Updated August 21, 2021
(I have translated this post with Google translation. Feel free to let me know if you see any mistakes)
My God the wait was too long! I couldn't wait to start gardening season. And this year again, the season will have some surprises in store for us.
Despite the vagaries of the weather and / or the difficulties I will encounter throughout the season, I am so happy to start my 3rd gardening season. Gardening is really good for my well being that I could not miss it this new season.
A glimpse of the garden at the start of seasons 1, 2 and 3
This year throughout the season, I decided to document the progress of my vegetable garden so that you can see the various twists and turns. You will be able to follow its evolution from the seed, from the seedlings to the transfer to the garden until the harvest.
MARCH 2021
But which seeds to choose?
Seeds selection
It all started in March when I finally started to grow my seedlings. This year, I wanted to try several seedlings at home. Well, I must admit that I wanted to get rid of the seeds that I had bought 3 years ago when I started my gardening experience. So I had to use them.
At that time, I had bought the seeds without reading the explanatory leaflet which indicated the expiration date. In fact, I never imagined the seeds had an expiration date.
Another mistaken belief on my part, I believed that sowing the seeds on the ground was enough to grow the vegetables. Yes, this is doable for some vegetables in tropical countries. But unfortunately this is not possible in my region. So if I wanted to grow eggplants for example, I finally understood that I had to start the seedlings indoors several weeks before transplanting them into the vegetable garden.
And this is the case with several of the vegetables that I have chosen to grow in my vegetable garden this year: hot pepper (Habanero), eggplant, pepper. In tropical countries, the seeds of these plants, once sown directly in the garden soil, would have ample time to grow well. While in our region with only 3 summer months, if you decide to sow the seeds directly on the ground as soon as it starts to get hot and there is no more risk of frost, it is very likely that the vegetable may not have enough time to grow or you may end up with a fruitless plant when harvesting in the fall.
Growing my own seedlings
So having learned my lesson, this year I proudly started my seedlings of hot peppers, peppers, eggplants and a vegetable that comes from Africa that was sent to me by my mother. It is called "Pointe Noire" but I discovered that it looked like Bok Choy. And I admit that I was well equipped and fairly well organized: small pots, seedling soil, sticks to clearly indicate the names of the vegetables, non-erasable marker. In short ! all the kit needed to grow my own seedlings.
MID-APRIL 2021
But when can we visit the garden?
Quick tour of the garden
By mid-April, I couldn't help but go for a quick visit to check the condition of the garden. But above all to see the work that awaited us to start the season.
Germination phase
Well ! I followed the steps to promote germination.
All the seeds were placed in containers made for germination and to my surprise, a few days later, I saw "Pointe Noire" seedlings. Why is this a surprise? I had been told that it was a vegetable that took a long time to germinate. It was a mistake ! It grows fairly quickly in contact with the sun.
I must admit that in my living room, even in winter, you can easily reach temperatures of 28 C due to the fact that I have a large bay window facing south-east. This means that during the afternoon, the sun is strong. Result, ideal conditions when you want to grow seedlings.
I believe that the plants believed to be in their natural environment. So in less than a week, look what happened ⏬⬇️🤦🏾♀️🙀😬🤔
So I very quickly discovered that the three plants (Eggplant, Peppers, Hot Pepper) that I chose to start the seedlings all look alike when they start to germinate. But this time, I promised myself to avoid the mistake of last year, during which I forgot to use sticks to write the names of the plants to be able to distinguish them clearly.
In fact, last year, I had started sowing tomatoes and cucumbers and I simply wrote the names of the plants in a marker on the small cardboard container. And guess what happened? While moistening the seeds in the cardboard, the marker was erased and I no longer knew which plant I was dealing with! It must be said that last year, I did not yet have the experience that I now have allowing me to distinguish certain plants.
So this year, better organization in order to avoid the mistakes of the past. The plants were stored in different bins and the non-erasable marker was used on the sticks.
Tilling the land Phase 1 - Visit in April 17 &19
The quick visit I made to the garden allowed me to see the state in which it was and thus give me an idea of the work that awaited us.
Of course, it was essential to prepare the soil to receive the seeds and plants. So we had to start by plowing the land and rearranging or preparing the garden beds.
Unfortunately, unlike the other plots of the community garden made up of a group of 20 people, our team is made up of me and my 2 boys, and sometimes two other people come to help us. And when that tempts him, my husband is added to our group, it is true that he worked when we went to the garden while I was available after my work since I only worked in the mornings. However, his absence didn't bother me too much because when he joined us, he tended to prefer to sit down and watch us work.
