Season to please the soul !

My last post was in April , after which there was not much in my garden and also since we were on the verge of a vacation trip , didn't do much . It was sad to see everything dry up and dusty . 

But i didn't stop from sowing some spinach seeds which thrived in any season here at least for me , but guess what i didn't water so it didn't show up . Recently in September started working on my garden again , that's when my spinach seeds said a Hai , they were the first ones to show up , they never fail ! A very huge harvest for a family of 3 . 

 See the seeds randomly sown came up neat :) and yeah this pic just has some that i could hold for a quick pic , but its so much and i had to remove all at once since they were getting to long and had lots of seeds .

The old seeds and some from the compost mixture which i had added to the soil started coming up , turning my backyard into some greenery , it was the best moment ever . Tulsi started showing up in abundance , lovely they are ! 

I started to test a couple of seeds to check if they will grow , like the bitter gourd, beans , ladies finger , they all turned up like a magic , a miracle happening in my little backyard . It such a pleasure to see them sprout , grow , show some beautiful flowers and then turn into a fruit/Vegge , Love to stand there for hours without my mind drift elsewhere , as if they would grow , if i stayed there . I showed the climbers there way and they took the path .

 

Before my little one was born , we weren't sure which gender , ofcourse it doesn't matter as long as She/he is a healthy one , but we were curious to see him soon . Same way every time i turn up in the morning to check my garden , there's a new one popping up , and i'm not sure which one it is , since i sowed a couple of seeds / compost mixture / some that i threw etc etc , but it didn't matter , it was healthy , green and made my day !

Same with the climbers , not sure if its pumpkins, ash gourds , watermelon etc etc , i don't want to research , ill wait to see the outcome , ill let them grow , i'm sure they wont disappoint me ! 

While spending sometime with the greens ! Tried some art work on the wall ! My little one joined me as well ! we had an awsum time ! He loved the concept of painting on the wall as he wished , wondering how i let him to scribble on the wall . Trust me it was extreme fun , a combination of giggles , colors, Air, greens , water ! 

Yesterday we started sowing seeds again , Brinjal , Tomatoes , bitter gourds , tomatoes, ladies finger , carrots , cosmos ! Hoping to see them soon ! 

Bitter Gourd , Beans & the Tattoo Man

Life always surprises us with new things , new people , new relationships , at the end of the day its how you handle stuff that keep things going . But every thing needs a break , space , and and also not to forget to see the value of the old things when new ones are around.

Why i'm saying this is because , hmm ok, a little philosophy but its fine sometimes to go through some lol 

ok coming back to the topic so you understand what i tried to convey and understood from my plants this week.

Its been sometime , to be frank that i had put in some effort to work in my garden , its getting hotter now a days and the sight of seeing the plants drying sooner and the extra effort of watering etc was making me to back off the whole thing , That's when the tattoo man challenges me . Hmm yeah your heard it right , that my maid at home , and that what i call him because of the large tattoo that he has on his hand ,with pride he shows it out, saying he got it done at cheaper rates, He advised that i was going to pay a lot if i had done somewhere else ..I'm in a Tatoo Mode , i need one ,but the thought of not able to donate blood in emergency has put things on hold , not sure how far that true thou ......Anyways so what he did was he just pulled out some of the bitter gourd seeds from the waste that i had kept to add it to the compost and dug it near by the banana plant , which has no much of an improvement from the time it was planted .

He teased my ego saying that he had a green thumb better than mine , is it the weather , everything seems to be germinating faster or is that he really have a green thumb ! hmmp or is it that he understood how to grow in the desert while i'm still learning ! My inner soul didn't allow to back away , but i stood there seeing this grow faster and greener . 

