#that wasn't even all of the plants soaking like the basil I just did a big water on

[quicksilversquared]

I recently realized that in my effort to not over-water my plants, I have been under-watering most of them, so I've spent the entire day rotating pots in and out of water to sit and soak up as much water as they can. I have nearly 40 plants. It has been hours. I'm still not done, and I started this morning.

good thing I tried it now, though, because I was planning on doing the same thing in a month before I leave and go home (for three weeks lol) because I'm hoping that my landlady will agree to water for me and if I can cut the number of plants that need watering down to, like, fifteen, that'll be easier on her. Thankfully a large portion of my plants are succulents/cacti and can probably sit that long without extra water no problem, as long as I've watered them beforehand. It's just going to be the basil/mint/ferns that really need attention.

(next time I'm going to have more than two soaking pots going at a time tho lol)

[whiskeynovember]

between today and yesterday, i soaked the watermelon seeds overnight and then potted them up in nursery pots this morning.

yesterday i spent most of the day trying to remove and prep the sunflower seeds. i had them soaking in a vinegar soapy bath to remove the worms, which worked a little, but there were still a lot hanging onto their little empty seed homes for dear life. also, the damn squirrels got into the patio and started eating the area of the sunflower that wasn't submerged. 😫

i waited until late in the evening when the sun went down to remove most of the seeds. washed them and then salted them and I'm now laying them out in the garage to dry a bit before i roast them.

cleaned up the onion/leek/ garlic basket today. I'll have to buy a few more spring onion as the ones i saved my last buy started rotting before i could get them in the soil. the 2 leeks i got from the local store and rooting amazing, but the 3 i got from Walmart started to sprout already and the bulbs are really weird and splitting. I'm going to let them flower and go to seed since there's not much else i can do with them. i also spaced out the garlic more and then interplanted the newer bulbs so i should have a good interval. i had a lot of extra soil left over from the basket so i mixed it with some eggshells and threw it in plot 2.

i organized the seeds yesterday and planted some spring onions next to the chives. bagged the arugula and bok choi and the rest of the spring onions. the poppy seeds still need to dry out. i have so many of them and i cut away so much from the area trying to free up the sprinkler, which it took over. it looks pretty bare and ugly in the area, but the plant is either going to die off, which i won't mind, or regrow and i can maintain it better.

I'm not sure what's going on with the edamame. the plant leaves are starting to yellow and fall off and i don't see any new growth. i pulled a few of the icicle radish that weren't doing much as well and to be honest, only 2 really look like they're anything other than just a thin root.

tomatoes are looking good today. the mesclun greens i replanted and the purple basil are all recovering well. peppers are growing (I'm a little concerned about 2 of the habaneros that are kind of stunted, but i think they'll do better now that the sunflower roots are pulled up.)

I'm still not sure which Indian eggplant to cut, but i know which tomato plant i will. no female flowers on the kabocha, and i must have missed the 2 that did flower because they're already dying off. the buttercup squash has one that should open any day now and i should probably pull the next male flower so i can be sure to save the pollen for when the female opens.

i have one long bean! didn't even notice it until earlier today and it's already a little over half a foot long!

other than that... carrots are doing well. stevia is getting bushier. the propagations are doing nice, but the stevia is turning brown at the tips. it's still fairly firm, though. the ground cherries are not doing well... again. 🙄. cucumbers are popping up.

my goal for tomorrow is to do a light fertilizer ground cover in plot 1 and a fertilizing water solution on all the plants individually so i can get a good look at each one. maybe set up the pots for the watermelons. throw a metal pole in one of the tomatoes for more stability. better be inspect the Daikon radishes because something is eating them, and clip more parsley to give the peppers around it more sun. (can I propogate parsley?). maybe plant some more cilantro because whenever i need it, i don't have it. the orange pot should do and i have a few corriander that are starting to dry up.

garden work is never done, but if i can get all of that done by tomorrow, i should have it pretty easy the rest of the week and it's going to get hotter so i can focus on keeping the plants well hydrated and maintained.

[lou-struck]

Gentle Giant

Wakatoshi Ushijima x Reader

~ After a windstorm destroys your favorite flowerpot you find it missing before you can repair it.

Genre- Fluff

WC: 1.1k

*Repost b/c it wasn't showing up in the tags at all :(

It’s broken, shattered, destroyed.

Your beloved painted ceramic flowerpot you got as a housewarming gift for your first apartment has fallen victim to last night’s windstorm.

It fell off the railing of your window ledge and onto the bricks of the shared garden space below into what looks like hundreds of little pieces and shards.

You run down the steps of your apartment as fast as you can. You curse under your breath as you crouch over the remains trying to figure out what you can salvage.

