Urban Garden Take 2 : The Beginning

The end of winter, the beginning of spring... it's time to stick those little seeds in the dirt and wait for them to grow. (Indoors that is, they're nowhere ready to fend for themselves in the brutal outdoors yet.)

2 weeks ago we began sewing some seeds for our plants that have recommended start dates of 4-8 weeks before the last frost.

I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and I'm so pumped up for our little backyard vegetable garden to sustain us through the summer. I know it will be nothing like her experiment, but I'm quite excited to have our table full our own homegrown goodness to supplement what we buy at the farm market.

Here's a bit of what we have planned for this year's containers:

- Tomatoes

- Ivory Pear Tomatoes (small cherry size)

- Morning Sun Tomatoes (also small cherry size)

- 4 types of Basil including lime and purple

- Oregano

- Parsley

- Catnip (gotta keep the kitties happy too!)

- Jalapenos

- Anaheim Peppers

- Red Bell Peppers

- Multi-colored Peppers

- Rocky Top Lettuce Mix

- Red Wonder Strawberries & Yellow Wonder Strawberries

- Pink Banannas (seriously!)

- Litchi Tomatoes (they are actually berries)

- Ground Cherries

- Two types of Carrots, Pariesienne and Little Finger

- Zucchini

- Amsterdam Prickly Seeded Spinach

- Okra

- Tomatillos

- Potatoes

- Onions

We're doing ALL of those from seed. We're also going to purchase these as plants rather than starting from seed:

- Rosemary

- Chives

- Lavender

- Mint

Holy cow, it's a lot, I know. I can't wait. 

Now I just need to sit and be patient. Grow, baby, grow.

(Mis) Adventures in Gardening

I'll be honest, I don't have a green thumb. I like to think I do though. I like to buy plants. Whenever I see them at a store, let's say, Whole Foods, I always stop and look at them and think, "Why yes, I could use an ivy plant in my house." Most of the time I make the right choice and keep walking. But sometimes I take a plant home.

And wouldn't you know, the very first plants I ever bought are still alive and kickin'. I was so excited to get them I even named them. Spike & Fuzz. I got them both at Trader Joe's when I was living in Tucson. These babies are more than 5 years old now. Granted they are succulents, aka hard to kill, but I still take pride in the fact that they have lasted that long. And have outlasted some of their fellow plant-mates. RIP bamboo1, bamboo2, bamboo3, indoor tree, cilantro1, cilantro2, oregano plant & pepper plant.

Spike & Fuzz are to the far left and far right.
That cilantro plant in the front died within a week.
Basil is now a beast.

Part of my failure as an indoor gardener is that my plants don't get enough sunlight. Enter: the OUTDOORS! For the first time in years I have a bit of a backyard, and a sunny one at that. So I decided that this summer was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at container gardening. I opted for relatively easy plants (I think? I hope?) that love sunlight. All of them are also edible so I can enjoy the rewards of my gardening in the kitchen.

If you couldn't tell from the above picture, the garden lineup includes:

• Hungarian spicy wax peppers (which are supposed to be way spicy!)
• Tiny Tim tomatoes (the perks of this plant is that it produces cute little tomatoes and doesn't need a stake/grate/cage/etc.)
• Globe basil (smells delish!)
• Spicy oregano (it's not spicy like the peppers are, spicy like flavorful)
• Chives
• Peppermint
• Chocolate mint (seriously, omg! I can't wait for this to grow to be a beast so I can eat chocolate mint every day.)
• French lavender (lavender is supposed to be a migraine cure, so we'll see how this does to aid my aching head.)

I'll be keeping you posted on how the garden grows. Wish me luck!

How does your garden grow?

My little garden is growing. My basil plant has taken off and is reaching new heights every day and I have also introduced a rosemary plant to the mix. Petit sous-chef kitty says “I approve!” Sous-chef kitty was very eager to check out the rosemary plant when I first brought it home but she has thankfully since left it alone to do its thing… you know, sit by the window and grow. I’m thinking of buying a catnip plant so Mittsy can have fresh nip whenever she wants it… I’m really such an over-indulgent cat owner.

In sad news, I can not get a grasp on growing cilantro and my cilantro plant kicked the bucket a week ago. Also, neither of my attempts to grow an avocado plant from the pit were successful. But I’m not letting this discourage me, there will be more growing attempts in the future!

In other news, I’m moving into a much bigger apartment in September and it has a little outdoor area! I can’t wait to buy some more plants and pot some things like veggies and herbs. Currently on my list are tomatoes and mint.

Anyone have suggestions on good veggies and herbs to grow in pots that aren’t too tricky (as I am not yet an expert grower)?