I have been busy. Busy in the sense that my days have been filled with activities at home that do not just include work.
One of these activities that has surprisingly been very enjoyable for me is gardening.
My Mother and her Father were avid gardeners. They both had green thumbs and would tend to the lushest of gardens. Before my Mother moved back to Bacolod, she lived with us for a few years and the places that we’d lived in (we moved quite a lot) always had the greenest and healthiest plants.
Except to compliment her on her work, I never really bothered to observe what she does or how she does it. Which is why it was such a surprise that I started going into gardening when we moved into our new place. I do admit that I had attempted to care for basil before but that was it – just an attempt – as I lost interest just as soon as I purchased the plant. They say basil does not need much attention, but it still didn’t last long.
It’s different this time though. I don’t know if it’s the general feel of the place – that “probinsya” feeling, but I feel rather more in tune with nature here. Digging into the ground and getting my hands dirty is such a pleasure. I have my Mom’s gardening tools plus new ones that my husband bought for me, but there’s something about getting my hands in the soil and feeling the texture of the earth and stones and, at times, our earthworm friends. I’ve seen bugs that I’ve never seen before too!
Seeing my plants grow and flower is exhilarating. While there have been some plants that are already growing around the lot, I was a little ambitious and decided that for my first ever foray into gardening, I would start from seed. The internet was very helpful and I found a lot of tips online about how to grow plants from seed, particularly tomatoes.
I found regular and cherry tomato seeds for sale in nearby Puregold Jr., and basil too. I read that tomatoes and basil are companion plants so I can grow them together – that was lucky as I had purchased them both! Something about the basil leaves’ odor drives away worms that harm tomatoes.
My Mom has several small plastic pots and so I used those to allow the tomato seeds to germinate out of the sun for about a couple of weeks until I saw the tiny cotyledon leaves. That moment was very exciting.
It took another two weeks for true leaves to show and I waited until the plants were at least about 6 inches then I transplanted them into the garden at the back of the house. At first I hesitated to move them because the soil there almost felt like clay but I later found out that two inches down is really good garden soil. I potted some basil and some near the tomatoes just so I can test where they would thrive best. Both plants love full sun and that area has sun all day unless it’s raining. The husband built a bamboo fence around to keep our pets away. I know our beagle won’t be able to contain herself once she sees the fruit.
These were the seeds I had bought, some from Manila Seedling that had recently relocated to the QC Circle which is great because it’s so near where we live. Even when I knew I couldn’t grow Lavender in this weather, I still gave it a shot. Nothing happened to my lavender seeds, as expected, as well as the coriander. I did see some sprouting from the ground but they disappeared. I saw that some have grown but I’m still waiting for them to grow further because honestly, I don’t remember which one I planted where.
I’ve also had a couple of successes in growing cuttings from yellow bells and this one other tall plant that yields red flowers. It was so great when I saw tiny leaves after a few weeks of waiting and hoping!
I’ll keep posting about my plants especially how the tomatoes are faring in my little garden at the back. There have been some pests eating away at the leaves but Malathion helps a lot. I do take extra care when spraying it because too much can just damage the plants. I also use fertilizer on them once a week and have pruned some parts to make sure they stay healthy. I should see some fruits pretty soon! Crossing my fingers!