Dirt and basil leave splatter the bricks like a crime scene as you realize there is no saving Benny the Basil. But the Pot itself may be fixed. After much deliberation, you decide that you have a chance of fixing it. You carefully dispose of the deceased plant in the compost bin before turning your attention to the sards of pottery.

Picking through the rest of Benny’s remains, you carefully gather the pieces into a bag and set it off to the side hoping that no one thinks of it as garbage and throws it away.

Not wanting to take this mess into your apartment you look around at the space. The faded picnic tables would be a great spot for you to work on your new puzzle once you run to the hardware store and get yourself some heavy-duty superglue. Knowing that the space isn’t really used by any of the other residents in your apartment complex you head off to the store.

~

You were only gone 45 minutes but by the time you make it back to the patio where you have stashed away your project you find the entire bag filled with your ceramic memories is gone.

Superglue in hand, you pace the yard thinking that you may have just misplaced it stepping over an orange waterlogged sheet of paper that had fallen into a puddle.

You look everywhere including the dumpster out back but can’t find any trace of the beloved pot. You search until the afternoon sky fades into the evening, the setting sun making it difficult for you to search any longer. Feeling dejected you go back up to your apartment to mourn the loss of the little white pot with the painted vines on it.

You could get a new one for next to nothing, but it wouldn’t replace the memories you had with the old one it’s more than just a decoration, it’s a part of your past that you’re not ready to let go of yet.

~

The next morning you are just about to leave your apartment when you see one of your neighbors stepping out his front door.

He’s tall and impossibly gorgeous, you heard from some of your other neighbors that he is a professional volleyball player or something like that. Either way, Wakatoshi Ushijima has been way too intimidating for you to approach on your own, until you see that he is carefully holding something fragile in his large hand.

You can hardly believe your eyes; your tiny flowerpot is resting carefully in his palm. He meets your eyes, and you have this sense of courage to approach him and ask why he has your missing planter.

“Excuse me,” you say marching up to him hoping that the giant would give you back what’s yours.

“Yes?” he asks with a beautifully calm face.

“I believe that’s my pot,” you say boldly as he raises a brow in amusement.

“It’s yours” he repeats analyzing the nearly pristine container.

Do you really have to fight this man to get your pot back, you bite your lip in worry as you size up your potential opponent. He’s head and shoulders taller than you and his biceps alone look like grapefruits.

Upon seeing you freeze he lets out a low laugh and his olive gaze softens. “You didn’t see my note did you,” he asks curiously.

“W-what note?” you stutter, trying to dig through your brain for whatever he could be talking about. Then your thoughts drift to the paper that you saw on the ground. The puddle had soaked it so much that you thought it had just been a piece of trash. “I saw a piece of paper that had fallen into a puddle, was that the note you were speaking of?”

“I see he says with a shake of his head. “I saw your pot fell in the windstorm y/n. I like seeing it on the window, so I fixed it for you and wrote the note telling you that I was fixing it. I apologize for the misunderstanding.”

“Oh, it's no problem at all, I’m sorry I got so defensive about it you say pulling your eyes to the floor in shame at your overreaction.

He hands the pot back to you and for a moment it's like you forgot what it looked like yesterday. Each piece was carefully reattached and even the paint was new. It must have taken hours of his time, why did he fix it for you?

“T-thank you, Mr. Ushijima.” You stammer out “This pot means a lot to me. I went to the store myself to go and fix it and when I saw it was gone, I was a mess.”

“It wasn’t a problem he says turning to leave.

“Wait!” you call after him. He turns around with such enthusiasm you wonder in the back of your mind if he was wanting you to call out to him.

“Yes?” he asks taking a stride close to you.

“Can I do something to thank you?” you ask nervously “Could I take you to coffee sometime?” Clenching your fists in anticipation of his rejection you study his face, even if he says no you still get to look at him a bit longer without being too creepy.

He opens his mouth to speak, “I would like that,” he says giving you a small smile. :I know a place not too far from here, we could go and then stop by the plant nursery next door to get you another plant.”

“That would be great,” you smile “When works for you?”

He thinks carefully for a moment. “Thursday would be good, he hums “But y/n, I must ask you one thing.

“Yes?” you answer.

“Please call me Wakatoshi when we go out.” He says with the tiniest bit of pink on his cheeks. “It’s the proper thing to do, isn’t it?”

Your cheeks heat up a bit at his request, but you oblige, “Alright then, Wakatoshi, then I guess ill see you on Thursday at noon you say.

“That sounds wonderful, he says “But if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to practice now.

“Of course, Thank you again for fixing my pot.” You say as he turns down the hall.

Once he is out of view Ushijima breaks out into a huge smile accidentally stumbling into the wall in excitement.