We tried to go to the garden when the temperature allowed it every day after my work. The advantage of working at home and only the mornings allowed me to spend a lot more time in the garden. I must admit that this has contributed enormously to the well-being of my mental health because nothing is more helpful than working in the garden.
Here is the result of our work. Ah! I must admit that for this part of the job my husband helped us.
"Did you know that? Gardening is good for your physical and mental health"
Help ! My living room has turned into a greenhouse
Well, of course as usual I always do things big. I wasn't sure all the seeds were going to germinate when I planted them all 🤷🏽♀️. I found myself invaded by several seedlings, I had no other choice but to transform my living room into a greenhouse.
Here is the result, forced cohabitation with my tropical plants.
Leggy seedlings ! 🙀😞
Well, here yet another of my mistakes, I forgot that I was still a novice and it is not two years of experience that will turn me into a pro! 🤷🏽♀️😁😂
You see, when I started to grow my own seedlings, I didn't have the presence of mind to document myself. It's seeing this (look pictures ⬇️⏬⬇️⏬) that I discovered that the "seedling becomes leggy when too low light correlates with too high temperatures" Remember what I told you above about the temperature in my living room? After several searches on Youtube, I finally managed to find two interesting videos explaining the phenomenon to me and what to do about it.
Well, it's not my fault the temperature is so high in my living room!
At that time, I couldn't wait for the weather to be right outside so I could start my gardening OUTSIDE. Unfortunately, we still had to be patient because the outside temperature was still too cold. Looks like winter didn't want to leave us.
So, I had work. I had to follow the instructions of the tutorials watched on Youtube if I did not want to lose all my plants. I was a little disgusted but it was my fault and it taught me a lesson. I take this as an apprenticeship and next year I would know what to do to avoid this kind of problem.
END OF APRIL 2021
Is this the last preparation before the big transfer?
Tilling phase 2 - Visit of April 23, 27 & 29
At this point, I just can't wait: Transfer the seedlings that are growing in the garden. I want to get my living room back, my tropical plants want to take their places. The weather outside is starting to get good and that gives me hope.
So I ask my team (my boys and my husband included) to till again and to organize the garden beds well because there was a section with which we had difficulty. It was a section of the garden that was difficult to till as there were a lot of tough weeds and roots that weren't pulling out. A good shovel! And hop ! We managed to create beautiful flower beds. The video ⬇️shows the result. Look also the 3 first pictures ⏬
The photos also show that the bush which was in the middle of the field was cut. The disappearance of the bush allowed us to create a space to install our equipment (last 2 photos).
BEGINNING OF MAY 2021
Is it time to transfer the plants to the garden and sow the seeds?
The plants are ready for transfer to the garden. Yes, as far as I'm concerned ... My living room has been taken by storm, I have no more space, the seedlings are growing well, the plants are leggy and I'm starting to get bored. I want to reclaim the space for my tropical plants because living together is starting to be painful.
Beginning of the transfer of plants / sowing of some seeds in the garden - May 7 visit
I am so happy to be able to make room in my living room. So I decided to start transferring a few pepper and eggplant plants. But one of my neighbours in the community garden strongly advised against it. It would seem that it would be wiser to wait when there is no possibility of frost on the ground towards the end of June to transfer the eggplant plants to the garden.
I decide to ignore my neighbour's advice and take this opportunity to sow the seeds of "Pointe Noire".
1st Frost Advisory: We Didn't Expect It - May 9 visit
Well, that had to happen to me! It is only when I decide to transfer some plants to the garden that the next day we are informed that there would be frost overnight. I didn't have anything to cover the plants so I just had to hope that some plants would resist.
I did not worry about the seeds sown because when we tilled the first time, I had sown the sugar snap peas seeds which I was told that even in the event of frost on the ground it would survive. Well it was the only seeds that I had that seemed to withstand the cool temperature. On the other hand, my eggplants, hot peppers and peppers were affected by the frost.
MID-MAY 2021
Small outing to get the plants used to the garden - May 15
Okay, since the plants I transferred to the garden were affected by the frost, I decided to be cautious as I didn't want to lose my plants by transferring them all to the garden. It would have hurt me a lot to lose them because since March I have worked very hard to grow them. So I decided to keep them at home again.
I also took the opportunity to take them outside because it seems that this helps prepare the plants for transfer to the garden.
Last night before the big transfer - May 17
Ah! At this point, I am hopeful that the frost has just passed so I make the decision to bring all my plants to the garden the next day. Luckily I didn't have them all transferred.
Bye, bye, bye !!! 👋
Transfer to the garden and keep on sowing- May 18 visit
Finally the Big Day! I couldn't wait because my tropical plants needed to get their spot back.
