From a caterpillar to a butterfly
Before
After
After the big freeze
Not sure if this is going to live, but just finished pruning it up. Looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book…
Rainy May
We have gotten so much rain this year. Veggies are thriving. Here is a walk through the May garden.
Veggies are doing great with all of this rain.
2 mulberries
Pakistani Mulberry – 3 inch long fruit and so sweet!
Texas Native Mulberry – I grew this from a cutting I took in the Fall. It made it through the winter in a one gallon pot and fruited the first year!
Seedlings that made it through freezing temps
Seed starting time
It’s that time of year. Time to start spring veggie seeds. This year I’m going to start all of my plants from seed. Started seeds at the end of January: Laura Bush Petunia, Rue, Borage, Thai Basil, Jalapeno, Purple Prince Zinnia, Cherokee Purple tomato, Sweet Pepper, Thai Pepper, Parsley, Sweet 100 tomato, Sun Gold tomato and of course Celebrity tomato.
Barbados Cherry
Barbados Cherry fruit are high in Vitamin C. Tastes like little apples too.
Green Peppers in November
This is not the best picture. Just posting this as a reminder to keep green pepper plants through the hot summer. Do not pull them all out. They will start fruiting again in the fall. Think chicken soup, pepper steak, carne guisada, pot roast…all better with home grown green peppers.
Pandemic patio
Before 
After 
After 
Wanting some fresh air, we decided to put in a patio. This is hard work. Really hard work. Rocks are heavy. Took many months. Finished in November. Dream come true! Thank you Jesus!
Garden…
…after some much needed rain
Wildlife
Walking stick. Can you see it on the Honey Jar Jujube tree? A Millipede. I did not realize it was a good bug until after I killed it. 🙁 And a hawk, hanging out near our bird feeder.
Crawford Lettuce and Romain Lettuce
Started lettuce seeds in October. Crawford lettuce is actually a Romain lettuce, so the title of this should be Crawford Lettuce and traditional Romain Lettuce? Why does the spelling of lettuce look wrong to me right now?
The cool part about growing these two lettuce varieties is that they are both heirloom. After the lettuce bolts, it produces a flower and then a seed. I cut off the stalks and store in a brown paper bag. Viola! Plant the next year!
Lettuce status just over a month later later in mid November. It is time to thin.
After September rain
Stink plant
I’m so happy. My stink plant flowered 3 times this year. It’s called a stink plant because it is pollinated by flies…so instead of smelling sweet like most flowers, it attracts flies by smelling like rotten flesh. So give this plant plenty of room and do not let it flower inside. lol. In the last picture, you can see a fly doing its thing. I love this interesting plant! Cuttings of this plant were given to me many years ago by a dear friend/gardener…Amy!
Fall Veggie Gardening
If you really want to know if it’s organic, you have to grow it yourself…broccoli and gai lan. Time for fall veggie gardening.
Ok, so a friend asked me to update this post with the timeline for regular broccoli, so here is an update
8/1/2020 – planted broccoli seeds. I planted Green Magic which is supposed to be well adapted to our area. Planted them according to the directions on the package using Happy Frog potting soil. I placed the plants on a rolling cart on the south side of the house. See below for dates I moved plants from starter pots into veggie garden. So far, harvested broccoli on 12/1 and 12/24. Once you remove the main heads, side shoots will form and you can keep harvesting those well into the winter. You can also eat the stalk. It is tasty and has just as much nutritional value as the broccoli heads. I have not eaten the leaves. It is not uncommon to have some worms nibble on your leaves. That is the price you pay for growing organic.
seeds planted 8/1 
seeds sprouted 8/4 
transplants planted 9/28 
broccoli getting big 11/1 
1st harvest 12/1
Chinese cabbage and Chinese broccoli
August harvest
figs 
pears 
Black Diamond
Spider and Bee…Spider wins
July…hot, hot July
We usually get to 100 degrees in July. After a mild spring with plenty of rain, I am spoiled. Rain makes me feel like a master gardener. lol. Everything grows and nothing dies…Then July comes and we hit triple digits and no rain for weeks. The goal in July is not a beautiful garden. In July the goal is just to keep everything alive. Water is precious and so we only water when we have to and try to conserve as much as possible.
The good news is there is still lots to do in July. A few weeks ago, I harvested some mint. I tied it in a bundle and hung it to dry. Today I refilled my mint spice jar. There is something satisfying about eating what you grow.
Final veggies before the heat sets in
Purple Martins
Ok, so I think these are Purple Martins. Please let me know if I am wrong about this.
It was about May 1st that we started seeing and hearing the Purple Martins scouting for a place to live. We were not sure that they were Martins and so we googled what they sound and look like. I expected them to be dark purple, but it seems like the juveniles are not necessarily.
So we put out some suggested mud, egg shells and bedding material. They were not interested in it. Maybe because it was too close to the ground. Our dog was very interested. lol.
Then one day, we noticed a nest being built. That happened around the third week of May. It looked like the Martin nests we found online. Then there were eggs. No pic of that. Then there were baby birds. They came in the beginning of June. Within a month it was all over. The babies were born, then they grew. Then they flew!
It was such a neat experience. A lot of work though. You have to lower the bird house every day or two and clean out any nests being built that do not belong to Purple Martins. That is not easy to do. It seems like the other little brown birds work harder and faster…but we empty out their nest material so the purple ones win. It is interesting that the Purple Martins do not mind our intruding on their behalf. They seem to like our help.
