Happy new month / July 2023
As usual I was the first one in the house to wake up. Even the dog prefers to continue being in the dreamland than keep me company so early in the morning :)
The birds though are up even earlier and their singing fills the air while the first rays of the morning sun, are falling on the summer vegetables.
No, I am not in a homestead nor in a farm house. I am in an urban flat, a temporary place that is hosting us for the last four months. We have no land here, not even a small garden but there were a couple of planters with soil in the balcony when we came and @traisto just couldn't stop herself from planting something, no matter how limited the space was!
The first picking was a pepper. Excited as I was to taste the first fruit of our tiny garden I took a big bite...
...and I entered the gates of hell!
What we thought that was a sweet pepper from a local variety, turned out to be the most spicy one that I have ever tasted, almost lethal :)
But we shouldn't let a small setback discourage us!
The cherry tomatoes are progressing beautifully and they are not spicy at all :)
The morning sun was also brilliant and I got a bit carried away taking dozen of pictures! The ripe tomatoes, the green ones, the blooming, even the leaves themself looked wonderful and worth photographed!
The only alarming sign is that dark dot (picture below) that appeared in some of the new tomatoes.
Does anyone know, what it might be?
The basil was planted as a companion plant for the tomatoes but I am sure that we are going to have some pesto before the end of the season, too!
While the pursley (Portulaca oleracea) grew on its own and I am very glad that it did. It is one of my favourite ingredients for a summer salad!
In the picture below it is a small pot with Cretan dittany, one of the very few plants that travelled with us from the island, to the mainland. The chances are that even if it grows well here, its properties will be different, as it often happens when we move herbs from their native place. But the climate is similar and I wanted to give it a try.
And then there are the succulents!
The first one was already here when we came. A hard fellow that grows with the slightest moisture and it multiplies like a weed, thanks to the myriads of seeds that it produces on the edge of its leaves. There were a lot of new plants around it and a neighbour advised us to uproot it but we are very reluctant at killing plants even if we regret it in the future. For now it grows next to the other plants that @traisto planted and they seem to get along just fine!
The second one was a gift from that same neighbour, a very soft and tender succulent that is blooming magnificently. Of course this one is still too young to bloom but the mother plant on the next balcony leaves no doubts about its beauty!
And of course an aloe vera because every house should have one and the last one that we picked up from Athens on our way here.
The "Mother-in-law's tongue" apart from its funny name, is quite vulnerable to harsh sunlight. Its last residence was a very sunny balcony and its leaves were half-burned.
@traisto came to its rescue and she even made four pots out of the original one. So now we have enough for presents too :)
I probably wouldn't plant marigold, especially having so little growing space but @traisto loves them and she even collects the flowers to use them in natural dyeing projects. It is amazing how many of them she has already gathered, from so few plants!
After all it is nice to end a post with #alwaysaflower :)
This is my contribution to the Garden Journal - JULY CHALLENGE of the C/HiveGarden community. There is plenty of time to show us your garden or whatever garden related you want to share with us.
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
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That's some balcony you have there! Thanks for showing it to us.
I am glad you like it!
Thank you for stopping by :)
What a nice garden, all those plants on the balcony! Nice.
I really liked the tomato ones, what a beautiful colour the fruits have. And with the hot pepper I feel sorry for you, it's really horrible, once something similar happened to me and I was for a while with a lot of burning in my mouth, it's as if it burned.
I really like the aloe vera plant, it has a lot of medicinal properties, it's great to have it.
A very nice garden!
Thank you very much!
I think that most people have an unpleasant experience with hot peppers, hopefully only one :)
It was wonderful getting to read this. At least I got to learn that there is a sweet pepper today. In Nigeria here the most spicy one is the best😀. No one looks for a sweet, and practically don’t have any.
Now it's my turn to learn something new!
If I ever come to Nigeria I should be very careful with what I'll be eating :)
Thank you for stopping by!
Definitely my friend😄. For a typical Nigerian, a food that is not spicy is definitely lacking an important ingredient.
You are much welcome...
Awe thank you for sharing this!! In Argentina is winter right now, so it’s always beautiful to see these colors even in pictures!
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed them!
Have a lovely winter :)
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The dark spot at the end of your tomatoes is called blossom end rot. It can occur for several reasons. inconsistent soil moisture throughout the growing season, insufficient calcium in the tissue of the tomato, and Root damage caused by cultivating too close to the tomato plant which can lead to decreased moisture intake.
Thank you very much for your reply, I appreciate it!
I'll probably start with some calcium and see how it goes.
You're very welcome. A good way to add calcium to your plants is to use bone meal. Spread a few teaspoons around the plant. You should see some improvement in a week or so.
I fell in love at first sight with your tomatoes @fotostef
Haha, I am glad you feel so strongly about them :)
Thank you for stopping by!
It is great!
Thanks a lot :)
Very cool garden, you made good use of the space.
Thanks a lot, I am glad you like it!
You bet, enjoy your day
I like your photographs of flowers and leaves very nice. greetings to both of you 🌝🙏
Thanks a lot from both of us!
Cheers :)
The humble tomato is quite the muse! She photographs beautifully! Though everything else looks so warm and inviting, as well. I feel calmer just looking at your collection here. :)
Thanks a lot!
She was a lovely model :)