In the backyard today early in the morning, I saw our Chayote displaying a sizable number of fruits ready for harvest. Perhaps a single fruit bears many gourds.
Right then, I realized how much I adore Chayote or Sayote. The term "sayote" is used locally to refer to the gourd-family vegetable. It is one of my favorites because it contains several vitamins and nutrients that help to strengthen the immune system.
I am very relieved that nature has already provided me with these vegetables. All I need to do is nurture, nourish, maintain it, and clean the surroundings to prevent it from being destroyed by insects.
We do not have a big yard, but it quickly became our pleasure. Growing veggies in the backyard have been a regular part of our life this year. But there is not enough room in our yard to cultivate veggies, so we tried urban gardening.
One of the simplest and most common methods for growing food is backyard and vertical gardening for small spaces, in addition to aiding in the solution of the price increase issue. Due to inflation, the market price costs high for veggies. And we always consider ways to reduce the amount of money we spend daily shopping.
When I was younger, my grandfather told me that growing veggies in our garden could be beneficial so we are ready for the rainy or dry seasons when they arrive. He once enjoys growing a variety of veggies and also fruits. He frequently collects their seeds. He will sow the seeds around our house right away after drying them.
It would be best to plant some vegetables even if we only have a small garden space. Growing my vegetables is preferable to purchasing them at the market because I am unsure if harmful chemicals are injected into or applied to those plants.
Indeed it is more satisfying to plant in my own known space, no matter how little it is, as I can observe the growth of my plants as they approach harvest time. I firmly believe fresh vegetables from the garden are better than those found in markets since they are healthier.
I was incredibly motivated to plant vegetables as I could only pick the fruits I would consume. Naturally, growing it in my yard is identical to producing it in a larger area that needs regular maintenance.
I had an idea three months ago when I discovered that the Chayote inside the refrigerator had matured. I made an effort to put it in the backyard for it to sprout, grow, and bear fruits. When the fruits began to sprout leaves and rise higher, I was very, really happy.
On that one plant, I have thoughts that I can more gourds. Just enough to add flavor to two menus. It is relatively expensive to purchase things on the open market.
It might be priced by the vegetable vendor as much as 25 pesos per piece or 0.50 dollars. We could already save quite a bit of money because of having vegetables and spices in our backyard.
Vegetable gardening is fun and rewarding. I waited until harvest time paid off since my little garden produce grows firm with mighty green leaves and huge stems.
I am so appreciative that it is now producing results. The December tropical cyclones had an impact on it. Even though some of its limbs were already bowed and some were cut off, there are still lots of fruits on the tree.
Meanwhile, I asked for my younger sister’s help. We were both harvestings the gourds together and found out that we could harvest more in the following weeks because it had to bear more flowers.
Although there were still many, we chose to take the ripe for harvest. The green ones will be kept in the vine for later eating. At this point, we wanted a pork-based Chayote recipe.
Tadaa! The harvest is in. It's already a lot. I cleaned them up in the kitchen, and I wanted to make many recipes out of them.
These were my harvests. I picked five gourds. Thinking its price in the market, at 25 pesos each, it is 125 pesos. Perhaps I have saved 125 pesos or 2 dollars for harvesting these Chayotes in our backyard.
Do you have any plants in your garden or backyard? How do you grow things in a small space at home? Which species of plants are those?
I feel more energized every day after seeing healthy plants and vegetables bearing fruits at home. When I see those verdant, lush, and bushy plants, I think my battery is instantaneously fully charged.
I am so ecstatic to see the fruits of the Chayotes that I cannot help but share them here. So please allow me to keep you all informed once my other vegetables produce some fruit.
Disclaimer: All texts and pictures are my own unless otherwise stated.
