Tag Archives: Gardening

Protecting Our Fruits, Part 2

11 Apr

The wire mesh protection on the papaya tree is not good enough to deter intruders from eating the papaya fruits. Even with our tall ladder, I cannot reach the top to cover all the fruits on the tree because the tree is too tall.

Last week, hubby discovered one slightly eaten fruit. The squirrel is getting clever as it managed to get inside the mesh to bite the papaya! The mesh protects only the outer fruits, and since there are still gaps to some exposed fruits and access from the top, it’s only a matter of deft agility to get inside for a feast.

One fruit is intact but the other is bitten slightly.

Oh well, at this point, we cannot do much. If the fruits ripen, we harvest them. If we don’t get to them first before the squirrel or otherwise, we should share and shouldn’t be too upset about it.

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A Symbolic Growth, Part 2

8 Apr

The weather has been wonky the past few months. On days when it’s not supposed to rain, it pours. And when we expect rain, there isn’t any, and it’s so hot.

The pineapple tree in the pot had some hot sun at the beginning of the year. But during one stretch, it rained a lot, so hubby moved the pineapple to a warmer spot in the garden. And the weather changed again, raining cats and dogs!

So much so that it affected the stability of the fruit, weakening the stem of the pineapple tree. We had no choice but to harvest the fruit, small as it was, instead of letting it go to waste. Despite its size, the fruit still has a chance to ripen, and we may still get to enjoy it. Fingers crossed.

Not big but edible. Only time can tell

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Protecting Our Fruits

22 Mar

There is something else other than the garden squirrels in our garden. The fruits on the papaya tree, while still on the tree, were eaten, and we were mildly irked by this discovery. So, we decided to do something about it. As there are quite a few fruits on the tree, we had to protect them.

Hubby said it could be a civet cat as the bite and claw marks on the recently eaten papaya were too big to be that of a squirrel. Further evidence is some orange-colored poop left on the retaining wall. How dare this uninvited intruder? Hrmph.

And so, I used some leftover wire mesh and covered the fruits from being a buffet offering. I think I did a good job.

Take that, you uninvited intruder!

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A Quick Makeover

18 Mar

There is an area of our garden adjacent to our neighbor, left unattended for some time, being of sight, hence, out of mind. So at the beginning of the year, I told hubby it a needs a makeover. But we have been busy, and the area was still left unattended.

Finally, there was an opportunity last week. And within a day, the area was cleared and spruced up. We kept it to a minimum to be Zen-like. It’s a nice refreshing change. Too bad this look only works for this area and not the other parts of our garden.

Before and after the makeover

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Mixed Yield

28 Feb

It has been raining a lot, unusual for this time of the year, and it’s creating a lot of havoc for our garden. It gets flooded when the rain comes down fast and hard and does not drain away fast enough.

The two attempts to plant vegetables, feeble as it is, have failed partly because of the rain. The moist habitat has been attracting mealybugs and is detrimental to the overall garden space.

The eggplants have not seen further yield since the last puny harvest. As for the lady’s fingers, hubby got rid of them because he did not want the mealybugs to contaminate the other plants. So he planted some shrubs to utilize the area while figuring out what to grow next.

On a brighter note, the papaya tree next to our frangipani tree has been in abundance! So much that sometimes, the garden squirrels help themselves to the fruits. We’re not complaining as there’s plenty for everyone, but we wouldn’t want to encourage the squirrels to keep eating the fruits on the tree.

Our mixed yield garden

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Something New from the Garden

11 Jan

Our garden is full of plants and edibles. But I have to admit I am not the green fingers person managing our garden. It was only during the lockdown phases the last two years that I learned to appreciate it. I can identify Creeping Charlies and unwanted weeds and even made an effort to plant vegetables for our consumption.

You can find the usual air plants, stag horns, and bromeliads that hubby has besides some other plants, small trees, shrubs, and the one big frangipani tree that we love very much. Then there are the edibles like chili, curry leaves, fruits, herbs, and some vegetables spread out here and there. The space is balanced between plants to appreciate and food to eat to be sustainable.

