Strawberry Tower

I've been ridiculously productive today. Aside from cleaning up a ton in my apartment, I also planted up this experimental strawberry tower. The spacing isn't really ideal, as the space around the edge of each pot might be too small... but the idea is that the strawberries will grow out of that space, sort of like a strawberry pot. Here's to hoping. I transplanted some of my existing strawberries into the top container.

In other news, I also added some arugula, spinach and lettuce seeds to the hydroponic setup. Hope they sprout and that none of the plants drown. As of today, they were still alive. Haha! Also, I think all of my seeds from the seed experiments have failed to sprout. More to get rid of, more space for new seeds? =D

Garden Season 2011!!

I know. It's February. There is snow on the trees. But, I don't care. It's time to grow! This is probably the earliest start I've ever had and I think this is for the best. My plan this year is to stick with some tried and true staples, while branching out into fields uncharted!

I started these stupice tomato seedlings around February 15th and sowed them today. Although I've never grown these from seedlings, I did receive one plant from a very kind gardener back in 2007 and it was the most prolific and easy to grow cherryish tomato I've had. This will be my only tomato variety this year:

Another basic staple is some sweet basil, sown a couple weeks ago, and struggling a little, perhaps from fungus in the soil, but I'm hopeful these will be ok. Besides, I'm in no rush for basil. I just harvested a plant that has been growing for almost a year and made a nice batch of pesto I'll save for later:

Now, the new items I am trying this year!!

- King of the North red bell peppers (seeds started on 2/15)

- Blue potatoes (ordered from Seed Savers Exchange and arriving when it's time to plant)

- Asparagus (ordered from Gurney's and will take 2 years before first harvest)

- Anne Raspberry, a yellow variety (ordered from Gurney's) to replace the Summit Raspberry that died in its first season.

- Scallions (seeds started 2/15, but not sure if they'll sprout. Seeds are old and the chives and gao choi below already sprouted.)

Also, things I haven't tried to grow from seed before (seeds started 2/15):

- Chives (I just love those purple flowers and aphids ate mine to the ground last year)

- Chinese Chives (Gao Choi) (These are a must with shrimp and eggs. Sounds weird but tastes amazing)

In fall, I also want to try growing Crocus Sativus, whose stamens are the source of saffron, the world's most expensive spice. I want my own supply of saffron!!

I'm sure there will be other new things to try this year, as well. I'll be replanting my strawberries, as those that are planted have been growing a bit wild. I've read that you have to replant strawberries every few years, as the runners and plants start to return to the wild strawberry state. These are tiny and strange, and I've noticed this is happening to mine. I'm going with 100% Honeoye june-bearing strawberries. I believe these are the kind that my family enjoys best. Hope I'm right!!

I'll be starting lettuce, spinach and peas shortly. These ought to be the first to go outside. Look for more posts as the season goes on!

Weedy July, Ground Cherries!

Life didn't used to be so busy =) Now, it's a regular thing to go a month without visiting my garden! Sad! But, thank goodness for automatic watering systems. From far away, the garden looks green and growing!
Close up, though, it's clear that a LOT of the green is grassy weeds. But, the good thing is that most other things are growing despite the weeds, including all of my berry plants! Not a single one died from the drought last time! Here, you can barely make out the basil among the tomatoes and the grass. Grass weeds are the bane of my garden's existence...
But, this tomato plant managed to grow mostly weed free. Pale tomatoes... I wonder what color they'll end up? The options are pink, red and blackish. Maybe these will be pink! They look too pale to be the red ones.
But this plant is also with pale tomatoes! 9 of them, to be exact =)
Strange things have also been growing in the garden. Apparently after a few years of runners and seeds or whatever goes on with the strawberries, they start going feral. Tiny strawberries in the middle of July! I didn't eat this one, but maybe I'll try it tomorrow.
Blueberries in July, too! I did eat this slightly damaged blueberry, the first I've ever tasted from my garden. And let me tell you, it was good...
More to come! I wonder if they are supposed to take this long to ripen.
And remember that strange volunteer I posted about last? Well, it looks like a little tomatillo plant! How odd! Still no idea where it came from. But, some of the husks fell down, meaning their fruit are ripe.
Cool!
And inside, a yellow fruit! Kind of like a tomato or cherry. When I came down to google, I decided it might be a ground cherry. One has to be careful with nightshade plants as some are poisonous. I ate this one though, and it was good and I'm not dead yet. Not even vomiting.
I'll won't eat them all at once though, because I'm a little nervous...
Also growing well, my squash and zucchini! The watermelons didn't make it and their pots are full of grass weeds, but these look like they're doing fine.
My first yellow straightneck squash. I think the timing is just about perfect as the seed packets usually say 45 days.
My first zucchini ever! I hope it grows nicely =) I want some yellow and green stir fry.
Gardening is good for the soul. I didn't finish cleaning out all the weeds today. Didn't want to get too tired in the heat. I'll do the other half tomorrow and maybe figure out what to plant in the several empty buckets I have at the moment.

