The battle continues

I am actually facing two continuing battles. The first is that random trash continues to show up in my plants - I woke up Saturday morning to at least three beer cans scattered throughout the garden. I am thinking of checking into the price/permit of a taser gun (overreaction, what?). Seriously, though - is this a fun game to drunk people? My plants are not dead, it is obvious that someone is taking time and effort to work on the garden, and their response is to throw things in it? Ergh. /end rant

Who doesn't enjoy waking up to this? And yes, I even recycled the cans - they may be douchebags, but I don't need to be. The good in this picture - basil to the right! My herbs I grew from seeds are thriving!

The second battle is against the container that wouldn't drain, aka the soup container. I was thrilled to wake up the morning after my creative solutions (from my last post) to see that the soil level had dropped and pressing on the top led to a firm bounce back.

Yay! The soil was completely saturated, but solid. And we have no rain in the forecast (in fact, we are supposedly hitting record highs today and tomorrow), so it should have a good chance of drying out.

It was apparent, however, that the strawberries were not going to recover. So on Saturday I drove off to Home Depot to replace them. I already have 3 Quinault plants and one AllStar in the  other strawberry container that are thriving, so I wanted a different variety. I could only find Ozark Beauty (I had also had a fourth whose name escapes me now) in a rather large hanging pot, so I snatched it up. It already had several small white berries on it, so I thought perhaps that would give it a much-needed leg up.

I just planted the strawberries last night, and I was sad to see that the herbs were alarmingly droopy (particularly visible in the sage on the right, below). However, I am hoping that the infusion of new, healthy plants with their own drier soil will help to soak up the moisture and the herbs will begin to perk up again.

New strawberries on the left. Sad herbs on the right. C'mon guys!

Other than the herbs, yesterday was full of encouraging sights on the balcony. The first was that I harvested strawberries - FIVE of them, from three separate plants. Five whole strawberries - I'm going to have to open a stand at the farmer's market!

Yum! They may be weird shaped and wouldn't make it through any sort of inspection, but I grew these bad boys! And they taste good - obviously the most important aspect.

I seem to reveal a new cluster of cherry tomatoes on the Sweet n' Neat every time I lift a leaf, and the Patio tomato plant has at least three wonderfully firm green fruits on it - I was under the impression that this was also a cherry tomato plant, but I am obviously mistaken and hence eager to see how big the tomatoes actually get before they ripen. And to top it all off, I spotted the first blooms on my Heirloom plant! I've read more about this plant, and I should've been pruning it throughout the spring - this serves as both a way to keep it from sprawling across the entire patio (mine is in danger of doing that) and encourages it to put its plant energy into blooming and growing fruits instead of growing more greenery. It's a good thing to be aware of for next year.

Some Sweet 'n Neat.

More Sweet 'n Neat - whaaaaat. I have plans for a fresh bruschetta once these bad boys actually ripen.

Two of the fruits from the Patio. They look just like real tomatoes!

The capper - my first blooms on the Heirloom plant. I am a bit concerned about how to support this branch if they do turn into fruit - it is nowhere near anything I can tie it to.

Finally, my pea plants are completely out of control. They have started to help define "urban sprawl," and I'm not sure what to do about them. They also will not, no matter how hard I try to manipulate them, wrap around the balcony bars - I think they are too thick. My mother suggested the soil may have too much nitrogen, which can make them grow and grow but not blossom. Unfortunately at this point there isn't too much to do about it, but it is definitely something to be aware of for next year (note to self: learn how to say "nitrogen" in Swiss German. Also learn how to say "garden," "plants," and "hello").

If you look carefully, you can see the original lattice I built is bent over with the weight of the plants. And I was worried they wouldn't grow...

Lolli says "Stop writing crazy lady. I am missing my time at the dog park."

Green tomatoes and swamps

I had hoped to alternate between gardening and baking posts, but I was feeling a bit under the weather on Sunday (my usual baking day), and only managed some chocolate chip oatmeal peanut butter cookies and a lemon poppyseed bundt cake for a co-worker's birthday. Unfortunately I took no pictures of either - the processes or the final product. I will assert, however, that they were tasty.

