growing here & growing there

kale peas tomatoes cabbages broccoli lettuce beans
onions cabbages tomatoes chard peas and basil
herbs and onions and tomatoes


i'm gardening again this year, in my patio container garden, and things are coming along great. this year we've implemented the SFG system and built a couple of narrow 6' x 1' boxes and have utilized the existent apartment boxes, our half barrel containers, and various smaller pots, and are growing:
6 bush tomato plants, one purple eggplant, one white "ghostbuster" eggplant, chard from seed, radishes from seed, basil, mint, lavender, dill, purple and white onions, cabbage, cauliflower, snow peas, bush beans, chives, kale, rosemary, oregano, lemon and german thyme, sweet pepper, and...i am sure i'm forgetting something! hopefully my onions will be done soon and i can get some cukes in.
we had red leaf lettuce and romaine but i just hacked it down last week and ate it. YUM.
just like last year, things are coming along great. no massive failures...yet! seems some caterpillars have taken a liking to the cabbages, but no big deal; they were a springtime experiment; i wanted to grow something a little different and i tried a few. probably won't try them again. live, garden, learn. :)

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watering our plot at the community garden
celery
peppers, sweet and hot
all sorts of tomatoes
cherry tomatoes, yellow straightneck squash, tomatillo, bush beams


as alluded to in previous posts, we also joined a community garden here in greenwich, the armstrong court community garden, which resides next to a small stream directly behind a public housing complex here in the city. we've been working on the garden most weekends for the past month and a half, and things are coming along great! in our plot at armstrong we're growing tomatoes (various types, including some cherry varieties), sweet and hot peppers, a tomatillo, bush beans, chard, romaine lettuce, celery, and yellow straightneck squash.
pete and poppy come over and help me with the garden, and it's really a family project! we're having so much fun and it's nice to get out and do something together and meet people. the other gardeners are so nice and helpful and everyone really pitches in and makes the garden look great, keeping it maintained and growing strong. and holy moly, the garden as a whole is kicking butt. we had several weeks of rain, followed by a couple weeks with some heat and everything is looking really happy! can't wait to see what it all looks like once summer is in full swing.
our tummies are sure to be really really happy come july and august! i totally want to make buckets full of preserved tomatoes and tomato products (sauce, salsas, stewed tomatoes, and the like), and if our tomatoes are successful (at home and at the plot), we're likely to be inundated with tomatoes and quite busy at the end of the season! hahaha. here's hoping!

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what are you growing this year? what do you plan to do with your harvest?

life is good

hello yellow


sewn paper patchwork


the first curry I ever made


we had a busy, busy weekend...
friday: i took that all-day free-motion quilting class i mentioned in a previous post, and man, it was a LOT of fun. my stitches don't look that fabulous yet (still getting down the technique), but i have been practicing a little every single day and plan to continue practicing until i get the hang of it. i left the class feeling so inspired!!
saturday: had a seasonal dinner dinner party with our friends mike, yufei, and nicole and aaron (+ little miko). we get together at least once a season and make a big dinner at one of our houses for all to share. on the menu this time was a leg of lamb (coated with garlic and fresh rosemary & thyme from the garden), peas au gratin, grilled asparagus, a green salad that included some lettuce from the garden. yufei is a pastry chef; she brought the most gorgeously rich rice crispy thing topped with chocolate and peanut butter, and a killer peach pie. pete made his famous kumquat mojitos, we also had copious amounts of good quality cheese and wine. all in all a delicious and fun day! can't wait to do it again! yesterday i made a curry (the first one i've ever made!) with some of the leftover lamb (see above).
sunday: spent some time in the community garden putting compost and mulch around our tomato, pepper, squash, lettuce, chard and celery plants. afterwards, we went to the city and walked around, visited purl, ate at a tapas place in greenwich village, and ended our day at kinokuniya. wonderful!