The temperature was perfect so I decided to bring all the plants in order to transfer them to the garden. I also took the opportunity to finish sowing the following seeds: Kale, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Sorrel, Amaranth, Chinese cabbage, Lettuce, Arugula.
END OF MAY 2021
Plant condition following Frost 1 - May 23 visit
During this visit to the garden, I was able to see with great relief that despite the frost, the plants managed to survive. Phew! What a relief because I thought I lost them!
2nd Frost Advisory: We really didn't expect it - May 30 visit
Ouch! Ouch! I didn't watch the weather forecast which caught us all off guard. There was a frost advisory during the last weekend of May. I was starting to wonder if it was a good decision to transfer all the plants to the garden.
But OK ! After the beautiful, almost scorching temperature, we did not expect to have frost. As far as I'm concerned, the last frost was at the beginning of May.
I was too impatient, I couldn't wait to rid my living room of the plants and make room for my tropical plants.
It's out of my control and I decide to adopt a Zen attitude by telling myself: "the strongest plants will survive". And I pray that I can harvest a few plants from the hundred seedlings that I started in my living room. Yes, there were a lot!
"Patience is one of the qualities of any good gardener" Me
JUNE 2021
After the last frost the weather was hot but dry as we didn't have a lot of rain. I found it annoying to have dry soil and it worried me since I had recently sown seeds. And everyone knows that without water the seeds will have a hard time germinating.
In addition, despite the presence of heat, the community garden took some time before giving us access to water. So in order to take advantage of the heat and to germinate the seeds and grow the plants, I had no other choice but to bring large cans of water with me for a few days to water the garden. I must admit that this was not too practical. So I did my best to only water the sections where I had recently sown seeds.
Stronger Plants Survived Frost 2 - June 5 Visit
I decide to go visit the garden to check the condition of the plants following the last frost on the last weekend of May.
At this point, I pray that some of my strongest plants survive and I keep my fingers crossed that I can at least eat a few eggplants, hot peppers or peppers which I started planting all spring.
I saw that the plants resisted and continue to grow well, they are happy 😀 😃.
My tomatoes look funny but they survived.
"There is no point in running, you often have to consult the weather forecast and start gardening in harmony with it"
The plants are happy - Visit of June 17
At this point we have access to water for watering and it has started to rain which ends up making the plants in the garden happy. But also weeds!🌿 😬🙀
We have work to do !!!
First harvest - Visit of June 20, 23 and 24
Ah! Mother Nature is so generous that I am already starting to enjoy the fruits of my hard work. I take this opportunity to harvest "Pointe Noire", sugar snap peas, Kale and some leaf lettuce that I love! 😋😋😉
JULY 2021
Start of maintenance
Okay at this point everything has been planted and seeded and I have no more free space, the plants are growing well but most of the work is mostly just removing the weeds and watering, hoping that 'there will be no unfortunate incidents that will disrupt gardening.
It does not rain much and we try to go to the garden most often during the "watering days" which are the days during which we are allowed to water.
Removing the weeds definitely keeps us very busy and there are a lot of them.
Continuing maintenance: Remove weeds
Ah! Those damn weeds! They drive us crazy! They are clever, I have discovered a few that manage to camouflage themselves while taking the form of the plant they are trying to suffocate. Unfortunately, it happened to me to let them grow because I thought it was the right plant. Or pull out the good plants because I thought it was a weed.
Now I don't get fooled anymore especially as I found an interesting article about weeds that was very educational for me, it seems that there are some that are edible.
Since our vegetable garden is organic, we have no choice but to remove them naturally, that means "by hand". It is demanding work especially during hot weather but we must do it otherwise they will end up choking the plants and slowing down their growth.
But this year, in order to make the work more "fun", I bought stools and parasol and I turn the volume of my phone up so that we listen to good Afro beat music while removing the weeds.
Yes we have work! But good teamwork always gives good results. The following images show this well.
2nd harvest -July 4th Visit
It is such a pleasure to enjoy the fruits of our labor (yes I love that expression!) Some plants grow so fast that I have to harvest them at the risk of not having the opportunity to consume them because they start to produce flowers .
During this 2nd harvest I was able to obtain: kale, lettuce, snow peas, mint, arugula and black tip.
I was able to start the process necessary to freeze the plants harvested which consists of blanching the vegetables.
Unforeseen
Ah! Each season comes with its problems. During the 1st season I had to face the raccoons which bit my watermelons and the Japanese beetles which devoured my squash and watermelon. Last year the deer ate my sunflowers and I was visited by the cucumber beetle.
