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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesBack Porch Gardening Tips

Back Porch Gardening Tips

Dear Source:
When my husband came home with those expensive, gorgeous tomatoes with stems-you know the type–they tasted great, but I was horrified at the price. He smiled and said not to worry. He carefully removed the seeds, soaked them in water, removed the materials surrounding them, dried them, and planted them. Voila we now are growing our own tomatoes.
I can't get the basil to stop growing; we planted the seeds in a huge pot and I can't use them fast enough. My husband learned to make bush tea from some men doing some yard work for us. Then I made them a sandwich with my basil-pesto mayo and they loved it. Basil goes great with any dish containing tomatoes.
Whenever I buy an avocado, we remove the seed, place three toothpicks around the seed and prop it in a cup of water until it roots. We now have several avocado trees growing. The beauty and trick to container gardening is that if a plant is not doing well in one spot, it can easily be moved to another until it is happy.
We plan to expand the garden to a spot where we already have some banana trees. Two friends from Bovoni who have been doing great carpentry work for us are going to share the garden. We look forward to a lot more home grown veggies, herbs and fruit next year.
I've never had a green thumb, but this climate and sunshine make our efforts look good. Another tip: make your own rich soil. Any clippings from trees or shrubs go into a huge pot or heavy carpenter's bag, along with all non-fat scraps from the kitchen, including tea bags and coffee. Even the palm fronds which fall can be cut up and placed in the container and it is all layered. With so much sun and heat, we are making soil at a rapid pace and it is so rich. You don't have to buy fancy composters. All this is a great way to recycle, save money, and eat organic food.
Dena Langdon
St. Thomas

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