On a other side i was happier because i had given him a chance to grow something in my backyard while i was away with several reasons to keep me off gardening , i at least didn't allow the green go away from the backyard , so its still fine .somethings growing and there's some reason for me to go back and see if i should go back and grow !  See that what i meant new relationships surprise you , They tend to give you a chance to re-live the moment that you wanted to be in ! But that doesn't mean the old ones die , they live as well , showing how you miss the moment you had , like for example my tomato plants which i pulled out to give space to the new , It gave me more than 100 + tomatoes , there were good moments as well , which i cherish and don't want to forget , which grew from the compost , i just gave it a break ! ill grow those juicy tomatoes again for sure , it wont end.

So the bitter gourds are growing - Update as of 13-April -2014

See them flower - Update as of 20-April -2014 -  i'm surprised they are growing in the ground 

Ok so that doesn't stop the tattoo man , he helps me clear all the dried plants and clear up my patch of garden and get ready for new plants .We sow some beans seeds , They have all germinated in 3-4 days in the ground .

I'm working on the compost part , so i have a little more before i actually grow something in the pots . So this means i'm still hanging on to the old , though new things are up .
Old is as important as new & vice versa New is needed to understand what you lack and where you need to improve to keep the ship moving ! New might be temporary but i don't regret to cherish the moments well !  Its worth all the effort the tatoo mans putting in as well, whether big or small , he has in-turn given a chance to relive the moment i wanted to be in ! 

Potato Trial

Its gonna be a quick post , Just took a Potato , Dug a bit of soil in the pot say an inch and dumped the little man into it .
Just to see his heads , if you know what i mean .

Its been 4 days since i did this - just to keep a track noting down this in ma blog ..Will post a pic soon !

A quick Google to this link http://www.savvyhousekeeping.com/how-to-plant-potatoes/ and i realized i'm doing something wrong , same as what the blogger has done , gonna see if i can pull it out and replant !

Hoping its gonna cope ! laughing loud when i wrote the statement ! Don't know why , thinking of Dh ..

Ok as usual will keep you updated !

Update : 

Yesterday , pulled it out carefully , see this is how it looks , its having a lot of roots already .

You can see the Heads/Eyes popping up , So divided this in to 2 and re-potted it into 2 different pots , gonna see if its gonna work .

Update : March 02 -2014

So excited to see the leaves coming up , yahoo looks like the transplant was successful .Both the pot have the leaves popping up today , waving a Hi ! They look so Delicate and vulnerable to the sun's heat , But natures will take care , haven't given any protection ,let see how this goes.

Update :March 09 -2014

My little man seems to be growing strong . Have added a handful of compost to the pot .
See how he looks , So green and Lively .Need ideas how to add a fence or a grill to add more when he grows ! Thinking ...

Update :March 25 -2014

Both are growing super strong until now , hilling them up with soil .

I can see some buds coming up as well, so its a good indicator that the tubers are forming .
The experts say once its flowered , wait for 2 week and check .Then tip the upper portion off and leave it in the dry soil for a week to ensure the skin is kept intact . Hmm lot of work you see , its worth growing your own plants , you see how they grow and all the effort you have put in , and yeah not to mention food gonna taste double tasty and i'm sure you wont think about wasting any food ! 

Update :April 10 -2014

Ok so i pulled out one of the plants in the pots to check , was disappointed to see nothing tuned up , just roots .Have kept the other one , the leaves are dieing down , but i have no hope . May be i didn't hill up much and also the pot might be small , But lets see .

Koorka - Lovely

Koorka /Koorkai called Chinese potato , which is often used at home . Its one of the favorites i could say for Dh .I can see him eating it with all his heart, if you know what i mean  ! 
Koorka Mezhukkupuratti or Stir fried , its taste yummy , and not to mention the moolagutal hmmm i can taste ! Super yummy . But the job of cleaning it, is time consuming  ! Have found a work around thou , just place it in the pressure cooker and just 2 whistles and the skin peels off easily !

ok not deviating , To keep it short , Last time when FIL came from Kerala , he got a bag of koorka and it was consumed , Just saved one , which i repent could have kept some more.
Just stored it in a Moist area , and then i could see there's some growth on it ,  Dug the soil and placed it in a sunny spot . Taada and here i can see some green popping up . Looks lovely , Wikki says its a part of the mint family , oh yeah its resembles it ? but don't smell anything yet , not sure if the source is correct thou .

