The rain lately makes it feel like it's still April showers, so things in the garden are lush and verdant. I am the proud owner of one cute blueberry! This year, it seems that the flowers were poorly pollinated. I wonder if that is due to the rain and lack of pollinators. There were so many flowers before! Many of them dried up and the ovary fell off instead of turning into fruit. I'm not sure what can be done about it, but I should still get a few more berries. Hopefully next year will be better. The bushes themselves are still growing wonderfully.
Check out my strawberries! I was away for a bit so didn't harvest some of them in time, but the good ones were DANGED good. And so much bigger than last year! I'm glad =) I thought I was doomed to puny strawberries forever. Many of these are actually a respectable size. How red and joyous they look, all hanging off their white buckets!
My peas are also finally grown and producing. I thought it would never happen. Granted, I did sow them a bit late. I tried using that fungal inoculant this year, to improve production, but it is unclear if it worked. I guess it doesn't hurt to just use it, useless though it may prove.
The lochness blackberries are simply banging away!!! Look at all these fruit! Nothing seems to stop them! I hope they really fulfill all this promise...
There are a few raspberries growing too! All 3 of the blackberry and raspberry plants I have left are producing this year, though the lochness is really the most vigorous. I may replace them all with lochness in the future. Let's face it, I love blackberries more than raspberries anyway.
Here's a shot of the flower boxes. When I was home for 5 days, I took various cuttings from my mom's garden plants. They were ground cover types. Some didn't really have roots, but I figured I could try rooting them. It is unclear whether or not I have been successful yet. There are bunches of some pink creeping phlox; you can see one in the lowest right. There are some funny plants that grow pink flower balls on cute stalks; you can see one on the right, 2nd from bottom. And, I took a branch of juniper and buried it in the lowest left, hoping it'll root.
I'll leave you with a shot of all the garden. You can't see what's growing in the far buckets, but there is def. stuff growing in there!
Check out my strawberries! I was away for a bit so didn't harvest some of them in time, but the good ones were DANGED good. And so much bigger than last year! I'm glad =) I thought I was doomed to puny strawberries forever. Many of these are actually a respectable size. How red and joyous they look, all hanging off their white buckets!
My peas are also finally grown and producing. I thought it would never happen. Granted, I did sow them a bit late. I tried using that fungal inoculant this year, to improve production, but it is unclear if it worked. I guess it doesn't hurt to just use it, useless though it may prove.
The lochness blackberries are simply banging away!!! Look at all these fruit! Nothing seems to stop them! I hope they really fulfill all this promise...
There are a few raspberries growing too! All 3 of the blackberry and raspberry plants I have left are producing this year, though the lochness is really the most vigorous. I may replace them all with lochness in the future. Let's face it, I love blackberries more than raspberries anyway.
Here's a shot of the flower boxes. When I was home for 5 days, I took various cuttings from my mom's garden plants. They were ground cover types. Some didn't really have roots, but I figured I could try rooting them. It is unclear whether or not I have been successful yet. There are bunches of some pink creeping phlox; you can see one in the lowest right. There are some funny plants that grow pink flower balls on cute stalks; you can see one on the right, 2nd from bottom. And, I took a branch of juniper and buried it in the lowest left, hoping it'll root.
I'll leave you with a shot of all the garden. You can't see what's growing in the far buckets, but there is def. stuff growing in there!
6 comments:
Everything looks great!! I am just amazed at the things you are able to accomplish on a Manhattan rooftop! Enjoy your garden this summer.
Ro
Thanks, Ro! It can be a struggle on the roof at times, but this year has been lovely. I just sampled my first raspberries and blackberries! I had friends over for a garden salad and we had some wonderful stir fried peas. It looks like you have a garden, too. How's it growing?
how come the buckets are all in one line near that ventilation duct?
Haha, well, because it's easiest that way. Do you have suggestions for where my buckets should be placed?
Great looking stuff. I have a rooftop garden in Chelsea and am glad I found your blog. I transplanted a wild blueberry plant from upstate and during a hot spell early this year, all my blooms dried up. The plant is doing well in the heat and sun so far, and I hope next year I get fruit, even if it's just for the birds. Interested to hear about your results over time. Good luck!
Thanks John! I love blueberries, so I wish mine would fruit better. I'm not sure if it's just challenging growing on the roof, but my blueberry flowers and the ovaries they left behind also dried up early in the summer. I don't even think it was a dry spell. I think it might have been a lack of pollinators so early. I am considering the addition of more flowering plants to attract them next year. Good luck with your rooftop garden and thanks for following me!
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