Garden Journal Challenge July 2019

Hi Steemians and garden lovers of Steemit,

I am joining the Garden Journal Challenge of @simplymike , you can find the details here

July is supposed to be the start of the rainy season here in the Philippines and I have been waiting for it since June. On my previous garden journal entries, I had been complaining about the summer heat and how it made me miss joining this challenge for lack of something new or good to show.

As you can see on this photo, the floor is really wet because there was a light rain pouring when my grandson Vincent took these photos. I always get excited seeing how poised my little green plants are and that is because they get enough water.

Outside is starting to look gloomy because of the Southwest monsoon that is expected to bring more rain. I hope it will be mild and just enough rain because we do not want flooding anywhere. This photo shows our little porch that we converted into a garden and receiving area for visitors. You can see the street from here and I know that passersby are delighted to look and see what my garden has to show. My recycled plant boxes have everything I can plant on. See that banana plant or tree? it has always been a nice conversation piece when friends come to visit. They always ask how I managed to grow a banana on a container. Well, I could not believe that myself. A purple yam and a green grape vines are growing happily together from the far right corner. They bring shade and frame the porch quite well.

I am not sure what this plant is, my son brought it home from his friend. I think he said that this is a ginger. Well...I think I have to wait and see if this is indeed a ginger. If I see some rhizomes growing underneath then perhaps it may be a ginger. I had been busy with other offline stuff lately and didn't have much time to look after my garden. The rain is helpful in watering my plants and I am grateful for that. We had fertilized all the plants last month and now all they need is a good and regular supply of clean water and tender care.

The sweet potatoes are surviving or had survived the dry season. Yay. We are not expecting some root crops for this batch because we are using their tender tops for our daily leafy green needs. You see, I make it a point that all of us in this household eat some greens each day and the sweet potato tops are the quickest to harvest and prepare. You can steam them or blanch them quickly and have a dipping sauce ready.

In addition, let me tell you about my experiment earlier this month. I was trying to grow some basil. I tried the cutting method and submerged the stems on water. From a big bushy basil plant I took 6 stems and submerged them in water for a few days. The roots showed up after 5 days I think you may see this link to read more about it. https://steemit.com/gardening/@pastoragus/growing-basil-by-cutting-after-10-days . I do not have anymore space for these basil cuttings.

There you have it my Steemit friends. Thanks for dropping by, this entry is already late. I am not online on regular basis so I tend to miss important activities here but I am still happy to show my garden.

Thanks
Gus