September here in the Philippines means more rainy days and plenty of moisture.
So for the garden, it's a good time for leafy vegetables and root crops.
My mother-in-law grows something in front of our house. This month, I took a closer look at the plants she has been caring for, and I thought it would be nice to share them here.
But before that, I had my little companion with me. It's Aiden, my son.
He was walking around with his balloon. Not sure if he was actually interested in the garden or just enjoying his walk, but he was with me, went from one plant to another.
Some of the okra pods had already grown really big. And unfortunately, they had already become too tough to eat. It's better to let them mature and dry so the seeds can be collected and planted again. And there were also new buds growing. And this should be picked while they are still at the right size and tender, before they become hard and fibrous and no longer as enjoyable to eat.
The eggplant was surprisingly productive. It has been producing fruits for almost a month now, and there are still more to come. I can see new flowers and buds growing, while some fruits are already visible. My mother-in-law has already harvested quite a lot from this plant. And she even shared some of her harvest with us.
Some of the plants were hard to manage. Especially that it's crowded and the plant isn't getting enough sunlight. But still it looked very healthy.
My mother-in-law said she's always doing some trimming to help the plants from taking over.
Thankfully, there is an open land beside the railway where my mother-in-law can grow some of her plants. There isn't much space left around their house, and the area there doesn't get enough sunlight for some of the plants to grow well.
The only downside of growing plants in this open space is that the garden is accessible to the public. Sometimes, my mother-in-law would be surprised to find that someone had already picked some of the vegetables before she could harvest them herself.
Like the eggplant. It seems to be one of the favorites. There were times when she would see a fruit growing, then later someone had already picked it before it was ready for her to harvest.
It can be a little disappointing, but I guess that's one of the challenges of having a garden in a place that isn't completely private.
And now that the rainy season is here, I just hope these plants will survive the frequent rains and continue growing well. Hopefully, Ma can still harvest more vegetables from her little garden until November and enjoy the fruits of all her hard work.
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From @mayt