There is always work to be done in the garden but there is also always a new spirit to welcome the various garden jobs.
I never count feelings but time can never be paused or stopped. I feel like time flies so fast right now! I have been in a new place for two months without realizing it.
The first month was about the new garden design while I was fasting to worship for a whole month so there was not much I could do. At the same time preparing the land to be ready to be used for planting.
In the previous first month, I chose water spinach plants as a start because I didn't need to wait to sow the seeds first. Water spinach seeds are quite large and hard so they don't rot easily when planted directly in the planting medium without a special seeding medium.
By planting water spinach as the first plant in the new garden, time is also utilized well so that the garden remains productive. Of course you can see my process of planting water spinach plants in my limited new garden on my previous blogs.
Continuing in the second month, I am more focused on preparing the sowing of other seeds. Also, I will focus on making my own compost because I am starting to produce household waste that must be used for something useful in my opinion.
Before I harvest the water spinach which is already 25 days old and ready to harvest, I will sow it first. I have bought baby green beans seeds, also bitter mustard green seeds.
Sowing Activities
Baby Green Beans
I have bought green bean plant seeds but with the baby green beans variety. In addition, this type of green beans is a non-vine green bean. With a type of plant that does not creep, of course it will save more space.
There is another story behind the selection of this type of green bean plant with a non-vine variety. Actually, in my old garden, I had planted green bean plants of the creeping type twice. But both of them never reached harvest. In the second planting session, I only managed to plant them until they bore small fruit, but they couldn't grow bigger because the plants were damaged on their creeping stems. Maybe at that time my old garden had too hot temperatures and weather.
I didn't give up yet. I searched on Youtube about the types of green bean plants that might be easier to plant. Then, I found the Baby Green Bean Kenya variety with a non-creeping stem type.
There are two types of green bean plants that don't creep, namely those with white seeds and those with black seeds. Meanwhile, the type of green bean plants that I bought was the black seeds type.
I used a seedling tray that had 32 seedling holes. The size of each seedling hole is also quite large so it is suitable for plants with large seedling seeds like these green bean seeds.
I filled the holes in the seedling tray. Because the land in my rental house area is limited, I had to buy ready-to-use planting media. The ready-to-use planting media already has a complete mixture that is nutritious for plants. Contains a mixture of good soil, rice husks, and goat manure.
Then, I made a small hole on the top of the planting medium with one hole per seedling box. After that, I put the green bean seeds one by one into the seedling boxes and then covered them again with soil.
I put the seedling tray in a shaded area. I put it on the terrace of the house that has a roof so that it is safe from rainwater. I also always make sure that the seedling planting medium is always moist, but not wet. Of course, if the soil is dry, the seeds fail to sprout. But if I water too much which makes the seedling soil too wet, it will cause the green bean seeds to rot. All of this requires balance, not too little but also not too much.
Two days later, the green bean seeds began to sprout. Just like human growth which is never the same in time.
There are seeds that have sprouted and others there are seeds that have not sprouted and that doesn't matter at all. In my opinion, nothing is perfect in this world.
Bitter Mustard Greens
I have planted various types of mustard greens in my old garden. I will try to plant a new type. I decided to plant bitter mustard greens in my new garden.
Just like most mustard greens, the seeds are very small. So I have to sow them first in the seeding medium.
My seedling trays are limited and I have used all of them to sow green beans. I have another idea to make a seedbed for bitter mustard green seeds.
I used a used mineral water gallon. I cut it into three parts. The top, the middle, and the bottom. Meanwhile, I only used the top and the bottom so that both could close tightly.
I have a seedbed container that can be closed. With a closed container like this, it can protect the small seeds from the rain. Also, this will keep the seedbed moist so I don't need to water them too often.
In two days, the bitter mustard green seeds began to germinate. But I will still put them in a shady place.
At least later I will diligently check them every day and move them according to the intensity of the sun per day. The seeds that have germinated will need sunlight so that the growth of the plant seedlings will be good later.
Preparing Ingredients For Making Compost
I was only able to prepare various ingredients for making compost this month because I had finished with the Eid al-Fitr moment for visiting several relatives and new friends in my new residential area.
So, I will be at home regularly and automatically I will always cook for daily food. Cooking means that it will produce household waste. The simplest thing is about leftover vegetables that cannot be cooked, or skins of kitchen spices such as onion skins, potato skins, and so on.
With the kitchen waste, I will also turn it all into compost. In my old garden, I also used to make compost regularly.
Compost is very good for being used as organic fertilizer. It will also save money if I can make it myself at home. It's just that, it takes 2-3 months for compost from household waste to be used with a texture that is similar to soil, and no longer smells.
I started preparing a container for temporary storage of kitchen waste in the area under the kitchen. Before I later bring the kitchen waste to the composting container.
Next, I also prepare brown waste for composting equipment. Brown waste can use dry leaves or cardboard. I have a lot of used cardboard at home. So, I will use unused cardboard as composting equipment.
I cut the cardboard into small pieces so that it can be decomposed more easily together with kitchen waste and soil. This can really reduce kitchen waste without just throwing them into the public trash.
Looking At The Beauty Of The Garden
The day after sowing, I also harvested water spinach plants that were 25 days old after planting without transplanting (because it was done without special seedlings in the seeding media). Before harvesting, I enjoyed the beautiful views created by these vegetable plants.
Organic water spinach plants look very fresh. Besides, they look so smart to captivate my heart with the beauty they create. Look at the following photo that I took at 6 am before the sun really rises! The beautiful color of the sky combines with the freshness of the water spinach plants.
With a little land left in the house area but actually quite productive and I am very happy that I can quickly adapt to my new garden. Actually thinking about everything is a bit dizzy but that's a hobby that makes me feel alive, besides cooking of course.
Time To Harvest Water Spinach Plants
I harvested water spinach plants accompanied by the rising sun. The warm sunlight touched my skin. It was a fun activity to harvest fresh vegetables while bathing in the morning sunlight!
This time, I harvested water spinach plants without removing all their roots. I only cut their stems so that they can grow shoots again. I will wait for them to grow into a new cycle again until harvest.
The results of the water spinach harvest that always amaze me! As usual, I will share this harvest with new friends in my new environment. Gardening hobby that brings happiness! Hope you also have the passion for gardening! See you on my next garden journal!
Best Regards,
Anggrek Lestari
Anggrek Lestari is an Indonesian fiction writer who has published two major books. Now She is a full-time content creator. She has a goal to share life, poem, and food content that makes others happy and can get inspiration.
Contact Person: authoranggreklestari@gmail.com
Discord: anggreklestari#3009
