The 6x8 garden

Goodbye :(

2011-10-26T15:25:00.002-05:00

I just realized I never officially closed out this blog when we moved.

I've enjoyed the adventure of gardening on my balcony the last few years, but I'm looking forward to having a little more space and flexibility at my new house. If you'd like to continue to follow me, my new blog is at http://erinpatricecarpenter.com/arborabode

Happy gardening!

Marigolds, peppers, tomatoes, violas

2011-06-29T07:41:00.001-05:00

It rained a lot last week. At least it seems that everything loves it. At least, nothing is dying on me. *knock on wood

Enjoy the photos :)

violas and nasturtiums from last year's saved seeds

marigolds from last year's saved seeds

patio tomato

'italia' pepper

jalapeno pepper

bell boy pepper

'hot portugal' pepper

Hello tiny tomatoes

2011-06-17T09:25:00.001-05:00

Update

2011-06-13T10:42:00.006-05:00

Everything is growing beautifully. The cilantro is finishing up and bolting, but I got a week's worth of burrito toppings out of it first. The basil also has seen a lot of use—the grocery store has gorgeous heirloom tomatoes now, so I've been indulging in caprese salads quite a bit.

End of May

2011-05-30T22:06:00.000-05:00

I'm really sorry that I've been so bad about updating. It's just that this spring has been really cool, so things haven't really taken off, so it never seemed like I had much to report. But I finally have something green in every pot, so you won't be subjected to completely bare, brown photos.

The herbs are very happy outside again. I harvested from them lightly, but regularly, through the winter, and they didn't put out much new growth, so they got snipped down pretty far, but they've taken off in the last couple weeks.

Last year was my first experience with growing a tomato. I decided one wasn't enough. I got 3 this year.

Got 5 varieties of pepper. I don't like to think I'm missing out on something really great, so I like to get lots of varieties, instead of many of just one variety. Got a couple well-known ones and a couple I hadn't heard of before. Sweet peppers: Bell Boy, Italian Sweet, California Wonder. Hot peppers: Hot Portugal and Jalapeno.

Also got new basil and mint plants.

It's been cool enough that the mesclun mix I planted is still going. But it'll meet it's end this week. I'll harvest it before it gets too hot. Salads for me!

And the cilantro is fabulous. I need to make vegetarian burritos so I can use it before it gets too hot.

I sowed nasturtiums and marigolds a couple weeks ago. They took their sweet time coming up, but they're looking pretty strong now.

Also have a little bunch of self-seeded petunias or violas. I guess we'll see what exactly they are when they bloom.

Oh, and I haven't seen it do this before—the rosemary bloomed. Cool!

And a maple self-seeded in the big planter and survived the winter, so I saved him and put him in his own little pot.

Overall, things are way behind where they were last year. In May 2010 the peppers were much bigger and blooming. And the tomato was also much larger and also blooming.

The weather this year just stinks.

I'm back!!!

2011-03-18T13:13:00.003-05:00

Wow, it's been awhile, but spring is here and I'm back! I figure it has to be spring for 3 reasons. One, the robins are back in Iowa, and they're singing. Two, my pot of chives is sprouting. Three, it's been in the 50-60's for a week. So I figure the return of seasonal wildlife, growing green things and temps warm enough to get away with short sleeves for a few hours in the afternoon are clear signs that winter is behind me.

Green things! Happy-dance time!

Yesterday I cleaned up the dead stuff that I didn't get to last fall. That was icky. Then I discovered that the rosemary's pot split in two, so I repotted the rosemary in another pot. And I saw that my compost pretty much successfully composted over the winter. Cool.

Today I planted salad greens and cilantro. Two 10" pots of cilantro—the seeds were leftover from last year. Two planters on the railing of salad greens—the seeds were a gift from Renee's Garden. Thanks!!!

Also, I have to (sadly) announce that this is going to be the last season for my blog.
But it's because Dave and I didn't renew our lease, and (very happily) plan to buy a house.

So I plan on mostly growing things that will be done by the time our lease is up at the end of July. (Suggestions are very much welcome.) Which will be a challenge, but who wants to move an entire garden?! Not this girl! Last time we moved I had enough trouble with just a few houseplants.

But I hope to have a new garden and all sorts of home-ownership adventures next year, so maybe I'll start a new blog :)

Done for the season. Be back in spring.

2010-11-04T10:35:00.005-05:00

Hi guys...Yeah, I've been gone for awhile. Sorry about that. I've been really busy...Spent a lot of time at work trying to finish some projects, then my contract expired, so I'm trying to find a new job/freelancing. I've been working on my portfolio, submitting applications, etc., and that all takes a lot of time.

And I'm either training or teaching taekwondo almost every night. And I spend most of my free time with my husband, or my little sister (who just moved out here for school).

I did manage to get the last of my harvest in before it froze. Overall, it wasn't a great year. The weather was pretty crummy—very wet.

The herbs are inside for the winter again.

I might post occasionally between now and spring, but don't worry if you don't hear from me until March :)

Double cosmos — Rose Bon Bon

2010-07-20T16:17:00.003-05:00

I think this is what they're supposed to look like, but only a couple of the plants ended up with the "bon bon."

Seed packet illustration.

Most of them look like this.

Not that I'm complaining.

They are gorgeous.

Wine pansy

2010-07-16T10:38:00.001-05:00

This is a pansy I grew from seed saved from last year. I know the plant I harvested the seeds from was a vibrant violet color, but I also had white/yellow, yellow/brown, and purple bordering on black pansies. I guess it cross-pollinated with the yellow/brown.

I really like the speckles.

Even though the colors are rather different, this bloom is off the same plant as the one in the first photo. It looks kind of washed out (some of the color reminds me of a blush wine), but I kinda like the little white edges on the petals.

This is a different plant, but the seed came from the same seed-pod. I really like the colors on this one.

Funny color combo on this little guy.

I have to wonder, if I saved the seeds from these, what will the next generation bring? I'll find out next year.

Green beans

2010-07-14T09:38:00.002-05:00

I planted green beans on May 26. I don't recall the variety (I'm bad, I know), but they're a very compact, bush plant.

Flowers on July 6

Some pretty sizeable beans by July 11

Harvested the first batch today — July 14

I'll saute them tonight with butter and salt.

Cosmos — blooming

2010-07-08T12:41:00.001-05:00

The sun was low. I was killing Japanese beetles and tomato hornworms. The breeze had stopped and all I could think about was the heat radiating off the glass doors and the humidity trying to drown me.

Then I saw the first bloom on my Double Cosmos – Rose Bon Bon.

And there are many more buds waiting to open.

Bug Cop patrols the tomatoes

2010-07-07T12:15:00.001-05:00

The first tomatoes I've ever grown are so red, ripe and absolutely delicious. They're like little Christmas ornaments hanging on a festive tomato-tree.

But what's this?! Poop on the basil? Ewww! Where'd it come from?

Eeewwwwwww! More on the tomato leaves! And it's fresh!

OMG! THEY"RE EATING MY TOMATO LEAVES! I must become Bug Cop to investigate and find the insectoidial criminal!

The search ensues....

You aren't eating the leaves....you're just an earwig. Ugly, but harmless.

Hi, Ms. Spider, you're not causing any trouble...looks like you even got something for lunch...good!

You! You, Mr. Hornworm, are causing a lot of trouble. Bad! Bad! Bad! Time to squish...

Muahahaha!

I hoped it was the end, but I keep checking, and keep finding more hornworms. I'll probably have to search all summer.

To Be Continued...

GROW — July update

2010-07-04T05:15:00.001-05:00

Around June 15 this leaf grew to be over 6" wide. Those are my hands; the leaf easily spans both. My palms are exactly 3" wide.

Exactly.

I'm getting some crazy Jurassic Park-style foliage over here. At one point they were trying to take over the entire planter, but once they got big enough I gently encouraged them to grow out the railing to trail off the balcony. I mean ... I shoved them through the railing and kept poking stray leaves back through each time the wind tried to shove them back.

At the same time, I got my first bloom. It's pretty, but I was expecting a deep red as shown on the seed packet. This flower turned out to be paler and orange-y.

But then these babies bloomed. So, I'm satisfied.

These were Alaska, saved from last year's plants. It's a very nice, compact plant. And a more prolific bloomer, but not as large as Spitfire.

The vines are getting pretty long.

I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks, to Renee's Garden for the seeds.

Basil Tea

2010-06-29T14:58:00.003-05:00

I love love love basil tea. I learned about it when I was looking for ideas to use the flowerheads I pick off the plants. (I don't let them bloom because it makes the leaves bitter.)

Here's the method I use to brew:
1. Harvest blooms or leaves.
2. Muddle with a couple tablespoons of sugar. This releases all the great flavor.
3. Pour cold water over the leaves.
4. Add sweetener to taste. I use different ones depending on my mood. I like raw sugar, honey, agave or stevia.
5. Leave it in the fridge for several hours. At least 8, but 24 is better.

You could use hot water like regular tea. But I think that changes the flavor.

You could also use basil to flavor regular tea-leaf tea.

It's the perfect drink for sipping while sitting on the balcony, watching the sky darken, and feeling the first cool breeze of the evening.

Ichiban eggplant blooms and babies

2010-06-24T13:20:00.000-05:00

I am completely, perfectly, and radiantly in love with eggplant blossoms. The way the light shines through and highlights the wrinkles; the contrast between the dark, solid purple stem, delicate and rumpled lavender petal and glowingly yellow stamens. Someone should breed an eggplant for the flowers instead of the fruits.

Not that the fruits aren't nice. And here's a photo of the first one of the year! Ichiban (Japanese) eggplants are long and slender, not bulb/egg-shaped. They're supposed to have a sweeter flavor and do well in containers. Though it looks like I might have to stake them. They're growing kind of crooked.

