My Urban Farm

I got sooooooo much stuff done Saturday! I'm so impressed with myself. The 2009 veggie patch is such an experiment in so many ways. We've experimented with different growing mediums for starting seeds (expanded shale - sucks; vermiculite - sucks; "seed starting" mix from Miracle Grow - seeds very well, but can get a green slime on the top :-(; Jiffy incubator tray with peat circles - AWESOME! I LOVE THESE), we've also experimented with some unconventional containers (hanging tomatoes, hanging strawberries (below), and even an old wicker laundry basket now being used to grow potatoes). Even the whole square food technique is an experiment for us this year. And, though I've been blogging for a while now about the garden, the experiment just really started. All the garden squares are full now, as are numerous other containers and random spots around the garden. Surprisingly, the "salad bar" that we set up in one of the non-fenced flowerbeds with extra seedlings has not yet been ravished by the Brats (I know - I just cursed it). We might get even more veg out of the garden this year than we thought! So, here's how it's looking right now:

2 bell peppers, 1 jalapeno pepper, horseradish, basil, parsley, chives, cilantro, radishes, red and yellow onions, 2 kinds of green beans, 1 variety of yellow wax beans, 2 varietals of pickling cucumbers, and one square of marigolds and nasturtiums.

3 cabbages, 1 broccoli, 4 varietals of lettuce (2 plants each), 6 spinach, carrots, snow peas, 3 corn plants; 4 strawberries.

Hanging Strawberries

Still hanging in there! 2 cabbages, 1 broccoli and 5 Romaines.