Passion: Growing food plants in apartment garden (1).....

Arugula.........the mustard family plant is good as salad or cooked...
Sown some seeds in pots in early  June...in barely few days the seeds sprouted....
In two months they should be ready to consume....

Mustard.............the seeds have thinner wall......and expected to germinate anytime, now they are a week into sowing.....
Well, they germinated and now more than a inch..........

Spinach..........
Shown in early June..........took a couple of days to germinate...

Chard........
It has bigger seeds, thick wall and likely to take longer for germination......
Well, they germinated in less than a week....seasoned gardeners recommend to soak the seen 10-15 minute before sowing to facilitate germination...
Oh! How delightful it is to see the tiny reddish radicle....now, my seedlings are two-leafed...wish, all of the seeds to have germinated....got only 3 out of 10-15 seeds I had sown....

Most of they germinated....but my ignorance of sowing them in South California harsh sun killed most of the fragile saplings...
As temperature dropped, some of them are looking good..

Mint......I thought its invasive and very easy to grow..must past attempts were futile.........all the planted stalks got rotten....have planted some yet again........to be seen, if they survive.........

Finally one survived...already started sending suckers...hope it proliferates..

Purslane.......

I know its richness in nutrients......though this edible weed grows anywhere, everywhere, they are tainted by roadside pollutants...so, I wanted to plant some purslane...

While shopping some fresh produce in the local open air farmer's market, I came across this impressive, luscious bunch of the greens at $2.......got one and planted the thick stems....

To ensure at least a few survives, planted in 3-4 different pots...excited to pluck the tender twigs in weeks and use in stir-fry..

Its's nice to see all of the survive and develop stalks of their own.......in a week, they can be harvested.....

Also I have sown some parsley, chives, oregano and thyme seeds........except parsley, all are sown directly to he soil.........parsley seed has thick wall, so it needed soaking for 12h........In a pot, I have made quadrants and I have sprinkled the seeds in their designated areas........waiting to see how they will do........

From past experience, I know, most herbs start well...but, then turn lanky and and get ravaged by bugs...I have to be careful.......
And failure is part of gardening journey, like life itself....
Rule is to keep trying...and learning from mistakes... Other plants that can be grown in planters......pea, cress, mache........ Other foraged plants: Cattail, lambsquarter, purslane, nasturtiums leaf, knotweed, dandelion......except purslane, I have not tried the others.. Alos tender shoots of fava bean and sweet pea can be used in salad.....

Photography: Black background........

A posy of rosemary.........

Passion: My kumquat plant...........

The potted kumquat plant is the only fruit plant I have in my patio garden......(though in near future, I aim to add lemon, fig, grapes or any other container-fit fruit shrubs)....

Its doing great....week back, I had added some egg shell powder to them.....

Its exciting to see the tiny plant loaded with hundreds of fragrant blooms..........I hope, soon bees will start visiting and I can see tiny green fruits.........

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Well, things did not work as expected...
The profuse blooms grew into tiny green fruits...but, soon they dropped off...
May be some nutrient deficiency....or too much sun...or may be water..
Need to figure out...
The plant is amidst its second time flowering...
I will worry about the fruits later...currently, I am basking in its fragrance...
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I had added some fertilizer...
The blooms appeared for the second time, towards the late summer...
This time some of the fruits persisted...may be food, may be climate...or perhaps both helped...

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Lots of fruits in October....can't wait to see them ripen..
The orange are the last year's fruit, that came with the tree..

Passion: My gardenscape in June......

Like everything in nature, the look of garden changes with season...so, I decided to save the current state through the blog post........

Kalanchoe seems to be doing well......getting full sun, but the flowers are not scorched, as feared..

The $11 rose plant from Costco has big pink blooms....to see how they will do in my patio....

Arabian jasmine is currently in bloom.......but the flowers are smaller in size and less fragrant........must be the time to change the soil.....for I have not replaced the bottom soil since more than a year, though I have added top soil a couple of times....

This pothos was gifted from a lady in a serendipitous situation...as she was getting ready to leave California for her home state in East Coast, she saw us existing from the local Lowe's store and coaxed to adopt her plants...my spouse resented accepting those from a stranger.......but, my eagerness led us to her house where we picked it, plus the beautiful plant below it......

This arrowhead vine I bought 2- years back, never gave any trouble and still going strong..

This jasmine is far too thin, then I would like it to be, but survived the prolonged shaded balcony of previous house that itself is miracle...I hope to see lush greenery in coming months...

These jade plants are from cuttings I picked from the Mission San Diego garden.........the historical church was a very crucial part of my San Diego time...now that I have left the place, at least I have some living memento from there......

The bougainvillea too became victim of lack of sunlight.........I hope, it will be loaded with blooms now that it gets abundant sunlight...

Same goes for the ixora......I believe, now it can have healthy, long-lasting bloom clusters......

Gardenia is not a heavy-bloomer...but when it does compensates for that, what with its big, milky-white, fragrant flowers....

Its a new member to the garden...so I have no experience handling it.....to be seen, how it does.......

Its my third mandevilla.......I love their brilliant trumpet-like flowers....learnt from past mistakes not to over-water and to be alert of aphids......

Areca palm is the oldest member of the plant assembly........I bought it to keep as an indoor plant....however, it was kept outside the entire period.......

Coleus is more like a filler...adding some contrast to the green.......it too reacts badly to water-logging and caterpillars are perpetual threat.......

Non-hybrid roses are bug- as well as stress-resistant ......plus their fragrance is sweet....

The yellow hibiscus is blooming.......

This aeonium is another plant I got from the Mission San Diego garden........

Hydrangea is another new plant for me........yet to learn its ways.........likes and dislikes.....

Asiatic lily seems done with blooming. I hope the tubers stay alive sending new shoots soon........

The kumquat plant shows sign of bloom......if it does well and fruits are borne, I plan to make pickle of the them.....high hopes :)

It will be interesting to document the progress and snags every two month or so.........

Joy: Farmers market fruit.....

We visited the Farmers market.......and hauled a medley of stone fruits home.........
Nectarine..........

Apricot.........

Plum..........

Also some peach...........
Do not they look luscious.....mush fresher than the regular grocery stores....and costlier too......