However, Sunday was an exciting day for the garden - I found my first tomatoes on my Sweet 'n Neat plant, and today I found more on my mysterious middle ground plant (aka not Heirloom)! They look lovely and firm and I am most excited to watch them ripen!

Sunday's first glimpse!

This evening (Thursday). So many! Please don't die before you ripen, I want to eat you.

The newest tomato! On the mysterious plant. You know, I have the tag for this plant - it's just out of reach and I am too lazy to lean out the window and get it. Maybe I want to be surprised. Yes, that's it.

There has been a lull in the strawberries, with only one tasty berry last week. However, there are now several small white berries that should be ready in the next week. I am still visiting Haymarket every week for fresh fruit and vegetables, unfortunately. I think in order to use my own fruits for baking, I would need a significantly larger space. But they are a lovely addition to my breakfast!

On Tuesday, I officially gave up on my questionable container, with two strawberry plants, the pepper plant and the herbs. I walked to Trader Joe's and bought another set of herbs (the same ones - sage, rosemary, and thyme, again tempted to buy some parsley just to round out Scarborough Fair even though I rarely use it in cooking).

So sad looking. You can see the spillage in the top left corner. I'm not sure why the strawberry leaves have turned red, but I'm sure it wasn't a good reason. The rosemary that resembles a three month old Christmas tree is barely visible in the bottom right.

This evening, I got home at a reasonable hour and decided to replant. The container was in much worse shape than I realized. The soil had the consistency of a waterbed - moving the container caused waves throughout the surface. It was also RIDICULOUSLY heavy - my last five weeks of exercising had not prepared me to try to haul a dirt-filled container laden with liquid through my small window. I managed to get it in with only some splashing over the side (sorry neighbors three floors down - hope you don't actually use that little grill much. Or at least that you keep it well covered). I threw out the herbs and pepper plant immediately - they were obviously beyond saving.

The three holes where the herbs had been. When I pulled them out, it was a geyser/volcano effect. I had water bubbling up for several minutes. It was a little grotesque but also mesmerizing. I kept waiting for Ludo to explain that rocks are friends.

The whole container smelled like fresh manure (if you've been so fortunate as to experience that aroma), and I had no idea how to fix it. I want to try to save the two strawberry plants, if possible, as I have no replacements, but they desperately needed to be dried out. I tried soaking up the water with paper towels, but it quickly became apparent that I was using a bandaid on a gushing wound. It was about as effective as me trying to block LeBron James (I don't follow basketball as a rule, but there are slim pickings on network television this evening). So then I tried adding some new potting soil. I have a small bag left of unused soil - not enough to fill the container, and I had no place to throw out the water-soaked soil anyway. Also a poor solution - the new, drier soil just floated on top of the soup, and I was adding weight to the already unmanageable container. The one real puzzle in all of this is that the container is the exact same one as the one where I have my four strawberry plants, which have had no soup problems. Why is this one having such problems!? This bothers the scientist in me.

I threw in the new plants - herbs from Trader Joe's and one of my bell pepper seedlings - and started to haul it back and just hope for the best when I had a brilliant idea. Ok, more of a Hail Mary. I thought maybe the water wasn't getting out (even though, as stated previously, this is the exact same container as another one I own, from which water apparently has no issues escaping). So, how to get it out? I decided to try punching a hole in the bottom of the container. Unfortunately I have not a single nail in my entire apartment, so I ended up using a penknife to bore a hole in the bottom. Not recommended - the penknife is at least 10 years old and I'd prefer not to think about how easily a dull knife that doesn't snap into place could take off a finger or at least reach a tendon.  However, I was rewarded with lovely brown water that began dripping all over my kitchen floor. I made a second hole before hauling it back through the window (more spillage - I actually thought I lost a strawberry plant, but it hung on). This involved much cursing and a tense moment in which I realized a wet tiled floor does not provide good traction when trying to lift sixty pounds entirely with my arms. If the entire container had been filled with lead it would have been easier - at least it would have been solid and not sloshing around. Ugh. If they die this time, I'm leaving them out there. Maybe the next tenant will be a champion weightlifter.

