Saturday 30 October 2010

My Seeds

Part of the fun of having a garden is all the planning involved on it. Being able to decide what we would grow next and where it would go is very exciting. One of my favorite parts is choosing among the infinite varieties of plants to grow.

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My seeds box


I always get carried away imagining how it would be to grow this and that, and I always want to add a new plant to my garden. The only problem is that here in my little garden in Japan, we only have the very restricted space a balcony garden can provide.

Of course, this didn't stop me when getting seeds. Adding the ones I brought from Mexico and the ones I got here, now I have ended up with way more of what I would be able to have. I really doubt I can fit even a quarter of all this in my little garden. So, I am sure there will be very tough decisions to make next year, when I would have to choose what to sow.

My-seeds

I like to keep my seeds in jars instead of envelopes


Here is a peek into my seeds box for this year. That way you can help me decide.

  • Chives. I just got this ones, I will sow them this week, hopefully they still can catch the season.

  • Thyme I cave in to my impatience and I bought the plant, so probably I won't need these after all.

  • Alyssum I have the plant too, but I doubt it will stand the winter, so they are my back up plan.

  • Cactus A little bit of Mexico's flavor, but I have three bags, so I will give some away.

my-seeds-3

Komatsuna, Cilantro and Chile de arbol


  • Chile I have chile serrano, chile ancho, chile guajillo, chile pasilla, chile poblano, chile de arbol y chipotle. It will be impossible to pick only one.

  • Zempasuchitl The Mexican marigold, with a much stronger scent, I like this flower and it is very good for the garden, so this one is a keeper.

  • Epazote An annual herb, good for condiments.

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Alyssum, Cactus and Lettuce


  • Komatsuna The one I am growing now is doing very well. So I think it can be a keeper for next winter as well.

  • Cilantro Must have for Mexican food.

  • Beans The beans I had this year didn’t do well. Even when they flower they did not got fruit. I brought some from Mexico, hopefully they can do better.

my-seeds-5

Chamomile, White flower and Beans


  • Lettuce Another of my winter vegetables that is going great.

  • Chamomile This one might go well on a planter with the Epazote, It would be a nice addition to the herb corner.

  • Unidentified white flower I picked this one up from a sidewalk in shibuya, no idea what it is.


Beside all of this, I want to grow some pumpkin, some tomato, possibly blueberries. Also, I know there will be more plants that I won't be able to resist next year.

It is definitely too much for me, anybody want some extra seeds?

Tuesday 26 October 2010

New flowers in my little garden in japan

This weekend I left myself fall into an impulse again and I bought a bunch of new flowers for my little garden. This of course meant getting a new pot and a new rack to fit everything. I am very much out of space now, but as always it was worth it.

My garden 0110 October 24, 2010

New flowers for my little garden in japan


I had gone to the garden center only to get some soil, but walking down the aisles full of flowers made me wish for much more. Also, last blooming day, I had felt my garden lacking flowers quite a bit. So, with that in mind and the temptation right there, I could not resist.

My garden 0111 October 27, 2010

Flower festival at the garden center


Right now at the garden center, they have a promotion festival, and their main attraction are Pansies. As usual they have a beautiful display and everything is arranged accordingly. And of course they sure do have a lot of varieties to choose from.
I liked how one nursery classify their varieties colors by using fruits, flavors and colors. For example the blue was called blueberry, dark red was chocolate, orange was pineapple, etc. They also had many other kind of flowers on sale. Perfect for what I wanted.

My garden 0113 October 27, 2010

Prune Pansy


When I choose my flowers, I was thinking mostly on what would last. They are many flowers that are still blooming now, but probably won't past this month because it's getting colder. I tried and choose some that will bloom at least until the start of winter, I hope they do well.

It got my attention that it said that pansies last until next spring. I didn’t know they could take the winter like that. Back in my country, we could only have pansies a couple months in spring and a couple in autumn. The harsh winter and summer there is too much for them.

