May 04
It’s Sunday - gardening day. Except I don’t have much to do today. The sun is here and everything I set down over the past 12 weeks is coming on strong. The chilies are loving the heat and long periods of daylight, as are the tomatoes. The basil has been used in one of my mother’s pasta dishes, but has also had an agressive pruning to get rid of the final leaves that were destroyed by thrips. They don’t look too impressive at the moment, but the tiny leaves are already powering through. The good thing about basil is that the more you prune it, the more it grows back.
So today’s gardening involves getting some sticks to support the tall chili and tomato plants and repotting some of the cherry tomatoes into individual pots. I’ll sow a second round of basil and some more vegatable crop today. The rest will be happening in the kitchen where I am going to harvest some of my parsley, process it and freeze it in ice cube trays for later use
Apr 20
2 weeks ago I received some “Tears of Fire” and “Tabasco” seeds from a supplier in Tenerife. I sowed them, somewhat nonchalantly, in two small plastic tubs that were lying around. Since then the weather has been wet in Spain, good for the soil, but not generally good for the poor seeds that were left out by accident result in drenched soil. I had given up on them. However two days ago the first green loop pierced the soil, and now I have 7 seedlings developing. Sometimes you just don’t have to try.
Due to space limitations I have had to move my lettuce, cherry tomatoes and herbs outside permanently. Likewise, I didn’t hold up much hope for them against the combination of hard rain, high winds (common) and the recent bout of thrips. Two weeks on, the lettuce are thriving; the tomato seedlings, although slightly damaged, are still growing; and the herbs are flourishing - so much so, we used some of our own corriander in yesterday’s evening meal. Just have a look at the photographic evidence below.
Mar 30
Yesterday I got to the bottom of what was causing the white spots on my basil: thrips. Nasty little things that cause the white spots and defecate on the the underside of the leaves. I found all the symptoms after advice from a growers forum and then I came face to face with the little beast - squished. This morning I found another one - squished. Now I just need to figure out how to get rid of them so my basil can continue on pest free.
Update: After much deliberation and forum trawling I opted for spraying the plants with a teaspoonful of washing up liquid mixed with a pint of water. All I have to do now is wait and see.
Mar 16
Whilst cleaning out my cupboards yesterday I found a pack of rosemary seeds. I have no recall of purchasing them or how long they have been there, but they simply had to be sown. I set them down in three smaller plant pots and covered them with 3mm of soil, rather complacently. Let’s see what happens.
During my spring cleaning session I sowed 2 varieties of my plum tomato seeds in a spare seed tray I had. The weather is quite warm at the moment - late twenties - and I have the benefit of front and back enclosures in my apartment that allow for good heat morning and afternoon. It does mean moving them twice a day, but I am confident I can germinate my tomatoes straight from soil in these conditions.
I have sown Plum Romas and Lemon Plums. I am looking forwards to the Lemon Plums as their golden yellow colour makes salads look a touch more exotic. The Plum Romas are going to be used for soup. With these two I am hoping for some signs of germination with 7 to 10 days. As I write they are in my back porch keeping my chilies company in the morning heat. If these are successful, I have another 2 varieties of plum tomato seed to sow another weekend.
Finally, for today, a lettuce / endive update. Both varieties are now germinating in my “lettuce tub”. I will be keeping an eye on them as I plan move them on for use and resow every 3 weeks to keep a supply throughout the summer. The lettuce have been easy to grow so far. Sow them and leave them in the light. I am looking forwards to trying other varieties and ensuring this summer’s salads are plentiful.
Mar 14
Has anyone seen this before? One of my basil plants has developed a cluster of white spots (see right hand leaf on enlarged image). I am not sure if this is a pest, a disease or just an anomoly. Any suggestions gratefully accepted as this little chap is in close vicinity to 9 other basil plants.
As an asides, a great tip from Jamie Oliver’s garderner last night: keep your basil plants near your tomatoes as the aroma repels aphids.
Mar 13
It’s the middle of march and the rain has left southern Spain again. The temperatures are the better side of the mid-twenties here which is great for the chilies.
Out of the 30 large cayennes I planted I now have 10 healthy plants. Sitting behind my glass doors on the terrace they are coming on strong. At 6 weeks they now have 5 or 6 leaves each and stand about 3 inches tall.
No pests, but some slight burning on the end of a leaf after watering them in the sun (won’t be doing that again).
Last week my basil crop took a hit after I left them out in high winds. Out of 20 plants I salvaged 10 and put them in intensive care. As you can see, a bit of TLC and repotting has brought the survivors round again.
The leaves are now giving off that beautiful aroma and I can’t wait until I can pick them and turn them into pesto!
Now it’s to the new recruits. After 4 days my newly planted escarole endives (a curly salad plant) have started to germinate. Alongside them I have some lettuce; cherry tomatoes; parsley; oregano and corriander.
Finally a big thanks to Chris from the Chillies Galore Forum who sent 4 varieties of plum tomato seeds out to Spain from the UK after her heard about my next project: a chili and tomato soup made from home grown produce. Look out shortly for my adventures with these and hopefully the world’s best tomato, chili (and probably basil) soup.
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