Watching it on the balcony I didn't see any water coming out and I worried that the holes had gotten clogged. Then I realized there is no reason the holes need to be on the bottom (which was quite difficult to access anyway). So I put two holes on the side near the bottom, followed by another two and another two (I get slightly impatient - dry out already!). They are currently all dripping away, and I will check in the morning to see if I can tell a difference in the waterbed consistency. Here's hoping!

The new plants, back out on the balcony. You can make out one of the side holes I made in the bottom left. Looking at it now, I realized I planted the pepper plant WAY too close to the herbs. Of course, this will only be a problem if they all survive -the jury is still out on this, but I'm not betting on it.

PS - I've switched from the NBA to America's Test Kitchen. PBS, I love you and can I borrow your kitchen?

My dog ate my herbs

When I last posted, I expected to have to commit an entry to how my attempts to grow seedlings into real plants were a total failure. However, the herbs have unexpectedly recovered from being eaten by a dog as well as repotting, and I now have three bell pepper plants that are growing well but have no place to be set outside (anybody want one? They are from a mix, so the pepper color will be a surprise). Next year, I think I will skip the seed trays and just plant directly in the container - or skip the seeds altogether and just cop out by buying seedlings. We'll see what's available in Switzerland next spring!

I came home one day to this - apparently the organic fertilizer that comes with the seed tray is quite tasty for canines. She suffered no ill effects, which I suppose I should be grateful for.

I managed to salvage one cell of each type of basil (sweet, genovese, and lemon), a lemon balm, cilantro (the long stringy ones), and finally some very, very tiny oregano (I think - probably should've written it down).

To my surprise, this is how they looked ten days later! Not sure about the oregano on the end, but the basils and cilantro are doing well! I may have some herbs by the end of the summer. Although the labels have disappeared from the rain, so I won't know what the herbs are, specifically. It will make cooking an adventure.

These pepper plants are available for adoption! They are healthy and green, and a bit on the quiet side if that's the type you go for.

The past week has been perfect weather for the plants, although a bit humid for their human (who has a very low humidity tolerance). The pea plants have taken off, although my attempts to guide where they grow are failing spectacularly. I set the pot closer to the balcony rail and have been trying to guide the tendrils to wrap around it - perhaps it's too thick? I'm concerned that the makeshift scaffold I set up isn't actually big enough for them. Something I never thought would be a problem when I first made it! Overall, I've found that I have vastly underestimated how large the plants would be - and it's less than halfway through the summer! I'm worried that they may outgrow their pots and die before I get any significant harvest, but I think I can get them through it between frequent watering and some liberal fertilizer applications. Next year, though - bigger pots are definitely on the list.

The sugar snap peas. It's unbelievable how much they've grown in two weeks when you compare them to this post just 10 days ago.

All three tomato plants continue to be my rock stars in terms of growth and flowers. I'm surprised at how quickly they wilt (possibly because they are in almost too-small pots) even from evening to the next morning, so I am watering them almost daily at this point.

The Heirloom keeps trying to sneak into the kitchen. It may succeed by the end of the month if I'm not careful.

A closeup of the Sweet 'n Neat to give an idea of the flower blossoms. My mouth waters just thinking about the day that these will all be little red juicy goodness.

I love seeing all the green outside my kitchen window - it makes doing dishes at the sink just slightly less painful, and if I ever need a pick me up, I just stick my head out the window and take a few deep breaths. It's not the same as actually living where there are trees and grass, but it's a wonderful substitute!

I am working on some more baking posts, but I realized that my previous posts in which I link to a recipe and then talk about how I changed it is not terribly user friendly. So I will fix that in future posts, and also do a better job of getting pictures at every step. For now, I will just share pictures of what I consider two of my tastiest triumphs (the third, a blackberry lime pie, I have made twice, but haven't gotten pictures of it before it's disappeared).

Cheese herb bread. I've made it twice, and it is unbelievably delicious. It has enough flavor to be wonderful with just butter, but for an extra treat, we used it for BLTs.

Monkey bread (NOT from canned biscuits) with a lime-cream cheese glaze. It's like the inside of a cinnamon bun without any of that crappy dry crust.

 

Mother Nature steps in...

