It has been two or three weeks since I sowed some seeds into the three flower pots I will be using to grow some herbs in. Since then, I have again been running around, going on an ad hoc road trip, and writing profusely on my PhD. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in that department. But the garden does not stand still because we get busy. After sowing the seeds that I collected throughout the years, I am glad to announce that there is indeed life! At least in two of the three flower pots. Some of the seeds did not come up, but in their place, other life has been taking over... There is always a surprise when you garden!
I have never managed to plant seeds so much and so many centimetres apart from each other. I have always randomly sown my seeds and those that emerge from the ground I later thin out. I love the look of green exploding through the dark soil.
In this recent attempt at growing in these flowering pots, I managed to get some pretty basil seedlings to pop their heads through the soil. If I am not mistaken, some of them are lemon basil, and some common basil. But I am not 100% sure.
When I harvested the basil last year, some of the buckets in which I leave the seed pods to dry got water from extreme rains and I could not put them away quickly enough. Some of the seed pods I could save, but in saving them I mixed the two basils. Now, I am planting and hoping to see what grows!
From what I can make out at this early stage, there is mostly common basil, but some of the smaller seedlings look like lemon basil... I hope.
The amaranth seedlings, as always, have erupted in a splendour of hope. I can already see the dishes I will cook with their tender leaves. From all of the herbs and plants that I grow, amaranth always gets me excited.
So many of them have grown rather big in only two/three weeks. I am always astonished at how fast they grow. In such a short amount of time, some of the seedlings have grown their second set of true leaves! It is tempting not to use them at this stage in a salad. But I might just as well. At this stage, they are so sweet and tasty. But they also hold the potential to grow into big and tall plants, providing many many leaves for me to use.
As I noted above, the second of the three flower pots yielded no basil... But in its place, life seems to take over and nature provides me with an abundance of other plants I did not plan for.
My compost is not the cleanest, in the sense that some of the seeds of the plants that I add to the compost do not "burn". The upshot of this is that I have many self-sowing plants, the downside, I cannot use the compost without knowing that somewhere some of these plants will take over. Gooseberries, wild rocket, lamb's quarter, and so on, are some of the seeds that have "corrupted" my compost. Sometimes, this can be a good thing...
In the flowerpot that did not yield any basil, I now see cape gooseberries and lamb's quarter seedlings, amongst the many others. I think there is also chickweed, or so I hope. But I also see many wild amaranths, which I do not really use (because I am not sure what species they are). But this gives me hope, as we are experiencing extreme droughts at the moment and crazy wildfires destroying local fauna and flora... I just hope that with the rains that will arrive in a month or two that nature will heal herself.
Not getting too hung up on the depressing nature of wildfires, some of my other plants have ended their seed phase or just entered it! Again this gives me hope...
The garlic chives always manage to survive. I have mistreated them in so many ways, but they still manage to pull through. They are now beginning to flower. I hope that this time round I can make something with the flowers, I have seen many unique ways of using them. Keep an eye out for that!
And the Swiss Chard is also ready to harvest, at least their seeds are. They have been prolific in seed production and leaf production. I have harvested so much in both these categories throughout the years.
In any case, I hope that you enjoyed this small write-up or journal entry of my garden. Throughout my neglect and my family's attempts to keep things alive, I still see so much life. Nature does not give up so easily!
May your garden flourish and provide you with abundance!
Keep well and safe.
All of the writings are my own, albeit inspired by my garden that keeps on giving. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300.