary type of Mammillaria, such as are sold in many places to keep on your desk or windowsill. If you grow them outside in the sun, they gradually become large and flower as this one has. They can tolerate a lot of water and rain if you have them in a soil mix with a lot of gravel
What a weird melon! I love that you work and experiment with local plants.
After the flat white boer pumpkin and the purple one, now the horned melon, love it :)
And really glad to hear that your hand is well!
Thanks! Local plants grow much better here, traditional European vegetables can really struggle in my climate and poor soil
Oh yes, I imagine!
I will let you know about SA plants here, cause I am determined to plant these pumpkins :)
I look forward to seeing it!
Amazing plants. I like that cactus with the flowers, it looks so beautiful yet so prickly. :)
There's something about a really big cactus 🌵
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Super!
It's the first time I see a "horned melon"!
Good luck in the competition.
How long will the competition last?
It's over for this month but it runs for the first 10 days of each month. I'll tag you again next month
Good!
It looks like a lot to me! That peyote is gorgeous. The maize is kind of cute hanging in there like that. I remember it from a previous post.
The peyote surprised with the number of flowers it has made so late in the season
As a nature lover, it is very nice to see natural habitats and plants in your posts. You shared great pictures, thank you.❤️🤗☀️
Your peyote looks like a tardigrade, I think I saw it moving!!!
Get the mescaline ready, you have some thriving garden! That horned melon look like a psychedelic fruit! Where is the hayawaska plant?