Red Leaf Lettuce (Sunny Lettuce)

(5/30) The color of Red Leaf Lettuce (Sunny Lettuce) is dependent on the sun. The more direct sunlight it gets, the redder. This particular plant grew naturally from dropped seeds on the top tier of my tower, so it got lots of sunlight. Looks absolutely beautiful. 

I sewed these Lettuce seeds in early May, but something ate all the sprouts, so I sewed again about two weeks ago and put a net over the planter. They are starting to sprout again.

I sewed these Lettuce seeds in a starter trey on 15 May

The Lettuce started to sprout on 23 May 

I transplanted the Lettuce from the starter trey to planters 

I transplanted these plants from the starter trey to a planter and covered with a net. I will see the difference as they mature. My guess is they will grow the same but these plants will not get red due to the lack of direct sunlight.

I sewed these Lettuce seeds on 19 May and covered with Saran wrap and poked many holes for air the get through. Some plants sprouted, but not as many as I hoped. Perhaps I do not have enough holes. I make some more.

Okra Flower

(27 May) My Okra plants are finally starting to flower

(1 June) Actually starting to see Okra developing

Peanuts Flower

(27 May) My Peanut plant is finally starting to flower. 

I bent the flowers towards the ground to make it easier for the ovary of the flower to peg the soil. The ovary creates a Peanut pod (shell) under the ground.

(6/15) This is the peg that develops from the flower. The peg drives into the soil and creates Peanut pods.

Bitter Melon (Goya, Nigauri)

(27 May) Getting a lot of quality Bitter Melon (Goya, Nigauri) fruit this season.

(5/30)

(5/31) I picked the right one. It was 21 cm (8 in) long and weighted 278 grams (10 oz).

(5/30)

Passion Fruit

(27 May) My Passion Fruit is starting to ripen. 

(5/27)

(6/1) Passion fruit are starting to ripen and drop.

(6/2) Passion Fruit look so pretty at night.

(6/1)

(6/2)

(6/3) I will send these to my daughter once a few more drops. Passion Fruit are a little tart at this stage and should sit until they start to wrinkle so they become sweeter.

Today's Harvest (26 May) Japanese Sweet Potatoes (Satsumaimo)

I planted these slips in mid-December and decided to harvest them on 26 May, which makes them roughly 5 1/2 months old.

As I started to dig them out I noticed a lot of Potatoes bunched together, which indicates there were going to be a lot of Potatoes. 

I wanted to point out how lose the soil is. I filled half this container with mulch a year before and it completely broke down.  

My scale can only measure up to 2 kg so separated the Potatoes in two. This weighed 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs).

1.1 kg (2.5 lbs) 

Sweet Potatoes need to cure for 10-12 days, so I set them out in a cool dry place. Also, ensure the Potatoes do not touch each other.

I rejuvenated the soil and planted 10-12 slips. These Potatoes should be ready to be harvested in December.

Today's Harvest (26 May)

Bush Beans (String, Ingen) 

Today's Harvest (23 May)

Bitter Melons (Goya, Nigauri) from the back of the house

Bush Beans (String Beans, Ingen)

Red Leaf Lettuce (Sunny Lettuce)

(5/15) I planted Red Leaf Lettuce (Sunny Lettuce) at the same time I transplanted my Tomato seedlings. 

(5/23) Today I noticed Red Leaf Lettuce (Sunny Lettuce) seedlings sprout.

Japanese Sweet Potato (Satsumaimo, Beni Imo)

I have Japanese Sweet Potatoes growing in seven different planters and to be honest I have not labeled them well. Because Potatoes grow under the ground and take 4-6 months to grow it is impossible to monitor their progress, so recording the type of Potato planted and when is critical. The purpose of this post is an attempt to remedy that oversight.

(25 November) I did not plant slips in this container, but harvested purple Satsumaimo around 25 November. I assume the vines are from small tubers or roots I missed during the harvest. Though it has been nearly six months since I harvest the Potatoes, the vines did not start to appear until much later, so do not think there are any mature Potatoes ready to harvest.  I will give this planter another month or two before I try and harvest.

(13 December) I planted 10-12 slips from a white Satsumaimo plant from a previous harvest and believe I planted a whole purple Beni Imo Potato as well. 

This container is ready to harvest, but it has been raining every day, so I will wait until we have a few clear days for the soil to dry, otherwise it will be a muddy mess. 

(December) These vines are from small tubers and roots I missed from a previous harvest. There were vines on the left side of the container, but no Potatoes. I think I will remove these vines and plant something else. 

(December) These vines are from small tubers and roots I missed from a previous harvest. I plan to remove everything from this planter, except the beans and plant more beans.  

 (19 January) I planted 10-12 slips from a white Satsumaimo.

(23 March) I planted 10-12 slips from a purple Satsumaimo.

 

(10 April) These are slips I got from a neighbor. My neighbor said they were white Satsumaimo, but the leaves are much different compared to my other Potatoes, so not sure what verity they are. I guess I will have to wait and see. I plan to use this container for slips to plant in a large container once the plant gets a little bigger.

Red Leaf Lettuce (Sunny Lettuce)

(5/19) I planted some Sunny Lettuce about three weeks ago, but something ate the sprouts, so I prepared a new planter and covered it with saran wrap for protection and to speed up germination.  

Mikan Orange Tree

(5/20) There are about 20 Mikan fruit on the tree and growing well

Chili Peppers (Togarashi)

(5/18) My Chili Pepper (Togarashi) plant is producing a lot of Peppers. More than one family needs. Wow!

(6/1)

Herbs (Cool Mint) Propagate

I like Cool Mint and use it a lot, so decided to propagate more. All you need to do it take a cutting and remove all the leaves from the stem except for a few at the top. Place the stem in water and set it in a shaded location for 7-10 days until you see roots. Then simply plant it.

Ten days later