When M1 came home last year, she brought back some corn seeds, glass gem corn, to be precise. At that point, we were not sure whether the corn could grow in our environment. Hubby, being the green fingers maestro, tried. After almost five months, he has successfully grown some glass gem corn! Wow.

Glass gem corn from our garden!

It does not matter that they are small and puny in size upon harvest. The fact that the species can grow in humid and wet conditions is good enough. Both corns are not as colorful compared to what we see on the internet. Nonetheless, they are very pretty looking, and we are most pleased with this new thing from our garden.

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A Break in Pattern

10 Jan

After several mishaps that have befallen me, there is light at the end of the tunnel. But this is as far as the garden yield is concerned, and not so much on my well-being.

The second papaya tree yielded a large fruit last week. At 2145g on the scale, it was the heaviest fruit by far. Then two days ago, we harvested another big papaya. The second one was a whopper. At 2294g, I believe this latest fruit is the heaviest papaya we’ve had from the garden.

Papaya galore!

Perhaps with this good fortune, it is a break in pattern from all the terrible things that have happened.

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The Year That Wasn’t Again

31 Dec

The never-ending year 2021 finally concludes today. I look back, and what a year it has been! I feel history has repeated itself, with the year being another year that fell short of expectations like 2020 because the pandemic has dragged on.

When the nation went into lockdown again in May, we were short-changed for several months to have a good year. And the lockdowns implemented under the Movement Control Orders (MCO) had so many versions, I lost track of it all.

But life goes on. With what we had experienced in 2020, we handled 2021 a little better. We became more accepting of the situation and were more productive, and the hobbies picked up in the year before continued. We also got vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, and it was our passport to venture out (if needed) without hassle.

Towards the end of the year, I picked up another new hobby – felting. What fun this turned out to be! Felting is immensely enjoyable and therapeutic when I am not carving or crafting miniatures as it is a short and fast activity to complete.

Looking back, being home this time around wasn’t so bad because there’s so much to do at home, and I love it. There is no rush or fear but simply comfort and ease. As long as there is good time management, the days go by quickly.

M2 came back for her Summer holidays, and it was great to have her home. My cooking skills improved from last year, and there were many great mealtimes together at home as a family since we couldn’t go out at all.

Then M1 came home for good after completing her Master’s degree, and both of us are very blessed to have the family as a complete unit. But soon after, M2 returned to Ireland, and M1 started working. By the third quarter, we were juggling work, albeit not much, and playing golf when the country reopened to more activities.

But just when we thought things were improving with vaccination and economies opening everywhere, the world saw a new virus variant! The Omicron. The pandemic management globally was sucker-punched with this new development. Travels, activities, and economies were restricted once more, and many countries faced fresh lockdowns. When will this onslaught of the unknown ever end?

So we start 2022 with uncertainty again. I see no point in toasting the New Year for better fortune and goodness. Just brace yourselves to stay negative (Covid-wise) in a positive way, stay healthy, and stay safe. Goodbye 2021, I wouldn’t say it was the best, but we survived. Happy New Year, folks!

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Hardly a Bumper Harvest

21 Dec

We finally harvested the mini brinjals, but it’s hardly a bumper harvest. Then again, it is more than when we had the sole lady’s finger.

The first harvest of the mini brinjal

I kept the yield in the fridge for several days as I have been super busy at the office. Last night, I finally cooked the brinjals, and they tasted pretty good. It will be a while before the next harvest comes around.

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New Growth, Part 2

7 Dec

The mini brinjals seem to have stopped growing! After the initial excitement of seeing two fruits on the two different plants, I don’t see them growing anymore. Their sizes remain the same as before.

I shouldn’t be too impatient just yet. After all, with the plant being a mini species, the fruits may have maxed out in their growth already. Hmm.

Two mini and a mini-er brinjal

But to say they have stopped growing is not correct, for there is a new fruit growing on one of the plants. We need to monitor the ripeness of each fruit before we can harvest it. Hopefully, the wet weather or the critters in the garden won’t spoil it for us. We shall see.

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