Tomato Seeds. Like what I said, we went grocery shopping right after I published my post, but we couldn't find the seed section of the supermarket anymore. I thought it was just okay, we might just find the seeds elsewhere. Thankfully, two days after, the family made another trip to the mall and brother suggested we check ACE Hardware, and since he also needed to buy a hoe for our front garden, I asked him to buy me a packet of tomato seeds, too. He was able to get one for me, and yesterday, I already planted some of the seeds and hoping it will sprout in days to come.
I started watching videos about tomato growing, and crossing fingers that the knowledge I gathered would be enough to give me a wonderful produce.
Basil. Last Sunday, my sister and I went to the Sidcor Weekend Market and decided to get a small pot of basil because it's only 25 pesos per pot. This will be our third try growing basil, and we hope we will cultivate this crop. Talking to the owner of the shop, he told us to water the plants in the morning and cultivate the soil once a week. From K, I learned that the herbs have to be indoors, so we just placed it on the desk in our terrace.
Mint. Not part of my list, but sister saw this at the store where we bought the basil, and because it was 25 pesos per pot, too, sister opted to get a pot as well. Unlike the basil, this doesn't need that much watering, but we will take note of the soil...if it becomes dry, then of course, it's time to water it.
Garlic. This came as a surprise. This pot was my bed seed, and because the cats use the pots as their beds, sometimes they knock out the pots. I noticed that there were a lot of loose soil on the ground, and last Saturday I decided to tidy it up. To my surprise, a garlic sprouted from a clove, which we might have thrown. This was my first time to see a garlic sprout, so I took it and planted it, hoping it will grow in time.
Bell Peppers. Remember my bell pepper that needed utmost attention? It was so sad that it died last weekend, because my cat slept on the pot. Arrrgh! Well, all is not wasted, as when I re-planted that pepper, I also scattered more bell pepper seeds and yesterday, seeing them sprouting, I transferred the peppers in a much bigger pot. All in all, I have eight bell pepper sprouts, four per pot. As they grow, depending on their size, I might have to buy individual pots for them.
Ginger. I have one pot with soil, which I used for the bell peppers. The soil was dehydrated so I cultivated it... and to my surprise I unearthed some ginger root! Well, sometime last year, I remembered planting a piece of ginger root in that pot, and it did grow, but the pot was small enough it seemed, and the plant just died slowly. When I uprooted the dead ginger plant, I only was able to get a small ginger root and thought it was all. Seeing these was so surprising, and I am thankful for my little harvest. :)
Ampalaya. One of the crops I wanted to grow, two weekends ago, I decided to cook an ampalaya and even if it was green, the seeds inside were mature already, so I carefully took out the seeds, washed it and directly inserted in into the soil. Some of the seeds haven't sprouted yet, but this one did, and I was so happy! As you can see, there were a lot of loose cat hairs, as this is one of their favorite pots, I just placed some barbecue sticks to protect it. This one is still a baby, so I will wait for a few more days before I transfer this to a much bigger pot. I already got to taste its fruit, so am sure this one would give me a bunch of not-so-bitter fruits.
Papaya Seeds. We were eating papaya last week and we raved about how delicious and sweet it was. Knowing we have this space between the Macopa and the Kamias trees, I decided to get the seeds and place it outside to dry before I plant it. If this grows, I will place it near the Kamias tree, so there will still be enough space for mom's flowering plants.
Basil. Last Sunday, my sister and I went to the Sidcor Weekend Market and decided to get a small pot of basil because it's only 25 pesos per pot. This will be our third try growing basil, and we hope we will cultivate this crop. Talking to the owner of the shop, he told us to water the plants in the morning and cultivate the soil once a week. From K, I learned that the herbs have to be indoors, so we just placed it on the desk in our terrace.
Mint. Not part of my list, but sister saw this at the store where we bought the basil, and because it was 25 pesos per pot, too, sister opted to get a pot as well. Unlike the basil, this doesn't need that much watering, but we will take note of the soil...if it becomes dry, then of course, it's time to water it.
Garlic. This came as a surprise. This pot was my bed seed, and because the cats use the pots as their beds, sometimes they knock out the pots. I noticed that there were a lot of loose soil on the ground, and last Saturday I decided to tidy it up. To my surprise, a garlic sprouted from a clove, which we might have thrown. This was my first time to see a garlic sprout, so I took it and planted it, hoping it will grow in time.
Bell Peppers. Remember my bell pepper that needed utmost attention? It was so sad that it died last weekend, because my cat slept on the pot. Arrrgh! Well, all is not wasted, as when I re-planted that pepper, I also scattered more bell pepper seeds and yesterday, seeing them sprouting, I transferred the peppers in a much bigger pot. All in all, I have eight bell pepper sprouts, four per pot. As they grow, depending on their size, I might have to buy individual pots for them.
Ginger. I have one pot with soil, which I used for the bell peppers. The soil was dehydrated so I cultivated it... and to my surprise I unearthed some ginger root! Well, sometime last year, I remembered planting a piece of ginger root in that pot, and it did grow, but the pot was small enough it seemed, and the plant just died slowly. When I uprooted the dead ginger plant, I only was able to get a small ginger root and thought it was all. Seeing these was so surprising, and I am thankful for my little harvest. :)
Ampalaya. One of the crops I wanted to grow, two weekends ago, I decided to cook an ampalaya and even if it was green, the seeds inside were mature already, so I carefully took out the seeds, washed it and directly inserted in into the soil. Some of the seeds haven't sprouted yet, but this one did, and I was so happy! As you can see, there were a lot of loose cat hairs, as this is one of their favorite pots, I just placed some barbecue sticks to protect it. This one is still a baby, so I will wait for a few more days before I transfer this to a much bigger pot. I already got to taste its fruit, so am sure this one would give me a bunch of not-so-bitter fruits.
Brother has been cultivating our front garden lately, and although the soil was still way too dehydrated and way too tough to plant some, us siblings can only plan what to do with that chunk of land.
Papaya Seeds. We were eating papaya last week and we raved about how delicious and sweet it was. Knowing we have this space between the Macopa and the Kamias trees, I decided to get the seeds and place it outside to dry before I plant it. If this grows, I will place it near the Kamias tree, so there will still be enough space for mom's flowering plants.
We also plan of planting Kaffir Lime. The Sidcor Weekend Market has stalls selling different kinds of seedlings, and I just freaked out when I saw this, because one of the reasons why I wanted to go to the weekend market was because there is a stall selling Thai Food products, and I so hope to get Kaffir Lime leaves for my Thai Curry dishes. I am definitely eyeing that seedling and hoping it was cheap enough so we can have leaves every time we want. :)
I am so thankful that everything is running smoothly, but of course, the true sign of victory is when I make my harvest, so for now, this wannabe farmer is gonna keep crossing her fingers. :)
*** Jenn ***
*** Jenn ***
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my