posted by Ashalah on Gardening, Life

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I’m sad to announce that there has been a death in my little potted garden family. My cucumber, which survived drought and then flourished quite nicely, succumbed to the monsoon we had the previous weekend. Poor cuke got a little too waterlogged in it’s pot and despite my efforts (that were just shy of taking a hair dryer to it), it shriveled up and died.

While my cucumber hated hated hated all that rain we got, the rest of my plants loved it and took off like freaking weeds. I currently now have a garden of overachieving plants and I’m starting to wonder what I got myself into.

Let’s take my jalapeno plant. Now, here’s a not-so-very-secret secret: I don’t really like spicy food. I mean, I do but I…don’t. Not really spicy anyway. The amount of jalapenos my plant is producing however leads me to believe I better get to work on liking super spicy food because I have enough to feed an army of people who REALLY like spicy food. My solution? Besides the jalapeno cornbread and the guacamole I just made, I’m going to pickle my jalapenos! Have I pickled anything before? Nope. No matter, though, because I’m going to learn!

Then there’s my tomatillos. You know that movie in the 80s or 90s with Arnold Swarzenneger and Danny Devito where they are very unlikely twins? I have that going on in my backyard right now. I have a tomatillo plant that is taller than I am and I have a short, squat one that is growing wider than it is tall (see: photo below. They are right next to each other). If you told me they were the same type of plant I would never in a million years believe you if I hadn’t bought them myself. I was worried because of their vast differences that they wouldn’t get along and mate properly and I’d be stuck with two enormous plants that didn’t produce any fruit.

Well folks, they sprouted ten tomatillos between the two of them almost overnight. And more are starting to grow. I will have green salsa coming out of my ears by the end of this. Didn’t I just say I don’t really like spicy food? What the eff was I thinking with this garden?!?! And yes, I realize tomatillos aren’t spicy but salsas are. I’m going to need more recipes with tomatillos in them.

My tomato plants also are doing quite well. The Sweet 100 (I think), which has the small cherry tomatos has tons of little tomatos all waiting to turn red and some of them have. They’re delicious. My larger tomato plant has four large green tomatos on them but my mom says that because of the heat, all the flowers dried up so I’m going to have to wait til it cools down to get any more out of that plant since it is no longer flowering. Also, my theory that the tomato plant does better in the topsy turvy is currently being proved wrong. The thriving cherry tomato plant is in my big pot and the plant in the topsy turvy isn’t producing. Sooo there goes that idea.

Other than that the rest of the garden is coming along quite nicely. Along with my pickled jalapenos, I’m planning on making rosemary and basil olive oil and also my apple rosemary vegan scones I made a couple years ago (which are amazing). I also have to figure out what to do with my monstrous mint plant that’s taking over one half of my deck. Aside from putting them in my water bottles for minty fresh water (yum!), what else can I do with mint?

I’m kind of bummed about my cucumber, I wanted to make pickles (I bought it specifically because it was a type of cucumber that was good for pickles) but maybe next year I will try again and have more success. Mainly because I am going to throw out my two window box planters. Last year they also got waterlogged, despite having holes in the bottom, and since it happened once again in just a couple days of rain, I’m going to get rid of them. No more killing plants!

Oh. Er. That reminds me. My two year old jade plant that hasn’t grown a single new leaf finally bit the dust the same day the cucumber withered and died. Every leaf on it fell off in one big gesture that also managed to involve a lot of mushrooms. Don’t ask, I don’t even know. That would be jade plant #2 I’ve killed. Reminder: do not get another jade plant.

There’s my little potted garden update. As usual, tips/tricks/advice are always welcome.

Pssst, have you entered to win a ticket to #UnWined? There’s free wine involved, I’m just sayin’. 

Tags: My Potted Garden