Black Thumb Chronicles : Day 5

in homesteading •  7 years ago 

Here we are, 5 days after we planted our bag garden and I gotta say....

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It's not doing too bad at all!!!

I was concerned about a few things like maybe the bag won't drain well (tomatoes need good drainage!) or maybe there's just not enough room for all the plants to grow, but it looks like they are happy.

See how the leaves look "up" more in the day 5 photo?

It definitely looks a lot greener now! I really thought they were all going to die!

Here's close ups of each bag.

Lettuce, Basil, Marigold & Chives

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The big head of lettuce has turned colour, not sure what it means but it looks like it's ready for harvest.

The marigold, chives and basil all looking happy. Yay! Wasn't sure if they were going to make it.

I did lose 2 little lettuce leaves over the 5 days and it seems the other 2 aren't far behind.

Capsicum, Marigold and Eggplants

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The marigold is doing well in this bag despite the few droopy leaves at the bottom.

I wish I could say the same for the eggplant. Out of all my plants the eggplant is the only ones with holes on the leaves. They're little holes and it hasn't been eaten completely but I'm wondering what's attacking it

The capsicum is just glorious with it's new flowers and the two heads look like they're growing, although you can only see one of them in the photo below.

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Basil, Tomato and Marigold

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This bag, for me, displayed the most noticeable growth and improvement. Everything in this bag is more alive.

The basil are standing tall, it's leaves bright and pointing up to the sun.

The marigold bloomed and is now displaying all it's petals.

And that tomato plant in the middle sure looks taller!

Marigold, Tomatoes, Basil and Beans

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I have a feeling this could be my problem bag. Already I can see where I may have gone wrong ~ too many plants not enough room?

The marigold looks much better now than it did 5 days ago so do the tomatoes and basil.... to a degree anyway.

The beans have grown but a couple of the leaves have turned brown.

It's also happening to a few of the others too.

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Too much sunlight you think? I'm thinking of moving them.

The most pleasant surprise came in the form of seedlings this morning!

Check out my Bee and Butterfly tray!

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YASSS!! 👑

The French Marigold has kicked off too!

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Teeny little lettuce seedlings! Can you see them?

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Also teeny tiny alyssyms!

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Can a sister get a high five!! ✋
I was soooo happy to see all the seedlings!

Unfortunately still no action from

  • Nono's Lettuce
  • Creeping Thyme "Purple Rain"
  • Nono's Pomodoro

I'm guessing the thyme is just slow and it's not a seed issue since I bought it and the alyssum at the same time.

Nono's seeds I'm a bit worried about because we have had them 3 houses ago. We're looking at between min 4 to 7 years ago that we've had these seeds for. 😱

I really hope they come up. It's one of the few things we have to remember him by.

Conclusions

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I will need to observe the browning of the leaves and see if it happens to more plants.

I will probably observe for a day before I make a move. Just in case it is getting burnt by the sun, I want to minimise the damage and rescue them before it gets worse.

The holes on the plants I have no idea about.

This little fella sat by me while I was taking photos (apparently they help with the pest control too) and I wondered if he was taking a break, because he really needs to stand guard of the plants and eat the creature putting holes on my leaves.

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He eventually scuttled off over the other side of the wall. I guess it's his day off.

Lastly, I need to look into buying mulch this weekend to put over the soil.

I'm not so much concerned about grass or weeds making it in the bag soil, but more to try and retain moisture.

I usuall water late in the afternoon, some times on a super hot day, I'll water early in the morning.

Eventually, once these babies are in the ground, I want to get them to the point where I won't even need to water them.

Eventually. Maybe then I can rename this series to Green Thumb Chronicles?

Got gardening tips? Please pop them in the comments, I need them!