The flowers I got
  • Pansy I love their bright colors

  • Stock Great purple color

  • Winter Cosmos Will bloom until December hopefully

  • Alyssum I didn't had patience to wait for next year to sow my alyssum seeds

The only other flower that I want to get now, is a red rose. A bit too cliché, I know, but I have always wanted a red rose on my garden so I could give it to a very special girl. I have seen some good ones at the garden center, maybe next week I will get one.

My garden 0109 October 23, 2010

Splitting the mints again


Also, this weekend I finally set up straight all my new herbs. My mints were the most troublesome, even that I split them recently they were already overcrowding their pot. Well, that is a story for another post.

Sunday 24 October 2010

Buying strawberry plants in japan

Now here in Tokyo we are in strawberry buying season. I keep seeing they sell little plants almost everywhere, in the supermarkets, at little stands in the street, flower shops, and of course the garden center.

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My new strawberries


Since I needed to buy some new strawberry plants to replace my old ones that died, I was more than happy to take one afternoon to shop around and see what o could get.

I find very interesting how they do marketing here in japan. They have a very specialized kind of approach. For example when I went to buy my tulips, they had a very nice display and everything was set up to help you get what you want and also a nice shopping experience. So this time, when going for strawberries I had a lot of expectations about how they will do. Luckily I was not disappointed.

My garden 0106 September 18, 2010

They had a lot of strawberry varieties


When I arrive to the garden center, their main display was, of course, the strawberries. They had set up several tables outdoor for their display. They had a large selection with many variety's and different types, even some special kinds that I didn’t know existed. Among the most interesting were; a variety that has peach flavor, one that blooms with pink flowers, several white strawberries, one that can give fruit as big as 8cm, and many others.

Because there was so much to choose form I was having trouble and getting confused about what to get. Also I don’t know that many about strawberry varieties, so I could not pick a specific one that I know would be good.

Fortunately among the information they had, there were some charts about each strawberry main characteristics. I used this ones to find what kind of strawberry I would like. The chart say which ones are easy to grow, big, sweet, big crops, etc. I found it very helpful.

My garden 0105 September 18, 2010

One of the strawberry types and characteristic charts


They also had a lot of other growing strawberry related articles, all with a strawberry theme. They where specialized books, tools, fertilizers, planters and others. There was even a brand that does their packaging using a very funny strawberry shaped bag. I had seen this brand doing the same thing with tomato shaped bags, back on tomato season.

My garden 0104 September 18, 2010

Strawberry soil and fertilizer


At the end I chose one that has big and sweet strawberries, one with big crop and easy to raise and also one ever bearing with flowers at bloom, you know to maintain the spirit of my crazy strawberry that gave fruit all the time. I hoped that would had me covered for next season.

My garden 0107 September 18, 2010

Every variety had their own starting pot color


I got home and set them on their planter, where they seemed to be doing fine. Of course if you follow my twitter you know that is not the rest of their story, but that is for another post.

My garden 0103 September 19, 2010

To honor my old everbearing a new blooming strawberry


The whole experience was very nice, I learned some new things about strawberries, saw something I had never seen, and had fun. I enjoyed buying for strawberry plants here. I still wish I could get more, but no more space in my little garden in japan, maybe next year.

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Geraniums turning white

There is a funny problem that I encounter with geraniums in my garden here in japan. The leafs suddenly start turning white.

My garden 0100 September 18, 2010

My geraniums with white leafs


I don’t know what causes this, but this summer I had this problem with my geraniums. It all started on the new leaf sprouts. They started to come out all white, like if they where bleached or albino. Then some of the old leafs would start turning white, until eventually the whole plant got like that and then died. I lost my white geranium and almost the red one because of this. Luckily I got it under control before that happened.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but I have seen this in other much more developed geranium plants around Tokyo, so my guess was that this was something common here.

