Good morning, 
There’s an invasion in my garden and I’m both amazed and amused!
After yet another heavy downpour last night, I went out this morning to check on the new okra and African spinach we planted. It’s been just over a week since my mum and I sowed the seeds. We gained extra space for the garden when my brother, a fish farmer, relocated his tanks to a new spot in the house.
Yippee! More space for our garden extension. But I had my fears; this part of the land had never been cultivated before. Before the rains came, Mum decided to enrich it with manure from her goat house and some black soil, since the area is mostly sandy.
When the rains returned, we planted okra, African spinach, and jute, alongside our all-year-round plants, such as scent leaf, bitter leaf, cocoyam, pepper, and tomatoes, which thrive with regular watering.
However, this morning, while admiring the new sprouts, I noticed something unusual: an invasion of plants we hadn’t sown!
Upon closer inspection, I realised they were tamarind plants sprouting rapidly, like wildfire. I was stunned! I never imagined tamarind could germinate so easily.
A few days ago, when I first noticed a couple of them, I thought they were stone breaker plants because the leaves looked quite similar. But today’s closer inspection confirmed they are definitely tamarind.
Now, here’s the funny part. Tamarind is one of the ingredients I use in making my healthy drinks. I usually dispose of the seeds with the leftover water in the garden, and I never thought they could grow. Those seeds are hard! Yet here they are, thriving.
I feel amazed, happy, and a little sad all at once. Amazed because I never imagined the seeds would sprout so easily. I am Happy because if tamarind grows this well, it could be something promising for my drink business.
But also sad, because I’ve seen a tamarind tree before, and they’re huge! I don’t have that kind of space in my garden or anywhere around the house to accommodate one.
From what I’ve read, it takes about four to five years for a tamarind tree to grow big and start fruiting. Now I’m torn: should I let them grow, or hope they die off naturally after the rainy season if I stop watering them? They do look quite cute, though!
On a brighter note, our okra plants are growing beautifully this time, and I’m praying for a good harvest since last year’s didn’t do well. One of the recent heavy rains even washed some seeds to new spots, and they’re now sprouting in those unexpected locations too.
Thank you for stopping by. Wishing you a fruitful day ahead!