🌻 Arly

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nice plants. thank you for posting

hahaha I love how the bag garden turned out!! <3

thanks so much @polebird! I'm pretty happy about it 😊

Go Seedlings \o/ hope they all survive

Thanks! I hope so too!! (cross fingers)

Foliage spray with fulvic acid will help your plants immensely! Good luck, keep growing :)

I will do!! Thank you! So good to see you here!

Yaass! Way to go little seedlings! Shoot up! 👏🌱

They look good to me @bearone.. im not sure of the browning though- too much water ?! Im really not sure. 😆😅

Ganun pala yun? i just let my kids water them, baka I didn't put enough holes under the can. My onion drowned, I think.

I think so. AKo ang probinsyanang hindi hardinera. hehe..Pasundot-sundot lang ako dati pag nagga-garden lola ko. She's too good.

Hi ! This is AWEsome! Every day I find more and more people who enjoy gardening as much as I do. I feel so thankful for having the opportunity to watch you be happy and have fun around nature! Thank you!

At first look I would suggest to move the Marygolds, and the plants that have the same height as well. They're already big enough to be on the ground, plus even though I don't know their cycle, I believe they will drop seeds soon. I would put them in single pots, so they can have their own soil and be moved around if you have rain or too much sunlight. I also transplant to pots first so the roots have a better development, and only then is when I plant them directly in the ground or place I decided after checking as you said, the best place for them to be.

Tomatoes can grow well in those bags, but they don't like to share roots neither. And definitely you don't want to put lettuce in the same place as them. In this pic you put the name "basil", but I think that is a tomato!

Finally but not least, the brown leaves. It is a sign that the soil has too much strenght, In the case of tomatoes you need the soil color to be a little darker and with less woodchops, maybe coconut coir can do fine (and a little vermicompost) to make the tomato plants grow better, their root system specially! Tomatoes have a great ability and that is to be able to grow new roots easily. So you can either cut branches and plant them to have clons (more plants) or you can just keep pruning them at least twice a month, they also need a structure to support their branches, you could use sticks, bars, or even cord to do so. I would also suggest to learn as much as you can about tomatoes, they produce a lot if you do it well! Cheers to you for that.

My final thought, It's really amazing what you're doing. Even if you think that these are just a few plants, you are making a difference, and nature has a way to make ou happy when you decide to give plants some love! Again, thank you!

PS: You could buy or find another bag of soil mix. Be always aware that plants can have different needs in terms of nutrients, humidity, heat, etc. I'm always one step ahead and I spray a lot of liquid vermicompost to all plants (branches and leaves), at least twice a month or weekly. And one thing I learned about plants is that if you take the best care of their roots and soil, it will show on the outside. Its like taking care of your heart and what you eat! Remember that beans will also need a structure to grow attached to, you could plant them with the eggplant, but I'm not sure id they can go well together. Eggplants also need to be fertilized and need special care when the blooming starts! Those vegs will need a lot of space outside those bags in no time. I love that weather-climate. It really looks beautiful over there. Take care and have a great week! Hope that I can be of any help. You can reply if you want to ask something else. I'd be happy to keep helping and learning! Cheers!

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very cool! I'm going to sponsor a #teamghana farm and allow us to give the crops and food away for free, because the post rewards wilspay for it!

They are looking great, it has only been a few days, it’s got me in the mood to get out in the garden if this rain ever stops. As of right now if I planted anything it would be washed away!

That's an interesting idea. I hope the plants do well. Can you poke holes for the tomatoes to drain?

@bearone I tell you, butterflies are harmful insects for tomatoes and peppers. aside the tomato and pepper need sun to develop very well especially the tomat. depending on your purpose will be your result with these plants in your garden, I forgot when the tomato has a certain height you should prune so that it has better growth, every 15 days to apply fertilizer :D, I hope not to bother you with my recommendations..
Regards. STEEM ON !.


My gardening tip is... talk to your plants and tell them not to die on you.
Didn't work on me, but it could with you.
May my succulents and my lettuce and more recently, my sweet onion RIP.
But I won't give up :)