Anyways It worth growing anything green ! Its a pleasure to see it early in the morning ! its more like a stress buster which give you a lot of positive vibes.

More Experiments More Surprises

Last week was hectic , guess what dh had gone to Amsterdam for some business visit . But for sure it was worth it , haha (laughfing loud ) I'm sure youv guessed it , yeah seeds . I can't just write the amount of blessing and love I have from him , yeah he can so understand what I need . Ok I know I'm blogging relating to gardening , but he's a part of all my experiments yeah ?. 

You need some one to encourage you , say its ok for failures etc etc . And pull you back to the same level of enthuse , anyways so he had visited the floral market for me , called me from there, reading out the list , it was flowers and not vegges , so I didn't need it for the time being . Trust me vegge plants have flowers that look so beautiful equivalent to the ornamental ones .

Anyways once he reached the airport , he could get hold of some vegges for me .He purchased some Yellow cherry tomatoes seeds that had some cute little seed tray or cups , a green house and some cocopeat presskit or tablets which bulged when we poured some water on it . 

Then some purple flower seeds as well don't remember the name check the picture,jalapeno variety, cayenne pepper ,sugar baby variety, cosmos..

 So today was the day when I came back home in the afternoon , little h helped me to put in the above seeds , just wishing them germinate soon , my last batch or the last blogged seeds are still yet to germinate , its quite cold here and nature is taking its sweet time . Waiting patiently checking everyday if there's anything up !

Later thought of testing the soil on the ground , have sowed some spinach , last week aerated the soil and added some manure and compost , hoping these will germinate as well.

Also would Like to add , don't remember or can't track when I sowed the carrot that came from India in a small plastic container , yeah and didn't expect all to germinate . 

I have transplanted it to other small reused bisleri bottles , yeah you heard it right Transplanted , lets see how that goes , but usually the experts don't suggest a transplant , its a direct sow ..but this looks successful.Naming it Aparna ! you know why if you have read my post !

Last but not the least , some greens had come up and was thinking its coriander , but nature never ceases to surprise me , those were carrot saplings, they are growing tall , guess I disposed some seeds there after sowing it in some container , since it didn't turn up I threw it , so nature continues to tell me to sit tight and wait , patience is virtue .

Good nite , will update you'll with more saplings , its spring now as per the festivals celebrated here in Qatar , haven't heard of it in a desert ha , I feel its more of winter , its cold , germination is taking long. Tata.

- Update : Feb 24 . 

Ok so the Green house helped to germinate fast - its less than 4 days ! Wohoo - Im learning !

- Update : Feb 25

Yahoo  sugar babies are up ! 

-March 08 2014

See who's here to see Aparna , a little green wormie. With all the emotions running here and there , with my little one not keeping well , caught a glimpse of this naughty boy .
Don't know how he got here , May be since i added a little compost to the bottle or is it from the Air ! just amazed . Didn't take the effort to check if he was helpful or a pest , just flushed him down , feel so guilty/Sad , he looks amazing .Feeling Sad.

April 13 2014

Remember the green on the ground , They turned up well .
OK the fact was that i was to dam lazy to work in the garden for a couple of days , due to several issues , I don't know if i can say it was laziness, or actually distracted from the main targets i had . OK so after some time i decided that i need to get back , and i have deviated a lot , its time i wake up , have some positive vibes etc , ok i'm overreacting now lol , So yesterday went back to the backyard , and started cleaning up all the mess , which stopped in the middle anyways :) ill do it Soon.
I pulled out the carrots on the ground , i didn't expect this surprise , CARROTS ! WOHOO.
So that didn't stop me , in a sheer excitement pulled out the others in the bisleri bottle , but it failed , they were dam small . Had i given them a chance to grow , they could have grown more big thou there were space constraints .That's the time i realized , it needed more time , The ones that were big were almost 3 month old , while this was lesser .
So what i learnt from the carrots , yeah i can see the same thing in relationships , The more time you give , The more you don't expect , Excitement is not everything , Patience is needed , Sometimes you get deviated , its ok , as long as you get back knowing your wrong and ready to accept that fact that there more things to be looked upon , its OK to start over again , your learning the hard way at least ! 

