This post is part of Fight Back Fridays! Go check out the awesome entries for more Food Renegade posts! :)Today, July 5th 2009, Andrew and I had our very FIRST HARVEST as Urban Gardeners!!!! YAY! We started out this whole venture with the idea that maybe we could actually grow some food on our balcony... had a mishap or two with the terrible Zellers "biodegradable" or shall we say spontaneously combusting, planters and got to play with organic soil and worm poo!
(Our Lucifer plant finally deciding to begin flowering!)
We ordered our seeds from Vesey's, a Maritime owned company: organic sugar snap peas, organic carrots and fall garlic and impulse bought some strawberry plants. The seeds were sowed inside in April and carefully brought inside every night so that the frost wouldn't kill them. It has been an amazing and insightful journey!
Honestly, even though everything seemed to be growing as planned, I had no aspirations for these vegetables to actually produce edible food. I can barely keep cacti alive let alone something that needs to grow food. Of course, Andrew has been extremely helpful and patient (I just wanted to give up on
the trellis, some swear words may have happened... hah). This process had more to do with helping increase our connection with where our food comes from in an urban setting. Since we never had a garden growing up it was fun and a complete learning experience to nurture our seeds to vegetables/fruit.
(Our strawberry plant with an almost ready berry!)
Regardless of my extremely low expectations, or maybe despite, our little urban garden has decided to actually give us food!! That actually tastes.... good! (so far!). After looking on the internet to figure out when we should actually pick our peas, (now) we had 6 sugar snap peas (not so easy to 'snap' off, wrestling with it I thought I was going to rip the whole plant off) and one strawberry. They are now all eaten. YUM.
How are your gardens growing? I am getting a little concerned with the amount of wet. I don't remember the last time my garlic was dry...
Blessings!
***UPDATE (July 6th): So after a kind friend pointed out that these peas were the weirdest looking sugar snap peas she had ever seen; I went on the Vesey's website to confirm that they are, indeed "Oregon Organic Sugar Peas" (YES- I thought, I was RIGHT! I am very humble)... then read the following description:
A great garden addition for anyone who stir-fries. This staking type snow pea produces.....
um. Note the... SNOW PEA part. Oops! LMAO. They were yummy nonetheless :)
Congratulations on your first harvest!!! =)
ReplyDeleteDo you think a lot more about when it's rainy or very hot now that you are growing your garden? I've found that I do since I have lots of potted plants this year.
My plants are doing well. I'm not growing much food, but I continue to cook with fresh basil at least once a week and it's awesome. :)
hooray for urban gardening harvests :) at least you got something. hopefully there will be more to harvest.
ReplyDeleteI have two cucumber plans and one tomato plant out by the house in what had been a weed-lot for a couple of years - bought on a whim because everything was half price a couple of weeks ago. They're doing well - but need some water, I noticed today. Better go do it!
ReplyDeleteaaahhhh,'tis a bountiful harvest! ;)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the fruits of your labours...sorry, couldn't help it!!
Very cool!!
So cute! Congratulations. Urban gardening is so fun.
ReplyDeleteI usually plant some mint and basil on my front balcony, but this year I planted lettuce and a cucumber plant (well, four, actually, which is a little overwhelming, and they're winding around the balcony railings). I ate some of the lettuce for dinner, and just noticed some little flowers on my cucumber plants, which apparently denotes future cukes! Yay!
Congrats on your harvest. It feels so good to be able to grow our own food. That berry looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! I'm hoping to get some salad greens soon. I hope you have lots more success!
ReplyDeleteEmma: thank you! And I most certainly do find myself thinking of the weather in terms of "my garden"! weird. I can't seem to get basil to be happy here! you are very lucky :)
ReplyDeleteMelita: hehe, yes my tiny harvest, but I was SOO excited about it. I actually ate another strawberry today! I don't think i'll be able to collect them and do anything substantial with my plants... well maybe the carrots.
Mary Ellen: ouu cucumber! i hope the watering went well! I love seeing how my plants sprout new leaves after we give them some "fish tank" water.
Mel: LOL. nice! Andrew liked that one. Thanks :)
Roseanne: yay cucumbers!!! I tried to grow something while I lived in Montreal... it died a miserable death. But then we lived on Papineau and the balcony was on that street... so exhaust fumes didn't help.
Vickie: yup it was good, kinda tart actually!
Greenspell: ouu salad greens! next year that is part of our master garden plan (cue scary voice: of DESTRUCTION)... ok i'm a nerd.
I hear the excitement in your writing and I felt exactly the same way last week when I harvested the first lettuce from our first garden. I know people have grown their own food since the beginning of time, but oh my, when it's in my own backyard, I just can't stand it it's so fun! It's so cheap, too, and tastes so much better. :)
ReplyDeleteKelly
Wow, I totally identify. I had a prolific herb garden when I was a kid, but vegetable gardening has never been my strength. Your little harvest is quite inspiring!!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
KristenM
(AKA FoodRenegade)