Garden Update

It has been a busy week or so around here. I traveled last week and I'm getting ready to travel some more. Work has been a bit crazy and I had to perform emergency surgery last night on one of the tomato plants. I find myself getting back to normal routines and trying to incorporate new elements into my routine. Its good- less moping, less sleeping, less TV, more exercise, more reading, and more care and feeding of plants. I even got a haircut and pedicure after months of letting those things go (my sister would still consider my eyebrows a disturbing mess). In short, I'm trying to get back into life after a series of busy months and a really crappy few months. I have to admit, I still can't believe that my dad is dead.

Sorry, this was a garden update. Let's go round the apartment so that I have some notes for next year.
Box #1
The habanero pepper is really really hot. The warning on the plant label is no joke. I can't imagine what the "hotter than a habanero" pepper is going to be like. The geraniums are doing well but are spreading out and taking over the whole box. I need to take some cuttings and exchange them with my mom.

Box #2
Parsleys are not thriving. Cilantro is long dead. The thai basil has been blooming for months and attracts tons of pollinators. I love that the box is buzzing. The regular basil keeps going to flower and I am tempted to just let it go. The basil produces more than its potted counterpart but it a total PITA to pick. Next year, all the basil will be in pots.

Box #3
I harvested 2 tomatoes and 2 large eggplants. The sage and thyme are thriving and I still have some pansies. The peppers and eggplants have new fruit on them and the tomatoes are booming. I need to do a better job securing the food plants next year.

Fire Escape
Basil and Mint are going strong. The basil needs to be harvested about once a week and I'll need to find some time before I leave to make some more pesto. I'm getting sick of pesto so its nice that I can just freeze it. One of my patio tomatoes is definately not a patio tomato and is about 3 feet tall. It almost died but not because it was so tall. Despite the slow start it has lots of green tomatoes. The other tomato plant completely fell out of its pot and needed emergency surgery. The cause, a cache of tomatoes only on one side of it. I harvested the tomatoes, repotted it and staked it. The green beans are still winding their way around the dead bush that is up there but I haven't seen the blue flowers that my mom has talked about. I'm not worried about it and will wait and see what happens this summer.

The rest of the boxes are doing well and are largely ornamental. The succulents are doing well, the raspberry is mostly dead and I still have pansies!

That seems to be it. One of these days I will calculate my acreage to food production ratio just for fun!