Bougainvillea Vine

Bougainvillea flowers are so beautiful and come in a verity of colors, white, purple, red, pink, orange and more. I drove around my neighborhood and took these pictures.

Purple. This is a neighbor behind my house. This particular vine is over 50 years old.

The plants I'm growing are cuttings from the above vine. I have a few plants that I’m now starting to train.

Red

Orange

White

Green Pepper (Piman)

I picked this Green Pepper. Picking the fruit early will allow the plant grow stronger and produce new flowers.

 

Herbs (Cerveza 'n Lime or Mexican Mint)

I propagated several Cerveza 'n Lime or Mexican Mint plants and set one next to my chair. It smells like Lime and always green. They are so easy to grow. Just pinch off a piece and stick it straight into the soil. In a couple of months you have a fully formed plant ready for display. Some sites stated they are unsure whether this plant is eatable, but it is sold in the herb section of Asian stores for use in stir fries or for tea. I use it for tea since it has a wonderful Lime fragrance. 

 

Guava (Red)

This Red Guava tree has tons of fruit at different stages of growth. In fact, I just got my first fruit, but there are about 40 young fruit. 

Papaya

Both Papaya trees have lots of fruit. The tree on the left is older, but the tree on the right has less fruit so the fruit are larger.

Dragon Fruit

This Dragon Fruit plant is starting to grow new branches. I generally allow one branch to grow three branches and those three branches can grow three branches and so on. To ensure branches do not grow too long over the trellis I will clip the tip. New branches will grow from the side, but not the end. The reason I limit the number of branches is to help fruit growing on a particular branch get sufficient nutrients to grow large and healthy. If I find more than three new branches on a particular branch, I just remove the extras. 

Mango (Kitsu)

This Kitsu Mango tree is growing well and so healthy. I am now training some of the branches. The branches will grow quite long and I want them to grow up about 6 feet and then straight and level with the ground, which will require me to add supports as they grow. This vision is many years away, but preparing the groundwork now. 

Tomato (Self-seeded)

The Tomatoes that dropped from my previous harvest are starting to sprout again. I added some fertilizer and nutrients and remove unneeded seedlings to allow one plant per container to grow. I hope they are productive.  

Lettuce (Sunny Lettuce)

This Leaf Lettuce (Sunny Lettuce) is growing well. I am picking it every day by selecting the largest leaves on the outside of the plants and allowing the new leaf growth in the center of the plant to continue growing. By harvesting in this manner, you can get more out of one plant and using less space.  

Mesclun Lettuce

Mesclun Lettuce

Green Peppers (Piman)

This Pepper is ready to picked anytime, but will get larger if left on the plant; however, picking the first fruit early promotes the plant to begin flowering again to produce more fruit.  

Strawberry plants can produce fruit for 2-3 years, but the first year is generally the most productive. New seedlings are generally planted in March-April in the subtropics. The plants above are two years old and now producing runners. I will propagate new plants from these runners by filling a starter cup with fresh soil and pinching down the runner on the soil using a tooth pick. Once the root system is strong enough to be separated from the mother I will transplant it. I can generally tell this once the roots start coming out from the bottom of the started cup, so I have to pick them up and check the bottom of the cup on occasion. Strawberry plants should be planted at least 35cm (14in) apart. I will plant these in a Strawberry tower, which I introduced previously. The tower I will use has four tiers and each tier has three lobs, so I will need twelve plants. Stay tuned! 

Canna Lily

 

Canna are easy to grow and they grow quickly. They take up a lot of space, so once they start to flower, I remove the flowers and put them in the house for decoration. Then I cut the entire stock to allow new plants to grow.

Front Yard

All these plants are in containers, so I rearrange them on occasion as some get too tall or too wide or the color changes. 

A lot of the plants in this section are also in containers, so I rearranged them. I'm trying to add more brighter colors into the mix and still working on it.

It's December and the Tsuwabuki (Leopard Plant) is in full bloom. I was looking at this corner of the garden from last year and see so much change. The Grapefruit tree on the left is much larger, the Papaya tree is gone and there are more plants.

Side view

Plumeria Tree

Mesclun Lettuce Mix

Mesclun Lettuce

I've created my own Mesclun Lettuce mix containing nine (9) types of Lettuce. I've collected the seeds of plants that bolted and mixed them. I did not measure them, so not sure how much of each will grow. Some types of Lettuce may crowd out others. However, the container above is doing well and has 5-6 types, plus a basil plant. lol. Below are some typical Mesclun Lettuce verities. 

Red Romaine

Red Oak Leaf

Red Leaf

Mizuna

Mache

Green Romaine

Green Oak Leaf

Frisee

Arugula

Tomato

This Tomato plant was a 6 inch sucker I pinched from another plant. Instead of discarding it I planted it and now it has some very nice Tomatoes. All you need to do it plant is directly in the soil. The hairs along the stock will become roots, so the deeper the better. 

Asparagus

This is the first time I've tried to grow Asparagus from a seedling. In the past I've grown Asparagus from a root ball, which produces fruit much quicker since the root system is already established. It will take 3-4 years for seedlings to reach maturity and start producing a regular yearly harvest, so it is a long term investment. Here is a typical timeline:

Year 1 - Seedling planting (in my region, this is December)

Year 2 - Do not pick any Asparagus

Year 3 - Can pick half the Asparagus

Year 4 - Can pick all the Asparagus

Also, Asparagus create large root balls and should be planted 8-14 in (20-35 cm) apart. I'm growing in containers and planting closer. This is my choice, but not recommended. I will have to feed and water them more and will get smaller Asparagus, but that is my intent. I do not have the space, plus I prefer young Asparagus.

I should also mention that I purchased these from a nursery for 39 Yen (37 cents) each. I bought 10 plants. Quite reasonable! I do grow a lot from my own seed stock, but I also purchase seedlings when I miss planting on time. The generally cost is the same for Tomatoes, Green Peppers and the like.

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander)

 

(Planter 1) Two Pakuchi plants are now bolting. I will let them let go to seed and collect them for future use; however, I still have more young plants ready for use.

(Planter 2) Bottom

(Planter 3)