June 23, 2012: Updated pics!

Hey!  I took a trip out west for 1 week to sunny California (although from what I hear, it was very hot in New Jersey for the last week with temps. reaching into the 100s?!).  Anyway, I came back and saw a lot of growth in all of my gardens (vegetable, flowerbed, walkway and container).  I took a few pics just to show the dramatic fruit and vegetable growths in a period of 1 week!  There is a group of strawberries which will soon be ready to pluck.  The tomatoes are in full effect, but the weight of the fruit is pulling down on the stems.  Therefore, I tied some stems along the fence to train them.  The ichiban eggplants are growing strong.  A variety of peppers can be seen, and some may be ready to pluck.

As for the flowers, A LOT of stems have emerged from the container garden (which is a good sign, as I originally thought they would not grow).  As for the flowerbed, I see small stems, but I cannot discern if they are from bulbs or simply weeds.  We will just have to wait and see.  Anyway, check out the pics below!

Strawberries.

Peppers.

Bell pepper.

More peppers.

Ichiban eggplants.

Summer squash.

Summer squash.

Beastly tomatoes!

Okra.

Corn stalks.

Overall view.

Flower pot.

Flower pot.

And another flower pot with emerging stems.

 

June 6, 2012: Updated photos of my vegetable and flower gardens.

Hey!  I just took some quick updated photos to show you the progress of both my vegetable and flower gardens.  It seems to be coming along very well.  I am now watering in about 8 gallons per day for each of my gardens.  I also have my first tomatoes and peppers growing in nicely!  An eggplant flower just bloomed and I expect to see one sometime next week.  My mini walkway garden is also showing promise, as the squash and okra leaves are enormous!  The corn stalks, although a bit overcrowded, are coming in very nicely as well.  In addition, I forgot to mention that I planted some mint leaves for my mom, and they have grown very generously.  She uses these leaves to make green chutney and other Indian dishes.  As for the flowers, they are blooming beautifully and showing vibrant colors.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the pictures below!

June 6, 2012 vegetable garden.

The peppers.

My first peppers!

A strawberry flower.

An eggplant flower.

My first tomato!

A tomato plant, about 3 feet tall.

Tomatoes section.

Mint leaves. My mom uses them to make green chutney.

Squash plants from walkway garden.

Okra plants from walkway garden.

Corn plants from walkway garden.

Front yard. All 4 lilies are starting to bloom.

Close-up.

Close-up.

Close-up.

Close-up.

Annual hanging basket photo 1.

Annual hanging basket photo 2.

Annual hanging basket photo 3.

A blooming rose.

The same rose, just 24 hours later!

May 1, 2012: Buying vegetable plants – seed packets.

I purchased a few Burpee seed packets from Home Depot and decided to plant them along my walkway in my backyard.  I simply wanted to utilize the free space (previously used for annuals).  I turned the soil as before and added 1 bag of Sta Green garden soil (2 cubic feet).  Here’s the list of plants:

• Summer squash 49er hybrid
• Summer squash early golden crookneck
• Summer squash hybrid zucchini
• Summer squash green gourmet hybrid
• Tomato super beefsteak
• Tomato super sweet 100 hybrid
• Tomato sweet salad hybrid
• Tomato super steak hybrid
• Okra Clemson spineless
• Pea sugar snap
• Cucumber salad slicer
• Sweet corn sweet sunshine hybrid

Walkway mini garden, started from seeds.