whiskeynovember - Tumblr blog

[whiskeynovember]

It's been a while, and with good reason...

the heat this year made things really... crispy bad. dry, crispy bad. the only plants to survive were the peppers (some better than others) and the eggplants.

the tomatoes are growing, but not producing fruit. beans crisp. winter squash crisp. pine berries crisp. collard greens crisp.

most of the herbs except for the sage did well. no more pineapple sage for me. that's the 3rd time and I'm over it.

mint will be an issue as I know damn well I've been too lazy to collect the seeds so I may have some rogue herbs near the patio.

I just couldn't be assed to try as hard given the weather. If it died, it died. the winter squash is trying again and a few beans that rested during the summer are now sprouting. nasturtium is popping up on its own and I've been surprised with the 2 Romain lettuce growing in one of the pots.

I'm going to try to do a fig tree from the seeds I got while harvesting a rouge fig tree. 😂. that will be my only experiment this season. I'm excited to see if anything grows, but I also am aware of how fickle they can be.

other than that... I'm growing a plot of garlic in the area that stays a bit dryer in plot 2. I kind of forgot where I put the bulbs, so I may pop in some more when they start to sprout.

wouldn't mind popping in a few onions as well, honestly.

added one more yellow squash. I'd like to see that area a little fuller.

tended the pine berries. I don't know if a few of the stems can be salvaged, but I tried and also popped in a few seeds.

more seeds for the basil as well. I no longer have any holy basil. that one is super hard to grow. I wish I could have harvested some seeds from last season.

that's about it. other than packing some fertilized mulch around plot 1 eggplant and tomatoes and tended to the eggplants and peppers in plot 2, it should be pretty stable.

[whiskeynovember]

a ✨baby✨

[whiskeynovember]

New leaf on the amazing Alocasia Cuprea that @opabiniart got me 🥹

[whiskeynovember]

jungle_collective: Alocasia cuprea

Alien leaves 👽

[whiskeynovember]

The first leaf for this alocasia Cuprea under my care. I love this alien looking leaves!

[whiskeynovember]

it's been ridiculously hot and with that I've lost most of my basil, 2 new pepper plants, my stevia, tangarine sage, one of each winter squash plants, and some of my pine berries.

part of me is upset, but part of me realizes I can't control the weather and I've done the best I can do...

i might return the peppers. they're under warranty and I might as well. the rest are just kinda fucked.

that's for another day.

today I chopped up my monstera deliciosa and put them into either water or moss. it was getting too big in it's pot and overwhelming. the moss pole was tipping and it was only a matter of time before it flipped over.

I'll be honest, they look really nice in water, hopefully it will make it easier to care for. i have the newer plants in one water vase, the mature ones in another, and the oldest growth that's a little more... sad? that's in moss with some perlite and vermiculite. i moved the swiss cheese plant to the bigger pot and added the outdoor stake for stability with the wooden trellis.

i might move one of the alocasias to the terrarium. maybe the black velvet that's not doing well. need to double check my cuprea. it's normally such a good grower, but so was my black velvet. (just checked. cuprea has no roots! 😭 the stem isn't rotted, though so i tried to create more airflow around the rootless stem and I'll probably bottom water for a while. The black velvet is starting to grow more roots, so I'll leave it be. just did the same with trying to create more airflow around the growing roots.)

Anyway, most of the room plants seem happy enough and that's all I can control at the moment.

[whiskeynovember]

i need to take an update photo because I think I have everything exactly where it will stay and I'm not down for adding anything.

the beans moved to the concrete slab area, so I'll have to remember to water them because the sprinklers don't reach. winter squash is still slow to grow, but summer squash is picking up.

eggplants are ok, but I'll need to chop the yellow ones so they don't keep sucking up nutrients. and speaking of nutrients, need to make some fertilizer. banana water, calcium water, a sprinkling of eggshells...

Thai peppers are taking off, the other peppers are stabilizing. i got to harvest my first round of shishito and I get a few jalapenos every now and then. the Hungarian peppers i got on accident (they were supposed to be purple peppers) are ok, but they taste like water.

herbs are good. I dropped some more dill and cilantro seeds along with a few more basil, lemon balm, and Korean mint.

i pulled up a few garlic and replaced the bulbs and the rest of the onion and threw in some more garlic chive seeds.

tomatoes are stable. again, I'll need some fertilizer.

