Gardening Updates

 This summer, I tried gardening again. We started by buying pots and planting seeds. Unintentionally, my "trying" turned into multiple different attempts for different plants. We are currently on attempt number 3 at basil. I last wrote about this in May. This is a continuation of that blog but can stand alone if you're just now tuning in. 

My original pot of basil seeds started to sprout, but something wasn't right about the growing conditions and so they failed to really take off. My little sprouts stayed sprouts for what felt like months and then they died off. Later, they started to grow again, but then my biggest sprout was nibbled before it had a chance to continue growing. For attempt number 2, I used a different soil mix to start my seeds. However, the temperature was much higher so the combination of the elements once again did not yield proper sprouting.

Attempt number 3 was actually an accident. I had mixed soils with ungerminated seeds when moving plants (yes...that's a big no no in gardening but I did it anyway) and then I saw the basil finally sprouting. Rather than pluck them out for the trash, I decided to repot them in little cups to continue growing. Risky as they could have died in the process, but I didn't have anything to lose at that point.

Since it is now mid-September and our temperatures feel more like comfortable summer temperatures instead of scorching ovens, these seeds were able to sprout and germinate.  

Let's see how big they can grow before temps drop below 60.

My other plant babies were my peppers. 

My original pepper plants which had sprouted from saved seeds have grown into very large plants. I did not top off my pepper plants this year just to see what would happen out of curiosity. Various gardeners online gave mixed advice as to whether or not you should. I decided not to because I wanted to see what the plants would do just growing on their own. Because I did not top off, my plants ended up with a taller Y split and ended up being very tall plants overall. 

These pepper plants have endured a lot with me. They started out in pots. These pots were moved to the side of the house when our patio was being installed. Then, these pots came back to the patio with me. After a few weeks, these peppers moved back to the side because of the intense heat. During our sprinkler installation, these plants were moved back to the patio again to evade the workers and their digging. After the sprinklers were installed, these plants endured a transplanting into their permanent home now in our raised bed planter with designated sprinkler system zone.

Half of these plants were revived from the dead...that's another story.

After a really hot summer, I finally saw baby bell peppers sprouting. 

Can you spot the pepper?

It was a beautiful sight. I think I was almost as heart-warmed seeing peppers growing on my plants as when my first baby was born....but not quite. I watched these peppers grow and counted them every few days to see if new ones were coming. 

And then some got eaten. That was a bad day when I discovered gnawed-off stems where I knew baby peppers were. 

I consulted some friends for advice, did some research online, and found a way to cover the peppers so animals couldn't just eat the fruit off the stem so easily. I used some plastic netting that comes with a package of Asian noodle thread I buy. (Anyone already know which one I'm talking about?) I wrapped up my peppers with the netting and used a twist tie to secure it closed. 

My husband said it looked like they had pink wedding veils on. What a great description. I hope this will deter whatever was eating my peppers long enough that I can take a bite out of one of my peppers before this year ends. They still need 2-3 weeks minimum to grow bigger before I should pick them. 

End of post advice from this experience:

1. I'll probably top-off my peppers in the future just to have shorter plants and a lower Y split, especially if I want to overwinter the plant for next year's growing season. 

2. Saving random things comes in handy if you have the space and capacity to store them in an organized fashion without turning into piles of junk.

3. I'm very proud of my pepper plants. They've been through a lot, and they've pulled through.