Sprouted onions - flower update

2010-06-21T13:08:00.000-05:00

The onions that sprouted in my pantry last March are tall and blooming! The flowers are pretty in a sculptural kind of way. I think it's especially fun since usually you look down at onions growing in the garden, but since these are planted chest-high, you have to look up. I think it would be really cool to plant onions like this all the way across the balcony — they'd make a kind of screen. But then they'd blow over and I wouldn't have room to grow anything useful.

Pea pods

2010-06-12T10:16:00.001-05:00

Garden peas

Snow peas

This is just about all the harvest I got this year – barely a bowl-full of each type. Sad :(

I'm starting to think peas aren't worth growing. (I think this is about all I got out of them last year, too.) They take up a good chunk of space, are annoying to get to climb up supports (I've seriously never had a stupider plant), and don't produce all that much for the space.

Since I don't have much room, I think there are other things I'd rather grow. And it would be nice to open up a little more space. I know my man would appreciate that.

Although, nothing beats the taste of fresh peas. And, the leaves and stems of the pea plant are edible, and although it's getting pretty late in the season (when the stems get woody and stringy). Like many greens (like spinach) they're perfectly fine to eat raw — toss them in a salad or as a garnish. Or you can cook them.

I harvested just the newest, most tender growth.

Sauteed in a little oil

Finished with salt and pepper.

Even the strings are edible, though the texture is very weird. Some of the stems were too woody and unpalatable, but the leaves were still OK.

And that's my culinary adventure for the week ;)

GROW — June update

2010-06-06T17:05:00.001-05:00

Spitfires in a small planter with a trellis. May 15.

In the big planter - May 20th

May 20

Today. The plants in the near planter haven't grown at all in the last few weeks. The ones in the far planter are doing OK, not fantastic, just OK. I have no idea what the problem is. Probably something with the soil, but I don't know how that would have happened — this dirt both grew herbs last year, and was amended with compost this spring. :(

In the big planter, they are FANTASTIC! The newest leaves are huge — 5" across!

And they're getting big enough to peek through the railing.

Still no flowers though.

"I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks, to Renee's Garden for the seeds."

Balcony gardening is contagious

2010-06-04T06:34:00.000-05:00

I'm very flattered when people comment that they're impressed or jealous of the gardening I've managed to do on my balcony. But, I know balcony gardening isn't just for people with the time and resources I have to put into this hobby. Heck, almost 3 years ago I started with just a couple pots of scraggly little herbs. Then I became a bit obsessed.

OK. Maybe more than a bit.

Last year, I struggled to find a few photos of balcony gardens in my neighborhood. And I was sad that more people didn't have a garden as a part of their home. This summer, the story is different. Here are a few photos of my neighbors. I found a lot more apartments with plants on the balconies than I found last year. Maybe gardening is contagious?

Lovely evening on the balcony

2010-06-03T21:29:00.004-05:00

Cool air, a glass of wine and a new book made for a lovely evening on the balcony.

Balcony garden update — pea flowers, tomatoes, peppers

2010-06-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

The snow peas are blooming. I just love their little pink flowers!

When they outgrew their stakes they started weaving their tendrils into the back of the chair. So, I don't have to worry about building another trellis, but I can't move the chair.

The garden peas are moving quickly. I just harvested a couple pods this morning and ate the peas raw. They were so cool and sweet. I hope a good bunch of them will ripen at the same time, so I can have a bowl of fresh, steamed peas with butter and salt. Mmmmm.

And I noticed I have a few tiny baby tomatoes!

The Anaheim pepper isn't looking that great. It's dropping blooms — a problem I had with all my peppers last year except for the Anaheim. It may be because of the extremely high temperatures (highs in the upper 90s) we had Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It ought to send out more flowers if the temperature evens out. Just to be sure, I watered it with a solution of Epsom salt; I guess sometimes they like a bit extra magnesium.

I haven't had any problems with the bell peppers or this Garden Salsa pepper — it even has 3 little peppers growing already.

Baked Jalapeno Poppers with Garden Herbs

2010-05-30T07:13:00.000-05:00

Garden bloggers have been all over the herbs lately. I liked the post on Growing your Own Garnishes over at aHa! Modern Living — a blog I only recently started to follow. The awesome daily garden inspiration blog Studio 'g,' did a quick post on a container herb garden in an alley. And of course LotB has their photo contest! The prize? Labeled herb planters!

This spring I've really come to appreciate my herbs. I enjoyed them last summer, but now I can say that without a doubt they're the best part of my balcony. It's so easy to clip a couple chives to dress up a baked potato; or snatch a handful of oregano and basil to add to tomato sauce; or pinch a leaf of lemon verbena and a fistful of mint to mix for sweet tea; or a handful of sage, thyme and rosemary for Thanksgiving stuffing; or...well, you get the idea. I really rely on my collection of herbs to enhance (and sometimes inspire) my cooking.

My husband and I love the kind of jalapeno poppers you can get at any run-of-the-mill restaurant where the most popular item is beer-n-burgers. They're breaded and fried and absolutely one of my favorite guilty pleasures. (Plus being a vegetarian at a beer-n-burger joint isn't the easiest thing, and sometimes this is the only thing on the menu I can have...besides fried cheese.)

My homemade version takes advantage of the herbs I have growing right now, and adjusts to our diets, and my aversion to making battered foods. (I just hate getting my fingers covered in layer upon layer of eggs and breading.)

Baked Jalapeno Poppers with Garden Herbs

6-12 Jalapenos (depending on size)
8 oz cream cheese (1/3 fat)
1/2 c cheddar cheese
A handful of herbs — I used chives, green garlic, oregano, green oregano, and lemon thyme.
Salt + pepper
Breadcrumbs

Heat oven to 350. Oil a baking sheet and set aside.
Slice the jalapenos in half, remove the seeds and membrane.
Add both cheeses to a bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Add minced herbs and mix. Salt + pepper to taste.
Spoon the cheese/herb filling into the peppers, dunk the filled side in the breadcrumbs, place on the baking sheet.

(Count yourself lucky if you have leftover cheese filling — it goes really well with crackers.)

Bake poppers for 30-40 minutes.
Serve immediately, but be careful, they're hot! :) We found they go really well with milk.

They turned out pretty good for being an experiment. My husband called them "restaurant quality," which I think is a complement. Really, the fresh herbs just made a huge impact.

Wildlife on the balcony — goldfinches

2010-05-27T20:28:00.000-05:00

Last night I finally planted beans, a bunch more nasturtiums, and a few marigolds.

This morning I woke up to this.

This lovely lady goldfinch was having my marigolds for breakfast! I saw her mate flying around, but I didn't get a shot of him.

Last year I had hummingbirds going for the nasturtium flowers, this spring I had robins looking for worms, and now goldfinches! Awesome!

Chive flowers II

2010-05-27T13:05:00.000-05:00

Strawberries + Garlic — a plan to deter Japanese beetles

2010-05-26T09:59:00.000-05:00

I had a helluva time last year with Japanese beetles. They liked my bush beans and cinnamon basil, and they really liked the strawberries.

My poor, poor strawberries. They were attacked by the beetles and got fungus spot. I spent several minutes every morning picking the bugs off and drowning them in soapy water. Some days I'd have a quarter cup of bugs! It was really gross work. I did not like it and I don't want to repeat it.

To avoid that unpleasantness this year, I'm using companion planting to deter the critters. In my online research 2 plants were consistently recommended for discouraging Japanese beetles — rue and garlic. If you don't know what rue is, well, it's a weedy looking, very large and smelly (that's what deters the beetles) plant from the Mediterranean. (And it'll give some people a rash like poison ivy.) Since I don't have a nice big garden where I can put such a plant in the corner (away from my skin) I'm going to go with garlic.

I grew garlic last year (and it was one of my favorite crops), but it was a few feet away from the strawberries. This year I planted garlic bulbs among my new strawberry plants. So now I have 2 crops in 1 pot — it's efficient and the garlic will protect the strawberries.

I'll also inter-plant garlic with the beans...whenever I get around to them. I was going to go to the store and get seeds last night, but I'm trying to ride my bike everywhere (and not drive at all). But it stormed, so I decided to stay dry and put it off for another day.

Tomato + Basil — classic companions in the garden and kitchen

2010-05-25T07:47:00.000-05:00

Tomatoes and basil go together like peas and carrots, but I suppose that's another post :)

When grown together they are supposed to improve each others flavor and vigor, but that may just be an old wives tale, since I can't find any research to back up the claim. I will say it's convenient to plant them together so it's easy to harvest them together for all the tasty foods they go together in — soups, pastas, salads, etc.

The tomato I'm growing is the Patio by Bonnie. It's a very small, determinate plant. It's very sturdy, and not supposed to need support, but I gave it a little anyway since it can get pretty windy in Iowa. It's grown at least a foot since I bought it back in mid-April.

The basil isn't doing well though. It really didn't like all the rain we got the last few weeks. The leaves yellowed, and a few dropped off — a tell-tale sign of overwatering. But I swear I had nothing to do with it; Mother Nature is to blame.

They have been doing better since it warmed up. Highs are in the 80s, and it's supposed to stay this warm for the rest of the week. I hope they continue to improve.

Lettuce harvest

2010-05-24T10:10:00.000-05:00

I've been eating the lettuce all spring, but not a lot, just a salad here, a sandwich there. But it got so hot this weekend (highs in the 80s) and it's supposed to be the same all week. So it had to come out of the garden before it bolted.

Here's the "before"

photo taken through the bedroom window

And the "after"

So, the fridge is full of lettuce. I guess my menu this week will be dominated by salads. Hooray!? I mean, I like salad, but I may have gone a little overboard with it this year.

First pea flower becomes first pea

2010-05-23T21:03:00.002-05:00

Just 3 short days after the first pea flower of the year, it became the first pea pod of the year. And yes, it's the exact same one. And now the vines are covered in flowers. I can almost taste the fresh peas...ommmmmm...