My garden 0101 September 18, 2010

Geraniums in a garden at Yokohama


I researched a bit on-line and found out the problem is more common than I thought. I could not pinpoint a specific cause though. The best reason I found is that they had sort of a sun overdose. From what I found If they get to much direct sunlight the chloroplasts burn and die, so the plant cannot make photosynthesis . However I find this a bit hard to believe, since I never saw this in my garden in Mexico, where the sun rays are much stronger.

Still, when I moved my geranium bucket away from direct sunlight the problem seemed to recede. Now in the red geranium there are very few white leafs and new healthy sprouts start to come out. Also the new geranium is flowering and doesn't seem to have this problem. Maybe the ones in Mexico are used to the sun and developed some resistance.

My garden 0102 September 18, 2010

Geraniums in a garden at Yokohama



This is a sneak peek at the next post. This is the new geranium I recently bought a new batch of strawberries to replace my old ones.

Monday 18 October 2010

My new herbs

I have been having a crave for herbs lately. So, this weekend I made a quick trip to the garden center and got a load of new herbs to go with the ones I already have.

It all started when I was reviewing online about how to grow the thyme seeds I brought from Mexico. I learned that thyme usually grows slow at the beginning, that together with the fact that I need to sow my seeds until spring and also since I am a bit of an impatient gardener, made me decided on getting a grown plant for the winter.

Then this Friday, when I was taking a stroll at the supermarket's gardening section, I saw they have a bunch of herbs for sale. I could not resist and bought a lemon thyme there, and definitely wanted more. So, I made a plan to get some new herbs and also took a trip to Tokyo to buy some wooden pots I know would fit the herbs perfectly. Then yesterday got the new herbs.

My garden 0098 October 17, 2010

My new herbs with their planters


They had a great selection, and it was sure hard to pick which ones to buy. In the end of course, I ended up buying more than I should have, but no regrets.

The new herbs I got in my little garden in japan


From left to right in the photo above

  • Dill No idea how to cook with this but I love the flowers

  • Oregano For pasta, and for some Mexican sauces

  • Lemon balm For some good tea

  • Lavender I have always wanted a lavender

  • Rosemary This one is still blooming

  • Aloe I got this one from Mexico, more about that other day

  • Lemon Thyme Its smell reminds me of my lemon tree back at home

  • Cool Peppermint A nice addition to my current mint collection

  • Thyme The one that started all

I hope they will grow nicely, I still have to set them up in their planters, but I can do that over the week when I have time. There is much to do in my garden, and they are so many new plants.

I also got a much needed rack to hang some of the planters up the rail, because I already run out of space on the floor. I choose to put there the planter that used to have the strawberries and now has lettuce and kalanchoe sprouts. Today I set it up and it works like a charm.

My garden 0099 October 17, 2010

My new rack all set up with the lettuce seedlings


Sunday 17 October 2010

High Tech Japanese style gardening

Sometimes I am amazed about in Japan technology can reach levels of awesomeness that border in craziness.

One of the major mobile carrier companies in Japan (NTTドコモ Docomo), announced a new system that provides custom instructions to home gardeners via cell phones, based on special sensors installed on the garden.

Garden Sensor

Docomo gardening sensor


It works based on data collected by special little sensors like the one shown in the photo. This sensors are stuck in soil to measure temperature, moisture, sunlight and more. The data is then sent to gardening experts wirelessly. They analyze it and provide garden-specific feedback advices, like when to water the plants, all via cell phone emails.

This is what I call high tech Japanese style gardening.

Friday 15 October 2010

My little garden in japan october 2010

A little late but here is a quick check on how my little garden in japan has done this month

  • All my lettuces and kalanchoes continue to overflow their pot. I cut some away, but they are still so many.

  • The old strawberry died, it didn't make it while I was in mexico, but I guess that was expected.

  • I got a new geranium, and some new strawberries, I will make sure to take extra care this time, and plant them in two pots.

  • I also got a crave for herbs lately. I got a lemon thyme and tomorrow I plan on buying more.