In one of my first posts, I worried that I would drown my plants. It turns out, Mother Nature is doing her best to do it for me. We've had only four sunny days in the past 2-3 weeks, and most overcast days have had either a drizzle or downpour associated. I've been surprised to see the wide range of responses. The tomato plants seem to love it - all three have overgrown their pots and have dozens of small yellow blossoms. I tied the heirloom plant to the balcony (with a leg from a former pair of tights) just this past weekend for support and hopefully to encourage it to grow away from the other plants instead of over them. The Patio plant shouldn't need staking/support, and I'm keeping my eye on the Sweet 'n Neat (who names these things?), but so far it is holding its own weight. There's really nothing to do with the tomatoes, as they have needed no tending, but I still like to play around with them simply for the way they smell. They smell like earth and green, and just one whiff reminds me why I've been aching for a garden for the past five years.

Two of the tomato plants. The Heirloom is on the left. This was two days before I strapped it to the balcony, as it was starting to take over the other tomato (the Sweet 'n Neat) and the strawberries on the other side. Not sure if you can see the flowers in this shot - I'll get better pictures!

The other plants that seem to enjoy the rain are the sugar pea plants. All three seem to be surviving, although one is definitely the runt of the litter and may end up getting beaten out by its bigger siblings. While the peas can't beat the tomato plants in scent, they are more interactive. I like to take the little green shoots and curl them around the homemade lattice. The next day, the plant will have taken initiative and wrapped around the string several times, where even a fairly strong tug can't disentagle, and be off in a different direction. I still have no idea if I'll actually get any peas from them, but we'll see.

The pea plants have actually recovered nicely from their precarious repotting. We've reached a tentative mutual agreement in which they've agreed not to be angry at me about it.

The strawberries have been a mixed bag. I have managed to snag a few tasty red ones from my container with only strawberry plants, which make me feel quite triumphant. However, I'd had to throw out just as many berries as I've eaten. Unfortunately, all the extra moisture and sitting water in the container makes the berries quick to rot, sometimes before they've turned more than just a light pink. It's sad to have to throw them away, but I am trying to be more vigilant about catching them before they go bad.

My very first strawberry from the balcony. Others have tasted better and been prettier, but this was my first. They say you never forget your first (and now I won't, because I have this blurry, crappy picture to remember it by).

The strawberry plants that have not been as ill affected by all the rain - complete with ripe berries, unripe berries, and even some flowers.

The other planter with strawberries has not been faring as well. Even when we had three straight days of sunshine, the soil never dried out, and it's taking its toll on all the plants in the container. The strawberries - which even when I purchased them were a little sad - were starting to cheer up, but stalled out since the rain started 3 weeks ago, and now the new sprigs are starting to die.

This was actually taken on day three of sunshine, after the second bout of rain and before the current third one we are enduring. You can see that even three days of sunshine isn't enough to get rid of the standing water around the plants.

The pepper plant in the same container is starting to yellow and droop a little, and the herbs have remained static. I'm fairly sure that thyme and rosemary, at least, prefer a drier soil (I'll have to look up sage, but it also doesn't seem to be inclined to grow). I'm deeply regretting not putting rocks or a better drainage system in place, but I had no idea that Boston would have a monsoon season this summer.

I am behind on my posts and have many more updates, including weekend baking frenzies that have led to as many as six recipes in a day as well as my dog deciding that organic fertilizer is pretty tasty stuff. But for now, I'll just hope that Mother Nature decides to give my plants a day off tomorrow (current forecast: no rain, but heavy cloud cover).

Running out of Thyme

I made a "tart" this weekend. It's in quotes because I'm not sure what it ended up being (other than tasty!). I started out following this recipe. I made it to the putting the dough in the refrigerator step and then wandered off on my own idea. The onions smelled heavenly while caramelizing (the key is to put them over a very low heat so that they don't burn, which was a bit challenging on my gas stove). I used some thyme and rosemary from the window for flavoring. Unfortunately, my thyme plant is being used up faster than it is growing, so I won't be using any more for a few weeks to give it a chance to recover. I threw in some pancetta about halfway through the caramelization.

When first added to the pan. The onions barely fit, and I could barely see them through my tears. Anyone have tips on how to avoid waterworks during cutting them?

