...where distraction is the main attraction.

Friday, July 20, 2012

The Flailing Writer Goes Gardening, Part IV

It's been seven weeks since my last confession gardening post.  I'm not sure if the joys have balanced out the heartbreak on my balcony, but it's one of the more meaningful experiences I have each day.

The parsley, died.

The first cilantro, died.

The zucchini, died.

The second cilantro plant, barely living.

A blight has taken out almost half of the cherry tomato plant.  The heirloom tomato plant won't live much past the summer.

With the same powdery fungusy blight covering the new squash plant's leaves, I'm spending some time tending to all of the blights with an "organic" copper spray.

Sorry, no pics of the bad news.  And no pics of the second round of fertilizer tea from a couple weeks back.  That was hella feculent.

How about some good news?

The heirloom tomato plant has produced five ripe fruits, the first of which we'll try tonight.


The cherry tomato plant has squeezed out twenty ripe ones so far, and may have about that much remaining on the vine!  As the temperature gets hotter, the fruits have taken on a very pleasant sweetness.


We have the aforementioned new squash plant.  I put it in a wider pot than the ex-zucchini had to see if that helps root-wise.  She's blossoming already.


I think this is the first girl blossom.


Ruby here, was nearly dead three months ago, now she's blooming like crazy!


We also have a new mint plant (for beverages, Mediterranean dishes, and general sniffing) that has taken well to its spot in the sun. The chives have rebounded after the bugs were killed off. The basil has remained perky all month.  Fern the First and Fern the Second have been moved to a shadier cooler spot and are now building up new fernish undergrowth.

Finally, Pepper has been fully resurrected, producing seven beautiful chili peppers.


I still love this and I'm still learning. I'm already making mental plans for next year: having three cherry tomato plants and perhaps some sort of planter contraption that'll allow enough root space for two healthy zucchini plants.

For those of you with gardens, whether in the ground or eighty feet in the air, I send my best wishes for your crops!