This new season, it is the hares who have decided that I will not have "Swiss Chard" to eat because as soon as it starts to grow, they eat it. I have Colorado Potato beetles that attack my potatoes, not to mention the tooth marks that appear on my strawberries, which I have never been able to taste since I planted them in the 1st gardening season. It seems that there is a smart animal who uses my garden as an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Well that does not offend me too much because after all, it is we who invaded the territory of the animals, so letting them help themselves in my garden is like a kind of compensation that I owe them.
Herbs and aromatics - Homemade herbs of Provence
Another harvest that is very close to my heart is from my aromatic herbs. This year I managed to have several varieties of thyme and new herbs that I couldn't have had last season like: lemon balm, Greek oregano, lemon thyme, tarragon, fennel, chamomile, peppermint, basil, stevia.
Since I have the necessary ingredients to make my own Herbe de Provence, I gave it a go. It's organic and I don't add any additives.
Evolution of Eggplants
Maybe it's still early to claim victory, but it gives me great pleasure to see how eggplants have evolved. I started with the seedlings, then I transferred them to the garden, they suffered two frosts and they were attacked by bugs but they survived. I now hope that the weather will be good enough by the end of the season so that they can produce a lot of fruit.
Mid-July
After having faced several days of drought, hot weather and finally a few days of rain, the visits to the garden had surprises in store for us:
Reconquest of the territory by weeds which means a lot of work awaits us to remove them
Several plants that have grown
But also the presence of harmful insects which I have already mentioned above and which have not given to my eggplants
Yellow leaves of some vegetables
Garlic is ready for harvest
End of July
I decide to focus on my aromatic herbs which are growing very well. I am spoiled by its abundance and this time I am trying to freeze them and also keep the chamomile to make myself some herbal tea.
AUGUST 2021
Early August
Although there was a little rain, it was not enough and the scorching period involved. 🥵🥵 A whole week of hot weather with temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius. Of course during these moments, going to the garden is not too pleasant. But unfortunately I have no choice because because of the drought I am afraid of losing certain vegetables. Indeed, some have leaves that have started to turn yellow. This means that the harvest may not be too plentiful.
Even if the garden is in a place where the heat felt is less strong because of the trees that surround it, this does not prevent us from feeling the infernal humidity and it limits our movements in the garden. However this did not prevent from making some interesting harvests including the potatoes that I thought I was not going to have because of the bugs that had started to devour it a few weeks ago
I am so proud of my eggplants. What a joy to see them grow like this. I never thought they would survive and give me fruit.
Mid August
That's it ! The harvest period has started for me. From now on, my visit to the garden consists mainly of reaping the fruits of my hard work but also of ridding the garden of weeds. For the moment what is priority is especially to harvest, to harvest, to harvest and to harvest because soon I will not have the opportunity to go often to the garden once I go back to work.
But the harvest is not done so easily because for the past few days we have been living through scorching periods so going to the garden when the weather is super hot, you really have to be a fan of gardening or just be afraid of losing your harvest. In short, we don't have much choice but what a reward!
So I start harvesting tomatoes, my African vegetables and I continue harvesting beans, peppers, eggplants and aromatic herbs. I can't wait to start harvesting my hot peppers as well as the Brussels sprouts. I believe the fennel is ready to harvest.
End of August
Oh la, la! What warmth ! No choice to go to the garden to continue to water to counter the drought. This period, I also took the opportunity to better organize the garden. I had raspberry and strawberry plants that were starting to spread out on the ground but unfortunately I had no choice but to remove them because they were starting to encroach on other plants.
On top of that, I never saw the fruit because either the animals ate it or just because the fruit didn't appear. So I made the decision to replace raspberries and strawberries with blueberries because at least it won't spread. I admit that I am quite satisfied with the work.
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021
Less often in the garden but last harvest
It pains me to see the harvest that I lost due to the drought. All the amaranths have turned yellow. The bright side is that the eggplants grow really well and I managed to grow some habanero peppers and sweet potatoes.
Here is a little preview of my last harvest.
I can't stop being in awe of the beauty of the garden
NOVEMBER 2021
Cleaning and closing of the garden
That's it! The garden season is coming to an end. It's starting to get cooler and cooler, I've finished harvesting everything, we've cleaned up the garden, removing anything that could be blown away. I decided to cover some sections of the garden with straw and others with tarpaulins. Hoping this will slow the rapid regrowth of weeds. We will see it next year. To conclude, I would say that the season was less good because of the drought because I lost a lot of my African vegetables. On the other hand, it was quite positive for the vegetables that I planted for the first time such as eggplants and hot peppers.
Some photos and videos of how we organized the closing of the garden
See you next season! 😜👍🏾
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