Peppers + Violas II

2010-05-23T20:45:00.004-05:00

I know I just did a post about the peppers, but I have to bring them up again because they just started blooming. Plus I have some pretty sweet photos I can't wait to share.

Anaheim

Garden Salsa

Red bell
almost there!

Red bell

Carrot seedlings

2010-05-23T11:21:00.002-05:00

First pea flower

2010-05-20T14:26:00.004-05:00

They're 2 weeks earlier than they were last year. Probably because I actually planted them on time!

Peppers + Violas

2010-05-19T06:50:00.000-05:00

I like the way the violas peek out from under the peppers. And the peppers give them a little shade that they'll enjoy when things heat up this summer. Plus, since I put the peppers right next to the sliding glass door, the violas brighten up the view a bit.

Chive flowers

2010-05-17T08:03:00.000-05:00

Balcony garden update — after a LOT of rain

2010-05-14T19:11:00.000-05:00

I'm not kidding when I say it rained for a week. Actually, looking at the weather history for May it's more like 2 weeks of rainy/cloudy weather. Check that link, then scroll about halfway down and check out that calendar. Don't let those little sunshine cliparts fool you; it's been absolutely dismal recently. But today the sun was out, pots dried out a little, and it actually feels like May!

click to enlarge

Hey! It actually looks like a garden again!

Lemon verbena, rosemary, and sage
The lemon verbena is super delicate. Seems every careless movement on my part results in it dropping a little cluster of leaves. The rosemary is gorgeous though (photo doesn't do it justice), and the sage looks just as fantastic as it did inside all winter.

Oregano, Greek oregano (in the back), and lemon thyme
The oreganoes are doing ok. I'm considering cutting back the lemon thyme to get it to put out some new, lush leaves.

Spearmint, peppermint, and marjoram
Bring on the mojitos!

Black-seeded Simpson lettuce
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ichiban eggplant.
Allegedly it does well in containers. I have 4 plants in different locations. We'll see how they do...

Peas
They didn't mind the rain. Now they're almost too tall for their stakes. I'll have to do something about that this weekend.

This year the "big planter" is full of flowering annuals that take part shade (which they'll get with the overhead planters taking most of the direct sun.)
The back edge is densely seeded with nasturtiums, I bought some cosmos seedlings, violas, and coleus. Oh, and there's 2 eggplants in the back. I'm not sure how they'll do with the part-sun, but their roots will have plenty of room.

Cosmos seedlings (from the free Renee's Garden seeds) and one lone pea that sprouted out of an old packet of seeds.

"Spitfire" nasturtiums are hanging in there. I don't think they liked all the rain, but they haven't died either.

These are a new bunch of strawberries. My plants from last year didn't live, so they went in the compost. They probably died because we had one of the worst winters on record. So, I'm trying to not beat myself up about it.

Also, the carrots have a whole container planted already, but it still just looks like a pot of dirt. I still need to (buy and) plant bunching onions and bush beans. Hope I can manage that this weekend. :D

Sowing Nasturtiums

2010-05-02T19:20:00.001-05:00

I sowed the nasturtiums in paper egg cartons on April 12.

I noticed the first seedling April 20.

By April 22, most of the Spitfire's had emerged.

All but 2 of the seeds I planted sprouted. One died after I accidentally let them dry out. (All the others recovered!) And one was snapped off when I carelessly knocked them over. So I was left with 8. After I hardened them off I planted them so they can grow up the trellis.

I planted a few others directly in pots. I probably could have done this for all of them, because it didn't give them much of a head start.

Also planted a few of the seeds I saved from my nasturtiums last year. Only 4 of those have sprouted so far — one of them just appeared yesterday. So I'm going to keep my eye on those for awhile longer.

"I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks, to Renee's Garden for the seeds."

Balcony garden update — the Earth Day edition

2010-04-22T13:14:00.002-05:00

From the Garden Center.
1 patio-sized Tomato
2 Sweet Red Peppers
2 Sweet Yellow Peppers
1 Anaheim Pepper
1 Garden Salsa Pepper
2 Basil
1 Cilantro

I seem to have lost a couple inches of soil in each planter over the winter. Maybe it leaked out the bottom? So, I also bought a bag of rich, hummus-y potting soil. It's thick, dark stuff. I'd be afraid of it compacting, except I'm mixing it into the used soil which is super light. It actually made an acceptable mix. Not an exactly scientific way to go about it...

Also bought a couple (2x6') wood trellises to put on either side of the sliding glass doors.

We had a couple cold nights, but everything lived with no apparent damage.

The tomato, basil + peppers are set out where they're sure to get lots of light, and be a bit more protected from the wind. I think part of the reason my peppers didn't do well last year was that they were in the railing planters and had to deal with a lot of wind. They grew very thick stems, didn't put out a lot of leaves, and a lot of flowers blew away. At least, I think the flowers blew away, because I'd notice them one day, and they'd be completely gone the next.

peas

more peas

black-seeded simpson lettuce, and stakes for more peas

a mix of lettuce and mesclun

Tracking expenses

2010-04-12T13:07:00.001-05:00

Last year I did a bad job of keeping track of how much this garden cost me. I tried. I kept a good record at the beginning. But I didn't keep track when I started buying the potting soil and the window box planters. Why? Because they were damn expensive and I don't want to admit to how much I shelled out.

But, I feel a little better about it now. Why? Because I'm pretty sure this year's garden is going to cost very, very little now I have the containers and soil. I don't need (have room for) more. And the hubby asked me to scale back this year so we can actually fit a couple people out there :)

I have a lot of leftover seeds from last year — and I'll probably have more left for next year, too. Lettuce, peas, carrots... Plus, I saved the seeds my nasturtiums made! (And I got free nasturtium seeds from Renee's Garden!!!) I overwintered most of my herbs — so don't have to buy new plants. I will have to buy basil, peppers, and eggplant seedlings, and maybe a few other vegetables. Maybe, and it's a big maybe, I'll try a tomato. I don't generally like tomatoes, except in salsa. So, I'd just have to resign myself to eating a lot of salsa. Oh, shoot. :)

And I want to build a trellis around the sliding glass doors and vines to grow up it. Those won't be edible unless I do it with the nasturtiums. I wanted clematis, but I'll give the nasturtiums a shot at it this year and see how they do.

Cornelian-Cherry Dogwood

2010-04-09T08:36:00.002-05:00

Cornelian-Cherry Dogwood — Cornus mas

It took me forever, but I finally remembered this shrub from the plants class I took (over 5 years ago). OK maybe Google helped, but I did know it was a dogwood.

Also —
I added lables to all my recent, and some old, posts. So now I can easily take a look back to see how the garden progressed (and filter out my photos and other random posts). Or filter to just show pretty photos. Over a year in and I'm still trying to figure out how to do this blogging thing. Anyone else make a similar useful "discovery?"

Balcony garden update

2010-04-08T07:55:00.003-05:00

Growing on the balcony now...

Lettuce

Peas

Chives

Pretty pictures — more squill

2010-04-07T06:48:00.001-05:00

I learned a new plant!

2010-04-05T12:13:00.001-05:00

I'd never seen these before. Had to do a bit of googling, but figured out that it's an iris crocus.

Both these varieties were in the same yard. I stumbled on it when I took a detour on my bike. I think I'll have to go by that house later in the year to see if they grow anything else interesting.

Seed GROW project — Nasturtium "Spitfire"

2010-04-04T11:17:00.003-05:00

This year I'm participating in the Seed GROW Project put together by MrBrownThumb. Renee's Garden donated a packet of Climbing Nasturtium "Spitfire" seeds to all participants. I got my packet weeks ago, but today is the official starting date.

I am really excited to get going. I'm going to start them indoors in paper egg cartons like I did for my nasturtiums last year. It will happen this week, I just didn't have time to do it before I left town for the holiday.

I have high expectations for this variety. Last year I grew a bush type of nasturtium, and it didn't really spread out or hang down at all from the edge of the balcony planters. So this year I'm excited to see if these will cascade down. I also want to try training them to grow up a trellis and frame the sliding doors with them. I think it will be really pretty. I have 37 seeds (5gm) to work with.

Renee's Garden also sent a packet of seeds for Double Cosmos "Rose Bon Bon." I haven't grown cosmos before, but they're supposedly good cut flowers. Having flowers I could cut and do nicely in a vase was something I missed planning for last year. I just have to figure out where to put them.

"I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks, to Renee's Garden for the seeds."

Pea shoots + warm weather

2010-04-02T09:00:00.008-05:00

Yesterday Mother Nature played a helluvan April Fools Day joke on us in the Midwest — the high was in the mid 80s. Yeah... It wasn't just a warm, pleasant spring day, it was kinda hot. The joke is that that amazing weather only lasted the day. The 10-day forecast has highs all in the mid 50s-mid 60s — good for my cool-weather crops, but I'll admit I'm itching for summer after that little taste. Mother Nature is such a tease!

And it's supposed to thunderstorm today, so I didn't ride my bike to work. But I'm kinda looking forward to the storm. I like thunderstorms — the charged air, strong fresh breeze, clean smell... Even just in this (so far) rainless spring I find myself taking extra deep breaths every time I step outside. It's just been such a relief. I don't know if I'd have been able to stand being cooped up indoors much longer.

Out on the balcony garden the peas certainly liked the warmth. They popped up like little jack-in-the-boxes. Wednesday there was just a hint of green in a couple spots and by this morning they'd put on almost an inch. They sure took their sweet time about it though — I planted them on March 16th. So maybe now they're trying to make up for being lazy before.

The chives put on a lot more growth, too. (Compare to this photo from Monday.)

The lettuce has grown, too. I can see a few secondary leaves now.

And the mint I cut back not quite 2 weeks ago put out a lot of fresh, tasty growth in the last couple days. I can almost taste the summer mojitos in my mouth. Mmmmm.