  • From Mexico I got an aloe and a maguey. I don’t know if they will have enough light to grow here, but I guess is worth to try.

  • I sow a new bed of lettuce, kalanchoe and one or two coriander in the pot where the strawberries used to be. They are already sprouting.

  • The roses have been flowering a lot, and i am thinking if I should get a new red rose.

  • I have a lot of mints growing because I separated the plant, now I dont know what to do with it.

All the other plants continue to grow happily. They are all doing great.

And for last, Here is my submission to blooming day, is a small one but I hope is good


My garden 0097 October 16, 2010

The rose has been blooming a lot lately



My garden 0096 October 10, 2010

My globe amaranth continues to flower



My garden 0095 October 10, 2010

New geranium flowers




Thursday 14 October 2010

Buying plants in japan

Some days before I left for Mexico I went to the garden center to see if I could get some new strawberries, because mines didn't make it at the end. I really like going there, I get to see a lot of beautiful plants and also learn how gardening is in japan.

My garden 0093 September 18, 2010

Yokohama Sakata no tane garden center


I got to sneak a little more photos from the main building. I admire very much Japanese aesthetics. I think is great how they display and arrange every element to fit with the others, and how they take a lot of attention to detail.

This time I got some photos of the wall displays for seeds, I like how the wall looks covered from side to side with little envelopes. Also another thing I always appreciate in the garden center is that they have a lot of flyers around with tips on how to grow the most common plants.

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A full wall of flower seeds


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Vegetable seeds


Other thing that I like is that the staff is very friendly and helpful. One time I was looking for some specific flower (Botón de oro/Tithonia), but I didn’t know the name in Japanese or English, so four very patient ladies stayed with me for around 20 minutes and tried to find out what I was talking about , we even tried with a drawing, at the end they look the Spanish name online and translate, and look for pictures there. That is not the only time, something similar happened when I was trying to ask about ladybugs, although it didn’t took that long, we figure it out with some drawing.

I had similar experiences in other places I have tried to get plants here in japan. I think is great how they treat customers, they are always nice to me. I think Japanese are very friendly and easy to approach.

My garden 0090 September 18, 2010

another peek at Yokohama Sakata no tane garden center


At the end I did bought some plants. I got some strawberries and a new geranium, all of what I will talk in a new post.

Oh, one more thing, here in japan every time you get some plants they wrap them up with paper and some soft foam plastic taking a lot of care not to hurt the flowers. This is new to me, because in Mexico I am used to just get the plants bare or with just a tray and have to struggle to avoid damaging them. They even would make a reinforced handle in case what you got is to heavy or hard to carry around.

My garden 0094 September 18, 2010

My loot, strawberries and a geranium


How are the buying plants experience in your countries?

Wednesday 13 October 2010

My little garden in Mexico II

Continuing with the tour around my little garden in Mexico. This time I want to talk about the plants we have in the back garden.

We don’t have as much plants there because there is not as much space, but that garden has always been very full of life. It used to have a lot of petunias growing along a little trail to from the house to the service room, but now my father has some more aloe and other desert plants growing there. We also have a little nursery for baby seedlings on top of a huge old dried tree trunk, another chili plant and some other wild but pretty herbs and shrubs.

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This beautiful desert plant changes from green to purple depending how much water it has


The back garden is mostly for the trees. There is an uvalama, this is a native Mexican bush/tree that gives out little blue berries. It looks like an overgrown blueberry but the flavor is different, although it is very sweet. In Mexico we use this plant as a natural medicine for upset stomach and many other things.

