Closed for the winter

I guess this blog went a big neglected for the end of the summer. Here's a quick recap along with winterizing plans.

The successes of the summer were cherry tomatoes, peas and geraniums. I will definitely invite those plants into my garden next year. I also have a few perennials that I'm hoping will survive the winter on the windy roof: a hydrangea, lavender, some bulbs that I forgot the name of and mint.

I read online that hydrangeas need to be protected and insulted from the first frost to the last. I don't really have anything to protect my plant, so I'm using the grill cover from our broken grill. I hope that keeps the plant as warm as the recommended oak leaves.

Until the spring!

August Recap

Here's a rundown of how things are going in my garden this season:
- Tomatoes -- I planted heirlooms. I got 1 or 2 good sized ones. The rest are glorified cherry tomatoes, except with extra thick skin. The plants themselves are a nasty yellow/green color. Tomato blight? Bad gardening skills?
- Strawberries -- I got a few earlier in the season and, strangely, they continue to come in. Just yesterday I ate a fingernail (pinky) sized strawberry. It was pretty good. For the most part, though, they've been tart and have tasted somewhat similar to Sour Patch Kids.
- Cucumbers -- the plant is about 4 inches tall. Last year I had a bunch of cucs and plants that were climbing up my railing.
- Ornamental Gourds -- some flowers. No gourds.
- Mint -- doing very well. I made a raspberry mojito the other day with the mint. It was disgusting. Don't mix raspberry seltzer, rum, and mint. It doesn't work.
- Blueberries -- I have 1 blueberry. It is pretty big, but not big enough to make up for the fact that it is the only blueberry on the bush.

I'm not sure what went wrong. Too much rain early in the season? I wasn't diligent about watering because of all the rain. Could it be they didn't get enough water? I also had a weed problem this year. Maybe the weeds took all the nutrients? I think next year I'll get new soil and start fresh.

Harvest

I had my first official harvest this evening. The peas are definitely the biggest success so far. They even taste good!

Tomatoes and beans coming soon:

I only have two flowers, one nasturtium and one zinnia. I think it's awesome how this zinnia has little flowers in its center.

Where is the sun?

My plants are dying, they need sun. My tomato plant is weak, has few leaves, and fewer flowers. My gourds are yellowed and small. My marigolds barely a few inches out of the ground.

Progress on the Upper West Side

What a difference a few weeks make!

My basil (granted it wasn't from seed...) is almost tree-like in its size. Dill, mini basil and rocket (arugula), all started from seed, are now actually recognizable. My French pumpkin plant grew so huge that I had to plant it in a real garden - my terrace pots weren't big enough.

A few general shots of my herb garden, with close-ups of the plants grown from seed - the mint is in a pot because I was told that it would take over the entire garden if not properly restrained:

From Smoggy Basil June 2009

From Smoggy Basil June 2009

From Smoggy Basil June 2009

Norm - I am so glad to hear you too are growing strawberries. A few weeks ago, I uprooted a strawberry plant from my parents' house and brought it to my terrace. Backstory: the strawberry plants my parents have all originate from 3 plants I planted over 10 years ago, when I was in high school. My friends and I sold flower bulbs and strawberry plants to raise money for a school program, and the strawberry plants my parents purchased have propagated annually into a bona fide strawberry patch.
I returned from my college reunion this evening to find 3 bright red berries:

From Smoggy Basil June 2009

As you can see, my strawberry plant looks like it is one wind gust away from death. Is this what yours look like? Should I water them at all or leave it up to the skies?

I would like to be more adventurous in my plantings next year and do fruits/vegetables in addition to herbs. Any suggestions? I also will need a good basic pesto recipe...and any other recipes which feature herbs. I tried searching on Epicurious.com today for something featuring tarragon, but, alas, 'tarragon' is not a valid search term on its own.

Here's to more frequent postings (and no more advertising on this site!) in June

Strawberries

I picked 3 strawberries this morning. 2 of them were bursting. I'll see how they taste tonight.

Differential diagnosis

I have been doing some investigating on the web about my yellowing pea plants. It might be the dreaded root rot! According to Wikipedia, root rot is "usually lethal and there is no treatment." I assume the best thing to do is to stop watering them. Too bad it's raining outside.