On the Windowsill

I started some seeds in a front window to see what happens. What's growing? The Spicy Mesclun Mix I planted in my plot last year. Maybe in a few weeks we'll be adding some homegrown arugula, escarole, and endive to our salads.

I'm putting together a seed list. This year I'm bringing out the seed starting tray again.

Amidst Heat Wave Garden Persists

Last week I harvested another bunch of swiss chard, 2 crystal apple cucumbers (that's what they're called!), a carrot, 5 beans, and a bunch of salad greens.

This week the garden practically turned to mush in the heat. After being away for the weekend and receiving little to no rainfall in the past week or so, the garden suffered. I arrived on Wednesday morning to a withered mass of green. Luckily a little hose work perked everything up except the poor mesclun mix. We are officially out of salad greens. Today I picked 4 beets, 2 carrots, and a mess of beet greens. There is still plenty of chard, carrots, beets, cucumbers in the making, and cherry tomatoes in the making.

The Daily Salad

The beans and carrots are coming in and they're adding a nice sweetness and a crisp crunch to our spicy mesclun greens.

We'll eat as much of the leafy stuff as we can before the summer heat really sets in and everything bolts. A few things in the mix (escarole, arugula) already bolted but we ate them anyway!I probably didn't plant nearly enough carrots this year and the second sowing in late May is just beginning to grow. Hopefully they'll survive the heat or it's off to the farmer's market we go.

The burgundy beans are from the same seed packet I've been planting from for the past three summers. Despite the warnings about decreased germination rates in old seeds, I haven't had any problems. I'm also growing corn at the office that expired in 08!

Last Week in the Garden...

What a change from last year! We've had a very chilly spring and the seeds are only just beginning to sprout. The radishes are up and looking healthy. I've never had much luck with them as we've always had an abrupt end to the cool weather around here. One day it's 55 and the next day it's 80. This year could be different. Spring is taking her time.

You can already see the variety of greens in the mesclun mix. I'm surprised they all germinated at the same rate but I guess the maturation times will vary.


The escarole is still with us. I'm not sure I'll need it as I planted a bitter/spicy mesclun mix instead of leaf lettuce. If it takes off I may use it as a sauteed side dish.

A garden neighbor planted lovely tulips last fall around her plot.


I didn't make it to the plot this week but am planning a trip on Friday morning to check in on things. I've been letting Mother Nature take care of the watering and sunning and she's been doing a great job this week. We've had a good mix of wet and mild weather. I'm expecting to see good progress with the plants.

Sowing the Seeds

The gardening has begun. Last Thursday I spent most of the afternoon rebuilding my plot walls, adding a little sprinkling of compost, and turning the dirt. After consulting my 2011 plot plan (drawn up way back in January when the first seed catalogs came in and my dreams were a little bigger) and editing it based on the seed selection available to me at the local Shoprite, I got to sowing. Thus far we have: Mesclun "Spicy Mix" Radish "Cherry Belle" Carrot "Nantes Half Long" Beet "Detroit Dark Red" Swiss Chard "Fordhook Giant" I tried to rotate my crops and I adjusted my rows this year to accommodate more carrots and fewer beets. After several years of meager radish crops with fancier varieties, I stuck with the old standby "Cherry Belle". I also opted for Mesclun instead of lettuce this year hoping to get a little radicchio and frisee out of the mix. I'll try to remember my camera next time so you can see my fancy plot walls. Also: I had one head of Escarole survive the winter and my oregano is springing back to life.