Gardening Bug

My gardening bug has me again.  This season is a new zone for me, and a new (quite a bit smaller) garden in containers. I've been researching and learning a lot of things from scratch. I'm going from a supposed 5B (I always planted sooner than recommended) to 7A.  The last frost dates, however, indicate a later last frost date here in Alexandria than in St. Louis. Besides those differences, everything is in containers, and has its own microclimate being that I'm 9 stories up, and actually tucked away from much, if any, wind.

My lettuce, spinach, and green onions have all overwintered well on the balcony.  I frequently run out for a few clippings of spinach and scallions to add to my morning omelet.  I gave most of the lettuce a good trim a week or so ago to clean out the burnt leaves, but all of the plants seem to be putting out plenty of growth.

My Aerogarden is in full swing again. It's about time to harvest some lettuce! I am growing three kinds of lettuce, two basil plants, and a strawberry plant in my Aerogarden right now. I found an excellent Thai recipe for Red Coconut Curry, and it uses a lot of basil. I have never had much of a use for the basil I've grown, but the $2.49 I've been spending on a small container for this recipe meant that basil was a priority for the Aerogarden planting!

Here is a lone lettuce seedling I pulled from the Aerogarden when I bought some strawberry plants, and decided to try one out.  I couldn't bear to just trash this, so I'll eventually transplant it outside.

Planted so far, I've got radish, spinach, lettuce, and snow peas. I also grabbed a few strawberry plants from Home Depot this weekend, and I'm trying my hand at some wintersowing.  I decided that since my apartment doesn't really allow for the room to have my full light set up (nor plant many tomatoes/peppers), I'd go this route with a few varieties.  I ordered a few plants from Henry Fields, (and will have to share some of those even!) but decided back up plants never hurt.  I threw in some jalapeño, Green Zebra tomatoes, marigolds, Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes, and some saved Cherokee Purple seeds that came from a tomato I got from seed given to me by Jeff at Our Engineered Garden.   All of those seeds went into a divided gallon milk jug and a water bottle, and now they're just waiting.  We'll see how they do! I like the idea of not really having to harden the seedlings off when the time comes.

Well, this post has gotten wordier than planned, so that's all for now. 

A New Computer for the New Year

We have a new computer! Our old macbook officially died, and we have been without for a few months now!  With the use of the computers in the business center at our apartment, as well as at school or work, we've made do, but blogging was put way on the back burner.

Looking forward to blogging again soon. I'm currently on a night shift rotation, so the pictures I would get right now wouldn't be very interesting. I still have lots of salad growing on the patio, and the occasional snow peas that Heidi gets as a treat. It'll be time to clean up and start fresh in no time! The weather here is quite a bit milder than it was in St. Louis.  I haven't quite found the energy to do much with the garden, but it's there, and growing slowly without my help.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all in the gardening world!

First Snow Pea!

I did it! I successfully planted a fall planting of snow peas in time for them to actually produce peas! I am at a bit of an advantage due to my summer garden withdrawal I was dealing with, but I did it nevertheless. Usually, by the time I'm ready to start thinking about planting again, it's about a month late.




I'm pretty sure this is what it's going to be like to have kids. Always sharing your treasures. Heidi ran into the screen door, wanting to join me on my pea harvest. I'm not sure if she could smell them, or what. She LOVES peas. I split this one with her.

Cotton Aphids and Ladybugs

Cotton Aphids have made their way to my balcony garden. We moved a watermelon plant with us (which also brought some squash bugs) but later got a huge infestation of cotton aphids. I decided at that point, to get go ahead and get rid of the plant. I planted two zucchini plants afterwards in nearby planters, and the cotton aphids have found a new home. 

I was spraying the plants with a dish soap mixture, when I discovered a ladybug taking residence.

Even better than the single lady bug helping me out, she laid several different patches of eggs. 

I'm now getting to watch the life cycle of these ladybugs. I have quick spraying the zucchini plants, knowing that ladybugs can eat up to 50 aphids a day. I'm looking forward to getting to watch this process even more than I'm looking forward to the one, maybe two zucchini I'll get from these plants before frost.

Ladybug larvae:

The Balcony Garden and the Move

Our move to D.C. started back in June, where I ventured alone to start my new job. I got an amazing job as a mother/baby nurse, but they wanted a June start date. We had not anticipated moving until August, and our house needed to be dealt with before we both were able to move. 

I spent the first six weeks of my time here in Woodbridge, VA with my husband's cousin and her roommate, who graciously offered me a bedroom and allowed Heidi to join me. I got to try about five ripened cherry tomatoes before our move, and had to leave the rest of my fully planted summer garden. 

July marked our 5th wedding anniversary, and my husband surprised me with a grocery bag full of tomatoes. He brought anything that looked like is was about to ripen. I was able to share some delicious tomatoes with my new housemates, and couldn't have gotten a more appreciated gift.

I brought along a sucker from one of my last Cherokee Purple seeds from Jeff at Our Engineered Garden. It went through a lot (including over 100 degree heat by being left in a car in PA during my move here). My husband also later brought our watermelon plants in a container, and my dwarf tophat blueberry plant. 

Planting my balcony garden was a pretty high priority with the move, and I had it seeded within the first week of our moving into our apartment in Alexandria. 

Here are some recent pictures of the garden:

So far, I've got my Cherokee Purple tomato plant, Zucchini, cilantro, radishes, green onions, garlic chives, blueberry plant, snow peas, spinach, and several types of lettuce.

Peas, lettuce, and spinach

I recently removed the watermelon plants from this bucket, and replanted with lettuce and spinach seedling which are making their appearance.

First pea blossom! (Strange to see a CAR in the background below the plants)

Romaine lettuce

Red Sails lettuce seedling growing on the left from Daphne at Daphne's Dandelions, radish seedlings on the right

The radishes (and hidden spinach and lettuce) in white planter near the railing had originally been in the other over-the-rail hanger, but with watering, it was bending the wires which had me too nervous to put it back. So until Spring, when Dollar Tree carries the other planters again, that side is going to be an empty eyesore. 

This is the first (and only) Cherokee Purple tomato to pollinate on my plant. I didn't think it'd happen after all that it has been through, but I'm excited to see it even though it probably won't have time to ripen before frost.

And here is the second salad we're going to enjoy from the balcony garden!

Harvest from the Balcony

This is the first salad harvested from my Alexandria, VA (D.C.-ish) balcony garden. I've got full containers I'll upload pictures of when I get a chance. The hubby has not been great with sharing the camera lately, as he uses it a lot at school. I think I'm finally to a settled enough point where blogging about my balcony garden is a bit more feasible.

I've got lots growing (relatively) and have had the opportunity to identify another type of aphid, and ladybug eggs in the process. Pictures to come.  All this on a 9th story apartment balcony. I miss my yard and my house, but we're making this work!

D.C. it is

The verdict is in. Washington, D.C. will be the location of choice for art school. I just took a nursing job this week in the area, and will start in three. We've been preparing the house for selling it, and there has been little to any extra time to blog.  I've had loads of lettuce harvest, loads of peas, but am completely mourning the fact that I will be losing the massive tomato harvest (probably won't get to taste a single one!) that is growing out there right now. Also mourning that fact that unless we have a patio/balcony in an apartment I will have NOTHING but my Aerogarden... and a container garden at best... ugh.  Just wanted to put an update out there.