With the coming of spring weather, I decided to plant some herbs again. I started with rosemary and basil. You may recall that I brought in a rosemary bush last year. Alas, it didn’t thrive in my kitchen window, as it didn’t get enough sunshine there. I should have put it upstairs in the den … Continue reading How Do Your Gardens Grow?
Garden
The Rosemary Bush
Quote of the day: You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.—Friedrich Nietzsche It’s still unseasonably warm outside but I decided to bring in the rosemary bush. It’s grown large enough that I can harvest sprigs from it, but … Continue reading The Rosemary Bush
Checking on Rosemary
Quote of the day: The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.—Mark Twain A month ago I planted that rosemary and thought I might be able to start harvesting in four to six weeks. Clearly I was being overly optimistic. I’ll be lucky to be able to harvest anything before the … Continue reading Checking on Rosemary
This, That, and the Other
Quote of the day: If a person feels he can't communicate, the least he can do is shut up about it.—Tom Lehrer When I stopped in at Iovine Brothers at the Reading Terminal Market the other day, there was a woman who was going through all the packs of scallions, picking them up one by … Continue reading This, That, and the Other
You Say Tomato
The tomatoes that I grew in my tiny backyard are very red and very small. And that would be OK except the skins are tough, and I hate tough skins on tomatoes. Moreover, the flavor is not really any better than what I can get from the tomatoes I buy on 9th Street. So why … Continue reading You Say Tomato
I Never Expected…
Back when I planted the tomato plants, I never expected them to grow as tall as they have. Certainly not as quickly as they did. As I walk around the neighborhood and see other tomato plants that folks are trying to grow, none of them are nearly as high as the ones in my back … Continue reading I Never Expected…
Number Nine
On Saturday I relocated squirrel number nine. Number nine, number nine, number nine… It’s been awhile since I relocated any squirrels. The birds had started eating the bait. …number nine, number nine, number nine… And then the heat waves began, and I didn’t feel like carting the squirrels to a park in 90+ degree heat, … Continue reading Number Nine
Checking on the Tomato Plants
I’m finding I have to water those tomato plants three times a day now and spray them with water to keep them hydrated. That little postage stamp of a yard really heats up in the Philadelphia summer as the sun beats down relentlessly, there’s no place for the heat to go. Even with the frequent … Continue reading Checking on the Tomato Plants
Nineteen Days
I’m trying again this year to grow tomatoes in my tiny back yard. The idea is that the squirrels are under control, so with any luck they won’t be nibbling on any tomatoes when they appear. I was surprised at how fast the plants zoomed up. These were just little starter plants in small containers … Continue reading Nineteen Days
Saving Rosemary
I’ve had herbs growing in my postage stamp backyard all summer long, and the rosemary bush was still going strong as the temperature finally dropped below the freezing mark. I had decided to bring it inside to see if it would like it indoors over the winter and I could continue to harvest its delectable … Continue reading Saving Rosemary