Update: apartment gardening

My little garden is doing so well. I've been quite impressed with how it's done, especially since it's just potted plants and not a proper garden. Let's see where things are out there.

Look at how well my little strawberries are doing. Go, strawberries, go!
My mini sunflowers are seizing the day, are they not?

Look how big that bell pepper has gotten. A month ago, there weren't even buds on the plant.
This is the latest harvest of jalapenos to be picked. Yes, harvest. They are so yummy.
These tomatoes are still growing away.

I had a grasshopper visit. I took a pic of him, and then shooed him away from my plants.

And I caught my first cicada. They don't make those out wet where I grew up. I was amazed at how nasty they are - and loud!

Pico de Gallo

For anyone who doesn't know, pico de gallo is fresh chunky salsa. Or, if you're being literal, the translation means "beak of the rooster" which obviously has a lot to do with the fact that it's really salsa. Then again, burrito means "little donkey" and that doesn't sound very appetizing, either. Back on topic. Pico de gallo is delicious and amazing and you should totally make it. Let me share my fabulous recipe with you.

Time Needed: 30 minutes
Level of difficulty: easy
Materials needed: 8-10 Roma tomatoes, 1/2 red onion, 3 green onions, 3 tablespoons garlic, 3 tablespoons cilantro, 1 jalapeno, 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, salt to taste
Directions: Dice and mince the crud out of everything. Obviously, the size of chunk will depend on the ingredient. The garlic and jalapeno will be much more finely diced than the tomato and cilantro. All of this is to personal taste, so make it as chunky or as fine as you'd like. And, if you like more or less of something, well, add more or less of it. I like a juicy salsa, so I squeezed my tomato chunks a little after chopping them, but if you like a less juicy option, leave that part out. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil (I used my garlic infused olive oil - zing!) and top with salt. Make sure you have enough chips, though, because you'll want to eat all of this in one setting.

Side note: The garlic in this is the fresh garlic my friend gave me that I mentioned here and the cilantro is from my garden that I mentioned here. Let's just say that I made everyone's 4th of July a little better by bringing this to the party. :)

Update: apartment gardening

If you'll remember, I started a little garden on my apartment balcony. Let's check up on that garden, shall we?Look at that bright red strawberry! I can't wait to eat it. And the one behind it isn't looking too shabby, either!

I told my friend Monica I wanted to buy a tomato plant. She told me she had 6 growing out of her compost pile and to come get one. These things are growing like crazy. I'm telling you what, that's the best way to start a plant ever. I can't wait to find out what kind of tomatoes these are going to grow up to be.

My bell peppers are still just buds and are taking the longest to get going. That's okay, though. It's still fun to watch them grow. They're going to turn out beautiful - I just know it!

Because it was getting dark, my hand had to make a debut in these photos. Yes! Look at the size of that jalapeno. The best part? I've got 5 others that size and 10 smaller ones that are just getting started. That's where my best success in the garden has been. Now if only I knew how to use more than one jalapeno at a time!

I also had cilantro that grew beautifully, but I harvested it last week so it wouldn't' go to seed. It made an amazing addition to a fabulous pico de gallo (recipe to come soon).

Because of my soil choice (aka not Miracle Gro), my carrots and onions didn't fare too well. That's okay, though. My other plants are doing wonderfully, and for a first time gardener who's growing everything on her balcony, I'm very pleased with the results

Apartment Gardening

The hubs and I live in an apartment. This is great for a lot of things, but kind of hard in other ways. However, I'm finding ways around the hard parts and enjoying not having to worry about it if the dishwasher breaks or if the sink leaks.

Today is the first full day of spring (it officially turned spring yesterday at 7:21 pm, if you were wondering), so I had to celebrate. While getting a few things at Target, I ran past the gardening section. I mean, why not? So I don't have a yard? There are ways around that! I bought a few plants in small planters and I bought one big planter and went to work. A few weeks ago, I bought strawberries, green peppers, and tomatoes, and they've been plodding along in my apartment near the window. The time had come to move them outside, and this had me inspired. Why not plant more? I mean, it's cheap, easy to keep up, and so rewarding. Have you ever eaten something straight off the vine? Beyond amazingly delicious and so worth the wait. So here's what I added: green onions, white onions, chives, cilantro, parsley, red bell peppers, and just because, zinnias and a garden flower mix. I can't wait for my balcony to overflow with goodies for the eyes and for the tummy. Let me show you what it all looks like. However, you'll have to forgive the water spots on the ground. I may have tripped over the water pitcher and spilled a little. Go fig.Here's all the beauties, lined up in a cute row.
The large window planter has my pre-sprouted tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries. This is also where my green and white onions will live.
This planter set used to house parsley, oregano, and cilantro. There are a few dead ones on top from last year, but this is where my flower garden will grow. Besides, a few dead leaves that I didn't have the energy to remove won't hurt anything.This year's cilantro plant is in of these cute little pots until it gets going. Same with the zinnias and red peppers. I'll put them in a planter like the big yellow one when they get themselves all sprouted.
As is indicated by the markings on the porcelain pots, this is my chive and parsley collection. How cute are these? And they're the perfect size to be brought in when it's time to utilize them.

As a young girl, my dad was insistent that we have a garden every year. I thought this was weird. What kind of hard working attorney with 5 obnoxious kids has time for a garden? Well, the older I got, the more I came to appreciate this. We grew and sold raspberries by the crate, we canned our own tomatoes, salsa, fruit, beans, corn, etc. We grew our own potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, radishes, peas, pumpkins, cucumbers, and about a zillion other things. It was a bit of a time investment to plant all of that business and to keep it watered in the not-so-cooperative Idaho climate, but to be able to rely on ourselves was pretty awesome. And to eat something that was totally 100% because of your efforts was amazing. I'm excited to get to do that in my own little way this year. Go, balcony garden, go!