Beetroot, Zucchini and Others

One of the reasons to grow beet was because of the leaf , I had thrown some left over beet caps in the compost, which had some beautiful leaves later .
Secondly i saw one of the QG members growing it - Alas can we really grow beets here ! is it the right weather etc etc ..Went out quickly to the near by Nursery and picked the beet seeds .. OK that didn't stop there , purchased some zucchini also . 

Usually heard a lot a liners saying grow what you eat ! here i am growing something that i haven't tasted and going to eat since i grew them ! Ayoo ..

But This has in turn helped me to learn new recipes as well. One of the examples were the broccoli .
I have never ever eaten it all my life , Don't know why the look of it made me stop . Ordered a couple of sizzlers many times but have kept this veggie aside . Here i am growing broccoli from the seeds sent from India . 

Ok so what i did purchased a broccoli to give it a try before in hand , and of course as i said in my earlier post My BIL Gandhi boy being a reason as well, it was a super hit in the family , a mild spiced dish of Dal and broccoli , it went so well and i was surprised my Lil devil liking it . Tried some broccoli and cheese tikki - its was ok not the best thou , wouldn't recommend ..
Other Reasons for growing a beet was , we all loved it at home and it pumped in so much of blood as per my in law , Ahim Ahim ..

 Zuchini , Is one of the them i'm growing for the first time as well, It called as the summer Squash or Semai Sorakkai in Tamil , i could grow a winter Squash , so why not a summer squash in a desert ! what say people . Its technically a fruit not a veggie thou - says wikki .

These are seeds that i purchased and sowed it in small coffee cups , kept it aside for germination 

 Sowed other seeds as well like the Moringa , Brinjal etc Will keep you update with the Mains one soon.

Update Feb13 2014: Out of so many seeds sown - Just 2 poped up

Update Feb 25 2014 : A couple of the zucchini are up and have transplanted it to the pots .

Update March 09 2014:

Zucchinis are growing big and green so far , a lil bit of leaf miners here and there , its been taken care for the time being . Can see some buds sprouting up , not sure if its going to be vegges or just flowers .Whatever it might be , just love them grow. Keep growing babies.

And at-last my beets being transplanted , with so much of mixed emotions . Why i'm saying this ? My little one down with fever and is been struggling to get out of it . I'm tired as well , Dh as usual has given my "Me time " .Transplanted them , but then something doesn't look good here , left them straight under the sun , don't know what i was thinking , haven't taken care transplanting this time . Hopefully the beets are going to recover same like my little one. Have covered them ( semi shade ) now. Parenting is not only for children but for plants as well ! learning to do one task at a time ! 

Update March 17 2014:  

Just while my inspiration levels are going down , this one pops up and me smile . Its been quite tiring , My lil one falling sick and then me with ear infection , Dusty wind etc etc . Just praying hard that my plants survive the natures anger ! O yeah and then comes the drop of rain clearing out the sky and now they seem to be ok again . I been following the zucchini everyday to see when it will bloom ! 
Today was a busy morning , woke up late since i slept late last night after reading a book , its been pending quite some time .
Was rushing to office and the zucchini stopped me , "Hey you there , why didn't you follow me today ! " stood still seeing them without a blink . Ahhh there you go , 4 females and one male , lol . Female population is growing ! hahah loved it , quickly hand pollinated the ladies , didn't want to take a chance , wanted them to conceive ! Not a sight of the pollinators around , hmmp , this is making me think why not grow some flowers as well for the pollinators ! 

