MENA Gardens

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Well it's almost May and I just got tomato plants set out last week. This is very late for South Texas. I also put in some sweet bell peppers, some hot banana peppers, and some eggplants. I will get some cukes going later in May, maybe some squash and/or okra.

I also have some herbs going - mint, thyme, rosemary, sage, Italian parsley. I grow my mint in sunken buckets, to keep it from taking over the whole bed.

What are y'all planting ?

[charlie1 4]

lol well Good to change the subject from immigration to okra and eggplant.

am working on the yard.i plant some flowers and also a grass it.its hard work but its fun and keeps me away from thinking of immigration and processing things

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Well I forgot to mention the flowers.

I have lots of things in bloom right now - the vitex (chaste-tree) is covered with blue-purple spikes, also golden dewdrop is blooming and the the Texas mountain laurel (mescal bean tree.) The esperanza (yellow bells) is full bloom, also have jasmine, lavender, cannas, red roses, Mexican petunias, golden coreopsis, purple, pink and red sages, blue plumbago, Mexican marigold, and red skullcap. The day-lilies are just starting. The wisteria finished but it was beautiful.

The lemon tree is covered with tiny fruit.

Pink evening primroses came up wild in one bed and are putting on a great show.

And in patio pots blooming right now - I have hibiscus, petunias, mums, jatropha, zinnias, impatiens, bougainvillea, and a grapefruit tree.

That's all I can think of right now but probably forgot a few things...

[sandinista! 1,816]

Tomato research is still ongoing, I'm not going to plant for another couple weeks. Last year's turned out nice, so I feel like I can experiment a little more, being a little more confident. We will have some more basil, and rosemary, zucchini, strawberries, peas, and peppers too. Ayah is excited to get her little shovel out to help soon

[Nasturtium 500]

Ayah can totally pretend she is an undercover gardener helping out Mr. Westen!

So let's see... I've got so many things on order-- I *may* have set the majority of things to ship so they arrive when my husband is gone so he cannot protest, but simply come back to a landscaped balcony. I have 2 passiflora incarnata albas, one passiflora incarnata, trumpet lilies, oriental lilies, mara des bois strawberries, orange mint, KY spearmint, lilies of the valley (and convallaria albostriata is coming as well), a sweet autumn clematis is in the plans, variegated liriope, a everblooming blue hydrangea, violets, nasturtiums, thinking to get a thyme, sempervivums, hardy begonia heron's pirouette, sedums, prickly pears, and giant philodendron is going to summer outside. Oh! gloriosa lilies and tuberoses, a renae climbing rose... I am sure I have forgotten something.

Of course inside it's still orchid season.

[LaL 418]

... prickly pears,

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

WOM, the only thing way down south east Texas I've been able to do is kill my veges! So far only my jasmine plant has survived since last year & that was a gift from my sister. The cucumbers never survived, my watermelons grew to the size of grapefruit then burst from the sun, & the jalapeños didn't make it either. It was all disappointing !

[Nasturtium 500]

LOL! Mine never even bloom though since they're in the shade

WOM, the only thing way down south east Texas I've been able to do is kill my veges! So far only my jasmine plant has survived since last year & that was a gift from my sister. The cucumbers never survived, my watermelons grew to the size of grapefruit then burst from the sun, & the jalapeños didn't make it either. It was all disappointing !

If they split, that's a watering issue.

[RFQ 110]

For me- not sure what the title means, but if I may, i will intrude on the thread with my plant babies.

I have corn, zucchini, green peppers, and carrots in the garden. i have some strawberries and parsley in me starter pots. I will start pumpkins later in the year so they finish more in the fall and not in summer (is'A). i am excited to have my first garden in 2 years. i used to live out in the country on a large plot of land and had a lovely garden 2/3 the size of my current yard. I missed it.

Edited April 30, 2012 by RFQ

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

WOM, the only thing way down south east Texas I've been able to do is kill my veges! So far only my jasmine plant has survived since last year & that was a gift from my sister. The cucumbers never survived, my watermelons grew to the size of grapefruit then burst from the sun, & the jalapeños didn't make it either. It was all disappointing !

South Texas is a tricky place for gardening - between the long summer heat, the humidity, the droughts, the bugs, the caliche and the clay, it's a wonder we get so much to grow.

Cucumbers (along with all cucurbits including melons, pumpkins and squash) are very very susceptible to a heinous little creature called the cucumber beetle. This pest infests most of the United States. It will feed on seedlings, and later chew the leaves and fruit of a plant. But much worse than that, the cucumber beetle carries a disease called bacterial wilt, with which they infect every plant they damage - this causes the plant to dry out and die, no matter how much you water it. It can seem to happen overnight - one day, it looks like a healthy thriving plant covered in blooms or fruit, and the next day it's completely wilted.

