Archive for the tag “flower”

Greens That Didn’t Mind May Heat

May hasn’t been easy on my garden. I’ve lost several plants to the heat like Zucchini, Tomatoes, Mustard, Corn, and Spinach.

mustard couldn’t stand the heat

Some plants however, have proved to be exeptionally hardy, plants like Dinosaur Kale, which exceeded my expectations in how tolerant they can get, can you believe these now stalky brassicas have been standing tall in my garden since early October?

Their leaves are starting to get narrow, as the plant looks like its ready to flower. Just picture the amount of Kale I got to harvest this year. Amazing.


And it is still good to harvest! I used to think brassicas hated the heat, I guess I was wrong.


I cant wait until it flowers.

Kale wants to survive so badly, that its producing new baby kales on it’s stalks.  I am really amazed by this plant’s will to survive! A big success in Kuwait, Im surprised no one else grows it here.

rainbow swiss chard

Another delightful surprise to be still giving, is Rainbow Swiss Chard, this plant, with leaves more delicate that those of Kale, are still happy despite the scorching heat and dusty winds. I really want these plants to flower, so I can collect their seeds, but they’re still fighting for life.

I could go on and on about Kale and Swiss Chard. Grow them In September for a continuos supply of healthy greens to last you well more than 10 months.

April Warmth

Warm weather means one thing to herbs and leafy greens, time to bolt!
In the plants’ natural cycle to survive, it will set seeds when the growing conditions are far from optimal, and 37 degrees Celsius is very far. So when it gets too warm for these plants they start to flower, and with this, their flavor will turn bitter. Bolting is the final stage in the plant’s life cycle, this is why gardeners try to prevent bolting to prolong their harvest.

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Bolting can be good, like these mustard flowers, because their scent attracted lady bugs and lacewings, which help take care of the aphid problem I recently got.

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Swiss Chard, and Dinosaur Kale, have both been doing really well despite the heat, so I again recommend both plants to grow next season!

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Some of my parsley is bolting.

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And so has spinach.

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Mint, however, is doing better in the heat than it did all season!

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