Garden Update: mid-July

These past few weeks have been nothing short of wacky… earthquake, G20 protests, another trip to NYC, heat wave … and here we are, already knee deep into July!

I just took a peek at my last garden update in mid-June. In comparison, the plants have grown considerably in 1 month. The pole beans have climbed to the top of the trellis, then to the top of a taller stake I added later, and is now bending over the divider and onto my neighbor’s side. The dill has grown almost 4 feet tall, with tiny yellow flowers all over. Cucumber plants are flowering and also climbing uncontrollably. Chives flowers have dried up, and their tiny black seeds are being saved. And I just saw the first signs of a tomato budding from a flower yesterday.

Unfortunately, aphids have found their way onto my balcony again. They attacked the arugula plant that I was trying to seed, so I ripped it out in my madness. Now that I've calmed down, I started using a very diluted solution of Dr. Bronners peppermint and spraying it on the plants twice a day. It seems to be working to get those buggers under control.

Here are some photos of dill, cucumber and nastursium flowers. Love, love, and love.

C -S-yAy

This summer, I'm cheating on the Good Food Box program for the Plan B CSA.

Don't get me wrong. Foodshare's Good Food Box program is amazing. Healthy, extra fresh, super-affordable and mostly local produce. Why everyone isn't jumping on this program is beyond my scope of understanding.

But in my opinion, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is one-step up, if you're interested in supporting local growers and you have a bit more money to spend. You may remenber that in 2008, I participated in the Everdale CSA program. Loved it.

My partner thought it would be a great idea to start a "CSA Collective" in our apartment building. He was right; it was a great idea. After some research, I found out that Plan B was the only CSAs that offered home delivery in Toronto. So we spread the news, and in the end, four of neighbors and friends signed up with us. We all now receive a weekly delivery of organic, local fruits and vegetables delivered to our door. Plan B even offered to waive the delivery charge since we had a sizeable order.

This week's share: strawberries, spinach, asparagus, green onions, leaf lettuce, shiitake mushrooms, and the sweetest, crunchiest little red apples I have ever eaten.

Life is a little better thanks to CSA.

Garden Update: mid-June

For the most part, the garden has never looked better. The plants continue to look healthy and strong. But for some reason, the onion seeds never sprouted. I tried several succession plantings, but nada. So I planted dill seeds in that spot. Also nada. Very strange.



















Photo (L): the left side of the balcony continues to be the most prolific area. Probably because it gets the most sun. Grown here are cilandro, basil, tomatoes, mint, dill, cucumbers and pole beans.
Photo (R): a continuation of the left side. Leafy beets and leafy nastursium. A sign that the soil is too rich is the absence of nastursium flowers. One pot shows no sign of growth, that was garlic planted last year. I have since planted sunflower seeds for sprouts in that spot.

Photo (L): the right side of the balcony. Arugula has flowered, and I've been too lazy to cut it down. Maybe I'll save the seeds. Small kale and chard plants in the rectangular planter, and large kale, mustard and chive plants in the far pot.
Photo (R): a collection of things on the patio table, including a bushy silver thyme plant, and hens-and-chicks I got from my Dad. It is the only inedible plant I'm growing.