Cauliflower success!

So I haven't posted in forever because of health problems, but today I noticed something so exciting I couldn't stay away.
When I first decided to grow a few plants this winter, I was just going to try a few pots of kale. But then I saw cauliflower at the store and bought some on a whim. I wasn't sure what to do with it beyond keeping it watered, so I just decided to treat it like an experiment.
Apparently all that watering has payed off!

I have a vegetable. A tiny, adorable vegetable.

When dumping out excess water from the trays under the pots today, I noticed that one of my cauliflower pots has produced a little cauliflower. I'm so excited! I resisted eating it, so now I guess I'll just keep doing what I've been doing and wait for it to grow bigger.

Teaching Gardening at New York Schools

The New York Times had a really cool article the other day about New York City schools having rooftop or adjacent gardens. The students use them to learn about nature and green technology and growing food. Some teachers use them for art classes or to supplement science lessons. For some reason that really struck my fancy. Aside from being a fun way to engage students it's a great way to encourage a new generation of gardeners. I wish I had learned about growing things in school. Maybe then I'd be a little less lost every time one of my plant leaves looks slightly different!

Getting the hang of things

As I get more used to caring for my plants I'm settling into a routine. I only need to water them every few days. My favorite thing is plucking dead leaves from them. It makes me feel tidy. My least favorite chore is emptying the water from the trays under the pots. It's too much heavy lifting for me.
It's pretty exciting to see my plants doing well. They are all looking healthy and bigger than when I first got them. The growth I mentioned in this post is even bigger. Despite the fact that I am literally watching plants grow, it's pretty exciting to monitor their progress.

Grow little plant, grow!

Review: Rosemary & Thyme

I feel like any woman who is interested in any combination of gardening, mysteries or British television has had someone recommend they watch Rosemary & Thyme. Since I love all those things, I have watched some of it on Netflix. For anyone who is curious, maybe this can tell you if it's worth watching.
Basically it's the story of two female landscapers, Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme (see what they did there?) who manage to stumble upon a murder mystery at every location and always step in to help solve it. The show starts with Rosemary losing her job as a horticultural professor and Laura wanting a change as her husband recently left her for a much younger woman. The two meet, become friends, and put their shared love of gardening to use in a new career as landscapers. They also make use of a natural nosiness and Laura's family police connections to keep in check the many murderers prowling the English countryside.

Obviously this is not my picture.
Rosemary (left) and Laura.

I have two problems with the show. The first is that the plots can sort of run together if you watch it a lot. I guess it's sort of hard to keep coming up with new ideas for mysteries that can be solved with horticultural knowledge. The other is that there are several jokes that rely on people thinking they are lesbians and the pair being horribly offended, and I just don't find homophobia amusing.

That said, if you like procedural crime shows and find British accents soothing, you may enjoy Rosemary & Thyme as a nice accompaniment to hot tea and a warm blanket on a cold, rainy day. 

Quick update

My plants are looking a lot better. As I watered them today I noticed that the ones with dry leaves were still growing pretty fast. And the droopiness in the others seems to be gone. I think the extra soil really helped.

Plants still alive ... for now

Today I was supposed to water my plants, but yesterday we had a pretty decent rainfall so they didn't need it. Instead I took care of a couple other tasks. I picked off a couple of dead leaves and dumped the water from the bottom trays (important for preventing root rot). I had also noticed that when they were watered or when there was wind or rain, some of my plants, particularly the kale, would sort of tip over and that they were starting to grow at odd angles. So I grabbed my leftover potting soil and my trowel and scooped three to four extra shovels of dirt into the pots of the plants that seemed unstable. I didn't water them after, like I would if I were potting them, because I didn't want to flood them out after the rain. Instead I just patted the dirt down, and I'll have to wait until the next watering to see if it worked.

I'm a little worried about some of my plants. A couple have leaves that look sort of dry and damaged. My first thought was too much sun, but they are already North-facing and shaded for most of the day.

What is wrong with you, plant?

 A few others look sort of droopy and I'm not sure why. A Google search tells me that can be caused by too much sun (but again, they are already in a shady spot), too much heat (but it has been pleasantly cool/mild lately), too much cold (but we haven't had a freeze yet) or not enough water (but it rained yesterday). I'm pretty much at a loss. Maybe next time I water I'll add fertilizer, but in the meantime I'm just hoping for the best. If they start doing worse I'll try getting in contact with someone from the county extension office.

Survival Gardening

So Mike and I sometimes watch that show "Doomsday Preppers" about people who believe some sort of catastrophe or apocalypse is imminent and are hardcore preparing for it. Some of the people in the show are a little ... intense, but it's still a good watch.
I'll admit that, as someone whose generation has been overloaded with apocalypse fiction, there is something sort of fun and appealing about the show. So in that vein, here's some basic information on survival gardening. Because you need something to eat in between shooting zombies in the head.

Don't act like you're surprised I own this.

People who are really into this will often live out in the country and practice homesteading. They have acres of space for gardening and raising livestock. People like me who live in apartments don't have that luxury. Ignoring the fact that during the zombie apocalypse my relatively high-population neighborhood will be so overrun by the undead that I'll have to flee, having a little bit of fresh food can supplement the year's supply of canned goods we all keep on hand (you all do that, right?).

Things to keep in mind for survival gardening:

• Keep in mind your nutritional needs. You'll want a wide variety of plants with different health benefits and different tastes to keep you happy. I'm thinking I'd want beans for protein, root vegetables like potatoes and carrots, tomatoes, leafy greens and herbs just to start. Broccoli provides fiber and spinach is a source of iron.You should also consider some fruit, even if it's just a couple of little strawberry plants. Also keep in mind that you will have to provide for everyone in the household, so if you raise chickens for the eggs (a lifetime goal of mine regardless of the zombie apocalypse) you will need to grow some sort of grain for them. I'm still trying to figure out how to grow dog food, but in the meantime I'll just stock up on Science Diet.
• Be sustainable. If society takes a few years to rebound from the hoard of zombies stalking the earth, you won't want to rely on getting new annuals from your local plant nursery. Plant some perennials, for a start. Also, learn how to grow plants from parts of your existing plant. You can grow potatoes and onions from leftovers that you didn't eat, and you can sprout tomato seeds if you save them. 
• Learn about preserving food to make it through the harsh winter. You can dry and can your harvest, and also grow winter crops to keep your food source coming. 
• Consider your climate. If a lot of the food you grow is well suited to your climate, you will have more success and have to water it less often. I live in Florida (which I believe the experts consider part of Zone "Help, my hair is on fire") so I would have more luck growing an orange tree than an apple tree. 
• Don't forget your rain barrel. You'll want to boil the water before you drink it, but it will also come in handy for watering your plants.

I hope this overview of survival gardening has been enlightening and entertaining. Stay safe out there and don't forget: You can only kill a zombie by destroying the brain.