And here are my new babies for the backyard: bok choy, hot and sweet peppers, red-veined sorrels, green French sorrels, oregano, Flora-Dade tomato, Zinnia, celosia, blanket flowers, and calendula.

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Everything is in.

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But I have to spread some whole cinnamon sticks around these plants. The neighbor’s cat has already dug up and spoiled tomato, lettuce, and tiny saplings of tung ho.

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Even though two beds are almost broken, I still have two beds to grow more food. I also have some good soil to get started. The only thing I need to work out is how to keep cats and iguanas out. I have some chicken wire lying around in the garage. I need to borrow tools to set it up one of the weekends.

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I think Amrita the Mango Tree is still not well. Not too many flowers this year. Going to wait another few weeks before I get her some fertilizer.

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Here is the plan for bringing more greenery for native and local friends, like bees, butterflies, and birds in the backyard. Plant native ground covers sunshine mimosa and frog fruit.

As usual, the challenge is going to be finding a nursery nearby. So far, the closest nursery is in Sarasota, a 3-hour drive from home. I need to go plant hunting over the weekend in local nurseries first. Not all of them have updated websites reflecting their current stock.

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Dormant (late fall-winter) and flourishing (spring-summer-early fall) stages of sunshine mimosa in my garden.

I love it in the dormant state, too.

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Hmpf! Because of rain and work, I couldn't shop for cinnamon sticks in bulk. But today, I am going to make time for it. The cat has again dug up. This time, she went for bokchoy and pepper plants.

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Cinnamon kept cat away last night. Phew.

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I have a lot of old seeds and multiple varieties of seeds for the same things. For example, I have four varieties of Nasturtium and some five-six types of marigold. This year’s goal is to use all of the old seeds. If they grow, awesome. If not, no problem.

That's why I planted some of those seeds today.

Today, I planted seeds of nasturtiums, blanket flowers, red amaranth, green amaranth, and tinda (an Indian variety of squash).

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I am also growing something only because one of my friends misses her food in China. I can't grow everything, so I am starting with growing her favorite green tung ho. Once they are ready, I plan to send them to her. I love doing this! I want to grow friends’ favorite food and flowers. I used to ask people, but nobody ever took it seriously. So, this time, I am happy because somebody genuinely shared something with me.

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Preparing ginger and turmeric for planting later in the evening. Both are store bought. Turmeric took a long time to sprout.

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I was watching this video about burying kitchen scraps in the garden. I have been doing this for the last year. https://youtu.be/yQFB9M2UdK0?si=GakCpf--Nrnu5aMQ

But this guy also buried dead birds that were part of his farm. I don’t have birds, but I have a lot of bird feathers that birds drop. Today, I learned that there is something called feather meal fertilizer made using feathers. In a nutshell, organic matter seems to work well for the soil.

Having good seeds is not enough. The game changer is to build your soil. Let it breathe, grow, and develop its underground community (mycorrhizal fungi).

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Red containers have ginger and turmeric. Black grow bags have potato eyes. It’s been years since I have grown potatoes. So I don’t know how successful I am going to be.

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In desperation, insanity, or just for fun, I spread old wildflower seeds on this bed. :) In another few weeks, we will see what happens here. Either it will be a huge success or a colossal failure. Either way, I won't have it another way. This is my experiment bed this year. It has poor soil and minimum plant food, but many old branches are in the base.

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Tung Ho seedlings are doing well so far.

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#TIL that, like tomatoes, potatoes are also determinate or indeterminate types. Whether you need to hill them depends on the type of potato. I am trying to grow enough potatoes to last six months. This is very timely information.

I have to change my strategy now. I got potato seeds for the first time. The plan is to grow them and save some seeds for the next season. If I do it right, I might not have to buy potato seeds again.

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This is a five month old video of us discussing birds and berries. The reason I leave the berries on tree is they are good source of nutrition for birds in winter. Even today, this tree with dried berries and almost bald branches attract most number of birds. Beautyberry is a native plant. Needs no attention. Happy on its own.

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I am going to be shameless and ask people for their neglected and forgotten containers in their gardens. I will at least grow something in them. :) I will share the harvest for sure. I have given away many containers just like that to people many times. I think it won’t be wrong to ask. Right? I am only looking to save on my costs.

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When I was struggling with postpartum depression (PPD), I bought a lot of grow bags and soil. My garden and strength training literally saved my life. Anyway, today, when I was cleaning the garage, behind a box, I found three more grow bags. So, now I have three grow bags and four more reclaimed containers. This makes me happy because I can plant more turmeric and ginger tomorrow. Next week, I will have more containers for growing potatoes. This feels so good!!

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Because I won't be able to use all the raised beds this year, all I can think about is how to get more containers, grow bags, and what not to grow more food. To be honest, I love being single-minded and trying to grow more food and flowers again. Last year was really tough. It is time to bounce back.

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I ordered more soil, compost, and slow-release fertilizer. This year, another project is slowly building soil health in other parts of the backyard. It will take time, but I am patient. In another year or so, more colors will be around my home. More places to rest, more food, build home for birds. That's the vision.

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Spiders don't need any help from me. :) I found it at the Jasmine plant this morning.

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This morning’s 15-minute break was spent planting French marigold seeds in many tomato and pepper containers.

Then, this corner already has some wildflower seedlings that I threw two and a half weeks ago. I have randomly mixed seeds of French marigold, echinacea, salvia blue, chamomile, and anise hyssop in the leftover space.

All of these seeds are 4 to 2 years old. I don’t know how viable at this point. It’s going to be fun if these old seeds pop up. Imagine the riot of color in this 4x4 bed.
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I know there are too many of them in a bag. But, just look at them. They are happy. This new soil+compost+warm castings combo is giving me great results in other containers, too.

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Finally, gingers are popping! It took them 15-17 days to appear. I'm sharing this in case you are looking for numbers. The weather has been between 65 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and it's getting warmer slowly. I guess because gingers are tropical, they want more heat.

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The baldie mulberry tree has new growth. I knew I was taking a calculated risk when cutting the tree down to the bark. But then, that's what makes working with plants and soil so exciting. Not a single day without something new and exciting to see or learn.

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