Nothing like seeing the morning sunlight
filtering in through the green foliage when you are having your morning cup of
tea.
This is the first time that we are trying the
Red Cabbage in our garden. They are
blooming well along with the normal cabbage.
We may have to wait another 3 months to pluck them.
We found that these Grow Bags are better than
normal conventional pots and it is cost effective too.
The Radish too are coming up well and it is
about time to pluck them for our next salad. I wonder why they are always
peeping out of the soil.
It may take another day or two for the lettuce
leaves to join the radish in the salad
Daily morning I see one or two of these
yellow flowers fully bloomed waiting for the bees. They fall off by evening.
These flowers are from the sponge gourd creeper..
The decorative flowers are managing to hold on in one corner.
Looks like the green chillies are going to be surplus this year too. Last year there was continuous growth for six months.
Looks like the green chillies are going to be surplus this year too. Last year there was continuous growth for six months.
But what has got me really excited is the
sight of these bunch of flowers that has come up on our Vanilla creeper. Its
flowered after a gap of 2 years.
Five years ago I had written in detail about
the flowering cycle and the artificial pollination that one has to do for the
Vanilla.
In a bunch, one or two flowers bloom in a day.
They have to be artificially pollinated before noon. The ideal time is 9 to 10
am (they slowly close up as the sun gets hotter) If the flowers are
successfully pollinated, they dry up but hold on to the stem. These stem (stalk)
behind the flower grow thicker and ultimately becomes the Vanilla pods. In my
attempt to pollinate, I see about 30% success this year. It requires patience
and practice.
The regular tomatoes are coming up well with
the perfect round shape, but the cherry tomatoes are a peculiar variety. Never
seen these oval shaped ones before.
The mint leaves have got its perfect green
sheen. I always put in a mint leaf along with a blade of lemon grass (cut into
small pieces) in my morning tea. Apart
from its medicinal benefits, the aroma is very pleasing.
A twig of the mint went into the decoration
of the flan that we had yesterday.
