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2012 Recap…Herbal Issues

I thought herbs would be the least of my problems up on the roof. I was half right. So, earlier this week I wrote about the survivors, the herbs that wintered nicely and seemed to be alive in the spring.

One small snafu…I was away for about a week and the herbs didn’t get much water. I lost my thyme, so I replanted that one. Also, the rosemary got very dry and looked like it was about to totally kick the bucket. The main branches were nice and thick, so I thought it would come back to life eventually.

Here it is on May 9. —–>

And here it is a few weeks later on May 22. It did, in fact, grow back, and the hard, woody stems had some softer, white additions as well. I was happy with the regenerated rosemary. I knew it would be ok eventually, as the plant my mom has in New York now is probably ten years old, at least. Plus, in many parts of the Mediterranean I’ve seen them planted as shrubs.

Parsley also came back during the second year, however, we had some issues. Instead of lovely, soft parsley leaves, I was getting really thick, straw-like stalks, and it was flowering constantly. My rabbit enjoyed the stalks, but it wasn’t what I was going for. Eventually I got fed up and just pulled it all. They roots went all over the garden box, which I expected. I have since been told that the plant was likely stressed. Why? It didn’t have mortgage payments to keep up with or anything. Argh. Photos from mid May to late September, 2012.

: Parsley stopped making parsley, started making….parsley hay?

: I was happy about the bee, less happy about the flowering parsley.

: My rabbit certainly enjoyed these dense stalks.

: Parsley root?

I was given a similar opinion regarding the basil; it was stressed. I started them this season again from seed. The early plants looked lovely, with round, plump leaves. I thinned the plants as I always had as the weeks went on, but looking back on it they were probably too squished in there. Also a chance I didn’t pick enough of it. These photos are from mid May to late July, 2012.

: Early. Tasty, sweet, basil.

: After a bit of thinning.

: Maybe not enough.

Also, quickly, mint. Mint will never die. Ever.

EVER.

I got a second mint plant this year, so now I have common mint (kinda fuzzy leaves) and the newer chocolate mint, with more leafy leaves. The plants have both flowered several times and have faked death, too. They keep coming back, leggier and leggier each time. Again, check the earlier post for the first wintering comeback. These photos are mid May to late July, 2012.

: Chocolate mint. Does kinda have a chocolate flavor.

: Neighbor mint plants.

: Common mint.

: Chocolate mint got messy in a rain.

: I moved the pots to a slightly shadier spot about halfway into the summer.

Tags: herbs, recap, square foot garden

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2012 Recap – The Radish Diary

5 Mar

I decided to break up the 2012 updates by vegetable. Today, I will gloat about my red globe radish success. Spicy radish success. The seed packet said they are 28 days until harvest, and by golly, I think I picked the first one at 28 days. I was able to get two rounds of beautiful, crispy, super spicy beauties out of the 1’x1′ space they were allotted in 2012. Some nutritional info about these babies.

These photos are from mid April to mid May, 2012

: Radishes about a week or 10 days old

: These little guys bit back with some heat.

: Pretty! I thinned a few every day and ate the rejects.

: Almost ready!

: Beans (top 3 left), basil (bottom 2nd left), radishes (bottom 2nd right), onions (bottom right) all planted within a day or two.

: 28 days. First pick!

I think I left the square empty for about a week or before replanting. Ate most of them raw with a bit of salt. Some on crusty bread with some butter. Some pickling addition in there, you’ll see in the second gallery. In addition to the radishes themselves, we also enjoyed the leaves chopped up in salad for a little punch with every forkful.

Radishes were successful. I was pleased. I will do them again in 2013. Don’t need a lot of space, grow quickly, pack a tasty bite.

These photos are from mid May to early June, 2012.

: Almost ready….

: Picked!

: Pretty insides. I ate most of them like this with a bit of kosher salt. >CRUNCH<

: These guys became…..

: …Pickles! Vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, bay leaf. Something like 4-6 hours, I think? DELISH on veggie burgers.

: Some of the last from the first “harvest.”

Tags: cooking, radishes, recap, square foot garden

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2011 garden – first recap

25 Feb

Before starting anything in 2011, I checked with my neighbors about taking over a corner of our communal finished roof for the garden, and I was met with excitement. Only 8 units share it, and we all wanted to make the space an enjoyable, relaxing place. They thought a garden would make the rooftop homey. Everyone was on board.

I decided to try the square foot gardening method, which seemed ideal for my small space in a container box. The potting mix they recommend is 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost, which I was able to get from a friend who ran a farm.

I started with seedlings inside and then planted them outside after a few weeks. These photos are March – April, 2011. Click to see a larger image.