Early Surprises, New Experiments

This is going to be a little out of order, but I couldn't really contain my excitement over the surprises I found on the roof today! The late afternoon light, was also delightful for pictures =) Blueberries laden with flowers:
Window boxes abloom with ground covers I stole from my mom last year!
Despite neglect and a fence falling on them, the Loch Ness Blackberries monster on.
Strawberries already getting bigger! I can't believe they're so early!
Lettuce I never planted! This garden just doesn't let me kill it =)
Back indoors, my tomato seedlings are growing on. Imagining sun-ripened juicy goodness, now...
My experiment of splitting the herbs and growing some in pots to be transplanted to the roof appears to be a success as far as everything surviving the split. Things are looking good!
The thyme is growing in wild little bushes, a little basil seed I thought had failed decided to sprout up after all! The afternoon sun makes everything in my apartment a little golden =)
A new experiment this year is the use of rooting hormone. I've always been curious about the stuff, and never really knew what form it would take. My friend at work and I were trading plant cuttings and she mentioned having some extra, so she gave me some in a little pharmacy bottle. Now it looks like I have illicit drugs...
Anyway, I think you just dip the ends of a cutting in the stuff and plant it. Above is a sprig of oregano and below, some rosemary.
I started some snow peas the other day and these might actually be a little rotten because I left them in water too long before planting them. I brought them up on the roof and used the soil inoculant (mycorrhizal fungi for proper nitrogen fixation in the pea roots. Peas are legumes!) again. We'll see if they grow!

Garden Guests and Dinner Party

Today 2 guests joined me for my first successful garden fare dinner party! Here, you can see part of the harvest, including some small strawberries in the background, and this big salad of spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, beet greens, and shelled peas. We also had a nice bunch of sugar ann snap peas that I sauteed for a bit. The first raspberries and (somewhat unripe!) blackberries didn't make it to dinner ;-)

It was really fun to have visitors up in the garden, helping me harvest our food. In the first 3 growing seasons I've had so far, there has rarely been a time when the garden was growing enough food for 3 people. But, I am finding that the amount and variety of produce I am able to grow increases every year. This year, I'm not even growing tomatoes or watermelons! The fact that fruit production is increasing also helps, as rooftop fruit is such a special treat =)

Should be Summer, but Feels like Spring

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!

Rainy days

It's been raining a LOT the past week, and is supposed to rain again for the next couple of days. I took the dry spell today to check out the garden and sow some seeds. Recently, I placed an on-line seed order with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I replaced some staples I had run out of and got a few new varieties to try. Here's what came in the mail:

Rocky Top Lettuce Mix
Flamingo Pink Chard
Canary Yellow Chard
Golden Beet
Early Wonder Beet
Black Beauty Zucchini
Early Prolific Straightneck Squash (Yellow)
China Rose Radish (Free gift!)