Siberian Squill on Iowa State campus

2010-04-01T12:25:00.006-05:00

The thing about having a very tiny balcony garden is that I have to find other places to revel in spacious beauty. Tall shade-trees, fragrant shrubs, large swaths of flowering bulbs, etc. Iowa State's campus fills that need very nicely. It's one of the most beautiful university campuses in the country. I went a little out of my way yesterday to get my spring bulb fix.

I adore the siberian squill on the hill next to the president's house (The Knoll). Squill is always the first flower up and blooming in the spring.

Up close they're so sweet and delicate. I can't get over the tiny blue line through each petal! Even the anthers are blue!

And they're so dramatic in large masses.

I really like this little clump of blue/white ones. They're a little larger and stuck out from the sea of blue-striped ones.

Also, the weather was nice enough that I slept with the windows open last night. It did get a little chilly (enough to wake me around 5am). But was otherwise awesome. And I rode my bike to work today. Oh, yes. It's spring :D

Wordless Wednesday — Succulents

2010-03-31T08:51:00.001-05:00

Sprouting — chives + lettuce seedlings

2010-03-29T09:27:00.006-05:00

The chives are up and moving pretty quickly. I had them in a hanging planter last year, but I think this year I'll keep them in a pot where they'll get more light. I transplanted these a couple weeks ago. They started growing almost as soon as the snow melted. I have more that wouldn't fit in this pot. I think I'll divide them into a few other pots and take them to my parents/ grandparents/siblings for Easter.

I sowed the lettuce almost 2 weeks ago. I first noticed seedlings on Friday, but by this morning they had some company. But it frosted last night; I wonder if they'll be OK.

No sign of the peas (sowed at the same time as the lettuce).

Spring daffodils

2010-03-25T08:57:00.000-05:00

It's like the sun is shining indoors :)

What to do with sprouted onions?

2010-03-23T16:59:00.000-05:00

Everyone has run into this situation at some point. You buy a bag of onions at the grocery store. Down the road they sprout before you can use them all. You see those greenish spikes and think, "Now what? Can I still cook with it? Could I plant it and get baby onions?"

Once an onion (or garlic bulb) sprouts it's quality for eating slides downhill quickly. You could use it, but it's not going to be as tasty since it's putting it's energy (sugar) to work growing the leaves. Besides composting it, there are a couple other options.

One — set it in a window in a jar with a little water, and let the leaves grow. When they're a nice size chop them off and use them like green onion.

Two —Plant it. It won't grow baby onions (it's not a potato). But it will flower. You can treat that as an ornamental; onion flowers are rather pretty, though not as showy as an ornamental. Or you can let it go to seed and give a shot at growing onions from seed next year.

One additional thought about this... If you're going to go through the trouble of growing onions from seed, I wouldn't use the boring old grocery store variety. I'd like to try a cool hybid or heirloom variety. But I don't have a lot of room for onions. (They don't produce much for the space it takes to grow them.)

So I'm going to plant my sprouted onions and see how it works out.

Update: overwintered herbs

2010-03-22T12:47:00.002-05:00

All winter I've been pretty careful to keep the herbs watered, but I haven't given them much attention otherwise. But, inevitably, some got a little dry, and dropped a few leaves.

The sage, lavender, rosemary, and greek oregano held up the best — they rarely dropped leaves and are still looking pretty nice.

The thyme and lemon thyme were next best — I let them get a little dry and they'd have a little dusting of teeny leaves at their feet, but still they don't look lanky or too sparse. The regular oregano did alright, though it was pretty thirsty, but it lost a lot of leaves and I just cut it back to get some fresh, tasty growth.

The lemon verbena was doing ok, until last week when it suddenly got very thirsty, dried out and dropped a bunch of leaves...or so I thought. When I looked closer I saw that it was putting out new growth and was covered in aphids. So it got a major trim. It needed it anyway; it put out a lot of spindly growth when I brought it inside last fall and it was starting to look like a tumbleweed.

The mints were pretty bad — they just didn't like it inside I guess. I couldn't find a happy medium between too much and too little water. I ended up hacking off everything. They'll have to start fresh this spring.

And I almost lost the marjoram. One day I discovered that it completely dried up — every single leaf was crunchy. Oops. So I cut it all off and let it sit, gave it a little water every now and then, but pretty much ignored it. And a few weeks later I noticed one teeny green leaf. It's put out a few leaves now. But they're very tender, so I'm going to have to be careful with it.

And the hardening-off has begun! I started putting them outside for a couple hours at a time in the late afternoon when I get home from work — when it's about 50º outside. :D

To spring or not to spring.

2010-03-20T18:11:00.001-05:00

Thursday was absolutely beautiful. I think the temp hit 60º! So, I did a bit of spring cleaning inside — opened all the windows, vacuumed, dusted, etc. Also moved the herbs that were in the bedroom to the living room. I'd have kept them in the living room all winter, but they were my humidifier.

It's so nice to not feel like our bedroom is being invaded by plants anymore. A few succulents, a couple orchids and a goldfish plant are enough.

Friday, however, was icky. Cloudy, windy, high of 37º (feels like 25º) and it started snowing around noon. Ended up with 1-2" >:(

But today it warmed back up (most of the snow is gone already) and all next week is supposed to be 50º and sunny! :D

Snow is melted, spring is coming!

2010-03-16T15:28:00.002-05:00

I finally got out on the balcony today! It looked so weird without a 7' tall snow drift. I did have to kick off one little patch of slush/ice, but otherwise everything melted in the last few days.

I'm really anxious to get things moving this spring — much more so than last year. Maybe it's because we had such a harsh, snowy winter. I don't remember any winter being that bad for at least 10-15 years. And unlike so many other Marches, this one gently eased out of winter. It even rained the other day. Not snow. Not sleet. Rain! I hope it keeps it up.

So today I finished some of the clean-up I didn't get to last fall — trimming the dead leaves off the strawberries and a few annuals, dumped out the melt water from a clogged pot and unclogged it, swept away dirt and dead leaves, and tilled the soil in the pots. Mostly everything is thawed, though the very middle of the biggest container, about halfway down, is still frozen solid.

The compost bin sort of did it's job. The stuff on the bottom rotted in the melted snow that got in the container. The stuff in the middle grew some mold. And the stuff on top didn't break down hardly at all. So I pulled most of it out and buried it in a couple containers. It'll break down there. Then I drained it really well, dug around to aerate it, and left it open so some of the moisture will evaporate.

I sowed lettuce and mesclun in 6 of the hanging containers. By the time they're done, it ought to be time to plant the summer vegetables. I also planted peas. And put up stakes for them, I'm not bothering with string this year.

I feel like I'm much more on top of things this year. This week last year I was still finding pots and it was a whole month more before I planted anything. But now I know better — I can't wait till April to plant lettuce and peas if I don't want the lettuce bolting and the peas frying in June.

When it gets a bit warmer I'll start hardening-off the herbs I overwintered. Maybe next week!

Plans: sticking to my guns

2010-03-15T13:07:00.002-05:00

Last year I planned on having a completely edible garden. But by my first trip to the garden center that goal was shot dead.

I went to the garden center to get pansies, violas and marigolds — which are edible, so don't think I was there to cheat! But I started loading up my cart, and I couldn't help but get one of almost every color. They're all just too pretty! And then I saw the alyssum, and the strawflower, and the petunias....

And the lantana, and the sweet potato vine, and the black sweet potato vine, and the snap dragons, and the vinca vine, and the hyacinth, and the iris....

So, yeah, I was bad. It was so beautiful! But this year I'm going to stick to my intention to have a food garden. Not a flower garden.

Still going to have nasturtiums, pansies and marigolds, though. They're...salad garnishes. Yeah. Garnishes.

And maybe I'll find a very good reason to cheat. :)

Balcony garden inspiration — Clematis trellis

2010-02-01T09:28:00.001-06:00

I see a lot of great ideas that are very well implemented — useful and beautiful in the garden and design blogs I read. But rarely do I see a photo that just floors me to the point I have to gasp, "That! I want that!"

This is from Living-in-Penny's Flickr. I first saw it on Apartment Therapy, but it's popped up here and there since.

The clematis growing up the trellis is just perfect. Perfect perfect perfect. I bet it looks charming from every angle — even from inside and down on the street. I can imagine sitting in this lush cocoon, a warm breeze stirring the flowers' scent, the cool leaves shading me while I sip mint tea and read epic fantasy novels...

I have a fond nostalgia for clematis. It was one of my childhood garden favorites — I loved the soft, deep purple blooms and fuzzy yellow center of the flowers that clambered up beside our front porch. And my grandma had several varieties growing over her fence. The different colors and patterns always mesmerized me.

On the practical side, if I replicated this configuration it would help keep sun off the exterior walls and especially the glass doors. That shade might help keep my apartment a bit cooler in summer. Huzzah for passive solar! Don't think that was an issue for Living-in-Penny, since there is another balcony right above her to block the sun. A potential problem is that clematis is a thirsty plant. I'd have to get a nice deep pot — maybe self-watering — to keep it happy.

If I did something like this I would use just bamboo (not copper pipe). It would give vertical oomph — something my garden was lacking last year. And it definitely would not look like this. lol.

But it might look like this.

Dried stevia

2010-01-28T07:33:00.001-06:00

I'm really disappointed in how the dried stevia turned out. Last year I posted about growing, and harvesting.

It wasn't too hard to grow. But I did have to buy plants — my seeds were very unsuccessful. And later I learned getting plants which were grown from cuttings is ideal. Similar to fruit trees, stevia reproduces sexually, so the seed-grown plants are not identical to their parents. The hardest part was keeping it watered. It was a very thirsty plant! Watering on a balcony is always tricky though.

The leaves dried beautifully, they were crunchy, stiff and retained a lot of color. Just a nibble was almost enough to overwhelm me with sweetness.

Recently I tried soaking them in hot water for my tea. As I watched, the water took on a slight greenish tint. Figuring that was a sign the leaves had released their saccharine goodness, I tasted a bit of the water, and it was a little sweet but I got much much more of the green, fresh-mown-grass flavor than the sweetness. I like the smell of mown grass, but I do not want to eat it.

