Urban Gardening Update

So my second attempt at growing vegetables indoors is not going so well.  One of my cucumber plants died, the second one is sick, my squash plant is near dead--also sick.  Both the cucumber and squash are being killed by mildew.  I've been having an infestation of soil knats (they sure do love the organic soil I'm using) and I've been spraying often with a neem oil/dish soap/water mixture to keep them under control. In the meantime, unbeknownst to me, mildew is forming on the leaves of the squash plants from being sprayed with the mixture.  I can't help it.  I see one or a few of those buggers on the stem, and I spray to kill it.

Even though the cucumbers and squash have all but died, the cherry tomatoes are doing decent.  I have a few bunches between the two plants although one of the plants' health is questionable.  It seems wilt every other day and I can't tell if it's from a lack of watering (seems like I'm watering every other day) or something else that is causing it wilt.  When I do water, it perks back up within a few hours. 

Surprisingly (or maybe not), the sunflowers and the cosmos are doing awesome!  Can't say the daisies are doing too well but that is from a lack of watering.  I tucked the container of daisies into a corner and forget they are there most of the time since the vegetables plants tend to obscure that corner. 

Minature sunflower.

 Orange cosmo.  This is my new favorite flower. 

Neem Oil as a Natural Pesticide.

Last year, I had an infestation of spider mites that killed my cucumbers. I let the soil get too dry and with the heat in Southern California, it was a perfect breeding environment for spider mites. I lost my will to keep up with the plants after I tossed the cucumbers and forgetting to water. This year, I did some research and found out that neem oil is a natural pesticide that is also good for plants. Neem oil is an essential oil harmful to pests but not to humans (unless you're pregnant).

Neem oil is "harvested" from the fruit and seeds of the neem tree which is from India. It needs to be diluted with water before you can use it directly on the leaves otherwise, you risk killing or burning it. Because it is a natural and organic product, you do not get instant results like you would with chemical pesticides and multiple sprayings on top and underneath the foilage over a few days are needed in order to kill any spider mites. The reason being is the neem oil doesn't instantly kill the mites but instead messes with their body (i.e. breathing, eating, etc) which is why it takes a few days to get rid of them.

Just mix a tablespoon of neem oil with a gallon of water and couple drops of dish soap (the soap helps to keep the neem oil and water from separating) and spray on top and under the leaves of the infested plants every day until the spider mites have been eradicated. The mixture is only good for up to about 8 hours so be sure to make a new batch every time.

Urban Gardening Year 2

Suffice to say, last year's attempt at growing some vegetables didn't pan out. Out of the numerous lettuce plants, two tomato plants, 4 cucumbers plants and 2 strawberry plants, I got 2 grape tomatoes, a few lettuce leaves and 4 or 5 strawberries.

This year, I am armed with more info, more experience, fertilizer and more determination.

Here is this year's attempt at container gardening inside my apartment. These pics were taken a few days ago on the 8th, so there has been some more growth since then.

The red bucket is a yellow summer squash plant flanked by a pair of cherry tomato plants. The little cup in the window sill are basil seedlings. The little cap in the squash container contains neem oil (see next post for what it is), which is a natural essential oil that helps to repel pests, particularly spider mites, which killed my cucumbers last year.



I am also trying my hand at upside down gardening in order to conserve space. A 2 liter bottle was converted to grow cucumber. I also planted a lettuce seed on top since it is a companion plant to cucumber. In the bag, I have another cherry tomato plant growing. On top of the soil, I have also planted some basil seeds since it can help to improve the flavor of the tomato plants and can also repel pests. So far, the cucumber is doing great and the upside down tomato plant looks a little sad but no hope is lost yet.


A closer look at the cucumber.


My container of black eyed simpson lettuce (same as I grew last year). Most lettuce varieties grow better in cooler weather but the black eyed simpson is more heat and sun tolerant. Next year, I shall try a cooler variety in order to free up some space for other plants that need more sun. This year, I added in used (but dried out) coffee grounds since coffee grounds are high in nitrogen and lettuce craves nitrogen.


And last but not least, a family of sunflowers and cosmos (on the end to the right) that I will hopefully be able to have flower this year. Last year's attempt with flowers didn't work so well.


One thing I am doing different this year is actually using fertilizer and pollinating the flowers by hand since I don't have any bees that live inside my apartment. I just didn't think about it last year :)

Garden Update - Tomatoes

The Big Boy seedling I bought a couple of weeks ago is starting to flower. I must be doing something right :)

Garden Update - Lettuce

The lettuce seeds I planted 7 days ago have finally sprouted. Well, at least two of them did. If all goes well, I should have my own lettuce to eat within a month or so.