I have not posted about the garden in a long while. That is because the garden was pretty much a bust the first round. I do not have a green thumb at all and it takes a ton of effort for me to work with plants, but I have a new garden buddy.
Amber is one of my belly dance students and a member of bint Hazine dance troupe. She is a total sweetie! In dance Amber is still very shy and unsure of herself, but she and I do chat during private lessons so I learned a lot about her other interests, including gardening. Last week Amber asked to see my sad little garden and I showed her. I met a whole new side of Amber that day.
It was a complete 180 in our relationship, I was all shy and reserved about my complete lack of garden skills and Amber was all in that dirt like a pro. She gave me some awesome advice and I begged for her help. This week, we broke into three more large bags of soil and planted quite a few happy little sprouts!
Thank you Amber so much for helping me make my sad little garden happy again!
Planted on 2012.03.16
Tomatoes:
Four sprouts planted in the sunniest portion of the garden. Amber watered them with seaweed water to help the roots.
Amber said:
-plant oregano or parsley near tomato plants to improve flavor.
I am most excited about making paste or sauce and maybe even sun drying a few for snacks!
More information:
http://www.gardeningchannel.com/growing-roma-tomatoes/
Yellow Peppers
One lonely sprout in the center of the garden.
Usually I prefer red or green peppers but I so wanted a different color in the garden. They will be just as good for snacks or stuffed peppers. Nom, nom, nom!
More information:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=50
Red Onions
Stuck about a dozen in front of the tomatoes. I hope they don't change the flavor.
Amber said:
- don't plant onions near beans because they do not get along. (I had no idea!)
I use red onions much more often than white, and typically they do not make me cry as much. I hope having them growing just outside the window won't make me cry every day.
More information:
http://www.vegetarian-nutrition.info/updates/onions.php
Strawberries
One lonely plant, that is already sprouting berries, in the shady side of the garden.
Amber said:
- Strawberries love pine needles!
I am considering moving the strawberries to the patch where all the neighbor's pine needles fall. At least the plants will be happy.
I remember as a kid, I would pick wild strawberries all around the backyard and in the fields. I am so excited to offer that to JD too.
More information:
http://gardening.about.com/od/fruitsberriesnuts/a/Strawberries.htm
Spearmint
Two plants, one near the berries and one near the tomatoes.
I heard somewhere that mint keeps ants away so I really wanted mint in my compost ajacent garden.
I hope the mint does not flavor the tomatoes too though, that could be bad.
I really want to make mint teas, or use the leaves in Mojitos and summer drinks.
More information:
http://www.adagio.com/herbal/spearmint.html
Chives
The chives are just seeds between the tomatoes and the red onions. Amber planted these for me.
More information:
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/herbs/chives.cfm
Oregano
More seeds, between the pepper plant and the front line of the garden.
More information:
http://www.naturalnews.com/oregano.html
Wheat Grass
Seeds in an indoor pot.
Amber said:
- "I brought these for the cat."
- The red wheat grass is good for smoothies.
More information:
http://cats.about.com/library/weekly/aa051497.htm
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