About halfway through, when I added the pancetta and the herbs. Starting to cook down and look delicious.

About 35 minutes later. The onions were soft and sweet, and my entire apartment smelled like heaven.

I was disappointed to see that the cream/egg in the recipe was just for the crust, so I found this recipe and used it as inspiration for a spread. In my mind, the tart would be something akin to a tarte flambee - a delicious Alsatian dish that I fell in love with when I lived in Strasbourg years ago. I ended up using about 4 oz of goat cheese, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, and just enough heavy cream to make it soft enough to spread easily. Yum, healthy!

I rolled out the dough (it was a bit crumbly, so it did not roll evenly), and then curled up the sides to make a sort of "crust." The goat cheese mixture spread easily and was about 1/4" thick over the dough.

I let the onions and pancetta cool some, then placed it into the crust. Overall, after baking, the tartness of the goat cheese mixed well with the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the crust was light and flaky, although it was a bit too crumbly. Changes for next time include: making more of the spread and making it more liquid so that it can mix with the onions while it cooks in the crust. Overall, though the mix of flavors worked very well, and it is now in containers for lunches this week.

Ready to pop in the oven!

Getting it out of the oven 20 minutes later was a bit challenging. The parchment paper broke and part of the tart ended up on the open oven door. I ate it anyway.

On the garden front, we had rain or overcast skies the entire past week in Boston, so unfortunately the outside plants haven't had much sun. Despite this, however, the strawberry plants continue to grow and my heirloom tomato plant has started to outgrow its pot. I may have to invest in a larger one.

The Heirloom plant. The pot seemed oversized when I first purchased it!

I thought I had lost two of the three pea plants I transplanted, but when I checked them Sunday afternoon, they may have a chance at recovery yet. The tops of them had wilted, but they each have other leaves that may allow them to grow. I'm staying optimistic!

Sorry for the blur. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for these guys to pull through. I had no idea pea plants were so sensitive to replanting.

Haven't killed them yet! Every time I look I see more berries on these plants, but the pink one hasn't ripened any further yet. I hate waiting.

Bonus shot of the mini blueberry muffins on Sunday. I also made some delicious soft molasses cookies with icing. Sundays have become baking marathons the past few weekends, and it's been great! Although perhaps not for my (or my labmates') diets.

Whales and watering

Yesterday I went on a whale watch with Anna, who had purchased a Groupon for it several months ago. It was a bit chilly, but amazing. We saw at least four separate humpbacks, and the naturalist on board was able to identify three as Ursa, Venom, and Pixar - each whale has distinctive markings on their tail flukes, as individual as human fingerprints, which allows for naming and identification. Probably the best whale watch I've ever been on (I've only been on three or four ever, but still).

I did not take this picture. I wish I had. There is a photographer on board each ship, and part of the Groupon was a USB stick that had all the photos from the day on it. I would've paid additional for it - it was hard to get decent pictures with so many people on board.

Voyager III, the boat we went out on. I totally took this picture.

We ended up stopping by Haymarket, a fruit and vegetable market that occurs every Saturday, and which I don't get to often enough. The food is cheap and if it's in season, usually good quality. The key is that it is often very ripe and must be used quickly. Hopefully I'll get around to that today - I ended up with blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a couple avocadoes.

I had to stop by lab, but I was eager to get home to my plants and check in with how they were doing. I thought I had seen a first pepper plant sprout when I left, and when I came back, I was pleased to see I was right. I am still waiting on the English peas to appear, but I'm starting to lose hope.

My first (and only) bell pepper seedling. We were very happy to see each other. In the foreground is one of my three sugar snap pea seedlings, who are growing great guns and I am starting to wonder when I should be transplanting them, as they are getting quite tall.

My other plants are doing...variably. The good news is that the tomatoes and first set of strawberry plants seem to be doing extremely well. They are definitely expanding and I even have a few small green berries that I am watching eagerly.

Heirloom tomato plant, day 1 after transplanting.

Heirloom tomato plant, day 8 after transplanting. That Miracle Gro is serious stuff. I was worried about the brown on some of the leaves, but I think I didn't mix the fertilizer with the water well, and that area may have gotten a concentrated dose.

