Day 58: Seattle- Disaster Strikes!

OH NO!!!!! Seattle decided to go from a week of sun and 70 * to windy, WINDY, WINDY!!! I thought Devon lived in the windy city. We had up to 60 mph wind!! DOWNTOWN!! So needless to say, disaster struck on my beautiful plants. Man!

My tomato plant got completely turned on its side, so now I had to tie it up with pantyhose.

The whole top of my bean plant was blown off!! Will it survive? Can they generate new leaves? Look at that pathetic stick!

My two strongest, most beautiful strawberry leaves were blown over and snapped! I just cut them off at the root to try and ask it, nicely, to regenerate some leaves.

And on top of it all my blueberry plant has committed suicide. I'm thinking about switching to a new plant. It looks so sad I can't even bare to put a picture on. Picture a stick with shriveled up leaves. I can't seem to bring it back. I don't think my patio gets enough sun. :( So, it's not green gables here in Seattle. I am trying to recover it.

Some good news though, Devon is coming in T-minus 3 weeks to visit! Maybe she can coax my plants to health. And another little catnip sprout has popped out of the soil. So, I guess it's not all bad news, but it's mostly bad news. Looks like a stall here and in Chicago.

What's next?!

Chicago- Day 56: Under Construction

Though it appears that I have been a slacker because I haven't posted in so long, the truth is that I actually have NOT been a slacker- I've just been really busy with work/school/research. Even my weekends have been busy because I have had to go in to take measurements on my liver transplant subjects. Ah, good ol' research. It's for the betterment of science...and so I can graduate. haha. But needless to say, I'm a bit exhausted these days (this will not include a photo of my dark, under-eye circles).

My lack of gardening has not been completely my fault either. My landlord is having work done on our porches so I will have to delay any more planting or beautification until it has been completed. As you can see, my garden temporarily has been moved indoors so that the painters don't paint over it!This hasn't stopped me from harvesting though. I was able to harvest all of the radishes and they taste delicious! Home grown really is the best. As you can see my lettuce is overflowing and even my carrots are getting a bit out of hand. Hopefully the construction will be finished up next week and then I can add my warm weather vegetables and some flowers. I sure the transformation will be beautiful. My cilantro is also popping up! Hooray!

Seattle- Day 45: Many Successes, One Failure

Let's just get that failure out of the way and move on to the good stuff. My basil died. Slowly but surely, my basil died. I knew picking out the plant at the store that it wasn't the healthiest but I was just so anxious to get everything I wanted. Note-to-self for the future: just pass on the icky plants. But basil is my favorite! This is just my excuse to go back to the De-pot and find two plants! I think maybe the issue was too much water in the tomato plant it was sharing a pot with, not enough sun, and chilly weather. So the next run-around should be great.

And now for the successes!

My spinach is actually starting to look like spinach and has created these amazing little leaves. I can't believe I'm going to eat this stuff eventually!! It's too cute!

Praise God the beans sprouted!!! Take that Doubting Devon! They sprouted strong as ever!! I found another coming up and have one yet to show his head. I am SUPER excited about it. MAJOR success.

My lettuce is kicking butt! (Mom's read this blog, so I have to say butt) I'm sure you can see that I have thinned them out a lot. Next year? More pots of lettuce. Well, that's what I think now, we'll see how often I harvest it when it's eating time. I don't want to be inundated with lettuce. Although, I'm not sure that would actually be a problem.

And now, for my favorite and most successful accomplishment- STRAWBERRIES! This is the most amazing plant. I can literally see it reaching for the sun in the morning. It has just grown so much, more than any other plant, and it has 5 beautiful white flowers that will soon yield fruit. Well, I don't know about soon. I'm still learning. But look how beautiful!!

Funny Story: Matt and I started eating the cilantro, since it is taking over the pot. I made yummy beef vegetable soup (Grandma's amazing recipe, my favorite) and put sour cream and fresh cilantro on top. Matt took the first bite and asks in a horrible, disapproving, tragic voice, "What did you do to the soil?" "Oh, no!" I said, "Does it taste bad? It's just regular potting soil! Is it really that bad?!" He looks me straight in the eyes and says, "No. This is the best cilantro I have ever eaten! Can we grow more?" Haha! Needless to say, Matt is now a full supporter of the garden and can't wait to eat more. See our pretty soup?

