Broccoli seedlings in the nursery - Waiting for transplant

via IFTTT

Composting in place using kitchen waste - Part 5

via IFTTT

Composting in place using kitchen waste - Part 4

via IFTTT

Composting in place using kitchen waste - Part 3

via IFTTT

Composting in place using kitchen waste - Part 2

via IFTTT

Composting in place using kitchen waste - Part 1

via IFTTT

Okra harvest in the garden - initial harvest

via IFTTT

Bok Choy seedlings starting to emerge - just a short while after planting

via IFTTT

Okra plants getting bigger - early part of the summer

via IFTTT

Capsicum seedlings germinated at home - take a long time to pop up

via IFTTT

Insitu composting in a planter - works wonders on the plant

via IFTTT

Planting seeds for germination in planters

via IFTTT

Okra seedling popping its head out - distinct shape of the seedlings

via IFTTT

French beans ready for transplanting - from seeds

via IFTTT

Clay pot for watering - helps keep the potting mix moist

via IFTTT

Leaves drying out in summer plants

via IFTTT

Okra pods harvested from kitchen garden

via IFTTT

Small pomegranate fruits - need to get them bigger

via IFTTT

Flowers on Brinjal plant - should convert into fruit soon

via IFTTT

Sunset in the park - green lungs of cities

via IFTTT

Piles of dry leaves in the park - composting for organic richness

via IFTTT

Cilantro growing in plastic box - enough for small usage

via IFTTT

Hand pollination - bottle gourd - can be necessary sometimes

via IFTTT

Female flower on sponge gourd plant

via IFTTT

Growing tomato and brinjal seedlings in a shallow planter

via IFTTT

Fruits on the lemon plant at home - trying to get more fruits

via IFTTT

Brinjal produce from home garden, and some Okra

via IFTTT

Brinjal fruit - harvesting too late

via IFTTT

Pomegranate flowers coming up - but need more flowers

via IFTTT

Guava plant in a drum - starting to see a flower coming

via IFTTT

Pomegranate plant with lot of flowers - Hoping for fruits

via IFTTT

Sponge gourd plants in a planter - too many ?

via IFTTT

Sunflower on terrace garden - looks great

via IFTTT

Chili plant and the fruit - lots of sharp tasty fruits hanging

via IFTTT

Chameleon in the garden - eats insects and excellent at camouflage

via IFTTT

Starting off plants in new planter - using partially done compost

via IFTTT

Brinjal plant, flowers and fruit - somewhat healthy plants

via IFTTT

Brinjal seedlings popping up - many of them survived

via IFTTT

Tomato plants drying in heat

via IFTTT

Tomato plant almost dried out - summer strikes

In hot climate locations, tomato as a crop is planted in winter and typically fruit starts growing during spring and early summer. As the heat of summer becomes more severe, the leaves start drying up and pretty soon the entire vine starts dying out. From that point onwards, it is a race to ensure that the entire crop of ripe tomatoes is harvested before the plant finally dies out. In the video, one can see that the plant is almost dry, but there are fruits that are ripe and red. They can last for another few days on the plant if they are not picked, else they start getting wrinkled and will soon dry out if not picked. And that would be the end of one season for tomatoes.

Tomatoes getting ripe - while the plant starts to die

The tomato plant, especially in places where summer can be quite harsh, has a quick end. Constant watering can only keep the plant alive for so long. The plant goes through a point where the fruits are starting to turn yellow / red and slowly ripen; while the leaves are starting to dry up. The struggle is that the plant is dying while we are waiting to collect the fruit. Now, if we are doing this professionally, then there is a proper process to collect all the tomatoes as they ripen, maintain them with all the proper process and so on. However, doing this on a terrace garden means that one is a part-time gardener and one can only spend so much time on the plants, so it's good to get such a harvest.

Okra fruit developing on the plant

The okra plant is fairly easy to grow, but it does require warm to hot weather (of course not so very hot as in tropical summers, direct in the sun, because that could burn the leaves). In this case, this is my plant with the young okra fruit starting to develop. These develop in clusters, so within a few weeks of seeding or transplanting, you start to see fruit developing. Okra loves organic potting mix, so I keep on adding mulch and this mulch keeps on decaying and enriching to the potting mix. However, monsoon rain can cause problems, atleast my plants stop providing good fruit when there is a prolonged wet spell. Okra fruit need to be cut when the fruit is still tender; it grows very fast so you have to be careful. If you feel the seeds in the okra fruit, then the fruit becomes hard and bitter and not good to eat. And there is a belief that if the okra fruit starts developing hard seeds, the plant stops producing more fruit while that pod is on the plant.

Lemon plant full of flowers - struggle for fruits

via IFTTT

This is my lemon plant. The plant is full of flowers, and looks so promising. However, my history over the past few years with this plant has not been so promising. Most of the flowers drop after stiff breeze or a storm or just with the heat. I have tried multiple methods after reading - tried to keep the leaves moist, different types of fertilizers, a rich organic potting mix, and so on. And on the other hand, I have a couple of friends whose plants produce a lot of fruit and they claim not to do anything much. Will update once I learn more.