I wondered if the hot water needed more time to leach out the steviocide, or if it was too hot and had damaged it. (I don't know if that is possible, but it occurred to me.) But when I soaked it longer it just created more of that green taste. When I tasted the soaked leaves they were still very sweet, it just wasn't getting into the water. Even pulverizing and wringing out the leaves didn't work. Well, it did work in that I got more sweetness, but I also got more un-tasty green flavor.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I can't find any information on the web about the weird taste, except what I think people mean as the difference in the flavor of the processed steviocide extract and other sweetener flavors. (Even sugar has a flavor, you know.) But I've found absolutely nothing on how to prepare the leaves to avoid or get rid of the green taste. I'm going to keep searching. But if I can't find anything I'll have to throw them away — yes, they're that useless. And I will probably ditch the plant I'm overwintering. No reason to keep growing a useless plant, right? Can you tell I'm frustrated?

More herbs, orchids and the amaryllis

2009-12-28T10:35:00.003-06:00

Herbs are holding out. Mints look pretty lanky though.

Succulents are thriving.

The amaryllis is going to bloom.

I dropped my favorite orchid. Check out the damage on the top layer of leaves.

It's fall didn't damage the blooms though.

Herbs + new amarylis bulb

2009-12-22T13:18:00.003-06:00

My herbs are, I think, doing well overall. Some — the thyme, lemon verbena, marjoram, and stevia — put out a lot of weak, tender growth. I'm not sure what to do about it. Maybe I'll just harvest the spindly bits to encourage more compact growth.

I had a helluva time keeping them watered. At this point I have them on a schedule of every other day. Although, some of the tender (and thirsty) ones like the lemon thyme and the mints get a bit droopy. Last week I forgot to water them until day 3 and almost every plant started dropping leaves. Even the ones that really like it to be dry and I hadn't had any trouble like that from before (the thyme, oregano, lavender, and sage).

I think the design of my apartment contributed to the problem. I have to keep the plants in front of the windows so they get enough light. But the heating vents are also right in front of the windows, so the plants have hot air blowing on them — making them dry out faster.

On the plus side, they keep the air nice and moist. Last winter I had to have a humidifier running full blast every night and sometimes during the day, just to keep the air comfortable. Out of habit I ran it a couple days when we turned the heat on last month, but woke up with condensation all over the windows. Even the curtains were slightly damp. So I turned it off, and put it away. Plants rock :D

I wanted to get some tulips to force for xmas, but I got to the garden center too late to get the ones they put out for fall, so I got an amaryllis bulb instead. A few days after I potted it I saw a bunch of little maggots wiggling around on top of the soil. Ick! So I threw the soil away and rinsed the bulb as well as I could. I didn't have enough potting soil to re-pot it, so I used sphagnum moss. At one point I let it get too wet and a bit of mold developed on the top layer, so I picked it off, and I'm trying to do better at monitoring when it needs water. It won't bloom in time for xmas, and maybe not for New Years. I'll have to make a note to start earlier next year.

Edible walls

2009-11-20T10:17:00.002-06:00

The Dirt recently posted about the benefits of green walls (like green roofs, but vertical), highlighting their potential for urban farming. I think that while it's a really cool idea it definitely isn't for every situation. Like for me right now. See, while I wish I could try this out, I don't have a good place for it. I don't want to completely block my view out of the sliding glass doors, and I don't think they'd get enough sun if I put them to the side.

But, if I ever get to build a house or do a major renovation, green walls will definitely be on my "must have" list!

More orchids! 2

2009-11-17T07:30:00.002-06:00

Check out this adorable green/yellow guy :)

I picked the best one I could find, but I got what I paid for...

It's super cute, but some of the buds shriveled up :( This happened to me last year, when I bought my first orchid. After a couple fell off, I just trimmed the ends off those branches. Luckily, some of the buds are still green and plump. One even bloomed and all the other blooms still look good! So maybe I got it in good growing conditions soon enough to save it.

Aren't the little red freckles pretty?!

And if anyone noticed the black/white photo in the first shot, yes it's an orchid — the photo was taken on our honeymoon to the Biltmore estate. The greenhouse had the most beautiful orchids. So yeah, I have an orchid growing next to a picture of an orchid. :)

More orchids!

2009-11-16T08:02:00.000-06:00

Walmart had $15 orchids again!

So I got a couple more — one for each side of the bed. I spend a lot of time digging through their inventory looking for ones that looked absolutely healthy. This white one I think I made a good choice on — a couple more buds have opened since I bought it a week ago! And everything still looks nice and lush. I'll post photos from the other one tomorrow.

Enjoy some close-ups. I want to know what makes the petals sparkle — so pretty!

My orchid is going to bloom! UPDATE

2009-11-12T07:23:00.000-06:00

The flower stalk has grown several inches from when I first posted about this particular plant about a month ago. It started curving over, and developed little bitty buds. I wonder how much longer until it blooms!

Entering domant period in 3...2...1

2009-11-11T14:28:00.002-06:00

Slowly going downhill
Strawberries
Orange Mint
Iris

Still hanging on, at least enough to stay green
Alyssum
Pansies
Petunias
Chives

I tried planting a fall crop of lettuce, but in August+September it was too hot, then October was too wet, now they're starting to grow, and I just know there's some bad weather around the corner that'll kill it all. Crossing my fingers I can get a mini-salad out of it before it snows.

Inside, the lemon thyme dropped a lot of old leaves. The lemon verbena dropped a lot too, but I think that's because I accidentally let it dry out. It's really hard to keep everything watered. They're thirsty!

And the stevia is growing some new sprouts.

The herbs make my bedroom smell so good! But they get really thirsty. If I don't water them every day they wilt and start dropping leaves. BUT the extra work paid off when I wanted fresh herbs to make pasta sauce the other day!

Harvesting stevia

2009-11-09T07:49:00.001-06:00

I got the chance to harvest the stevia the other day. It was really bright and sunny when I woke up, so I broke off the stems and hung them in the window.

I read that it's best for them to take a day or less to dry in the sun. But these took a couple days.

When they were nice and crispy I tore off the leaves.

And packed them in jars.

They're really, really sweet. I just nibbled a corner and it was almost overwhelming. It didn't have any of that overcooked broccoli taste the other stuff ended up with either. Yay! I think they'll be nice for sweetening tea.

My favorite posts from October

2009-11-05T10:20:00.008-06:00

My Latest Garden Images from Gardening in Heels

Generation X and Y Survey Results from Life on the Balcony

Half Full from Balcony Gardener

Carving the Death Star I have do this if I host a Halloween party next year.

Vegetarian Chick'n and Dumplings from Fresh 365

The Garden that Climbs Stairs from The Dirt

The Devil is in the Details from Balcony Gardener

Succulents on the windowsill

2009-10-27T14:27:00.003-05:00

What's dead and what's clinging on

2009-10-22T07:28:00.000-05:00

Alyssum

Peppers

Petunias

Nasturtiums

Violets

Strawflower

Violas

Lantana

Cinnamon Butternut Squash Soup

2009-10-21T14:26:00.001-05:00

I'm always in the mood for cinnamon, but especially in the fall. I just can't get enough!

Ingred:
about 3 lbs of butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, and cut in cubes
4 c skim milk (or vegetable broth)
1/2 block of tofu
1 T cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
oil, salt, pepper

Peel, core and cut squash in cubes.
Pile on a baking sheet. Spray with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 1 hour at 350˚
Puree all ingredients in a food processor. (Careful not to fill it too full, do it in batches if yours has a small bowl.)
Eat.

It's almost too easy. And too tasty, this stuff isn't going to last long :)

Stevia flowers (inside)

2009-10-19T07:01:00.000-05:00

I saved the last nasturtium blooms before they froze

2009-10-18T10:41:00.000-05:00

My orchid is going to bloom!

2009-10-17T16:15:00.002-05:00

I bought this guy at Wal-Mart — of all unlikely places — last year. I guess I didn't take care of him very well (temperature, water, bad karma from shopping at Wal-Mart...who knows?), because all his flowers fell off within a week. So I hacked off the stem, and waited. This summer he grew two leaves, and about a month ago I noticed him sending out new air roots and this new flower stem.

I don't know what I'm doing right. He's just sat on my dresser or this southeast window sill. I kept him watered, but didn't do it regularly, or pay him any special attention. The balcony garden took up too much of my time. I can't wait to see if he blooms successfully! The flowers last year were perfectly white. I'm going to have to rummage around my garden supplies for the stake and clips he came with to keep the blooms upright.

Fresh salsa

2009-10-16T07:43:00.000-05:00

Although it doesn't really fit the season, I had the urge for some fresh salsa.

Ingred:

8 Roma tomatoes**
1 can of black beans
1 Sweet pepper*
1 Onion**
1 Jalapeno pepper**
2 Anaheim peppers*
handful of cilantro
handful of green onions*
3 sprouts green garlic*
1 T cumin
1 t garlic powder

* — came from my garden
** — came from my dad's garden

I enjoy it with salty tortilla chips, in an omelet, on top of scrambled eggs or as the filling in a quesadilla. Yum!

How to overwinter your herbs

2009-10-15T07:47:00.000-05:00

I couldn't bear to leave my fresh herbs outside to die in our horribly cold Iowa winter. I'm in zone 4a, and I can't expect anything to make it through alive if it's outside. But I'm hoping I'll be able to do something about the strawberries...still working that out though.

So first I dug the herbs out of the hanging boxes.

Then I replanted them in individual pots. That way I can better monitor their water needs and cater to their preferences.

The stevia and lemon verbena were already in individual pots. Neither of them would have a snowball's chance in hell of surviving an Iowa winter. But, I successfully overwintered that lemon verbena last year. It lost all it's leaves, though, so I guess it's deciduous. But it's twice as big now! Hopefully after I harvest the stevia it will grow back in the spring.