Chicago- Day 36: New Additions

Although this weekend should have been jam-packed with homework (stupid Metabolism), I instead decided to add to my garden. So spontaneously on Saturday I decided it would be a great time to plant my herbs, much to the detriment of my metabolism grade. I headed over to the De-Pot (aka. Home Depot) after fighting tons of traffic (which brought on fits of anxiety) and found a huge array of plants! Although they already had tomato and pepper transplants out, I opted for herbs that I knew would thrive in the still slightly cool weather. This week's lows are in the 50s and I don't want to risk killing anything if the temp dips too low. New additions include: common sage, German thyme, Greek oregano, Italian flat-leaf parsley, and cilantro. I wasn't as brave as Dina and opted for cilantro seeds instead of the transplant. I would surely have messed up the taproot and then been disappointed.

By the way, how can you plant all those plants in your apartment? I made SUCH a mess on the porch. I had dirt everywhere and crap laying around. My house would have been a mess if I had to do it right off the kitchen. Thankfully, Joe was also there to be my muscle-man!

Luckily, my mess was cleaned up and my plants potted in time to go out for a Joe-family function and STILL not do my homework. Oh well. The stress-relief from gardening was more than worth it.

Also, I decided to test out a radish since it has been about 30 days since they sprouted. It was so cute! Taste testing revealed a good, mild flavor but the radish wasn't quite firm enough. I guess I will leave them in the soil a couple more days to see how they fare.
Since my spinach is growing pretty big I had to pull out one of the plants because it was getting overcrowded. That gave me an early taste of the spinach as well. First tastes of the season!

Day 32: Seattle is Growin'

Devie! Your lettuce looks like lettuce! I see a peaking radish and that beautiful picture with the raindrops. You are such a photographer! I LOVE your plants.

We have had a LOT of rain here in Seattle, so I'm not totally sure I should take credit for the growth of my beautiful plants. In fact my basil is not fairing so well. I got the healthiest plant I could find, but I may need a new one in a few months, or maybe the tomatoes are too moist. I haven't figured it out yet, but we'll see. But, besides that minor setback (I use basil the most in the kitchen so I want a lot of it)... oh yeah! And the beans. What can I say about the beans. They aren't growing! That's what I can say. I read up on beans and although the packet they came in says they should be sprouting by now, beans in general take a long time. I am keeping that pot the most moist so I'm just going to hold out hope. Who knows, maybe he's the late bloomer (yes, he) and he'll taste the best! Well, at least that's what I'm telling myself, despite Devon's chiding. But besides all that check out how the rest of the garden is thriving...

I think we should use some of our cilantro, it's out of control! Burritos this weekend sounds amazing, or maybe some vegetarian chili. I can't believe it's April and I'm already eating my work!

My catnip has finally bloomed! Hallelujah!

My blueberries are blooming on those sticks I bought (haha) and look beautiful. I can't wait for them to grow! And my spinach are cute little V's.

Not sure you can really tell here, but my strawberries are flowering! There are 3 white blooms on the plant. I'll get more pictures as they get bigger. Beautiful!

And my lettuce is getting bigger! They are my favorite, really. Cute little clovers with purple edging. I can't see eating them or thinning them out, which should probably happen soon, what do you think?
And the maters are getting bigger, well, the plant is, no maters yet.

I'm having a lot of fun watching them grow. With my first sprout of catnip the beans are my only outstanding green. I'm jealous of Devon's progress (yeah, Devon, I'm jealous) but at least I can start eating haha. I've decided. It's burritos.

Chicago- Day 28: Photo Update

Chicago- Day 22: The greens are growin'

Although my garden is not as far along as Dina's in terms of transplants, I have to say that my seedlings are thriving! It is so encouraging to go outside every day and see new growth. I finally thinned my lettuce seedlings to a reasonable quantity and my spinach is starting to get big. Four leaves each! I tried to save as many different colored lettuces as I could find so that I would have all the varieties that were in the mixed package. What can I say, my garden is just so gourmet!

Meanwhile, in radish land, foliage is exploding everywhere! The radish leaves have really grown recently and I'm beginning to wonder if they are too crowded. On top of the giant leaves, carrots are starting to pop up in multitudes. The leaves are so small and there are so many. What if I end up with deformed carrots? That will make for an interesting post. But, based on my calculations my radishes and spinach should be ready for harvest in about 2 weeks! How exciting is that.

I am jealous of one thing: Dina's patio is just so cute! I still have a bare porch with only 2 pots. I guess my goal will have to be adding some patio furniture and beautiful flowers to make the porch more welcoming. Dina's is just so cute. I want to sit on it and enjoy the view!

