I thought I’d show you some pictures of what I’m growing these days. I’ve grown everything from seed, and some things are progressing faster than others. Right now the plants are in containers but I’ll transplant some of them into the ground or into bigger containers. I am so fortunate to have some garden space at my current home, plus a large deck on which to do some container gardening. Living in NYC, it is awesome to have this open space right outside my door.
Almost all seeds came from the Hudson Valley Seed Library, of which I’m a member, except for the Silver Fir tomatoes, which were shared with me at an urban gardening gathering last month.
First, my arugula. It’s coming along quite well! I’ll be keeping it in this container and hope to eat it as baby arugula; I’m not fond of arugula that is tool big or old. I actually tried one of the sprouts yesterday morning and it was delicious – very green with some peppery bitterness. It tastes like the real deal!
I’ll have to thin it, and will eat the thinned baby leaves, yum.
I’m also growing lemon cucumbers, which is an heirloom variety of cucumber.
These guys live in my kitchen window right now, and are getting big enough to transplant soon. I also have a pot outside with two lemon cucumber plants, but these in the window are growing faster. Go figure. I always think of my grandfather when I consider lemon cucumbers. I think he’d be happy that I’m growing them.
I’m also growing ground cherries and tomatillos. These guys are slow growers and are still in the baby sprout stage:
Finally, I have four kinds of tomatoes growing, all heirlooms – Yellow Pear, Amish Paste, Pruden’s Purple, and Silver Fir. I’ve planted them in paper pots (made from newspaper), and am in love with using these pots. When I put them into the ground or a container, I can simply cut out the bottom and plop the entire thing into the ground – the newspaper will compost right into the ground.
I have plans to plant thyme, parsley, basil, and some braising greens. Also some flowers – cosmos and butterfly flowers. I think it would be nice to attract butterflies!
It’s been a lot of fun growing everything from seed. It’s magical, the way they sprout up and then grow their second set of leaves. It’s also the most economical way of acquiring plants and growing food. I’m really looking forward to seeing them all continue to get bigger and then fruit. And to eat it all!
