Planting in pots

When I lived in an apartment, I used to dream of the day I would live in a house with a yard, however small. So I could put my plants in actual soil rather than lots of little pots. This is something I have heard of from a lot of people. The strange thing is, that now I have a yard and I prefer to grow in pots!

Somehow my results in pots are looking healthier. I have more control over it, from watering to moving the plant in and out of the heat. The beds and borders in the yard, even after tilling, digging and amending the soil are not doing that well. They need more water and are more affected by heat and cold. Why is that? I think I need a lot more mulch. I dont feel like setting up drip lines yet. 

And then there is this lady, who never waters her plants! They just grow from ground water. I don't think I can stop watering altogether, but I would like to water them less. 

Rainy Day

Its a warm day(69 F/20.5 C) with warm rain. Feels almost like the monsoons :-). It was drizzling when I was transplanting the beans and I didn't feel the need to go inside. Its wet and humid, but not cold. I like this rain. By the time I was done, I realized that I was drenched. What fun! Rimjhim gire sawan... 

Happy Summer Solstice

Sunset in the Sierras: June 18, 2011, 8:22 PM PT. Somewhere on 140 while driving down from Yosemite Valley to Midpines along Merced river. 

Wilting Tomatoes

I transplanted my tomato seedlings yesterday morning. There were about 9 of them in a small pot and it was getting crowded. I put the strongest in the raised bed and the smaller ones in large pots. They were about 2.5 inches tall and the temperature yesterday was supposed to be 75 only. I transplanted and watered them and then got busy with work. I didn't have time to check on them until evening. Out of the 8 plants in the bed, 4 were completed wilted and dead! I know I should have checked sooner and watered them again.. but I didn't think it would be so bad. 


Of the survivors, 4 eggplants were very wilted and the 2 remaining tomatoes as well. I was disappointed. They will probably live but take time to recover first. I have setup cardboard cloches for them with holes on the sides. And will be checking on them often. Look like I need a strategy to protect my plants from heat. They were too young to transplant maybe?

See the lone plant in the front left corner. I transplanted it last week and watered every few hours on the first day. That one has been fine.

Full Moon Night

Wednesday night was warm, with a cool breeze interrupting intermittently. And there was a full moon. Perfect conditions to go howl at the moon. No really, it was the kind of night you want to sit out in the moonlight. 


I didn't get to be out for long, my son woke up and I had to rush back inside. I did take some pictures. They are not much, but enough to remind me of the nice night it was. These were taken without a tripod. Need to find the tripod for next time. 

And now tell me what this is:

It's a picture of my bathroom window's sandblasted glass with the moon lighting up the glass through a tree. It looked really beautiful, even though I couldn't capture it in the photo. 

Moonrise over firs

Identify the yellow bug

I have a mystery bug from my garden. I was preparing a pot for planting one of the tomato plants when it came up. I was surprised, since it was deep down in the large 10 gallon pot. I had not expected anything down there, especially not any organism so colorful. I see so many bug that I know nothing about. And I don't know if they are good or bad for my plants - so if I should squish them or not! I didn't squish this one. It appeared scared on being out in the sunlight and was trying hard to escape. I just put him back in the pot. Anyone know what it is?

I will post the name as soon as I find out. 

Garden ups and downs

So the last post about Spinach had no pictures of Spinach and not many details either. So here they are(With a pea plant in the foreground).

(they are just seedlings - what is she raving about!?)

My Spinach is all planted in a neat row at last. I planted it in pots and then transplanted it to the bed this time. Most of the things I planted directly in the ground were eaten right away, so it seemed like a good idea. I am looking at this picture hard since there won’t be any actual Spinach to harvest this time. The temperature here has finally reached the 80s, first time this year. So it’s only a matter of time before it bolts. Most of the other veggies are not doing so well in the beds, though they seemed fine in the pots. I think I used too much compost in the beds and it’s too hot and too dry. It doesn’t seem to be holding much moisture. Lesson learnt. Better stick to pots as much as I can until I can fix the beds. I am thinking too much about these plants.

This is what I have right now:

- Spinach

- Tomatoes

- Bell Pepper

- Eggplant (Brinjal/Aubergine)

- Basil

- Tulsi (Holy Basil)

- Pudina (Mint - I don’t know what kind)

- Oregano

- Parsley

- Dhaniya (Cilantro/Coriander)

- Zucchini Squash

- Peas

- Sunflower

- Cantaloupe (A kind of Kharbuja)

- Chili

The hot weather is nice, it feels like summer :-)


Here is my Tulsi from seed. 

Mint is doing well of course. 

Zucchini is taking off...

When do people start their fall garden? September I guess?

What do you grow in your fall garden? I would love to know. It doesn’t go lower than 30 degrees F (-1 degree Celsius) here, so I am wondering if my Spinach will grow then.

Also, what is one supposed to plant in June? I feel like I should be planting something, just don’t know what! Maybe I will just try my Coleus again, the last attempt failed.

Brentwood on Memorial day

We were in Brentwood for cherry picking on May 30. The kids had a good time, but it was crowded, hot and dusty. The scenery on the way was interesting, as were the clouds. The windmills were a big hit with the kids, they had never seen them from so close. 

Spinach Spinach everywhere

So much to say and no words to say them through. I have never been the articulate one. So even though I scribble here, its far from being an actual outlet :-). But there are so many mediums to express oneself. I am surprised how much I have come to like being in my little garden. Sitting in the backyard with a mug of coffee, reading or working. Watching the seedlings come out, counting the leaves, the odd shaped little ones. It fills me with so much peace. Being outdoors, even in the backyard such a delight - It’s not too hot and not too cold right now.

 Some nice colors on these. Everything looks fresh after the rains. 

Back to planet earth. I love it when the sun comes out after the rain and everything is covered in little drops, shining and sparkling. This hardly feels like summer, it has been quite a cool year. On Saturday we had quite a downpour and everything was shimmering. I need to find more cool weather plants like spinach, nothing else seems to be growing.