The very first pot I planted didn't make it because the kitty cat neighbor played with it. The tomato plant you saw from the first blog was my second attempt. Unfortunately that cute little pot accidentally fell from the table when the gardener was trimming the grass in our patio. I was furious! I've been baby sitting the pot for four weeks and he just grr.... Gotta move on I guess so I planted the third pot.
After six weeks:
So cute right? I just have to wait for some more weeks and I'll transfer it to the Tomato Planter. Here's some information from their website:
The Topsy Turvy® Tomato Planter is the unique and innovative way to grow your own fresh fruits and veggies. As Topsy Turvy® hangs upside down, gravity pulls the water and nutrients directly from the root to the fruit, giving you a deliciously ripe tomatoes! It's simple to use and saves time and space. Just hang it up, place any tomato plant in the planter, add your favorite potting soil, and water daily. The sun warms the plant like a greenhouse, the root system grows and thrives inside the planter. Plus, hanging in the air helps reduce ground fungus, harmful bacteria, cutworm damage, use of pesticides, digging & weeding and backbreaking work. What's more, it can also grow cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, and more, perfect for home-made sauces, sandwiches and salads.
Cool right?
But that's not all. My DH planted sunflowers and me my herbs - Thyme, Sage, Basil, Parsley and Cilantro/Coriander! And these are our babies:
We usually don't put the plant directly under the sun in the afternoon because over the weeks we learned that the afternoon sun is drying the leaves out of each plant. The setup usually looks like this:
The sun shines here every morning so this is a perfect spot for the plants. We put it on top of the chairs because we have like a dozen of kitty neighbors. The sunflower pot has been victimized several times already. Maybe they thought its a litter box. We have two sunflower pots.
See what happened to the other pot. Only one survived:
We also learned that Sunflower seedlings are really sensitive. We originally planted eight seeds in one pot. I was doing my research and discovered that the sunflower plant needs a bigger room for optimum growth. So when the seedlings were about eight inches tall I told my husband to transfer four seedlings to the other pot. The roots are like the hair of a corn cub. So delicate that it broke when we were trying to dig and transfer them. Some got really disturbed causing them to wilt a little and grow slower than the others. Just the other day my DH forgot to put the pot back to the chair. The friendly kitty cat messed it up again! Good thing I was able to fix it right away. They're okay now but look closer into the picture. You'll see that there is a straw supporting one of the stems. It got broken during the "attack". Me and my DH are really anxious to see the flower bloom!
Lets talk about my herbs. I planted the herbs about 4 weeks ago. The first attempt was not successful. I left the pots under the afternoon sun too long. They all wilted. So with the next batch I was very careful.The first three weeks I covered the pots with a cling wrap. According to my research it would keep the moisture and help with the germination process. True it is! The seedlings started to come out as early as the first week.
I found the fiber/pulp nursery pots from OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware). It looks really cute and its environmental friendly. Based from the instructions and information in the packaging there is no need for you to remove the seedlings from the pot to transfer it to a bigger pot or maybe to the ground. The roots grow right through the pot so you can just plant the whole thing to where you want to plant it.
The seeds we bought we're about a dollar each packet. You can plant a lot of pots from just one packet. You can set it aside for your next planting but keep in mind that they do expire.
I am excited to see it mature. I'm excited to cook and use my fresh herbs!
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