Seattle- Day 21: Part 2: A Garden To Be Proud Of

Well, after my excitement with the seedlings popping up, I was fully motivated to work on my transplants, which I had purchased the night before with some co-workers after a good ol' American meal (burgers, fries, chocolate malts). But, it was cold outside, well for me, don't worry about the plants. So I geared up-- tank top, tshirt, thermal, sweatshirt, sweatpants, knee high socks, and tennis shoes. READY!

As you can see, the patio was in a bit of dis-array. Plants everywhere, pots everywhere, soil bags galore. But I just pushed on. Aided by Magneti, my darling 2 year old orange tabby, we began to prep the pots.

I won't bore you with the all the details, but some highlights and learnings...

Tomatoes were first. I got this "best tomato cage ever" thing from Home

Depot and it may be the best but it was overkill

for my little tomato plant. I ended up with Champion Tomato plant and

and it is so small compared to this GIANT cage. So I improvised, taking a key from Mom's book, who is the queen of improvising and making things work. I just took the twist ties from the cage packaging and molded all three posts together to make one big stake, which it turns out the Bountiful Container ladies recommend anyways, go figure. So, don't waste your money on a crazy cage if you're not planting a ton of tomatoes. It didn't even fit in my pot (I threw the basil in here too, in case you're wondering).

Next, the blueberries. They were my last plant to pot, as all the other had gone smoothly with fertilizing, planting, watering and arranging. I ended up running out of soil (you see how big that pot is!) and made an emergency Home Depot run. Another bag of soil, some moss (which I had forgotten) and a rolly-thing. Now, a rolly-thing, you may ask? Well, I keep having nightmares of ruining my blueberries (which I am the most excited about, save the mint) with root rot. The ladies of The BC (Bountiful Container) constantly talk about water sitting under the plants and how susceptible blueberries are to root rot. So, with a solid concrete floor beneath my pots I figured it best to prop it up and give it some good drainage space. Hence the rolly-thingy. Super cheap and added bonus, I can roll that giant pot around instead of lugging it everywhere and throwing out my back. Yay! Oh the moss? Helps keep moisture in and makes the pot look gorgeous with that green on top, don't you think?

So, it took me about 4 hours to do it all and then clean up. I think my patio looks amazing, but I'll let you be the judge.

Don't be jealous, Devon, Chicago weather will allow your planting soon. Plus, I think the rainy Seattle weather will help keep everything moist, so I don't forget.

If only it were warmer. I can just imagine myself sitting out with all my greenery sipping a cup of tea and watching the water with Magneti and good book by my side. It's a really, really wonderful feeling. Now we just sit back and watch it grow.

Seattle- Day 21: Part 1: t's Alive!!!

Woke up to a gloomy morning in Seattle and a hungry cat. So I aroused myself from bed with the intention of transplanting today! Dragging myself and a cup of tea to the window of the patio to strategize... wait! What's that I see?! A SEEDLING!!! A lettuce seedling at that. No wait, THREE SEEDLINGS!! I was so excited I immediately called Devon, who was up and awake and full of congratulations.

I am thoroughly excited about the rest of the seedlings (spinach, beans, & catnip) now knowing that I may not have killed them or somehow kept them from growing (it has been a chore remembering to water dirt).

Thanks, Devie for the support and excitement, now on to the transplants!

Chicago- Day 15: Lesson 1

Don't plant all the seeds in the packet!

You will end up with lettuce like this...

The Bountiful Container book says that lettuce should be 6" apart. 6 INCHES!!! Man, did I have to kill a lot of lettuce. Unfortunately, the seedlings are still so small that I can't thin the seedlings to 6" without damaging the other seedlings around it. I basically pulled up as many as I could and will continue pulling them out once they have grown a bit more. So now my lettuce has a bit more room to breath.I also had to pull out a lot of radishes and spinach to make room.

So the moral of the story is DON'T PLANT ALL THE SEEDS IN THE PACKET! The end.

Also, we have been getting a lot of rain here and it has been fairly warm so carrot seedlings have just started to pop up. Hurray! They came up much sooner than I expected.
Dina- is your new kitty enjoying your garden? I'm sure it will enjoy that catnip soon enough!

