Garden Story 2019

The end of gardening season is almost here. Sure, there is still baby spinach and red mustard that may or may not bring harvest before the frost, and a lone Tuscan kale plant, that I am half heartedly guarding against the critters…The days are short, shadows are long, and there is only enough warmth and direct sunshine to sustain less than an hour of sitting in a garden with a good read.

Before the backyard disappears into a soggy and eventually a frosty, entangled mess, here is a reflection of what did well, and what was only a tease in our city backyard this year. I now strongly believe that documenting is the only way for growth and progress, and it has certain, almost soul nurturing, quality. Teaches patience, and makes the home grown food, when it eventually reaches the table, feel so special. Also, and that is a huge part of why we grow food in containers and even the tiniest of city plots, makes it almost impossible to let the food go to waste. After so much wait and effort (watering by hand with rain water) would you really allow it to spoil? The garden also feels like an extension of our home, generously lending space to alfresco meals, (for us and the neighborhood bees) and offering what is seems like an attractive stopover to occasional dragonfly. Which happens to be my favorite insect of all times!

Winners this year:

•  – Pepper Bianca
•  – Eggplant Fairy Tale
•  – Japanese cucumbers
•  – Tomatoes: Sungold, Sweet 100, Black Cherry
•  – Garlic German Red
•  – Basil Genovese and Thai that were, and still are in late October, an absolute delight
•  – Cilantro: both as a fresh plant and dried seeds it produced.

Only a tease category:

• Any large heirloom tomato, maybe with exception of Green Zebra
• Zucchini that only produced gorgeous flowers
• Beans