1 ground cherry finally fell and it was delicious. I'd like to maybe throw more dirt in there because leaves keep falling and I'm not sure why. it's a bit weird but it's not dead so there's always hope

[whiskeynovember]

I feel like I'm pushing towards a good point where I have a decent amount of garden where I'm not super overwhelmed. As compared to last year and the complete chaos and feeling like I never had enough time and there was always so much to do and certain areas where I was slacking...

granted, once the winter and summer squash, long beans, and tomatoes pop up, I have it easy so the name of the game is to get ahead of it all.

I will ne d to figure out how I'll work the beans. I'm thinking a trellis that connects the two bags. it seems like the metal pok s get too hot and already burned one of the vines. I'll figure it out soon, I hope, but to be honest, I keep forgetting about it.

I need to get rid of the carrots before the squash becomes mature, but I feel like I have some time.

my herbs are doing well and I even snipped a few to see if I can propagate them.

yep, things are looking good so far.

[whiskeynovember]

Purchased a new chocolate mint plant. it was $6, which... sucks, but then again, if I got it online with my other plants, it would have been about the same and I would have only gotten a sprig or 2 like I did last time, and this was an entire bush. I still haven't given up in the old plant, but at least I have a healthy one. It smells chocolatey, but not as much as the old one.

The long beans are coming up like crazy now and I probably should have had more patience with it, but oh well. I need to figure out how to stake it or if it's worth the hassle of trying to get it to climb the fence. i also finally have 2 yellow zucchini coming in. I'll keep the bok Choi for a while until it gets more established.

3 buttercup squash plants are coming in, but I am only keeping 2. The new pepper leaves are still wilty and appears to be munched on, and I really need to take the tomato from one of the plants because it needs to focus on other things besides fruiting.

it's gonna be triple digits the rest of the week. kinda worried, but I mean... not much I can do besides do a deep water in the morning.

At this point, I would love to officially say I will not be purchasing more plants or seeds... my goal is to be minimal and be able to focus on what I have and give them a sturdy foundation to thrive in their own. I'm hoping I didn't go too crazy with the squash, given that I had quite a few, I think only having 2 in each spot probably won't be so bad.

[whiskeynovember]

pulled the leeks, onion, and garlic from the green bin. it was past due, tbh, just got kinda lazy. recycled the dirt into the ground, especially in the patches where the squash will go since it needs the nutrients, and around the tomatoes since it's supposedly a deterrent against squirrels...

🐿️ bastards ate my bok Choi. it was looking so nice yesterday morning, I was gonna pull from it, but didn't know what to use it for so I figured I'd wait. by evening, they ate the entire head and left the old bits.

fuckers.

they've been eating my purple lettuce and romaine as well, and I'm so fucking over it. (I think I may move the romaine closer to the purple lettuce... just because. i have an owl that's supposed to keep them away, but I might also stick the onion roots around them as extra protection...)

more long beans are popping up. didn't find anything in the strawberry bin, but something is still going at the berries. I got 2 out of 5 this time. 🍓

a few buttercup squash are popping up. the kabocha seems to be doing well so far. cucamelons are vining and even the ground cherries seem to be doing well since I staked them.

tomatoes are... meh so far and the cherry peppers are still very wilty.

i was thinking of doing something with the green bin, but I don't think it will involve onions and garlic anymore since I seen to get better use out of companion planting them, and the leeks are more trouble than they're worth.

I think I'd like more garlic as border and marigolds. i may make a trip to Lowes...

**edit: moved the lettuce to the smaller round white basket, added the onion roots for smell deterrent, and added a few of the romaine seeds. it will be a tight fit, but hopefully the squirrels aren't brave enough to go through the hassle.**

[whiskeynovember]

watered and pruned some dead strawberry leaves. no idea what's eating my berries, I might have to take a closer look inside before it gets too hot.

also need to prune the lemongrass. also need to chop some onion blossom heads. also need to pull some peppers.

