starting basil

I am waaaaaay too anxious to start gardening. There is a thunderstorm outside right now and it won't be time to plant for several more weeks. Basil, however, can be started indoors 6-8 weeks before planting, giving me something to do while it's raining out! We (Ethan, the two neighbors and myself) are all very excited about growing, and eating, basil. 

Basil is a staple item in our cooking. We use it when making raw pesto, thai dishes and Ethan's delicious sweet potato sandwich.

boston birthday

This past weekend I went to Boston to curate a Glovebox art show. After a stop at Prana Raw Cafe in Newton for raw sushi and kombucha, I stopped at  the Home da'Pot for supplies. In addition to the things I needed for the art show, I took the opportunity to pick up some organic potting soil and seed starter supplies. 

It was a great way to celebrate my birthday with my best friends and I even got a very special birthday call from India - the best present ever!

seed a la frigidare

I spoke to the Kitazawa people today about my overly ambitious and seemingly novice seed purchase. I should really say over-purchase. The woman taking my call assured me that the seeds would keep for 2-3 years if stored in a cool dark place out of direct sunlight. You can even keep seeds in the fridge. 

Now I can keep my seed collection between the rice milk and the kale. Not at all unusual.

holy crap, i need a farm

They're here!!! My first shipment of seeds. What was I thinking? I got so carried away with ordering what I wanted I didn't think about where I would plant everything. 

Anybody need some seeds? I'll mail you a sampler! Seriously, email me.

here we go

The Vernal Equinox is right around the corner. There are finally some little flowers peeking through the brown, dusty leaves. New York has had insane amounts of rain this past week, giving a little jump start to the green.

I love the green poking through the leaves near the pipes - yes I have random pipes in my backyard. I like the industrial, Brooklyn feel it gives the yard. Mica joined me, sniffing the flowers.

cheap and easy

cheap and easy vegetables (or so I'm told)

I picked my seeds based on two things. One, I want to plant things that we eat a lot and already buy often. And two, things that are easy to grow!  

In my research I found the following as suggested "hard-to-screw-up" veggies:

• beets
• swiss chard
• potatoes
• garlic
• tomatoes
• summer squash
• zucks and cucks
• snap and snow peas
• radishes
• bush beans
• carrots

garden squid, screaming seeds and little puckers

These are pictures from last fall. I was cleaning up the yard right up until the winter and these squidy little onion things were exploding with roots. They grow really tall and the little onion bulbs form on the head of the "flower" until it's too heavy and they fall over. Then the little bulbs all grow like crazy until they can grab onto something.. I'm not sure what the plant name is, I just call them garden squids.

The morning glories always made me so happy, little ice cream swirls of pink and purple that squeeze together so tight until the sun comes out.

It's raining like crazy outside this weekend, but we are going to start building the planting boxes soon.