Today, I managed to sow some more lettuce since what I'd sown earlier didn't germinate very well. That might have been because it was old seed, or the soil was too dry. That won't be a problem this time around! I also sowed some Golden Beets and Early Wonder Beets. I'm excited to see how they turn out, and I really do need the beets to be early. My goal at the moment is to have a friend over in about 5-6 weeks for a big roof garden salad! =)

Hopefully by then, this strawberry will be big, juicy, and red.
I am not sure when to expect these blackberries to be ripe, but this is the first open flower.
There are many many buds getting ready to open, as well.

Spring is a wonderful time!

Spring is a wonderful time because every plant holds hope and promise of the tastiness to come! Nothing has died yet from my failure to water, the pecking of pigeons, or the occasional insect pest. Instead, there are flowers, buds, and lush green leaves to enjoy =) This pretty white flower might just turn into a strawberry I can eat...These plants could be covered in big juicy blueberries!
Even this Lochness blackberry plant, which grew wildly long canes last year with nary a bud...could be heavy with sweet dark fruit for eating in yogurt, smoothies, cereal... Yum!Tiny arugula sprouts might just fill my salad bowl one day...Purple chive flowers might make some lovely pink vinegar... (We can just ignore the bug infestation you can see if you zoom in on this pic! =( Wah!)

First Rooftop Foray of the Season

The balmy weather and my quickly growing pea starts helped me overcome my laziness and get out on the roof today for the first time this year. And what a nice visit it was! I spent about an hour looking around, cleaning up the dead leaves from the strawberry plants and planting some peas. Just 1 bucket so far. Maybe I'll get the rest in on Sunday. It was just so nice to see that the vast majority of my perennials survived the winter and have high hopes of flourishing this year! Certainly these blueberries are looking spectacular.The strawberries look lush and happy, like every spring.The chives are so strong it looks like they never died over the winter.The flowers are starting to come up again too, though it does appear my experiment with overwintering the bulbs in flower boxes had some casualties. I think my hyacinths just rotted away, as I can find no trace of them. A couple of the lily bulbs may have, as well. We'll see what comes up later. Maybe I'll try my hand at more of these low-growing creeping type perennials. They seem to have been quite successful.

November 24th: Compost Update and Fall Cleanup

Over the last 2 years, I've experimented with different ways of composting my food scraps. At first, I chopped my scraps coarsely and threw them in a bucket on the roof, with no drainage. That resulted in a pretty soggy and smelly mess. Then, during the growing season, I began chopping my scraps and liquefying them in my blender to use as top dressing for my watermelons and tomatoes. (I know, gross. But, sometimes a gardener will do crazy things in the name of good compost. The blending and addition of water allows for double quick decomposition. In this blenderful, you can see my banana peels, beet greens, and orange rinds.)
Out of growing season, I continued to blend and dump my liquid scraps into a compost bucket with drainage. This all worked pretty well, except that it is kind of a pain to bring my scraps on the roof, and this made me lazy so the scraps would be stinky and messy. But, I think I've finally come up with the perfect compost system. I have placed a bucket on my fire escape, so now I only have to open my window to deposit my blended scraps. I leave the bucket covered loosely, to keep flys out, and that's that. This makes things easier and I do it more often now, so the scraps don't get stinky. When planting time comes, I'll just take the whole bucket to the roof and use the finished compost in the garden.

This process doesn't work quite as well for large garden scraps, but I have developed a separate annual cleanup system for these. Right now, the outdoor garden is definitely dead until Spring. Back on November 24th, I took advantage of a warmer day to do my final garden clean up. It probably took less than an hour, and involved cutting off all of the strawberry runners that I'd let run wild, hacking apart what was left of my tomato plants, and pulling up the shriveled squash and watermelon vines. I put all of these remnants in my compost buckets and covered them with soil from other buckets. It is now an annual ritual to rotate some of the soil between buckets in order to cover all compostable plant matter. This worked fantastically last year. By the time Spring planting time came around, almost everything was decomposed completely and my buckets were in good shape for planting. I'm hoping I'll see the same results by Spring 2009!