On the same patch of land there is a sour orange tree. It has been there growing since I was eight so it is one of the tallest trees of our house. We got it as a gift from my uncle, we thought it was a sweet orange, but turn out to be sour. Since it is very pretty and started to grow nicely my father leave it be. It gives tons of oranges every year. I used to try to harvest them all, but I gave up because they are too many of them. The last time I try to take the oranges down I took 50, but the tree still looked full. Now it continues growing, and giving fruit even though it still has a lot of oranges hanging from past seasons. My dad has plans to do some grafting on it to add a branch of sweet orange and one of a tangerine, but that probably won't happen soon. Oh, also, this is the tree that usually has the humming bird nesting every year.

My garden 0086 October 05, 2010

This tree has too many oranges we can't harvest them all


On other patch of land we have a very sweet orange. This one is also very old, but it did not grow well the first years, It is only half the height of the sour orange. With this tree we waited year after year but no fruit, we even try fertilizer but it didn’t work. Finally around five years ago it finally flowered and gave 13 oranges that year. From then it has continued to flower every year, giving more and more every time. This year's harvest I think will be around 45. This particular type of orange is called "Ombliguda", meaning big belly button, in Spanish, because it has a big lump coming from the bottom that resemble an "outie" bellybutton.

My garden 0085 October 05, 2010

This season's oranges seem to be growing well


Also on the back we have our own lemon tree. It is the son of the big lemon tree in the front. It is the most successful of all the trees in our garden. In a period of six years it has grown from seed to become one of the tallest trees in the house. It started blooming on its third year, and hasn't stopped since. From the start it bloom with hundreds of flowers, but only developed about 70 mature lemons for the first year. On later years however the harvest has reached the hundreds. I think that particular strand is a very hardy, easy to grow and sweet lemon, I wonder if I can get some seeds to japan.

My garden 0075 September 24, 2010

This lemon grew from seed


In the back garden there is also another bougainvillea of a different color, it is not as big as the one in the front but it is growing slowly. We also have a couple of papayas, we started having them since some years back when we threw away some left over seeds to the compost pile and they started growing. Now every year we have some growing, they usually last two or three seasons before they die, but we always get some nice papayas of each one.

My garden 0074 September 24, 2010

I counted four papayas growing on this one


That is one thing I love about my little garden in Mexico, we never really have put much attention on the hole sowing or preparing beds or any of the set up for the garden. Usually for plants to grow all that is needed is to throw away some seeds in an empty part of soil and then wait. After the seedlings are out then you can worry a little about giving it enough water to survive the intense heat, but that is not that hard. I guess that is the nice blessing of being on the fertile land of Mexico, plants just grow by themselves, there is nothing you can do to avoid it.

My garden 0080 October 05, 2010

Some papaya seedlings ready to get a permanent home


For example, the big lemon on the back, It grew from a seed that was in a used lemon somebody dropped in the garden at a party. Some days after the party I was cleaning the garden and saw the seedling already growing ready to be transplanted to a new home.
In this same way we have found many pleasant surprises close to the compost pile, usually after the rainy season. One time I found a watermelon ready to be eaten, and other time an avocado tree already 50 cm tall, and also the same for a mango tree.

My garden 0081 October 05, 2010

This rainy season surprise a melon



I really love my little garden in Mexico. I hope the next time I go there I have some time to tidy up and get some flowers. I am sure that my dad will continue to take care of it, and it will keep on being as lively and happy as always

Monday 11 October 2010

My little garden in Mexico

As promised, here is a little tour around my garden in Mexico.

My garden 0076 September 24, 2010

My little garden in Mexico a bit shaggy but full of life


First of all, my home city in Mexico is called Hermosillo, the city of the sun. It is located in north Mexico, It is the capital city of the state of Sonora. There the climate is mostly dry and hot, it is the middle of the desert, think Arizona in the US, It is the same region desert. Being a dessert the temperature varies considerably during the day, for example in winter it can be 0 Celsius at night and 35 Celsius during the day, this is considerate as normal. In summer it can get as hot as 52 Celcius, yes 52 Celsius, 125.6 Fahrenheit, that means you can literally melt plastic, get second degree's burns or cook an egg all on a car's hood, I know because I have done it (not the second degree's burn though).

