There's been a lot of action in the garden since my last update 7 days ago.

At the moment of this writing, the bag gardens are 12 days old.

I didn't really know what to expect let alone know what a normal growth rate looks like so I'm trying to absorb and document the garden's progress as much as I can for future reference.

I have been, surprisingly, consistent with watering the plants, making sure it gets water in the morning on really hot days, and mindful not to water it on days I'm expecting rain.

I've also been sticking my fingers in the soil to feel if it's retaining too much water or not enough.

There are spots in the soil where it seems to appear greenish and I wonder if that is a drainage problem. If it is, it doesn't seem to be affecting the plants in those bags.

Bag 1 : Lettuce, Basil, Chives & Marigold

If I were to be really honest, as much as I go on about veggies and feeding ourselves etc, I'm really more into the flowers lol

Two houses ago had a beautiful garden that kept me supplied with cut flowers inside the house during spring and summer, I would love to have an all year round flower garden.

You can imagine how pleased I was to find new bulbs (? is that what they're called?) on the marigolds.

The chives bunch looks thicker, although it's hard to tell.

The lettuce, however, is definitely bigger and really looking ready for harvest. I pinched a leaf off earlier and it tasted bitter but delicious and grown with love.

The selection of heirloom lettuce, what did survive, is also doing well. She is a slow one though.

The basil is a pleasant surprise. What I thought was just two plants, has evolved into 4. They seem to have some black things under some of the leaves 😷 though.

Bag 2 : Capsicum, Eggplants and Marigolds

The capsicum is by far been my best performer out of them all. Every morning I race out to see how much it's grown and each day it doesn't disappoint. It's growing so quickly I wonder if the stem will hold.

Can you see the small capsicum forming?

The marigold in this bag is also a great performer with 1 bulb, hopefully ready to bloom in the next couple of days and 3 small bulbs forming.

3 out of the 4 eggplants are progressing well. The other, looks like its been attacked but is determined to make a come back.

I don't know if I have ever mentioned my love for eggplants. It's something that I ate a lot of as a child and brings back fond memories of simpler happier days in the Philippines.

I'm not quite sure what happened here as some leaves look like somethig tried to have a go but it's invasion was cut short.

This is what I was hoping for in doing the companion planting.

Bag 3 : Tomatoes, Basil & Marigold

The marigold in this bag has 2 well defined bulbs and 2 mini ones still growing. I'm really excited to see them all bloom and can't believe so many have formed in such a short time.

By this point I figured out what they look like when they're growing 😊

The Black Russian tomato plant is just perfect. It's growing well, no discoloration on the leaves, there is one leaf that looks like it was, maybe, burned by the sun on the edges, but aside from that it's gorgeous.

The 3 basil plants I thought I planted has evolved to 7 defined stems (seems to be the go with the basils). These have the same marks under the leaves as the others in bag 1.

Bag 4: Beans, Basil, Tomatoes & Marigold

This bag was the one I was most concerned with especially with the marks on the beans leaves, which I still haven't treated and I have a feeling I may have over planted in this one.

This was the only marigold that didn't already have a flower on it. I'm very pleased to report, not only is there 1 well defined bulbs almost ready, but there are also 2 bulbs forming.

Yas!!! 👑

The beans was my biggest concern in this bag with it's leaves being attacked, but despite that, what I thought was 1 bean plant has now 3 defined stems!

Same case for the basil and tomatoes.

What was 2 basil plants is now 4 (these have the marks under the leaves too). The 3 tomato plants are now 6 and all growing really well, although a bit crowded with the basil.

Aside from 1 leaf with a hole in it the tomato plants in this bag are growing really well which makes me wonder if the beans is doing it's job adding nitrogen to the soil for the tomatoes?

The Seedlings : Day 12

12 days in and its been a mixed bag of yays 👍and nays 👎 with the seeds. It also looks like the permanent marker isn't so permanent.

The Bees and Butterflies mix is going nicely, especially now that the bottom right hand side finally has a sprout. It's been a real mystery to me why that side didn't grow seedlings as fast as the others in the same tray.

The french marigold is still doing awesome! Can't believe how many have taken off.

The lettuce is also getting there.

The alyssum!! I'm really pleased at how many have come up. This plant is often used as ground cover, growing between 3 to 6 inches tall, I can also imagine it as an awesome mini hedge.

And then there's these ones

I don't even have words 😔

Nono's Lettuce and Pomodoro, and the Creeping Thyme all no gos.

I don't think I'm quite ready to give up on Nono's seeds. Does anyone know of a way to revive seeds?

Overall

I've realised we need to get these plants into more soil sooner rather than later.

I also need to do some research and familiarize myself with garden pests and signs, like why the marks on the leaves and what are those black things behind the basil leaves?

As far as companion planting goes, although I'm complaining about a few things, over all everything looks like they're thriving and growing at a much quicker rate.

Another thing that I need to do is to add crystals in the bag, cos you know me and my crystals by now.

There is a huge orgonite circle 3 meters away from it and I have been wondering if my super orgone environment is helping my plants grow because that is one of the the things Orgonites are meant to do and nature.

Apparently alyssum grow from seed between 7 to 14 days to sprout. Mine had sprouts 5 days in.... So is that testament to the orgone environment?

As always I end up with more questions than answers. If you can help with any of them, please do.

🌼 Arly

Previously in the Black Thumb Chronicles..

Day 5
https://steemit.com/homesteading/@bearone/black-thumb-chronicles-day-5

Weekend Gardening Part 3
https://steemit.com/garden/@bearone/black-thumb-chronicles-weekend-gardening-part-3

Weekend Gardening Part 2
https://steemit.com/garden/@bearone/black-thumb-chronicles-weekend-gardening-part-2

Weekend Gardening Part 1 https://steemit.com/garden/@bearone/black-thumb-chronicles-weekend-gardening-part-1

Permaculture, Food Forests & Tree Guilds
https://steemit.com/garden/@bearone/black-thumb-chronicles-permaculture-food-forests-and-tree-guilds

Hello Lasagna Bag Garden
https://steemit.com/garden/@bearone/black-thumb-chronicles-hello-lasagna-bag-garden

Companion and Lasagna Gardening
https://steemit.com/garden/@bearone/black-thumb-chronicles-companion-and-lasagna-gardening

Reclaiming our views
https://steemit.com/homesteading/@bearone/homesteading-reclaiming-our-views