Monday Journal: Hydro Greens & Such

Magandang buhay💚

It's Monday, and because it is an official non-working holiday in this country, people are buzzing in their own ways. Some are still heading to cemeteries, others are taking the chance to rest, and many are going elsewhere for a change.

Anyway, it's been over two weeks since my last garden update, and it's time for another, especially since it's the first week of the new month.

I missed recording the exact day, but the water spinach (Kangkong) seedlings have already been transferred into two Ramgo grow boxes, and so have the Bok Choy (in three other tuna boxes). Likewise, the remaining few mature lettuce seedlings (Romaine from July) have been transplanted to their individual containers (repurposed water bottles).

So yep, 5 grow boxes of mixed greens—Pechay (Bok Choy), Kangkong, Lettuce, and some on soil are now starting to thrive. They are about a week old, if I'm not mistaken, although a few more stems were added yesterday.

We had plenty of Bok Choy seedlings—two trays—over 250 good ones, and the hubby suggested we grow them in the mulched plots in the backyard, but I thought pests and worms would easily feast on them (just like what happened to the beans). They might also be accidentally sprayed with chemicals.

So we transplanted most of them into upcycled sacks and old Styrofoam boxes. I even thought of experimenting and added some spring onions in one of them.

They are all okay.

However, I noticed that the ones grown through the water system (Kratsky method) and in the shaded area are growing faster than those in the soil with direct morning-to-noon sunlight.

Also, every time I water the ones in the soil, I see some have already lost shoots and leaves. I kept checking but couldn't find anything. But yesterday mid-morning, I came across one of the culprits—a hairy cabbage worm! We never encountered this problem on our previous plants (lettuce), so I guess this type of worm loves pechay.

Meanwhile, the new seeds (mustard and green ice) have now germinated. I was starting to lose hope when I didn't see any trace of life a few days ago, but was chuffed when I saw these tiny ones yesterday. The shop (online seller) has sent us good green ice seeds, thank goodness!

The other seedling trays where the hubby sowed tomatoes (three varieties) haven't shown anything yet. It seems the seeds are taking their time in the dark. But I hope there will be a surprise for us when we come back home by midweek. We are miles away from DD on an impromptu drive to the lowlands for a fun dip (beach time for our lil fam—the hubby, Yongi, and me).