The rest get their own pots. They're sitting in the southwest window of the bedroom. It's the best light in the whole place, especially when the southeast window curtains are also open.

Tips:

They need at least 5 hours of sun/day.
If you don't have a south-facing window, you can use a florescent light for 10-12 hours/day.
Use well-draining soil and let them dry out a bit between watering. This will keeps the roots happy AND help control those annoying little flies.
Keep them cool. They like the temperature in the 60s.
Reverse hardening off — like when you put seedlings outside in the spring, your herbs need to get used to your indoor conditions gradually. Start by bringing them inside at night, and leaving them out in the sun during the day.
Wash them — I just threw mine in the shower for a few minutes. This'll get off any stray potting soil, loose leaves, and bugs. If you've had bug problems, you might want to wash them with soap.
Prune them — Experts advise that you cut off 1/2 to 1/3 of the plant. I did that to the mints (they weren't looking too good). But everything else is super lush so they just got a trim. BUT don't harvest any more until you see new growth. And be warned, that may not happen until early spring.
Fertilize in early spring when new growth starts.

If you want herbs to harvest during the winter:

You'll need to fertilize them monthly
You'll need to give them extra light
Don't expect them to survive until next year. It's tough work producing all year long, and they might just wear out! You may have to start over with fresh plants in the spring.

Farewell pineapple sage

2009-10-14T06:54:00.000-05:00

I didn't have enough pots to save all my herbs over the winter. The orange mint and pineapple sage had to be left outside. I'm curious to see if the mint survives, since I heard that mints are pretty tough. (And honestly I didn't want to deal with the damn thing. It ended up looking very wild and had sent all sorts of runners everywhere.) The pineapple sage I hacked off the branches and stuck them in a cup of water until I figured out what I wanted to do with them.

Before I had a chance to use them one of the stalks bloomed.

I can't decide if I want to use it in some sort of recipe...what would it go with? Or if I should make tea again?

After the frost

2009-10-13T07:45:00.011-05:00

Looking pretty bad after the frost Friday night.

And even worse the next day.

I'll leave the chives out until they die back. Then I'll bring them inside and they'll start to grow tasty new shoots.

But I saved the herbs. They'll live inside for the winter.

I'll cut back the stevia soon. It'll have to be a nice sunny day so it can dry out quickly.

The other pots are lemon verbena and pansies. I cut back the old growth on the pansies, they'll come back soon.

And the rest of the herbs are in the bedroom.

spearmint + peppermint
oregano + variegated oregano + greek oregano
marjoram
sage
thyme + lemon thyme
lavender
rosemary

No basil though — I harvested it, but that's a post for another day!

I was surprised I didn't bring in very many bugs with all those plants. Just a couple mosquitoes, a ladybug and half a dozen boxelder bugs. I was preparing to wage a war on little flies and stuff. But haven't seen any for the last 3 days.

Ginger and Pony devour carrot greens

2009-10-12T13:19:00.003-05:00

I love my fuzzy composters.

OMG photos are gone!

2009-10-09T13:01:00.006-05:00

Sh!t :`(

I effed up my Flickr. Will have photos fixed soon!

UPDATE:

Here's what happened.

I use iPhoto to upload and organize my photos, then upload them to Flickr, which I then link to.

Well, I decided to consolidate my iPhoto folders, which resulted in Flickr losing track of them. And there was no way to undo it.

FAIL

So I tried to re-upload them all, but I have over 200, so Flickr deleted the old ones as I added more, compounding my problem!

So now I'm like, eff that. And I uploaded everything to Picasa. Which I think will work out much better. For one, I can have about 10x as many photos, and it's WAY easier to link them to the blog editor. All I have to do is drag and drop, instead of copying the link and using the little link gadget.

Now I just have to figure out what the photos used to be, and relink them all. Hopefully I can get it done this weekend.

I have a headache now.

UPDATE:

Took me 4 hours, but the links are all fixed. And better than before, actually. Now they're a lot bigger so they can be clicked on to enlarge.

Cinnamon Carrot Soup

2009-10-09T13:00:00.010-05:00

Had the night off (first time in 3 weeks) so I spent about 5 hours cooking! So I'll have lots of recipe posts next week :D

I harvested one of the tubs of carrots. The were so big and plump and juicy. Not as flavorful as I'd like. But they were better than grocery store baby carrots in a bag.

And the piggies got to enjoy the tops. Of course I didn't give them all the tops. It'd have made them sick! So I saved the extras by putting them in a cup of water and stashing it in the fridge.

So I had all that fresh carrot...what to do with them though? Well it's fall, and kinda chilly, which put me in the mood for soup, and I've had some serious cinnamon cravings lately. Cinnamon in apple cider, cinnamon candy... I figured it was time for something a tad more healthy.

Cinnamon Carrot Soup

• 6-8 cups fresh carrots, scrubbed

• 1 large onion, sliced

• 6 garlic cloves

• 4 cups skim milk

• 1/2 block of tofu

• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp cloves

• salt + pepper to taste

I scrubbed the carrots and cut the tops off, then cut them in half. Put them on a baking sheet with a sliced onion and the garlic (still in the husks), spray some Pam and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake in 350˚ oven for 1 hour.

Allow to cool for a minute, peel the garlic, add all ingredients to food processor and blend. I got the tofu idea from fresh365's post on broccoli cheddar soup.

Garnish with cinnamon.

I didn't bother to put it back on the stove to heat up. Just threw single servings in the microwave and put the rest in the fridge for later.

Other local balcony gardens

2009-10-08T11:53:00.002-05:00

Went for a drive – Iowa countryside

2009-10-07T16:59:00.006-05:00

The boxelder is actually turning a nice shade of yellow this year. Last year the green leaves just fell off before they turned.

The weather this afternoon was perfect. So I took a drive and snapped a few photos.

Down the street the maples look spectacular. I wonder if it will improve or if this is as vibrant as they'll get?

You can click to make the photo bigger.
I love the architecture of Iowa barns. These 3 are great examples of the evolution of dairy barns.

The mottled colors in this valley caught my eye.

A couple more cool barns.

A local county park. It's so busy in the summer, felt really weird that I was all alone there today.

The corn turned awhile ago. But I guess the farmers have been waiting for things to dry out before they harvested their crop.

Speaking of crops...I'm about ready to bring some of mine in. There was a teeny film of frost on the ground this morning, but not up on the balcony. Still, I can't procrastinate. It's time to prep for winter!

It's fall

2009-10-05T16:11:00.001-05:00

Love the color of the red maples, green grass, blue/purple sky and golden corn.
you can click on any of the images to enlarge

I'm totally envious of my neighbors. All I get to see out my window is a lousy yellowy boxelder tree and it's bugs that are trying to squeeze under the door.

Cardinal and gold on the ISU campus.

I love this tree. Sometimes I take a longer route to work just to check up on it.

Here Comes the Rain Again

2009-10-05T14:55:00.002-05:00

My favorite posts from September

2009-10-02T12:41:00.005-05:00

5 Fall Vegetables every Container Gardener Should Try from Life on the Balcony

Even a Small-Space Garden can Produce an Edible Bounty from CityDiggity

Shades of Red and Purple from Greens and Berries

Ken Burns' National Parks from The Dirt

Herbs and Vegetables for Shadier Balconies from Life on the Balcony

13 Famous Vegetarians from Treehugger

3 Ways to Preserve Basil from Life on the Balcony

Two-Corn Polenta from Fresh365 (I made this!)

Roasted Eggplant Panini from Fresh365 (on my list of things to make)

Blooming this Week from Balcony Gardener

Green Garlic

2009-10-02T09:33:00.001-05:00

OMG. Words cannot express how much I love green garlic. But I'll try.

It's the best part of my garden. If I could grow nothing else, or only had room for one pot. That is what I would grow. Why?

1. It's easy — Buy a bulb from the grocery store. Separate the cloves. Stick them in the ground. Water and wait.
2. You don't need a lot of room. Got a couple square inches of bare soil? It grows tall and skinny, so there's no worries about overcrowding.
3. It's delicious — It had a really wonderful garlic flavor, but it's not as intense. So it's also really nice for raw food that calls for garlic. Plus, if you do cook it, it gets sweeter!
4. It's a great garnish — Since it's such a bright, intense green color it looks just as cool as chives.
5. You can't find it in grocery stores. (Maybe specialty stores, but I've never seen it, and who wants to pay specialty store prices anyway?)

When September Ends

2009-10-01T16:14:00.005-05:00

now

3 months ago

it took forever for the sweet-potato vine to grow. then it didn't stop
those are 'daughter' strawberry plants. i'll have more next year! muahahaha!

annuals are starting to look ratty

the stevia is about 5' tall

peppers are ripening

the marigolds have never looked better

nasturtiums are still blooming. they liked climbing on the strings that were for the spring peas

Purple Pesto (on a diet)

2009-09-29T08:31:00.003-05:00

This recipe is made with the flowering bits of cinnamon basil, which are a lovely dark purple.
Do you see the pretty light-purple blooms toward the top/middle of the photo? Yeah...I didn't quite get them picked as soon as I should. But, oh well, it's still totally edible. They'd probably make a sweet garnish, too.

Ingredients:
equal parts finely chopped basil leaves*
and walnuts
2-3T olive oil
1/2 cup low-fat Parmesan cheese
3 stalks of green garlic*
milk

Items with a * came from the garden.

I decided to not use a food processor this time. I heard that hand chopping the ingredients for pesto is much more authentic and brings out better flavor.

