Friday, July 22, 2011

Garden Transplant

We've had a bit of a setback in the gardening department. As it turns out, I probably should have done a bit of research before just haphazardly growing whatever I wanted in the above ground boxes that were here at this apartment. I guess..... the plants I chose need..... sun. Who knew?? They just weren't getting enough. "Sun Dappled" wasn't cutting it and my little plant babies weren't going to make it. So I worked until dark last night performing award winning plant surgery and now all the plants are in individual containers around the yard in the sunniest spots. I hope this works. Every day I would sit and stare at my tiny basil plants, like waiting for water to boil. I kind of felt like Gollum and his "precious". Please sun, do your magic! I've added one other plant because I was inspired by my friend, Elaine. She has a wonderful garden (grrr....) and was sweet enough to give us a whole bag of delicious greens- kale, swiss chard, arugula, dill, oregano and..... nasturtiums. I had never heard of this beautiful, edible flower. It's totally spoiled me. I need these gorgeous things in my salad now. So Sadie and I took a trip to a local nursery and bought some. Apparently these things actually grow best with a little neglect. Wow, it's a like a match made in heaven for me!

Fresh from the ground salad with beautiful Nasturtium flowers. Yummy! We added sliced strawberries, toasted walnuts, a tomato from the garden (previously a container plant, so it grew), and grilled chicken. Delish!

During my resent google research on gardens (what the hell did I do before google), I found out that the spot I have for gardening is probably ideal for lettuces, arugula, swiss chard, endive, even beets and peas. So maybe next year it will just be a place for greens. Live and learn. A friend of mine has a local CSA at an organic farm on the island and had gone on vacation and let us pick up her weekly veggie share. In it had bok choy, swiss chard, kale, beets, salad greens, garlic and snap peas. Wow, it convinced us to get our own CSA next year. I never had ANY of those greens before and they are delicious. Having something like that makes you eat not only healthier but also completely broadens your food scope. Something we desperately need! We live in Food Rut City. Once again..... next year!

Come on, sun, revive my preciousess (what is the plural of precious?)!

1 comment:

Crafty Mama said...

all of those greens sound fabulous! I have considered getting a CSA many times, and I have a few friends that rave about theirs. I'm just afraid that it will be just me that eats it!