However, as unbearable as it might seem, you do get used to it, and it is all ok once you learn how to hide from the sun on those terrible hot days. And of course, the plants also get used to it, they only need a bit of extra water or some shadow for those hot days.

My garden In Mexico is spread around the front and the back of my house. Over the years it has had many different plants. Including a mango, an avocado, agaves, nopales, beans, melons, watermelons, radish, chillies, papayas, lemons, oranges, petunias, geraniums, snapdragons, palms, nochebuenas, callas, marigolds, daisies, and many other trees and flowers. It also has a lot of wildlife growing including many little lizards, bees, a lot of butterflies and birds, an also almost every year some hummingbirds that make a nest there.

My garden 0087 March 14, 2007

We always have hummingbirds on our garden


The front garden is usually covered with flowers and many other beautiful plants, but on later years, with me living away and my parents starting to get more involved in other projects, it has been lacking some proper care. My father is the one that continues to care of it when he can, so at least it continues to live although a bit shaggy.

In there now the little plants are mostly desert plants, my father loves them and they take care of themselves so they thrive. We also have a chili plant that is quite big and full of flowers now and a red rose, but this last one got attacked by ants, so no flowers for now. The big ones we have are a big "arbol de brasil" giving a big shadow in the middle and a bunch of bougainvilleas.

My garden 0082 October 05, 2010

This aloe is in a pot, but its offspring took completely over its surroundings


In our garden we have several landmarks that are always complimented by everyone that visit our house. But the one that gets the most every time is definitely our Bougainvillea. This is actually several plants, they have been there almost since the house got built around 20 years ago.

My garden 0084 October 05, 2010

It has very few flowers because of a hurricane took most down before I went, but it continues to grow happily


We struggled with it for years since it hardly ever flowered. That until one season, while looking at it in the garden my father and I, we decided to prune it away once the last flowers of the season had fallen. Since that year it has not stopped giving flowers all year long. It was almost as if it had heard us. Now is almost as tall as the house, probably around 6 meters tall and continue to flower like crazy.

My garden 0079 September 24, 2010

The bougainvillea on the other side also have some bald branches but is recovering fast from the strong winds


We have many desert plants on the front, they all reproduce like crazy and my father doesn’t have the heart to throw any away so now we are a bit overpopulated. We have a bunch of aloes, nopales, choyas, and many many others.

My garden 0078 September 24, 2010

A very small part of my dad's desert plants collection


I think the one we have the most is the offspring of two gigantic maguey (similar to an agave) we used to have. They were two meters wide each and both gave a huge 4 meters tall flower. Each flower gave hundreds of tinny sprouts that just covered all around with little baby magueyes. This kind of plant dry out after flowering so the big ones are gone, but we will probably have more judging by the amount of babies around.

Finally for the front garden, although technically not ours since it overflows from the neighbors garden, there is this huge lemon tree that is older than our house. It gives tons of very juicy lemons year round and is the official lemon provider for half the houses of our street.

My garden 0077 September 24, 2010

I even suspect this lemon tree is older than me


I will continue the post next time so it doesn’t become too long, but there are still a lot of plants on my garden in Mexico that I want you guys to meet.

Sunday 10 October 2010

Back in Japan

Finally I am back in Japan and back to the screen.

It was a very good trip, sort out the things I needed to do, spend some time with my family eat tons of good food and had lots of fun. The only problem was that I neglected the blog a little, but I learned my lesson and I will try to get more organized for next time. I'm sorry I didn't post anything or commented on other blogs.

Also I haven't forgot I promised a post on my garden in Mexico, but don’t worry I do have a lot of photos I took, and I will post them next.

For now a little getting back on track and looking how my garden stood. I left them in very good hands so this time I had no casualties and everything's seems to have continued to grow nicely.

I do have to do a little tidy up and some sort around, because some plants need some trimming and also because I need to make space to organize what I brought from Mexico.