Seven Dust etc. are about the only ways to control this pest.

Tomatoes and hot peppers are probably the easiest things to grow here - as with all veggies, you must start with a spot that gets at least 7 or 8 hours of sun per day; and good, tilled, nutritious soil with lots of good organic matter. You have to water deeply and regularly (but not too much) and of course mulch well. Then be vigilant for tomato worms and stinkbugs.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

For me- not sure what the title means, but if I may, i will intrude on the thread with my plant babies.

I have corn, zucchini, green peppers, and carrots in the garden. i have some strawberries and parsley in me starter pots. I will start pumpkins later in the year so they finish more in the fall and not in summer (is'A). i am excited to have my first garden in 2 years. i used to live out in the country on a large plot of land and had a lovely garden 2/3 the size of my current yard. I missed it.

Hai RFQ welcome to the MENA garden patch !

The Arabic words in the title referred to some of the common vegetables and herbs found in many MENA dishes:

Batinjan = eggplant

Bamia = okra

Bandura = tomato

Filfil = bell or hot peppers

Na3na3 = mint

I ran out of room to list everything but of course there are many more items that might grow in a typical MENA kitchen garden....

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Ayah can totally pretend she is an undercover gardener helping out Mr. Westen!

So let's see... I've got so many things on order-- I *may* have set the majority of things to ship so they arrive when my husband is gone so he cannot protest, but simply come back to a landscaped balcony. I have 2 passiflora incarnata albas, one passiflora incarnata, trumpet lilies, oriental lilies, mara des bois strawberries, orange mint, KY spearmint, lilies of the valley (and convallaria albostriata is coming as well), a sweet autumn clematis is in the plans, variegated liriope, a everblooming blue hydrangea, violets, nasturtiums, thinking to get a thyme, sempervivums, hardy begonia heron's pirouette, sedums, prickly pears, and giant philodendron is going to summer outside. Oh! gloriosa lilies and tuberoses, a renae climbing rose... I am sure I have forgotten something.

Of course inside it's still orchid season.

My God how big is your balcony ???? LMAO @ the sabr out there, too.

I have to tell you - my orchids are doing GREAT now that I took your advice and set them by a bright sunny southern window - I have 4 in bloom right now (and 3 resting.) Julianna saved my orchids !

Tomato research is still ongoing, I'm not going to plant for another couple weeks. Last year's turned out nice, so I feel like I can experiment a little more, being a little more confident. We will have some more basil, and rosemary, zucchini, strawberries, peas, and peppers too. Ayah is excited to get her little shovel out to help soon

That new pic of her in the tutu is adorable x infinity - your photog is fantastic !

[Nasturtium 500]

My God how big is your balcony ???? LMAO @ the sabr out there, too.

I have to tell you - my orchids are doing GREAT now that I took your advice and set them by a bright sunny southern window - I have 4 in bloom right now (and 3 resting.) Julianna saved my orchids !

That new pic of her in the tutu is adorable x infinity - your photog is fantastic !

LOL! it's 4x12. I have a table out there. Have you seen the blog 66 square feet? ZOMG I want that!

[RFQ 110]

I guessed it was something like that My command of languages, including Arabic and my native language of English, has my husband with his forehead on the keyboard quite often. My command of cooking anything, MENA style or otherwise is also borderline hopeless. Don't ask me how often I see on skype rolling eyes and "ya Rabb, ya Rabb...Sabr!"

He has been warned. He still married me.

I need to plant some -bandura- yet. Our weather here hasn't been consistently warm enough to put any out.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I guessed it was something like that My command of languages, including Arabic and my native language of English, has my husband with his forehead on the keyboard quite often. My command of cooking anything, MENA style or otherwise is also borderline hopeless. Don't ask me how often I see on skype rolling eyes and "ya Rabb, ya Rabb...Sabr!"

He has been warned. He still married me.

I need to plant some -bandura- yet. Our weather here hasn't been consistently warm enough to put any out.

It's ok you will pick up Arabic words (and MENA and other recipes too !) here and there as time goes on.

Sabr = prickly pear cactus (just in case some one reading didn't know this word.)

They sell the fresh pads (nopales) in the grocery stores down here - it's commonly used in some Mexican dishes. But they don't sell the fresh pears, which are the best part (I think.) Prickly pear jelly is awesome