Pictured above is equal parts finely chopped basil leaves/blooms and walnuts. Yes, walnuts. Why not pine nuts? I didn't have any and didn't feel like running to the store. Don't try to tell me that walnuts aren't used in pesto, because I already know pine nuts are traditional, but I don't think purple cinnamon-basil pesto is exactly traditional to begin with, and I'm going to deviate from tradition even more. Hold onto your pants. ;)

I mixed them up with just a couple tablespoons of really light, delicate olive oil and about 1/2 a cup of low fat Parmesan cheese. ("Real" pesto uses a whole hell of a lot more oil and real cheese, not the stuff I get out of a plastic tub. But I'm poor and on a diet.)

To that I added minced green garlic. What's green garlic? In a word: delicious. Another word: subtle. And another: delicate. It's like food poetry it's so good. Actually it's just grocery store dry garlic cloves I stuck in a pot, they sprout, and those green spears usually get snipped off for my lust for green garlic long before the plant would start reproducing. I'll do a post just on green garlic soon. Promise.

Here's the finished pesto! I added a little milk to smooth it out. It already had dairy from the parmesan cheese, so I figured it'd work out fine. It did. Very creamy :)

Oh, and it was delicious. I used it as a dip for crackers and a spread on a pita. Maybe next time I'll put it on pasta.

Potato, Pepper + Basil Stovetop Casserole

2009-09-28T09:35:00.001-05:00

I dunno...Can you call a stovetop recipe a casserole? But it turned out looking and tasting like a casserole!

My dinner prep started with these funky peppers. They came off a plant I got from Burpee, but I don't think I was supposed to get a purple pepper! So either they weren't quite ripe, or they were a fluke.

I also had a bag of small potatoes I got on sale at the grocery store. Despite a majority of my ancestors being Irish, I don't eat a lot of potatoes, although I do love them. ;) These had been sitting around for awhile and had just started to get wrinkly — definitely time to use them up!

I found a recipe online that I sort of followed...but not really. I'd love to link to it, but I haven't been able to replicate the search :(

Ingred:
1 bag of B (small) potatoes, quartered.
1 large onion, sliced
2 sweet peppers, sliced *
1 Anaheim pepper, sliced *
1 T veg oil
water
1/2 cup of cream
1/4 cup of low-fat Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil *

(ingredients marked with a * came from my garden.)

Add oil to large pan on medium heat. Add potatoes. Cook until they start to soften a bit. Add water if they start to stick to the pan. Then add onions. Cook a bit, then add peppers. Cook till everything is soft. I think I ended up adding 1/4-1/2 cup of water a bit at at time to keep things lubed so they didn't stick and burn.

When those look nice and cooked, keep the heat on and let them dry out a bit and get a bit of a crust on the potatoes, but keep a close eye so they don't burn! Then turn off the heat, add cream, cheese and basil.

Let it sit a couple minutes, then serve!

I really liked it. My husband thought it was OK. He's pretty damn picky, so that's pretty good coming from him. I think next time I'll add breadcrumbs, though. Or maybe crushed potato chips. It needed a bit of a crunch. And a bit hotter of a pepper, or a dash of cayenne powder. The Anaheim didn't do much.

Garlic Eggplant + Grits — Update

2009-09-25T11:23:00.003-05:00

So here's what it looked like cooked! I sliced them lengthwise this time, and they held together a little better.

(I've been super busy lately working a full-time job + martial arts training/teaching 15 hours/week and crazy weekend activities! And my garden has suffered a bit, but I'll finally have some free time this weekend to get everything back in order!)

What I made for dinner last night — garlicky eggplant and cheese grits.

2009-08-13T12:47:00.005-05:00

The 'fairy tale' eggplants have been producing fairly consistently. I pick them when they're just longer than the width of my palm (3-4 inches). They don't stay that nice purple color, though. Maybe the sun bleaches them out?

The combo of eggplant with grits was a happy accident. I needed to cook those babies and my husband was jonesing for some grits.

So, the "recipe" which is not really a recipe, but what I remember of what I threw in the pan.

EGGPLANT:
Washed the egplant. Cut off the green ends. Sliced into 1/4" wide medalions. Heated 2T oil (I used coconut) in a big saute pan on medium heat. Added the eggplant (maybe 4 cups worth?) Added a pinch of salt. Covered the pan. Tossed it around occasionally. Finished cooking in 10-15 minutes. Added shredded green garlic stems. (Could have also used diced garlic.)

GRITS:
2 cups milk + 2 cups water + 1 teaspoon salt brought to a boil in a big pot. (I use a dutch oven.) When it boils, slowly whisk in the grits. Whisk until all the lumps are gone. Cook covered, over a medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Whisk well every 3 minutes, make sure to get all the corners and the stuff stuck to the bottom. When it's done, remove from the heat, add 2-4 tablespoons butter and 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese. Mix in well.

We served it with a big sloppy pile of grits on the plate, topped with the eggplant, and a little garnish of chives. The eggplant or grits on their own aren't nearly as good as they are together!

No pics, sorry. It smelled too good and I was so hungry ate it before I thought to take a photo!

Post-storm update

2009-07-20T13:20:00.004-05:00

Not looking too bad after yesterday's storm. Just some of the more delicate flowers (petunias and nasturtiums) are a little ragged.

But the squash started to topple over the edge!

Then it stormed AGAIN today! And more fell over the edge. Maybe they'll continue to grow like that?

8/13/09 update: Eh, no. They didn't grow. They survived for a week or two, then shriveled up and died. I have one cucumber vine hanging on. It looks like it'll continue to trail over the edge. And it has a couple fruits. They're only a couple inches long now. So, I'm adding squash to my list of things I'll probably not try again next year.

Rain and beans

2009-07-08T11:33:00.004-05:00

This morning was very dreary, cloudy and damp from last night's rain. I picked off another half dozen Japanese beetles – drowned them in soapy water. I guess the garlic didn't work. Allegedly the smell of the corpses deters more from coming. We'll see…

I'm glad for the rain (I don't have to water so often), but it's not good for my fungus infected strawberry plants. I got a copper spray for them. It will, of course, only stop the fungus from spreading. The infected spots will remain infected. I'll remove them when I get a chance.

Look at how well the mints (bottom center) are doing! It might be time for a mojito party!
And the lemon thyme (at the top) is spilling out of the planter. No idea what I'm going to do with all of it.

I got my first harvest of green beans. And it looks like many more are on the way!

Weekly update: flowers and fruits...err...vegetables!

2009-07-07T14:34:00.001-05:00

The hanging basket has filled out nicely. The lantana, sweet potato vines, marigolds, petunias and vinca are all doing really well. The nasturtiums...not so much - they're still about 4 inches tall, and no blooms.

Remember the pretty eggplant blooms from June 26? Well, a week-and-a-half later I see a couple little bitty fruits! They're about 1.5 inches long.

The squashes put out a huge amount of blooms this week! I may pinch a few off so the plants can have enough energy.

Looks like I'll get a decent crop of green beans. These are about 3" long.

The carrots handled their transplant very well. They're doing a lot better than the ones stuck with the squash. I think I'll have to pull those out, they're very stunted. The piggles will FEAST!

Peppers are doing a little better in their new home in the sun. Just two fruits so far on this 'Great Stuff' pepper.

This 'Anaheim' pepper is doing the best. I see at least 3 fruits and one more bloom. None of the other peppers have bloomed.

The second batch of onions I seeded are emerging. It only took them a week.

This particular nasturtium plant is doing very well. I think it likes the support of the taller surrounding pots.

The nasturtiums in the boxes hanging on the railing have stayed very compact. Even though they're blooming beautifully, I wish they'd do as I intended and cascade over the side of the balcony.

Strawberry leaf spot and Japanese beetles

2009-07-07T13:49:00.003-05:00

I noticed this little beetle on my green beans last night. I promptly squished him. Look at what he did!

Jerk.

After looking around some more I found a dozen making their way through the strawberry plants. I squished them too. A couple got away, but I sprinkled garlic powder over everything hoping that would keep them away.

I checked this morning and didn't see any more. So hopefully the garlic was good enough. But, I'm keeping my eyes open.

Actually the strawberries got a double-whammy…they also have what I think is strawberry leaf spot.
So, I'm off to the garden center for an organic fungicide.

July 1 Census

2009-07-01T10:15:00.002-05:00

click to enlarge

I took inventory of what's growing right now. The above photo gives a general idea of what's growing where. The color refers to the sort of plant. The size refers to roughly how much room it uses.

Edibles:
Beans (green)
Carrots
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Onions (bunching)
Pepper (Anaheim)
Peppers – sweet (5 varieties)
Squash (summer, spaghetti)
Strawberries

Herbs:
Anise
Basil (sweet, cinnamon, spicy)
Borage
Chives
Garlic
Lavender
Lemon Verbena
Marjoram
Mint (orange, peppermint, spearmint)
Oregano (variegated, Greek)
Rosemary
Sage (regular, pineapple)
Stevia
Thyme (regular, lemon)

Edible flowers:
Nasturtiums
Marigolds
Pansies
Violas

Non-edibles:
Alyssum
Hyacinth
Lantana
Strawflower
Sweet potato vine
Vinca

I forgot what a few were called...and I can't find the tags I supposedly stuck in the pot.
small yellow flower
small pink flower
pink/green groundcover

Done + removed:
Lettuce
Mesclun
Peas

Happy Monday! Weekend recap and some eye candy.

2009-06-29T10:25:00.010-05:00

Click to enlarge

Projects completed this weekend:

Tore out peas. Moved flower pots to fill the gap.
Transplanted (switched locations of) peppers and carrots. (Peppers went to the hanging box. Carrots went to the wood planter.) So the peppers get more sun now.
Harvested bunching onions for Potato & Onion soup.
Harvested basil – it flowered again! >:| and made pesto. Ate it with pasta – Yum!
Harvested pineapple sage, orange mint, spearmint, and lemon verbena for tea. Turned out a bit too lemony. Hubby said it reminded him of Pine-Sol. So, I won't use quite as much lemon verbena next time. That stuff is wicked strong.

The mints are growing like crazy!

