First Harvest

Today, I had my first official harvest: 2 arugula leaves. Okay, nothing really to celebrate. But arugula is definitely the head of the balcony class; their long, peppery leaves are the envy of all the other plants which I started from seed.

I also picked some red chard leaves from the seedlings I acquired and planted last weekend. One of the plants was already starting to bolt (going to seed). I read that when leafy edible plants bolt, their leaves turn bitter. So I figured better to chop that baby down and eat it.

These pretty little leaves will do well in a pasta with some oil, onions and mushrooms.

Aspire to Something Higher

I was counting on growing all plants from seed this year, figuring it wouldn't be too difficult: sow, water and harvest, right? But after many weeks of very slow progress, with the realization that I might not be able to eat anything from the garden this year except sprouts, I decided to try planting seedlings.

Last weekend, my partner's mother brought over some tomato plants from her own stash: 2 Beefsteaks and 1 Tiny Tom. And just yesterday, I went to FoodShare's Plant Give-Away event, where I picked up 5 healthy looking plants: 2 Golden Cherry Tomato, 1 Ruby Red Chard, 1 Cinnamon Basil and 1 King of the North Sweet Pepper.

All these babies are now replanted into containers on my balcony. With half a bag of mushroom compost mixed into the soil, and sunnier skies in the forecast, the plants should all be a happier bunch. Now that the little seedlings have bigger, stronger plants in their crew, they're sure to be more motivated to grow.