(OooOooOooOoh, done, done, and done! forgot about checking deeper into the strawberries, but that's can wait until tomorrow and I still have tons of Thai peppers, but I made a decent dent and the rest can wait until I figure out what to do with them all besides drying them out or pickling.)

I planted some more seeds from an envelope that said lavender mint and I'm gonna see if that's what my mystery plant is, or if it's something else entirely since it's not labeled and I can't remember. best case scenario, it's the same and I can pot them together and make an accurate label. worst case, it's not and I have an extra plant and still an unknown plant that I *think* is lavender. what I know for sure is that it is NOT Korean mint like I thought it was.

I have a seedling growing near my tomatoes which I think is holy basil, but... again, dumb-me forgot to label it so I can only hope it is because that's something smart-me would have done since it's in the area I grew holy basil last year, plus they're kinda a dick to grow.

[whiskeynovember]

moved the red hot peppers over to give them more distance between the other ones. the leaves are looking tattered and eaten, and I'm not sure what's causing it, but I've surrounded the dirt with eggshells and I really need to leave them be, but also I'm worried about whatever is nibbling on them so I might find some kind of deterrent plant to toss in between. (garlic, onion, something).

prunned the strawberries and separated the towers. i also separated a few berries and put them in empty spots.

the new plants are looking ok so far. besides the mint, the rest are in shade and they'll probably stay there until it gets cooler. i also really need to stay on top of watering.

I wish I knew if my chocolate mint was gonna come back. it seem like it might, but it could also be toast. i want to know because there is currently chocolate mint at the big box store and I want it, but I don't wanna pay if mine grows back and mint is supposed to be resilient. like I said before, the roots looks ok, but I'm also impatient and all I need is a little sign, a tiny bit of green, something.

i tried to seed a few serrano peppers and then checked the seeds I planted in grower pots. a few are sprouting, but not many. i also chucked the dragon fruit idea and now I'm going with Korean mint again. it was going fine until... it wasn't.

it looks like a buttercup squash is finally starting to sprout, and I went ahead and added more long beans to the bags. i might have went a bit overboard, but oh well.

[whiskeynovember]

It's not pretty, but it's getting there...

I'll probably look into adding more soil to the dirt, especially where the winter squash will go. The dried leaves did a really good job of keeping the ground below it moist, so I wouldn't mind going that route again, but it really sucks with the cutworms, so I'll have to make sure the plants that go in there are fairly mature.

I got my new plants today and was able to move my stevia over to a tray, move my lemon balm, lime balm, and chocolate mint (that looks dead, but seems to have some decent roots) over to the grow bags. I figured out that the unknown herb that was supposed to be Korean mint is actually lavender. I was then able to put the new plants into their rightful spots. Also, it looks like the old pineapple sage stick is growing a root. crazy! (old photos)

The beans are growing well, but I'll probably need to plant some more as most don't seem to be growing. i might have to make a point of using the seeds I purchased instead of the ones I grew and harvested.

The center is doing fine. I'll need to prune the strawberries and lemongrass, cut all but maybe one onion blossom,

[whiskeynovember]

staked the poha cherries to a trellis. they're not doing hot. they're not doing bad either. I'd like to add some more dirt to it and the cucamelons.

planted the kabocha in the ground. I should probably cut back the poppies because they're getting out of hand, but I also kinda don't care. 🤷🏽‍♀️

carrots need to seed so I can get more black, purple, and white carrots. i should probably also pull the orange ones at some point fairly soon.

the pepper plant is not doing hot and of course, I don't know WHAT is, but SOMETHING is eating at the leaves. I surrounded it with eggshells and gave it a little extra watering.

finally got the fabric pots empty and ready for the new herbs. I have a plan for what will go where. more focus on the mint and balms, with the smaller hers going in a big enough pot to grow, but hopefully not big enough to be overwhelmed.

i go back and forth between wanting to get rid of the mystery plant since I can't figure out what it is. it smells like a mix of rosemary and lavender, even though it was in the Korean mint bag.

speaking of Korean mint, should I even attempt to try again? it always goes bust. i have a stevia plant growing and last year I had so much it was a nightmare. Do I really wanna go through that again? maybe I'll put it in the basket.

I should really figure out what the deal is with the fenugreek as well.