I had a very pleasant surprise when I got back, remember the lettuce and the komatsuna I just sowed before I left? Well they certainly have been growing when I was away, now I have too many, I must thin them out soon.

My garden 0001 October 09, 2010

Komatsuna and Lettuce overload


On a side note, Komatsuna seeds are one of the most interesting seeds I have seen. I have seen a lot of seeds with very different colors and shapes, but I don’t remember other seeds with a color like this, It is a very nice blue/aqua with a glossy finish, they look great when they are all together in my seed jar.


My garden 0001 October 09, 2010-2

Komatsuna and Lettuce seeds


Saturday 2 October 2010

More seeds!

Ok, I just come from the store and I got a new batch of seeds, now it is definitely official, I cant sow all these. A giveaway will be a must, so keep on touch!

my garden 0073 October 02, 2010

This is the complete collection so far!


Here is what I got this time
  • Chile Ancho Thick red 15 cm chilly pepper also a must on Mexican food.

  • Chile Pasilla Another chilly variety, good for sauces and stews.

  • Chile Guajillo Yet another cilly, this one is for red sauce, and mole.

  • Chile Serrano This chilly is used on the green sauce, along with green tomatoes.

  • Alyssum I think I could get this one in japan, but I haven't seen it much. Plus seeds here are a lot cheaper. I just love the scent of this flower cloud on the morning.

  • Camomila Good for teas, in Mexico we are also aware of its medicinal properties.

  • Thyme Another herb for the kitchen, good for cooking with meat. This will go along the little herb patch I have.


I am worried about the seeds being only adapted for Mexican climate, but I think they will grow very good in Japan, my area has a very nice weather for growing plants. My other concern is if they will take them away at customs, but it should be ok too.

My time in Mexico is coming to an end, I don’t think I will be able to work deeply in the garden, I only pruned a little of the Bougainvillea, and took out some weeds, but that garden is really in need of a makeover. Maybe next time I come, probably in six months.

I really wish I could have had time to introduce much more of what we have here in Mexico, it is really a cornucopia of nature. Hopefully, next time I come I won't have so many things going on and I can give a relaxed tour for gardening. Also I am planning on going to south Mexico for next time, and if I have that chance, that will be quite something.

Still, I will do one post to introduce the plants we have around the garden before I leave, it's not much, but I really like them. Hope you guys will enjoy as well.

Friday 1 October 2010

Seeds from Mexico

I have a delay on working on the garden because my fish tank suddenly got a leak, so all my attention was on that. For now the fish are Ok, but now I don’t have much time left for the garden and is almost time to go back to japan.

Yesterday I was finally able to do something garden related. I went to shop for some seeds. This city doesn’t have that much of a "grow yourself from seeds culture", so I had some trouble finding some. We usually buy the grown plant from the nursery, by trades or even collect plants and seeds from the wild. After some looking around I was able to get some nice seeds at little stores and supermarkets. I still have one more place to go, so I will probably get some more.

Here is what I got so far

my garden 0072 October 01, 2010

Seeds from Mexico


  • Desert plants (Cactus, Nopal, Maguey, and more) It would not be Mexico if you don’t have a fair amount of cactus.

  • Zempasuchitl The Mexican marigold, this particular type has a very intense scent, I hope it can get me some butterflies.

  • Chile poblano A very common Mexican type of chili pepper, one of Mexico signature dishes is made with this, I don’t think I can recreate, because I still need so many other ingredients, but I can have a bit of Mexico flavor at home.

  • Epazote This one is a common herb in Mexican food, is a bit spicy and goes well with stew.

  • Chile chipotle Other of Mexico signature chili, this one will require a bit more preparation since we usually have them dry, but I hope I can learn how to do it and get me some good sauces.

I hope this plants get to grow in Japan, I think they will with proper care, but I won't find out until next year.

I got way more that I could have in japan, so you will probably hear about a giveaway some time in the future, keep on checking.
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