2. An Unsolicited Indoor Garden Update, Armenian Cucumbers and Naples Yellow.
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An Unsolicited Indoor Garden Update
For two years now I have attempted to grow my own vegetables on city balconies. In 2020, blessed with the abnormal amount of sunshine in April/May and the shifting of lockdowns/stay-at-home mandates - I planted beans and spices. Unfortunately, our balcony had a water retainer underneath, which was haunted by every imaginable insect who found the seedlings delicious. Thus began a war in which I tried every organic spray in the book (not going so far as copper sulfate and absolutely not touching any pesticide). However, it was no use, the herbs grew stubbornly and slightly and except for a sad limp borlotti strand the size of my pinky - the beans gave up. So head in my hands, we went on our holiday sojourn and I left the suffering plants behind, baking in the heatwave of August. (*gasp* I know it was awful).
This year I was more prepared - although a bit late. We moved apartments during crucial planting time in the spring, so by the time I doled seeds into their respective egg trays, I did not have the highest hopes. This Dutch spring/summer was hits of hot sun then cold rainy weeks, the coldest May in years was the bird chatter on the street. To be fair I was trying out really obscure seeds, at least to myself: oyster leaf, strawberry spinach, radishes and strawberries of all colours, Italian greens I had never heard of until this year. Too ambitious I think.
I sold some of these seedlings at a market in July (if you bought any please let me know if they turned out!), and the rest I took with me down south for the summer to prepare for a collaboration with @artistforplants. I planted an elevated garden (Azotea) with edible plants and herbs, including some of these. In the switch in climate and surroundings, the Italian greens went into shock and did not fair very well. Surprisingly, my Mother-in-Law messaged me recently with a decent yellow and white radish harvest, minus some green thanks to leaf munchers but not bad. I left the garden behind in the countryside figuring it would do better in the warmer climate of Southern France than following us along the coast back to the North Sea, according to that recent radish harvest - it was the wise choice.
In a state of instagram induced gardening fomo and inspired in part by this article, I decided to try some Autumn planting. In the article the director of horticulture at Brooklyn Bridge Park (U.S.A.) Rebecca McMackin is quoted as saying:
“Why do we do fall cutbacks?” she asked herself, considering the park’s 16 acres of beds, and realized she had no satisfactory answer. “Why do we plant so much in spring? And why do we hear so much about ample spacing and airflow around plants when, if you look at a meadow, that’s not what you see the plants doing?”
Inspiring, I thought. I have heard that cutbacks are so the plants do not waste energy supplying nutrients through stems who no longer have anything to raise, but yes Rebecca is correct, it does not happen in nature so why should we do it in our own gardens?
I ordered more seeds upon our return to Amsterdam: green and red shiso, burgundy okra, armenian cucumber (was anyone else's instagram feed flooded with these this summer?), the whole rainbow of beets, parisian carrot (bah oui why not), clemson spineless okra (rough name eh), banana melon, cucamelon, crystal lemon cucumber, indigo cherry tomatoes - I thinkkkk that is it.
I set up a piece of wood in our kitchen (the sunniest room in the apartment) and planted the seeds, each with a little wish for a late winter (induced) or early spring (letting them go dormant) harvest.
It has been a couple weeks or so and they look like this:
It’s promising, unsure of what I will do when they start to grow larger - maybe I will engage in a miniature harvest, or (to Nico's horror) drag in the super heavy, damp, wildflower mulched planters from our balcony and replant them there so they can grow to their fullest potential. Unfortunately I foresee Elvis' enjoyment at using these as litterboxes and due to that, might avoid that prospect. *Update - I found a nice wooden palette on my evening walk yesterday and intend to sand it down and turn it into an indoor garden bed à la Attila Marcel (great film, recommend, heavy hitter though, bring tissues).
I adopted this "leave things alone as much as possible" for my front balcony garden upon moving to this apartment in April. I threw wildflower seeds into every box in wild abandon, any fruit seeds, any seeds at all I happened to find during my park walks, by July it looked like this:
It was frequently visited by pollinators and sometimes even birds - unfortunately I was never swift or quiet enough to snap a picture before they got spooked and flapped off. But this type of laissez-faire approach is alluring, I was able to leave my front balcony for two months without a worry, knowing it would function similarly to the patches of wildflowers throughout the city. It will work a bit differently with these edible seed babies, who need more care and checking in but I'll be here for that this time, doting but also stepping away when needed so they can strengthen and come into their own - without any helicopter parenting. Something I did not succeed in with my fur-son Elvis, who meows and taps us with his expectant paws when he wants a blanket placed over him, or the perfect hammock of duvet between myself and Nico at bedtime. Or a cozy hot water bottle for chillier days (don’t judge the christmas pillow, he loves it).
I also read an interesting article this past week about winter lettuces, might throw those into the mix as well.
Some things I found nourishing this week:
This article, which transported me through teahouse magic and had me craving travel on the deepest level I have felt so far this pandemic. Here is also where to help donate to Uyghur Relief - if you know of another place to donate as well, please let me know.
The triple chocolate croissant from Fort Negen. The holy grail. The heaven on Earth. The reason my annual winter weight gain has started in October.
Avocado Quartzite - satisfying my desire for avocado toast in a way I did not know possible.
Thank you so much for tuning in this week, I hope your plants are faring well with the seasonal changes! Hug them! Hug the trees in your neighbourhood! Wishing everyone fresh air and a great week.
See you next week <3
Jazz
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