Cosmos — blooming

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?