I haven’t been fully at home in a while. The last time I came back from school, I was quite indisposed but fortunately, when I came back two days ago to spend the weekend, I was well on my feet and I got to take in all the changes that have taken place in my absence. A lot of pleasant changes inside the house, but the purpose of this post is to talk about the changes outside.
One thing I can always count on when I’m away from the house for any amount of time is that the garden will be safe and flourishing. All the members of my household tailor their minds towards making sure the garden is in no way harmed, even though they may not be so passionate about tending to it.
The first thing I noticed was that the plantain trees were without fruits so I enquired about it and surprise, surprise, they had fruited and had all been eaten. I was a bit sad that I didn’t get to meet all the delicious delicacies that must have been made using the plantains but I consoled myself that I’ll be fully home soon enough to enjoy the next harvest. I did get to eat the last of the plantains for dinner last night which was jollof beans with ripe plantains sliced nicely into it. It’s my best beans combo so....yayyy.
The next was the banana trees and from the looks of it, it was recently cut so I went to the pantry and saw a few baskets of harvested bananas just waiting to ripen. When we planted the banana suckers, we were very specific about the type we got since Dad is quite fond of the extra sweet types. I had one bite of the ripe ones which you can see from the yellow colour and I almost reeled backwards from how incredibly sweet it was. I limited myself to just two because of their sizes.
And yeah, I cannot leave out the pawpaw trees, what is known in Western countries as papaya. Before I left for school, the trees were just sprouting flowers. I was disappointed initially that they turned out to be the tall species. I had hoped it would be the shorter ones, but seeing how well they’ve fruited, I can’t complain. And their barks are quite sturdy too so it’s safe to use a ladder if we want to harvest them.
The Thai chili peppers from what we researched would produce chilies all year round, but some months would be more than others. In the dry season, they blossomed but now that we’ve entered into the rainy season, it’s not so much as before. Same goes for the orange tree, producing all year round but not so much in this season.
I noticed this while inspecting the Chillies and I’m not sure if it’s something to be concerned about.I’m referring to the tiny insects all over the buds. Please zoom in for clarity. From what I deduced, they are just little houseflies and nothing to be worried about, but I have to be sure, so if you know anything about them, I’d be grateful for the extra info.
Lastly, I’m going to talk about the rainy season. I’m not sure of other regions but here in the South, the moment the rainy season starts, one plant is immediately at the forefront of all farmers. And that’s the maize(corn) plant. We don’t joke with corn over here cause it’s an indispensable delicacy on cold days and even for refreshment. Could be boiled or roasted and served with a variety of things like coconut, groundnut, pears, etc.
Coming back home, I wasn’t disappointed seeing that maize had already been planted almost everywhere in the backyard, together with waterleaves which is used for most of the soups we cook here in the south. I inspected them and they all looked mighty fine, green and blossoming. Waterleaves can thrive in the dry season if it’s watered every day but maize grows strictly in the rainy season so a lot of things need to be put in place to ensure that the harvest is bountiful.
I’d like to end now but then I saw a little plant Mom planted while I was away. She says it’s garden eggs and she enjoys using them for a few special dishes that she prepares. Now, I’m not a fan but it looked red and pretty so I decided to take a picture of it. And there you go guys, done and dusted with my garden inspection.
Till next time,
Jhymi🖤
All images are mine.
