Harvesting and flowers!

This was the first time I ever tasted a beefsteak tomato. Since I never saw it at the store, I tried to grow one. After four month, this was the first one ripen. It tasted very good, thick juicy meat.

 My fava bean got burned by the heat wave last week and here were some beans left to harvest. They taste very sweet. I was able to eat them all raw.

The sunflower was seeded by bird. It grew very fast. This one was about 3 weeks. I will save them for seed to feed the birds back :-).

 I thought this dwarf pomegranate plant couldn't survice because it was so tiny week and got pest all over it. But this summer, it gave me so many flowers on it's 12 inches tall body.

 The first strawberry. Very big, tasty and good looking.

 These also first harvest bluberry and alpine strawberry. They tasted so good!

 My olallie blackberry gave me just three fruits for the first time. I hope it will survice this summer.

Saving Private...Blueberry!

My bountiful blueberry wasn't doing good in the summer heat. Its leaves were getting dry, also the fruit. The fruit tasted really tart even they looked ripe. I didn't know what to do. I used specific soil for blueberry and add fertilize every month. I ordered the PH soil test and tested it today. The soil wasn't acidic enough but it shouldn't be the reason for dry leaves. Some people on the gardening forum had the same problem with their blueberry in California so I guess the "full sun" rule din't apply here. They said they moved their blueberry to a shading area and it worked great! I gave it a try.

 Leaves were drying.

 Also the fruits.

 I got new soil and re pot the plant to make sure I did everything right at one. Because of that, I found out the root ball wasn't develop much after fourth months. It still has the same shape of the nursery pot when I first got it. I think I made a mistake of not loosing the root ball from beginning. So I gave it a good shake, loosed up the root and re pot it with new soil that had the right PH level.

I hope it will work and my blueberry will stay with me.

Easy Pickers Self watering Planter.

I just picked up the Easy Pickers Self watering Planter at Home Depot on Mother Day Sale. It like the fact that it has the stand on wheels. I already have the DIY self watering container that I made fourth months ago. So far just the zuchini seem to do well in it. This time I want to try the professional make to see any different.

 It just took like ten minutes to assample and it's very light weight.

I planted some chilis, one bitter melon and sugar baby watermelon that I also got at the Home Depot. I moved my alpine strawberry to the bottom of the planter because the alpine strawberry doing well in the shade. My balcony was so hot in the summer that some of the leaves got burned. I wanted to experience with the chillis again since the one I grew on my DIY planter didn't seem like it. I didn't follow the instruction for the soil because I don't have what they asked for so I just used my Organic Dr. Earth potting mix with the all purpose - fertilizer strip in the middle.

The planter came with a black plastic mulch but I didn't use it because it tend to get mold when it contacted to the soil. I used coco fiber so I can take it out and add more plant later. Now let's wait and see if it work as advised.

Healthy kick, plum tomato!

If you ever had a tomato just picked from your garden, you will never want to eat the tomato at the store again. It just taste so different. The one that ripe naturally on the vine tastes juicy and sweet, like fruit. So good that you will just want to eat it like that!

Greek Basil Tree!

I just found this amazing thing called Greek Basil Tree from the local nursery Hashimoto on Sawtelle. It's a basil tree that its leaves taste and smell like other basils. Use in cooking just like others. And it can be grown indoor. Great thing is it look like a miniature tree so I use it in my terrarium pot.

Summer is coming on my balcony garden!

With the help of my boyfriend, I finally got to construct the grapevine canopy for my balcony. I got some wood dowels and the connection parts at the hardware store for under $50. After a whole afternoon screw them together and get them out to the balcony, I got the grapevine tire to the canopy. Luckily the local nursery just had the great grapevine which was 3 years old came to their place. I got the vine to speed up the process a bit since my 3 months grapevine as seen on the front wasn't tall enough. I pruned the grapevine from the nursery heavily so they will produce better grape and grow faster.

I can't wait for the day the vine will cover the canopy and give me a little taste of heavenly garden on my balcony :-)