Seattle- Day 12: The Seeds are Sow'n

Well it's about time! I finally got my seeds in the ground (thanks to our darling brother making fun of me for being slower than Devon). Things have been crazy, though I suppose that's just another excuse. Plus, Devon's last posting totally motivated me. To have something living, besides myself (and a few lowly houseplants)around sounds great. So, I planted my seeds! No pictures, it's just dirt still, hahaha.

What's now in the "ground", you ask? Beans, Lettuce, Spinach, & Catnip.

Now, Devon did mention that I have a quicker planting time. Since Seattle is a little nicer in the weather area (no offense, Devon, no offense) I have the ability to plant sooner, since we're way past the frost date. BUT...

It has been COLD! In the "Bountiful Container" they suggest waiting until the nighttime temperatures are at least 45 *F for awhile before planting and well, they're not yet. We actually had a little frost last night! So, I have decided to wait a bit before bringing in my transplants. But that doesn't mean I haven't perused the transplant aisle at a few nurseries.

With seeds in the ground it looks like I just have to wait out the coldspell.

Devie- Are your seedlings any bigger yet?!

Chicago- Day 8: First Sprouts

Happy Easter!

This Easter is especially happy because I've had my first radish, lettuce, and spinach sprouts! It is a momentous occasion to be sure. My very first sprout was actually discovered by my bf. A radish! Of course I had to capture the moment with a photo. My very first seedling ever!!! Over the next couple of days I have had some lettuce sprout up and today I have my very first spinach seedling. What a great Easter present. For a while I was afraid I was too impatient to be a gardener. "What do you mean I have to wait 7 days for a single sprout?!" But truthfully, 5 days isn't too bad now that I actually see some progress.I will definitely have to thin out the seedlings. Remember how I put ALL the seeds in the container? Already I have crowds of radishes competing for space, so soon I'll have to choose the strongest ones to survive. Guess I don't have to plant as many seeds as I thought.

The weather has been very warm here the last couple days, up to the 80s, which is a record for this time of year. But transplants won't be at the gardening center for another couple weeks or so. I'm getting anxious to plant some more veggies! I guess all the excitement with Dina's planting is getting me impatient for my own planting. I'm sure we'll hear all about her transplants soon.

Here is a look at my lettuce mix sprouts:

And my first spinach sprout:And look! A little chick came and visited my garden for Easter!

Seattle- Day 4: Dirty & Loving it!

Yay for gardening! I called my sister down and depressed today, but she inspired me to get started with news of her newest post! Presents from Mom?! How lucky :) But I also received a package today. My very own "Bountiful Container" book! And it even came a day early. I, like my sister, super love packages (and yes, I knew this one was coming). But now I have some support in knowing what I'm doing is right...ish. So with a new post from Devon and a new book of knowledge in-hand it began!

First things first. I had to mount those hangy-things on to the wrought iron patio wall (fence?) so I could save some floor space and hang up my long window box. So, I got this thing I thought would work from

Home Depot. And then I opened it and realized I'm crazy it won't work. See?!

But then I realized, I must be really tired, because I just need to move it down! Slight oversight, huh? Haha. I hope that doesn't set the tone for my gardening issues. So I got it mounted. And it looks great!

It's good to be proud of yourself, even over the little things.

Next?

I cleaned out all of my pots of the old soil and dead plants (not cause I killed them, but because they died). I tossed the rocks I'd lined the bottom with and kept the soil. I watched this great show (the name escapes me) on HGTV that said you can just mix last years soil with new soil and get some more use out of it. So, I did just that and I ended up with a whole bag of soil!

That's one less bag I have to buy, which is awesome. I filled another bag with yard waste (twigs and roots from last year's dead plants). They were HEAVY. That is why, as an urbanite (I'm an urbanite!!), you should get an old lady cart. As you can see, mine came in SUPER handy because I was able to wheel my yard waste down to the bin the garage. Thank you, Seattle, for requiring a compost/yard waste bin in every residence! And then I was able to bring up the fresh soil and tomato cage from the car.

So, after cleaning out the pots, I set up the pots how I thought they'd look best and began filling. A bit of old

soil, a bit of new and then hand mixed them. But then I started losing daylight, so I couldn't plant any of my seeds. Which actually is ok, I'm going to study up in my new book to make sure I do it right. And just in time, because it just started raining again.

Oh! Sidenote! Matthew (the fiance) is coming home this weekend instead of me going out to Moses Lake so the garden planting (of blueberries to mint) will be done this Sunday!!! I'm so excited! Wish me luck, I'll keep you posted. Get it?! POSTED! Hahaha!