FIRST SIGHT OF MY HUMMER

When we came to this house, the previous tenants of this house told us about this hummingbird that comes to their feeder everyday. I was so engrossed in looking at the kitchen, its size, brightness, my living room, bedroom etc etc and I failed to pay attention to this feeder thing that my husband was patiently listening to. When we moved to this house and when we were settling in I saw this cute little hummingbird come to our feeder and drinking the water. I was so excited to see this bird and ran out into the patio. The cute little sweetie got scared of a giant thing running towards it and flew without been able to satiate its thirst.

This is when I was really attracted to these tiny tots. On further investigation, my husband told me what I must add in that feeder. Its an easy recipe. It was just 1/4 cup of sugar filled with a cup of water. "Thats so simple" I thought to myself and started to watch the bird every time it came to my feeder. Its really interesting to watch the bird as they are the tiniest around you and they are so fast in their movement.

If you let me talk I will go on and on about this tiny bird. Let me show you some pics of my Hummer!!!

Spot my Hummer - This is where he will first sit and analyse if his feeder is free to feed.

Second Step: He is actually figuring out the best hole to drink the nectar

Finally settled on one spot quenching his thirst

Its so much fun watching them come to your feeder. I changed the position of my feeder as the hummingbird dint return to my feeder for a while. So this is the new location of the feeder.

Interesting facts about Hummer:

• They can move forward, backwar, sideward, upward, downward. Isn't that amazing?????
• They get lot of energy from just normal sugar water. All they need is 1/4 cup sugar mixed in 1 cup water. This is the ratio that is best suited for them.
• They need sugar after cold night. So they come to the feeders 45 mins before sunrise for their energy.
• The hummingbird that come to my house is Anna's Hummingbird.
• Male: Gorget (throat) and forehead iridescent rose red. Gorget with elongated feathers projecting to the sides. Back, rump, and sides metallic bronze green. Underside grayish, with some green spots. Small white spot or streak behind eye. Tail dark; middle pair of tail feathers green, others gray; all rounded at tip. White tufts on either side of rump.
• Female: Back, top of head, and two central tail feathers metallic bronze-green. Forehead sometimes dark grayish brown. Three outer tail feathers on each side with broad white tips, black central portions, and bronzy green bases. Wing feathers dark. Small white spot behind eye. Auriculars dusky. Throat grayish with some rose feathers, sometimes a large patch. Underparts dull grayish white or brownish gray with some green spots. Tufts on side of rump white.

• The male fights with the female when she comes to the feeder. The male drives her away and wins the feeder.
• I clean the bottle once in 4 days if its too hot. Once a week in winter and refill fresh water. In summer your feeder will get empty in no time

These are some facts that I noticed but there are lots that I read about but don't remember. You can always read about them on the internet. Its fun to know about birds that come to your feeder. :-)

HARVESTING CUCUMBERS

These cucumbers, I harvested few days back. Cucumbers are so fast and you start to get the yield in 45- 55 days. I harvested them when they got 4 inches big as the variety reaches its max of only 4 inches. Let me explain the process of harvesting cucumbers which is very simple. 

When to harvest cucumbers??

Usually, cucumbers can be harvested when they are about 45-55 days depending on the area you live in and climatic zone. For pickling, you can harvest cucumbers when they are more than 2 inches. For slicing, you can harvest when they are 4 - 6 inches in height depending on the variety. 

How to harvest cucumbers??

Just cut the cucumber at the point where it meets the stem. You can cut with scissors or just snap it with your fingers. 

NOTE:

The cucumber plant gives more fruit only if we harvest the mature ones. So keep harvesting as and when you see mature cucumbers. If we leave it to grow further, all nutrients will be absorbed by these big ones. Also, the plant will assume that it has performed it duties and stop producing more flowers and fruits. So keep harvesting to keep the plant producing more fruits.

PRUNING CUCUMBERS

It is very natural for everyone of us who are new to gardening, to sow seeds, water them, replant them at the right time and watch them grow until it gives you desired veggies or fruits or flowers. But it might not strike many of us that proper care needs to be taken to grow the veggies and fruits.

I am learning new things about my veggie garden everyday. There is something or the other that draws my attention. This time it is my cucumber plant that needed my attention. I have trained the cucumber plant to a rod and slowly i would train them onto a trellis. Now the plant has started to flower. I was really excited to spot a cute little cucumber right behind the flower which you can see in the picture :-). But then, the plant needed some pruning.

What is pruning: Source Wikipedia

Pruning is a horticultural practice involving the selective removal of parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. Reasons to prune plants include deadwood removal, shaping (by controlling or directing growth), improving or maintaining health, reducing risk from falling branches, preparing nursery specimens for transplanting, and both harvesting and increasing the yield or quality of flowers and fruits.

How to prune cucumber plant:

I was reading about how to prune a cucumber plant and I accidentally saw a video in you tube that talks about pruning cucumber plant.

Generally, in a cucumber plant, at each node, there is a leaf, a flower, a fruit, a tendril and a growth point. All you have to do is just cut the growth point so that the fruit gets all the nutrients that is required.