Other stuff that's going on:

The strawberries are finishing up.
The lavender is starting to form blooms.
Several more blossoms have opened on the eggplant.
The beans are starting to bloom.
The green garlic exploded – it grew 4-5 inches tall in just a few days.
All the cilantro died. I'll try again next year.
A little pile of stevia is sitting out to dry.
Buds are starting to form on the squash vines.

Looking good from the street.

Damn, I love my view :)

What's blooming today: a tour

2009-06-26T11:06:00.003-05:00

The peas are done.

This hot weather did them in earlier than I'd hoped. My weekend plans include removing the vines to the compost bin. I'll decide in the next few weeks if I want to try for a fall crop or if I'll bend to my hubby's wishes and scrap those planters in favor of more open floor space.

So now it's time to move on to the warm weather crops!

Eggplant – Fairy Tale

OMG – so pretty!! If I follow Burpee's note to expect fruit after 50 days, I figure I still have 2 weeks to go. Will it really take that long? Or did the intense heat lately cause it to bloom early?

Sweet Pepper – Great Stuff

I figure it'll be a month and a half until harvest, if I even get one. None of the peppers look too good. They aren't getting the best light: the planters on the railing shade them. I wonder how they'd handle being transplanted. I'm afraid I screwed this up. :(

Green Bean

These looked a little wilted when I got home last night, but after a very thorough watering they were back to being quite perky this morning. Something has been damaging the leaves; I'm still trying to work that one out.

Sweet Basil – the Troublemaker

I'm labeling it "troublemaker" because every time I turn my back it sprouts a new flower spike. Doesn't it know flowers will make the leaves bitter?! Stupid plant.

Nasturtium - peaches + cream

Very pretty and tasty – I threw a few in a salad the other day. They're decent as a cut flower, lasting 4-5 days.

Trailing Lantana

It's been blooming on and off. It just started again after a 2-week break. I've had a bit of trouble with the basket it's in blowing around and breaking the hardwood stems, but it's still grown a lot. It was an impulse buy from Lowe's.

Strawflower

I once read that it's classified as an herb, but I haven't learned of a use for it. If I can bear to, I'll pinch off a few stems to dry. It keeps wonderfully well for dried flower arrangements.

Adding outdoor lighting when you don't have an outlet

2009-06-25T10:42:00.006-05:00

As the temperatures get warmer I seem to only find myself on the balcony in the early morning before work, or late at night. My early excursions aren't so much to just enjoy the space as they are to water, pick off dead flowers, and harvest a few strawberries.

At night I've found myself wanting to go out to read or relax with the hubby. We have a porch light that illuminates the space rather well. It's very…functional, but not so inviting. And it attracts bugs. Not nice.

So I want to add some nice ambient lighting. But I don't have an outdoor outlet.

First I thought of solar-powered lighting. I saw some at Target, but they look chintzy and haven't had very good reviews. They don't seem to keep a charge after a few months, or the don't let out a lot of light.

Other online retailers seem to have good products, but I'm not really fond of online shopping – I like to see a product and take it home with me there and then.

Then I saw this post on using candles in jars on AT. Very pretty.

And even more recently they had an article on hanging jars with candles as lighting.

I have a dozen glass jars under my sink that I saved from the trash. They're really handy for saving leftovers, pre-sprouting seeds, and mixing up (shaking up) stuff for recipes. And I have tons of little tea lights.

So, I tried it out last night. Set up was a breeze. I just dropped a tea light in each jar and arranged them in a little area where I thought they'd be visible enough to not get knocked over.

It's not bright enough to read by, but it gives off enough ambient light to make it worthwhile. I think I'll need add a couple citronella candles – I noticed a couple mosquito bites on my legs this morning. :(

Monday recap + rearranging the balcony

2009-06-22T13:22:00.009-05:00

Here's a pretty for your Monday.

And another (the nasturtiums I grew from seed are blooming!)

I've been up to a lot lately. I was out-of-town Thursday and Friday; when I got back I spent a couple hours cleaning up (i.e. deadheading (will somebody slap me if I buy this many petunias and violas next year?) )

I also picked a bowl full of strawberries...and ate them. Piggles got the green tops.

Tantalizing, aren't they?

And had enough peas to qualify as a side dish with dinner. Hubby got the shelled peas.

Mmmmm. Steamed peas.....

The orange mint mentha was getting a bit out of hand, so I hacked off a couple stems and made tea.

I poured hot water over 2 tea bags and the crushed mentha leaves, let it sit for 5 minutes, drained, sweetened with 1/4 cup of sugar, and iced. It made a whole pitcher! Very delicious.

Later I decided the pineapple sage was similarly overrunning the pot and took out a couple stems of it. Made tea the same way (but with 1 tea bag instead of 2 – 2 bags was getting kind of strong) and added 1/2 a can of concentrated lemonade to the pitcher. It was so yummy! Even my husband liked it. I'll definitely have to do it again, I have half a can of lemonade left anyway.

The basil tried to flower – again. So I made pasta sauce :) It turned out very yummy. Used a ton of basil, and did the first harvest of oregano.

And then, since I didn't have enough going on, I rearranged the deck.

I couldn't do anything drastic since pots are heavy and things are growing onto each other and the railing, but I moved the chairs so they weren't facing the grill (not the best view) and scooted the pots around so the peppers in the big planter box could get better light. I scrapped what was left of the lettuce (Piggles got it) and stowed those dishpans-turned-planters in the garage (along with the bottoms off the hanging boxes – they kept dropping off onto the lawn.) I pulled up a bunch (most) of the pansies and violas from the hanging boxes. It all looked good when it was first planted, but then stuff – of course – grew. So I plopped them in a few new terracotta pots and stuck them under the chairs. They fill that visual void nicely.

Before
click for larger image
(I used Photoshop to merge individual shots into this image - it's not perfect – take a close look at the chair on the right. lol)

After
click for larger image
(Again, photomerged. This one is better - I used about 20 individual photos, and it took about 15 minutes to do the action, but I think it was worth the wait to be able to get the whole thing in one image. It's still not perfect – the chairs and the grill have funny-looking bits.)

Before (from inside)

After (from inside)

The peppers haven't been doing well – I think it's the wet and cloudy weather. It's supposed to be sunny and 95º today. That'll help them, but I don't think I'll be going out there until late. It's HOT!

Pot Envy

2009-06-22T11:10:00.002-05:00

I came across this wonderful balcony on Apartment Therapy. After a little internet sleuthing I found the Angel's Garden website– a container-scaping business in SanFran – and am sincerely head-over-heels in love. Everything is so colorful, even the empty pots don't look drab. I wish I had the budget to invest in pretty ceramics.

I'm not so much envious of the window box as the amazing succulents. Again, this is from AT.

marthastewart.com is asking people to submit photos of their veggie gardens. This one by patio_garden seems to be coming along really well. Looks like they have really nicely built planter boxes and I'm loving the deep blue pots against the warm wood and bright green veggies (and blue flowers). I spy tomatoes, basil, salad greens, lavender and mint? Very nice!

Carrot thinnings.

2009-06-15T15:56:00.004-05:00

This morning went something like:

Pony - Gingey gets yo butt over here. We has treats!
Ginger - Leaffies?!

Pony - I dunno waht it is.

Ginger - Smells like carrotz. Don't looks like a carrotz tho.

Ginger - OMG it tastes like carrotz!

NOM NOM NOM

And then they ate them so fast I didn't get any more pictures.

Herbs

2009-06-12T11:32:00.002-05:00

I'm inspired by Avis who recently shared how she laid out and planted a couple planters. She organized hers by size so her planters would be symmetrical. I'd like to share the details of how I organized my herbs.

I have two 20" long window boxes for my 'dry' herbs - those appreciate a few dry spells in between watering. In these I have:

Thyme
Lemon Thyme
Sweet Marjoram
Variegated Oregano
Sage
Spicy Basil
Cinnamon Basil
Red Basil
Lavender
Violets (edible flowers) - to fill in the empty spaces.
Nasturtiums (edible leaves + flowers) - to hang over the edge of the balcony.
Chives - a few seeds strayed and popped up...I think I'll leave them be.

The herbs that like to stay a little more moist are in a big tub:

Orange Menthe --- Cilantro --- Anise

Pineapple Sage --- Borage --- Oregano

In private pots

Sweet Basil (in really big tub because there wasn't room for it anywhere else)
Lemon Verbena (so I can bring it in during the winter, and it likes to be dry between watering.)

Stevia (so I can bring it in during the winter, and it needs to stay moist)
Rosemary (in a terra cotta pot because it likes to dry out and I can bring it in during the winter)
Peppermint
Spearmint (the mints need to stay separate so they don't overrun everything else.)

Chives (2 kinds - regular and garlic - each gets 1/2 the pot) The regulars haven't sprouted much...

I really packed them in, but I don't really have the luxury of spacing them out and letting them grow in...I just don't have the space! I really like the impact of how lush everything seems, anyway.

Adventures with Stevia

2009-06-10T10:31:00.003-05:00

My packet of stevia seeds failed, or I failed them....I tried germinating them in egg cartons just like the nasturtiums. One bitty seedling did pop up, and then died the next day. :(

So I bought 3 big plants at Lowe's. They're enjoying a private pot just outside the door where they'll get all the sun they could want. They grew about a foot in the past month.

I ate a leaf and was really surprised. It's sweet. Really, REALLY sweet...BUT it tastes like grass! Allegedly after you prepare it that goes away....I've seen a couple methods for extracting the steviocide - one you crush the fresh leaves and put them in a jar with vodka, leave them for a day and drain through a coffee filter. The second - dry the leaves, crush and store in airtight container. It seemed as though the fresh method is preferred, so I tried that route.

Chopped up and soaking in vodka.

Draining

After I let it set I added as much water as there was vodka and slowly heated it in a pan on the stove until I thought it had reduced enough. And it left me with this:

It looks really nasty. It is super sweet, but it tastes like boiled broccoli.

I guess I'll try drying the leaves...