The ultimate seed swap took place in the late bloomer garden last Saturday thanks to the world wide web. A young Philippine gardener, daughter of a farmer, found Late Bloomer online and subscribed. We communicated a couple of times, and a few weeks ago she wrote to say her mother was coming to visit her brother and wife in Orange County and asked if could they come and visit me. She promised she would be sending me something special.
Frances, Rafael and Germaine arrived with Moringa seedlings (germinated in O.C.) and jute seeds.
I pulled out my seeds and sent quite a few back to Philippines, as well as gave Frances and Raffa one of my four cushaw squash seedlings and a couple of okra seedlings.
This sweet potato slip originally came from a gardener friend in Georgia. I grew it out and saved a few small ones, left them on the counter and they started growing! I rooted them in water and had no clue where I could plant them, same issue for the other seedlings. I’m completely out of space!
It was a bit surreal to think An (affectionately known by her family as Angel) was a half a world away while we visited. The Moringa Tree is one of the world’s treasures and contains more vitamins than many foods put together.
All I have to do is keep the cabbage moths off the seedlings. Five days later, I noticed a cabbage worm on one of them, and looking closer, found six more! In a day, there would have been nothing but stems! Late Bloomer Lesson (LBL): Be Observant!
An is developing four acres into a sustainable living farm. She just completed two mud hut “resting stations.” Here is her squash patch, which is about the size of my front yard garden!
An sent something else which was an even bigger surprise! RAIN! In July!
That afternoon, the skies opened up and over the course of a four-day rain event, I collected over 150 gallons of rainwater. Now, visiting An and her farm in the Philippines is officially on my bucket list! Thanks for reading! Please subscribe and share. Stay tuned for new episodes from Late Bloomer! – Kaye
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