Growth points needs to be taken off as soon as you notice them or else, it will grow bigger and would become hard to cut it from the stem. Also it takes a lot of plants energy and the fruit ends up with very little nutrients.

In the pic, I have clearly marked the growth point. You need to cut the growth point either with scissor or just with your finger nails. They are very tender and are very easy to just snap with fingers.

Will see you soon with more garden tips and experiences soon :-)

TRAINING CUCUMBER PLANT

Plant No.1

I had planted these cucumbers about 5 weeks back. They are growing well. In between there were worms that ate up leaves. I was careless initially. Later sprayed organic pesticide on the leaves and now they are growing fine. The plant has started developing tendrils which needed to be trained. So this is how I am gonna train them. I have a huge birch tree which was already dead when we moved into this house. I just let the tree in its place and now its going to be helping my cucumbers.

Plant No. 2

I had steel rods to train the tendrils on the plant. Once they catch up to these iron rods, I will shift them slowly to the tree which is right behind the rod.

Also, when i replanted my second plant, i accidentally cut the roots at the bottom of the cucumber plant, although the main roots remained intact. Usually cucumber plants do not like the roots to be disturbed. I hope they get adjusted and start to catch up with my first plant. 

HARVESTING RADISH

My husband and I were really excited to see our first set of radishes. I just took three of them as I really couldn't wait to see my first ever harvest.

How to Harvest:

You can harvest radish in 25-30 days after sowing. They will be ready in no time.

Sprinkle water aorund it just to loosen the soil.

With a spade slowly dig around the radish and pull the radish gently holding the leaves.

That's it! You can wash them well and they are ready to eat.. So fresh and crispy!!! Our radishes tasted perfect.

Observations:

Do not leave the radish too long after you feel it is harvest time. There are chances that it will mature and turn more hot.

It might also split if you leave it too long after harvest time.

Radishes are the easiest to grow and you can also use the leaves in you salads. I use them in Indian curry as well.

Hope you liked my radish. Have more to be harvested pretty soon. Catch you with more interesting things from my garden. 

HOW TO GROW RADISH

Radishes are the easiest to grow and are really fast. I bought seeds from Walmart and planted them in a starter pot. Radish is a pretty quick crop. It sprouts in exactly 6-7 days. They are supposed to be ready for harvest in 40 days. I planted 4 seeds first of which I could save only 3. Later when we constructed the raised bed, I planted another ten of which all have survived. So there are 3 plants that is grown well. The rest are just giving its second set of leaves. 

My Observations:

First prepare the soil. It can be raised bed or containers. Add fresh soil and make sure there is a good drainage system. 

My suggestion would be first start the plant in a seed starter container with well drained potting mix. When the first set of leaves are established, replant or re pot them in bigger containers or raised bed. 

Place each seed 1/4 -1/2 inch deep and cover it. Keep it well drained and moist. Distance between each seed can be about 3 inches. The radishes are anyways small. If you need bigger size, you can place them at a distance. 

Water regularly until first set of leaves are established. Once you replant them and the plant is well established keep it moist and do not over water. Water if you feel that the soil is getting to dry. It is important to keep the soil moist at all time and not water clogged. 

The first set of leaves are heart shaped. The second set of leaves looks like the one in the picture above. If you look into the picture carefully, you will be able to notice the first set of leaves as well. 

It is always better to mulch the plants with wood chips,barks, hay or even grass cutting from you yard. It helps in drainage and protects plants from excessive heat. 

The big plants are about 4 weeks old and the small ones are about 2 weeks old. I have to just wait and enjoy the plants grow. I started really late this year. This is the first time I am into full fledged gardening. So i din't really know the best time to start planting. From my experience, I think I will start planting early next year. 

See you soon with more. I will also post Harvesting Radish once I am done harvesting them :-) Lets wait and watch my radishes grow!

An attempt to take a professional photo..

This hibiscus was my first garden flower. Looking at these flowers,makes me feel so fresh and lively.. The color, the freshness, the fragrance mixed with the mild fragrance of the watered soil.... Woooww! What a pleasure to our senses. I am sure everyone would agree with me on this... I gazed at this flower for a long time and admired its beauty. I couldn stop taking a picture of this beauty. I had watered it just then. It looked so perfect with those tiny droplets on it. I have two plants of this variety and they bear lovely flowers .

Gardening was an easy task I thought. But now I realise its lot of effort and time. I love to spend time in my garden. This is my first garden.  All this while, I just had some plants in pots and I was not able to give proper attention then, but now, I have this garden and I want to take care of it :-).

This is one section of my garden. Coming to the other part,

She is my other beauty. Can you imagine the color combination? So gorgeous looking rose. Actually, these plants were already planted before I came. So I am not gonna take credit for growing this plant. But I took the advantage to enjoy this nature's gift.

Next this tiny little bud,

When I first came to this house, I was so thrilled to see these plants and flowers... Its a great feeling to stand next to these plants in the morn and smell the freshness. Imagine a cup of coffee with such beautiful flowers!!!!!!!!!!!!
Isnt that relaxing??????? Keep relaxing with my first set of flowers and I will be back with more....