Garden Log: June 09

Rose from Front yard
Rose from Front yard

It is getting quite warm here in Houston. The backyard vegetable garden seems to thrive under hot and humid conditions. Tomatoes, peppers, bendi and brinjals are fruiting well. Some of you emailed me about tomatillo status. It is growing like a lanky teenager. Lot of vertical growth with flowers but no tomatillos so far. I could not get another tomatillo plant this year for cross-pollination. If I plant next time, there will be a pair.

The vegetable vines are also doing well. Red alasanda (Asparagus beans) are growing like there is no tomorrow and producing lot of pods. Chikkudu (Indian broad beans) are also flowering a lot. Karela, Turai, Zucchini, green beans, cucumber are coming up slowly.

For vegetable vines, Vijay and father-in-law together built a support system with some wooden beams. The frame is four columns, one in each corner. Connected them horizontally with three sawed and sized beams. One on each end and another one in the middle. The gap between the beams is filled with wire mesh. Near the vegetable vines, we stuck four to six small sticks. Tied a twine to each stick and connected the twine to wire mesh above. The vines are following the twine to the frame. The support system is nothing fancy, but it seems to do the job.

Here are some photos from the backyard.

Row of Roses
Row of Roses


Maruvam (Sweet Marjoram)
Maruvam (Sweet Marjoram)


Cayenne Peppers
Cayenne Peppers

Banana Pepper
Banana Pepper

Bell Peppers
Bell Pepper

Tadka Mirchi (Chili Pequin)
Tadka Mirchi (Chili Pequin)

Tomatoes
Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes

Kakara (Karela, Indian Bitter gourd)
Kakara (Karela, Indian Bitter gourd)
(The vine is following the twine that is tied to the stick in the ground.)

Homemade Vine Support for Vegetable Vines
Homemade Vine Support for Vegetable Vines

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36 Responses to “Garden Log: June 09”

  1. subhadra says:

    lovely plants.. it must be a lot of fun to grow everything in the front/backyard..

  2. Madhavi says:

    Loved your plants. mee mokkala padulu bagunnayi.

  3. indosungod says:

    Beautiful! and so very pleasing to the eye.

  4. Kay says:

    Yep, Beautiful!!!

  5. tigress says:

    your garden looks wonderful! i really love how you’ve encased the beds in wood beams. it keeps everything so neat. my garden, alas, is kind of all over the place.

    the chiles look delicious!

  6. Ranjan says:

    Indira, everything looks wonderful, you must have green fingers! Can’t believe the size of the cayenne peppers. By the way I tried your Rai sprouts (mustard seeds) they came out great used them in salad, but mine were not hot guess it depends on the quality of seeds.

  7. Bhargavi says:

    Fruits for ur great work.

  8. Aarthi says:

    great effort! very inspiring

  9. Supriya says:

    do you use any fertilizer or pesticides? If so which brand? I have potted some eggplant and I see someone is feasting on its leaves.Cannot find the culprit!

  10. krithika says:

    lovely ! homemade vine support is a great idea !

  11. Sarvani says:

    Hi Indira, ur garden looks great. Reminds me of the vegetable and flower garden in our house back in India.
    Is the maruvam plant easy to find in northern CA, bay area? Can u tell me where I can get this plant as I want to have it too..

  12. prasanti says:

    Its so lovely and well cultivated,i am huge fan of gardens, i love how u put it all well set….thanks for sharing the pics, enjoyed watching them

  13. Bhuvana says:

    Indira
    Why did you put the wire mesh between the beams? Is it to keep the birds away?

  14. Gini says:

    looks lovely. Nice pepper collection.

  15. Rani says:

    Consider yourself lucky to be gardening in Houston. You have a long growing season and plants like brinjal survive upto a couple of years. The plants look great and pretty soon you will harvest a bounty. Here in Georgia my tomatoes are still green and I see a pepper or two on my plants.

  16. krithika says:

    have you planted any jasmine ?