[whiskeynovember]

ordered 5 herb plants. currently trying to kickstart my chocolate mint and red sage, as well as keep my lime balm bushy...

i just ordered another pineapple sage (I think my old one was trying to regrow before I just butchered it) a tangerine sage, berries and cream mint, lemon thyme, and marjoram. my lemon balm that I threw in the ground, forgot about, and then repotted are doing really well, as is my Greek oregano. I thought that thing was on the verge of death, so I have high hopes the mint will come back to life since it's more resilient.

trying to keep my herbs to items that I will use and that are also fun. I didn't get to utilize alot of things last year because I was so overwhelmed.

i want to stick either the lemon thyme in the black square pot to go along with the oregano. marjoram will go in the green square pot. i'll move the lime balm and lemon balm to black bags as well since they're doing good. that will give the tangerine sage and the pineapple sage the green round pots...

i might move them mint to the bags if they do well. it will give it more room and the roots won't shoot through the bottom.

going to also trickle down my small herb pots. some stevia is growing so maybe I'll keep that, I'll keep the fenugreek pot and work harder on that since I really wanna figure that one out and I wanna see why it won't grow well for me, and I may keep this weird ass herb that was supposed to be Korean mint but it looks like a strange rosemary. it smells good and even though I've neglected it, it seems like it wants to grow, so fuck it.

[whiskeynovember]

Garden things are about to happen again, I reckon. I purchased a few tomato plants (and had them immediately eaten by some unknown beast) and a few peppers and Ichiban eggplants.

3 for $10 sale, which would be a great deal, except I remember when you could do 4 for $10. other than the tomato plants were i only wanted the 3 because last year was a mess, I doubled up the plants in cups, so even though I paid for 3, I got 6.

because fuck it.

after the bullshit with my tomato plants being gnawed on mere hours after I planted them, I surrounded them with garlic and a rouge onion plant from the compost. removed most of the lettuce plants seeing as hoe whatever likes the tomatoes has been feasting on them and I've yet to get a few good leaves. planted some basil in pots and also surrounded it.

some plants from last year have dies on me and it's wishful thinking on if I can get them to grow again. my pineapple sage and red sage, my Korean mint and Korean sage... my chocolate mint might be dead, but I also know those fuckers are hard to kill, so I'm gonna just water it and see if anything comes up. might just stick all the pots into the garden. I'm iffy on that depending on if the roots wanna try to grow through the bottom.

strawberries are growing. chives and leeks. eggplants never really stopped, nor did the peppers. my cucamelons are vining and ground cherries are struggling a little but I'll let them be. carrots are going crazy and a few kabocha seeds have sprouted so I will pop them in the ground as soon as I have some secondary leaves. nothing yet on the butter cup squash.

also, the green squash is going at it, but the yellow has nothing yet, however, bok Choi is growing in its spot and it's doing well except one is sprouting.

i really don't wanna do too much this year. a bag of cilantro and a bag of dill. 2 bags of yard beans because they did excellent last year and I'm gonna see if maybe theyl climb the fence.

i also have 3 bags of collard greens that are going to seed and I don't know if I'll do anything with them or just recycle the soil. maybe I'll try to plant some herbs in them instead. who knows. I've got time.

[whiskeynovember]

Oh, has it been a while?

I haven't been able to dedicate a lot of time to the garden. It's getting colder and things are starting to die back a bit.

the eggplants are finally going ham, and I have another round of peppers and tomatoes coming up.

my carrots are coming in, as well as the meaclun greens. a lot of the bok Choi and Chinese cabbage I plant keeps getting eaten and I don't know what do do besides ignore it and keep it pushing.

I threw in some lemon balm in between the cabbage, because why not? I added some more rutabaga seeds to the border. I tossed in more mesclun green seeds in between the cucamelon and poha berry bags.

the herbs are vibing. I can't devote the energy in trying to keep the pineapple sage alive.

I planted some Pitaya seeds and threw the citrus seeds I saved into a pot. I don't know what they are.

I have a bag of leaves that I'll dump over some of the plants, but I don't want the newer ones to get snuffed out.

I might not even go out to check tomorrow. it's getting cold and everything is doing what it needs to do.