New to the Garden: Marigold, Tomatoes, Chilli Peppers and more

Hello everyone! Today I have planted some new additions to my garden, mainly marigold, tomatoes, chilli peppers, more basil (never enough), mint and a spider plant.

In the case of the marigold, I got some dry seeds from actual flowers. I planted them in small containers using some good, light soil which I have used in the past to grow plants from seeds. Marigolds are useful in organic gardening, as they can deter unwanted pests from visiting the garden. At the same time, they can attract beneficial insects which are critical to a garden’s health. These flowers are an excellent companion to tomatoes who are very prone to attacks by pests and other unwanted insects. They are also beautiful to look at! For planting, I filled the containers almost to the top, spread out the seeds, covered them with some more soil and then watered in a “mist” fashion.

In terms of the tomatoes and basil, I got these as seedlings from a local garden centre in Malta. These would be quite strong with good roots and therefore are ready to be planted in a proper, bigger pot. For this process, I filled 75% of the pots with soil, then made space with my finger (always use gardening gloves) to insert the seedling and filled the rest of the empty pot after that. Make sure not to cover the leaves of the seedling with soil. Again, I watered well to help the plant get ready for its new home. There is no need to use a pot that is too big unless you are going to put more than one plant in each pot.

For the chilli pepper seeds, I used some of my home-grown chilli peppers. These are ideally dry before using the seeds, and I spread the seeds across the small containers, to give a better chance for the seed to succeed and grow. Again, I covered with good soil and watered in a mist fashion, to avoid overwatering.

I obtained the mint and the spider plant from a friend, and these had a lot of strong, healthy roots. With the plants being mature and with many roots, I could plant them straight away into larger pots with lots of nice, good soil. Put the plant (with the roots at the bottom) in the pot or container and cover all the roots to the top of the pot with soil. Once done, water thoroughly.

For the time being, I am going to keep these in a sheltered location with lots of light but without direct sun. As the plants start growing and are adjusted to their new pots, I might eventually move some of them into a little more sun, especially the tomatoes and chilli peppers that need more sun to produce fruit.

What new plats have you recently added to your collection? Let me know below, and do not forget to like and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest. Happy gardening!

If you found this post interesting, you might also like the following:

• Vertical Gardening
• What Is Hydroponic Gardening?
• Gardening in Malta

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