  17. Kalai says:

    Amazing garden! Can’t wait until I’m able to start one of my own. 🙂

  18. Sowmya says:

    Awesome Garden !

    I never thought about gardening, nothing like I hate them n all, But after seeing your pics I have started pestering my husband about having a garden back in India. Though am not sure if it’s possible here in US apartments 🙁

    But I too have a small bamboo plant in my window … I cherish it. 🙂

    Kudos to all your efforts for gardening… Lovely they are.

  19. vineela says:

    Beautiful Indira.Lovely garden .Kakarakaya chettu mmm
    Potlakaya ,Beerakaya ,Gongura kooda vesara?
    Love the chilies.
    Happy Gardening.
    Vineeala

  20. Swati says:

    Hi Indira,

    you have a beautiful garden.

    Swati

  21. Preethi says:

    The garden looks fabulous.. I live in housston too..i have a severe mealy bug infestation..how do u get rid of them? Many plantss died…

  22. DK says:

    We have just started gardening too Indira..and its amazing to see how they grow. I have a “who am I”? puzzle too in my blog today for a fruit growing in our backyard 🙂

  23. madhuri says:

    Indira,
    The plants are amazing!!! I grow plants in summer though I live in a 2 bed apartment. I haven’t put vegetables though…Loved your garden. I am a garden lover. Amazing pictures taken as usual.

  24. Raji says:

    Dear Indira,
    You have a wonderful garden. I loved the raised bed with the vine support…and the rose garden too..
    You are an amazingly talented person.
    I do have a small veggie patch…they are not yet ready like yours though there are some flowers now.

  25. trupti says:

    You and your family are an inspiration! I love your garden….! 🙂

  26. Shobana says:

    Beautiful garden Indira! And what amazing results in such short time, nah?

  27. Vasudha says:

    oh my! indira, where did you get the seeds for karela? i would love to grow them too!

  28. Mythili says:

    You actually have marjoram!! Wow! What a beautiful garden!

  29. Indira says:

    Thank you all for your lovely and beautiful notes on my garden log.

    Sarvani: You can find it in Lowe’s, Home depot or check your local nurseries.

    Tigress: Thanks. I got to try that chilli in oil pickle from your blog. It looks so good.

    Ranjan: Glad to read that you tried and liked the rai sprouts.

    Bhuvana: the vegetable vines go upwards and they need support. So we added a wire mesh.

    Supriya, Preeti: Yes, I have also noticed some bugs. I haven’t yet used any pesticides or fertilizers. Trying to keep it chemical free as long as it’s possible.

    Krithika: chambeli and round jasmine (gundu malli) varieties. They are small, and coming up slowly.

    Vineela: Potlakaya tappite, migataa mokkalanni vesaanu. Potlakaaya vittanaalu dorakaledu.

    Raji: You have the most beautiful flowers in your garden. Love all the garden photos on your blog.

    Vasudha: Karela plant is a gift from a dear friend. She gave me a tiny seedling.

  30. Pritya says:

    Indira, that truly looks like a labour of love! You must be spending a lot of time tending them with your loving hands so they bear such perfect fruit / veggie! Very impressive.

  31. tigress says:

    hi indira,

    just wanted to let you know that i will be posting the chile oil pickle recipe at some point later this summer when this year’s chile’s are grown. i would be honored if you tried your hand at them! you are such a wonderful cook!

  32. srividya says:

    lovely pictures of flowers and vegetables andi!

  33. Uma says:

    Enjoy your home grown veggies. To pluck and cook home grown is a special feeling.

  34. veda says:

    wow indira!!!!lovely garden…..and to cook from ur own garden must be a wonderful feeling!

  35. manila says:

    Wow, that is so great. Looks good. You must be so happy to see your hard work take such shape.

  36. Chaitanya says:

    Wow, superb garden.I am planning to start veggie garden this year.We ahve very samll back yard,do you have any pictures on how to grow the vines

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