Garden Log: June 09
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
Maruvam (Sweet Marjoram)
Cayenne Peppers
Banana Pepper
Bell Pepper
Tadka Mirchi (Chili Pequin)
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
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
lovely plants.. it must be a lot of fun to grow everything in the front/backyard..
Loved your plants. mee mokkala padulu bagunnayi.
Beautiful! and so very pleasing to the eye.
Yep, Beautiful!!!
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!
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.
Fruits for ur great work.
great effort! very inspiring
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!
lovely ! homemade vine support is a great idea !
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..
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
Indira
Why did you put the wire mesh between the beams? Is it to keep the birds away?
looks lovely. Nice pepper collection.
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.
have you planted any jasmine ?
Amazing garden! Can’t wait until I’m able to start one of my own. 🙂
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.
Beautiful Indira.Lovely garden .Kakarakaya chettu mmm
Potlakaya ,Beerakaya ,Gongura kooda vesara?
Love the chilies.
Happy Gardening.
Vineeala
Hi Indira,
you have a beautiful garden.
Swati
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…
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 🙂
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.
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.
You and your family are an inspiration! I love your garden….! 🙂
Beautiful garden Indira! And what amazing results in such short time, nah?
oh my! indira, where did you get the seeds for karela? i would love to grow them too!
You actually have marjoram!! Wow! What a beautiful garden!
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.
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.
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!
lovely pictures of flowers and vegetables andi!
Enjoy your home grown veggies. To pluck and cook home grown is a special feeling.
wow indira!!!!lovely garden…..and to cook from ur own garden must be a wonderful feeling!
Wow, that is so great. Looks good. You must be so happy to see your hard work take such shape.
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