Update : March 25 2014

Wohoo Partially the hand pollination worked , 2 out of 4 survived . 
The lady is growing big , she's a teen now , need to take care more ! Hmm now i can sense some cats as well in the backyard , being a pest ! They just dig up the soil and leave it messy , had one of the papaya and tomato uprooted as well ! its ok they are just being them self ! so don't wanna feel bad about it ! they need some Entertainment as well , yeah what say !

Update : April 1 2014

Got the 1st zucchini out of the plant, doesn't seem any closer to the pic on the seed pack , but still tasted good, made some Thoran out of it .

Fresh weekend - Rainy doha

Its been a great weekend after a long time. What I mean is a cool weather , no cooking , and u know what's next , yeah it gardening time.

Woke up at 630 am fed little h and wanted to sleep, when dh said lets eat out , don't need to cook this afternoon ,relax. Wohoo , my sleep went off woke up fresh LOL brushed fast and went to my comfort place , my backyard where my plants are.. ok so I decide to clean up the place . Picked all the dried plants , dead plants etc . Replaced pots with  soil etc took me a solid 2 hour . H woke up and I went back to ma routine .

As dh said we had a great lunch , came back for a quick dress change , and went for a movie .The rains had done the rest of the job. Cleant the plants from the dust and pest.

Next day my weekend starts with usual routine , and my BIL Gandhi  comes up with an idea of growing broccoli , lol American broccoli ..don't know what difference it makes ...

Was imagining Harirams broccoli so fresh , o yeah another great green thumb in OTG.

He was also teasing that we don't have to go for shopping vegges later since we are progressing in growing some vegges that we consume.hmm thou that's a long way through, but its good if we can self sustain. Just imagine picking up greens when you want , all fresh...

Ok so in the afternoon when I had a world war two, to put my little one to sleep and didn't succeed ..decided at-least we can sow some seeds. He'll enjoy some open air play time.

H was driving cars and me sowing brinjal, long-yard beans , winged beans , moringa , chilli, bitter gourd , and lastly Bil's wishlist of broccoli .. but an Indian one ...guess he doesn't know that the production rates of this vegge is around 32 % in India and just 3 % in America .. FYI _ And that's one of the vegges I haven't cooked so far ..need to search recipes now ..

Google guru said that broccoli is a good detoxifying vegge , a family of cabbage and it had a ton of Vitamin C and fiber , good for eyes , skin blah blah .. whatever the reason is, thou it also says that it needs a cool climate with rich soil etc , i had sown seeds and left it to the nature to take it up and the eating part left it to BIL and some pests when it grows ..

Drops of rain and we rushed in...hoping the rest will grow soon.

Sharing is Caring !

Thinking how to get some good seeds from India , so i can see my beautiful Qatar being green - of course not the whole part - but they say drops of water make a ocean, LOL quotes right yah !So here i am thinking how to sustain and go green in Qatar by working in my little space at the backyard , thaaaada OTG and people !  put a quick post asking if someone could help .And there she goes Aparna george raising her helping hands ! 

Was happy to see the post , trust me i didn't expect someone sending seeds all the way from indian to qatar expecting nothing ! Dam do such people still exist ? I forgot about that post later ...managed to get some seeds and started growing the possible vegetables available in Qatar.

New year i get another message saying that she will send seeds and she got ma address , frankly speaking i was over excited , but calmed down ,thinking if it will reach here, because when my marriage invitation was sent by a courier by my parents to Dh , it took a whole two months and by then i was married and i was settled here , Dh teases me always .

Here you go , surprise - Dh calls and says there's a parcel ! and your seeds are here ! I didn't believe thought he was teasing me - asked him to send a pic .Wohooo right on time , its going to be weekend and guess what, ill be in a seed mode again !