Beans, Greens and Other Things, A New Report

 Hello, Darlings 

I hope this cloudy and rainy day has not dampened your spirits and that you have been waiting in anticipation for my next post.

Well here are a few photos of the new crop of green beans, which have grown up straight and tall with the support of the tomato cage. The vines are still young and just beginning to bud. 

In the group of photos the plants in the other three vertical growing systems are turnip greens, which are just about ready for a third picking, some aggressive basil plants, and the same store-bought scallions that I got on Sunday, June 7, 2026 with some young pal choy plants on the bottom tiers of it hydroponic system.

Now that I have done the routine progress report on the regular vegetables, I want to share with you my new experiment. 

On Sunday, July 19, 2026, I seeded two KVITER 650 Aunt Molly Golden Pineapple Ground Cherry seeds and two KVITER 175 Long Purple Eggplant seeds. I did so because I wanted to see if they would do well in a hydroponic system. This being Sunday, August 23rd, and with only one of the two Long Purple Eggplant seeds germinating, I would say that the surviving plants are off to a good start of growing to maturity. I will keep you posted.

The photos:

This first group of photos is of the KVITER 650 Aunt Molly Golden Pineapple Ground Cherry plants. They are called this because they taste like pineapples. They also grow wrapped in papery husks like tomatillos. We look forward to harvesting and eating them. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: In addition, all parts of the ground cherries are poisonous until the cherries fall off and have turned golden-yellow. This plant is in the night shade family, like the tomato plant; however, if a tomato falls off and is picked off its stem while still green, that tomato can still be eaten. Whereas, the ground cherry cannot be eaten while green, and the fallen fruit must be set aside to ripen before it is safe to eat. So avoid growing them where there are small children, who might pop the fruit into their mouths.

In this last group of photos are of a KVITER 175 Long Purple Eggplant. I wanted to try growing them because they are bush like and longer than the patio baby eggplants, and only need a little support. The amazing thing I discovered about this Long Purple Eggplant earlier this week is that this eggplant has sharp spines on the top and bottom of its leaves, its branches and stems. I believe these spines are for preventing wild live animals from eating the eggplants. Like the KVITER 650 Aunt Molly Golden Pineapple Ground Cherry plants we are looking forward to adding them to our salads

I nearly forgot, the photos below are of the new plants growing in the other countertop hydroponic systems, some were recently germinated, and the systems consist of the following:

• One Patio Baby eggplant
• Two K1 red cherry tomatoes
• Two K2 golden cherry tomatoes
• Four pods of Japanese Red scallions, which will be moved once they get older.
• Two California Wonder Peppers
• One Tiny Tim tomato plant
• Four medium large Parris Island Romaine Lettuce with two seedlings

Until next time,

       Keep growing!!!

A Widescreen Online Review Plus Article@2026

First successful batch of hydroponic grown turnip greens

 Hello, Darlings

This is a brief update on the new turnip green plants growing in a 30 pod hydroponic vertical systems and using the half dose method of General Hydroponic MaxiGro Nutrients without the sediment added. Although this first batch is a small one, the greens are healthy and of a decent size. To this labelled and dated freezer bag I will add more turnip greens as they grow larger. In addition, I am adding some Pak Choy to the bag, as Pak Choy is good when cooked with other greens, as well as raw in salads.

Turnip Greens and Pak Choy after picking first batch

P.S. I am growing bulb-less turnip greens in the hydroponic system, but will try my hand at growing the ones with the bulbs in a mini half barrel planter with soil this fall, along with some dwarf carrots, and some Korean Radishes.

Until next time,

     Chow, Darlings

A Widescreen Online Review Plus Article@2026

Fred's New Look

Hello, Darlings

Since I discovered that Fred, The Indian Laurel had out grown his yellow planter and was growing a central root into the soil next to the house, I had to cut it out and move him to a place where it would be easier to maintain his growth. Yes, the root had punched its way through two planters, the yellow one that Fred have currently grown in, and the larger clay colored replacement. The root was just that strong.  Nevertheless with Stanley’s help, I gave Fred a new look by cutting him out of his old yellow planter and putting him securely in the larger one, which I had bought a couple years ago with the knowledge that someday Fred would need it. 

With Stanley holding Fred in place, I filled the planter with new soil and a little non-burning, all-purpose plant food to jump starts the root growth, and surrounded him with morning glories seedlings; finally, I trimmed him down the a manageable size. My idea is to intertwine the morning glory vines among Fred's branches in a colorful and graceful fall.

In the two black planters below Fred there are seedlings of marigolds, and I also placed a young hibiscus plant, as well as an arrowhead plant, both of which will need constant pruning, as with Fred, to maintain their sizes. 

Finally, because I had seeded a lot of marigolds seeds under Fred before repotting him, those additional seedlings are now transplanted around the bottom of the stump of a huge oak tree. My idea is to cover that stump with a variety of colorfully vining flowers.

In addition, I have for the most part given over the care of the outdoor gardens and container plants out there to Stanley, his knowledge is limited, and like many newbies to gardening, he is learning slowly, and in some cases, the hard way. However, I know that someday he will read my garden journals, and/or will pick up one of my many gardening books and read it. Until then, let’s just say, patience is a virtue, but my ancient nerves are thin.

Wow! Fred, Eight Years Later

Meet Fred, the Oak Tree??? Nope, Fred The Indian Laurel

Until next time, 

  Let’s Keep Growing!!!

A Widescreen Online Review Plus Article@2026

https://evelyntwigsthymestrangerthingsgarden.blogspot.com/2026/06/wow-fred-six-years-later.html

An Update on Hydroponic Grown Turnip Greens with General Hydroponic MaxiGro Nutrients

 Hello, Darlings, 

This post is an update to the one I made on July 28, 2026 in which I wrote about the usage ratio for using General Hydroponic MaxiGro nutrients in vertical hydroponic systems. In the post I recommended reducing the suggested label amount of MaxiGro by half, and before adding the nutrients to the vertical hydroponic systems, sift out the sediment that gathered at the bottom with a dish cloth or some cheesecloth. 

Well, after following my own advice below are a couple photos of how my new batches of turnip greens look today. They are a vibrant healthy green and each leaf is soft to the touch, and not the dark and brittle green leaves like the first batch that I grew some months back.

Undissolvable Sediment

Until next time,

     Keep Growing!!!

A Widescreen Online Review Plus Article@2026

An Update for Stabilizing a Tomato Cage for Vertical Hydroponic Use

Hello, Darlings

I didn't like the pinched look of the tomato cage when I made it triangle. My idea is to connect the stems to the stake arms once they are tall enough to drape over with some room for spreading them out, and avoid as much crowding as possible. 

The cage looks good and doesn't prevent me from removing the water tank for cleaning and refilling. 

In addition, s you can see there are some new green bean plants growing it the system now. I will keep you posted on how they are doing in the future. 

Until next time,

     Keep Growing!!!

A Widescreen Online Review Plus Article@2026