That's a berry, yo.

Other plants, however, do not seem to be thriving. The two strawberry plants that somehow ended up in my cart during my second trip to Home Depot are not looking as well. They didn't look as robust even when I chose them, but I was determined to have more varieties, and my other 4 plants were doing so well I thought I could nurse them to health upon potting. So far, I haven't killed them, but their condition hasn't been upgraded from "serious."

Brown-edged leaves! Noooooo! I may or may not have successfully quashed my urge to water them immediately upon seeing this.

My other concern is my dill plant. Its leaves are also starting to brown around the edge. In addition to this, I realized I have no idea when to start harvesting dill. The plant was already pretty large (I think?) when I purchased it. Do I start pruning it already? If so, I have to add that to my list of herbs to use - the plants I bought from Trader Joe's are already entered into supercook.com, and as soon as I find a bread recipe whose first step is NOT "throw everything in the bread maker," I plan to try out a rosemary thyme loaf.

Brown-edged dill. Uh-oh.

Thyme and rosemary in the foreground. A mysterious herb in the background that I haven't gotten around to identifying (there are around eight possibilities listed on the back of the Trader Joe's marker). Can anyone save me ten minutes of google image searching?

Also, not related to anything about whales or gardening, but if anybody is interested in owning a castle, there's one on sale in France for the reasonable price tag of 950,000 euros. This led me to the realization that there is a website that lists dozens of castles for sale throughout Europe (and even one in the US). My favorite is definitely the one in Italy that comes with an automatic countship.

Playing in the potting soil

My triumphant homecoming from Home Depot left me with three tomato plants that I planned to put in individual pots, but I had only purchased two. Great math skills. But it was Saturday night, I was home alone - I decided to go large and at least repot what I had. I ended up with two tomato plants, each in their own large-ish pot, and a rectangular planter with all four of my strawberry plants.  Upon the repotting, I was disappointed to find that I had accidentally picked up only two varieties of strawberries, so I had three Quinaults and one All-Star. Oh well.

In a few short weeks, all of these will be mine! Because my plants are magic.

It seems there's a lot of guesswork that goes into starting a garden. Or at least there is when one is too eager (read: lazy) to take the time to look things up online. I was concerned when I only used about half the bag of potting soil after repotting the tomatoes - according to the bag, it was enough for two 12-inch pots, but I had used significantly less. Then again, the bag also said to fill each pot up only 1/3 of the way before adding the plant, and I had done at least half - otherwise the poor plants would have been completely covered in dirt. The tomato plants did have instructions to bury them 2/3 into soil. I probably did about half, as I was concerned about suffocating them - don't they need their leaves exposed for photosynthesis? But really, one man's half is another man's two-thirds. Fractions are tricky entities. Aside from the number of seeds per cell covered earlier, the other guesswork was how close to put the strawberry plants. The label claimed to put them 18 inches apart. Sounds nice, but when I only have approximately a five by two foot area to play with on the not-really-a-fire-escape, I couldn't afford to put two plants per rectangular planter. Or I could have, but I would've had to return a lot of my seeds and plantlings. I thought they looked nice about six to eight inches apart. This may be another decision that comes back to haunt me later this summer.

Plants on the balcony the morning after. Heirloom tomato on the far left, strawberry plants in the back on the right. Grow, little plants, grow!

By the end of the process, I felt like a real gardener. I had potting soil all over my apartment floor and under my nails that no amount of scrubbing could erase. The first real sign of spring! Before putting the plants out on the balcony, I saturated the soil of all of them, as there had been no instructions. I was grateful that I splurged on the soil that wards against over/underwatering. My husband, knowing my ability to kill houseplants via drowning, had already warned me against the dangers of overwatering. It's an unfortunate illogical cycle that never gives the plants a chance. I fuss over the plants and sometimes see a brown leaf, which could be due to a multitude of reasons. I resolve to water the plant more often. As more brown leaves pop up, I add more and more water, concerned that the plant is drying out when most likely I am rotting the roots. Then the bugs set in and I end up throwing the whole mess in the trash. I plan to set a strict schedule for the garden to avoid this exact end.

The fate I hope to avoid handing my plants this summer.