Hello, fellow gardeners! How are you all doing? I hope you’re staying healthy and doing well.
It’s been three months since I last shared an update about my garden. Today, I’m back with another update, although, to be honest, my little garden has been looking rather sad lately. I actually started gardening again last month, but I haven’t been very consistent. Sometimes I would spend a day working in the garden, then leave it alone for an entire week. The same thing happened the following week. I still haven’t quite found the motivation to get back into a regular gardening routine.
But today, I decided to spend some time out there again. I started by removing the weeds growing around my plants and tidying up the ones I had planted earlier. I didn’t get a lot done, but at least the garden is finally getting some attention after being neglected for quite a while.
There are already several types of plants growing in the garden. For now, I just need to take care of them and see how they develop over the next few weeks.
A Little Hope and a Lot of Challenges
One of the plants I have high hopes for is my bird’s eye chili. I have several chili plants growing in the garden, although I know they need quite a bit of attention. In my experience, growing chili peppers can be a little tricky. One week, the plants might look green, healthy, and full of promise. But things can change surprisingly quickly if you don’t keep an eye on them.
Here’s an example. Some of the chili plants I planted haven’t been growing very well. Their leaves started looking as if they had been burned, and a few days later, the leaves began falling off until the plants eventually died.
Another problem is leaf curling. This is probably one of the most frustrating things about growing chili peppers. Whenever I see the young leaves coming out curled and deformed, I can only wonder what is happening to the plant. Some of my chili plants started out looking healthy and growing well, but at some point, their leaves began to curl. The flowers and tiny developing fruits dropped off, and eventually, not a single fruit developed.
It’s disappointing when you put so much hope into a plant, only to watch it struggle like that. Still, I haven’t given up on my remaining chili plants. I really hope they will grow well and eventually reward me with a good harvest.
Growing Tomatoes, Again
Oh, there’s one more plant I almost forgot to mention: tomatoes!
Tomatoes have always been one of my favorite plants to grow in the garden. I was quite happy with the results from my previous plants, and being able to enjoy tomatoes that I had grown myself was a lovely experience. That’s why I decided to grow them again. I hope this batch will do just as well as the previous one, or perhaps even better. There’s something satisfying about growing a plant again after having a good experience with it before. For now, all I can do is take care of them and wait to see how they turn out.
Bitter Melon, Green Beans, and Basil
Besides chili peppers and tomatoes, I also have a few climbing plants in the garden: bitter melon and green beans. About two weeks ago, I built a simple trellis out of bamboo to give them something to climb on. So far, both plants seem to be doing well. They have already started climbing the bamboo supports I prepared for them. It’s nice to see some progress, especially after leaving the garden unattended for so long.
However, a new problem has started to appear. Some of the leaves are already being attacked by aphids. I need to deal with them before their numbers increase and cause more trouble for the plants.
There was still some empty space underneath the trellis, so I decided to plant a few basil plants there rather than leave the area unused.
I find basil relatively easy to grow. Once the plants are established, you can keep harvesting their leaves as they continue to grow, as long as you take proper care of them. So, instead of letting that little space go to waste, I thought I might as well use it to grow something useful.
Trying to Grow Papaya
I also have a few papaya plants growing in the garden.
Papaya is actually one of those plants I’ve wanted to grow for a long time. I’ve tried planting it several times before, but things never worked out. This time, I’m hoping it will be different. One of the main reasons I want to grow my own papaya tree is the fruit. I often eat papayas from my grandmother’s garden, and there always seems to be another ripe fruit ready to pick. It feels as if the supply never runs out.
Honestly, I’m a little jealous of that. I want to have my own papaya tree that can provide fresh fruit for the household, too. Hopefully, I can take good enough care of these plants to see them grow big and eventually produce fruit.
Adding Some Color with Flowers
I’m not only growing vegetables. I’ve also planted a few flowers to bring more color into the garden, so it isn’t just a collection of green plants. At the moment, I still have a few older marigold plants. I think I’ll need to replace them once their leaves have turned yellow and the plants begin to decline.
Fortunately, I already have some new marigold seedlings that I sowed a few weeks ago. Now, I just need to wait for them to grow bigger and start flowering. Hopefully, they’ll bring some fresh color back to the garden.
I also have some blue butterfly pea flowers. These plants are actually leftovers from my previous planting, and I originally planned to remove them. But I felt a little reluctant to throw them away, so I decided to prune them instead. Surprisingly, they responded by growing even more vigorously. I’m glad I gave them another chance rather than removing them completely. It’s nice to see an old plant bounce back with a little care.
Making Use of Seeds and Organic Waste
There’s something else I’d like to share about this garden. Almost all the plants I’m growing this time came from seeds I already had rather than seeds I bought.
For example, I collected chili seeds from dried peppers left over from my previous plants. The tomato seeds also came from my earlier crop. As for the bitter melon and green beans, I got their seeds from vegetables my mother had kept for too long and that eventually went bad. Instead of throwing them away, I tried saving the seeds and planting them.
Of course, not every seed will grow successfully, but I think it’s worth trying. Besides saving money, it feels good to know that something we might otherwise throw away can still be used to grow something new.
I also make use of organic household waste to prepare my own fertilizer. Most of it comes from kitchen scraps, such as eggshells, spoiled vegetables, onion skins, and fruit peels.
I try to make use of whatever I have at home instead of sending everything straight to the trash. In that way, gardening isn't just about planting and harvesting. It’s also about learning to reuse simple things that we often overlook.
Learning to Care, Not Just Plant
When I think about it, perhaps the hardest part of gardening isn’t planting the seeds but taking care of the plants afterward. Planting is exciting, especially when you see the first little shoots emerging from the soil. But after that, there are so many things to pay attention to: the condition of the leaves, the soil, pests, watering, and all those little changes that we don't always understand.
I still have a lot to learn. Some plants grow well, while others struggle or die even when I try my best to care for them. Sometimes it gets frustrating, but I know that this is part of the gardening process. For now, I want to make a better effort to spend more time in the garden, even though it isn't very large. I don't want to leave my plants unattended for weeks at a time again.
Looking ahead, I’m also planning to grow a few more vegetables, such as mustard greens, spinach, and other crops that can be harvested relatively quickly. I’d love to make the garden more diverse and, if possible, grow enough fresh vegetables to supplement our daily meals.
That’s all for my little garden update. There isn’t much to show off just yet, but at least I’ve started taking care of it again. Hopefully, there will be more progress to share in the coming weeks.
Thank you for taking the time to read my little gardening story. I hope all our plants grow healthy and reward us with a good harvest. See you again in the next garden update!