Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Green thumbs down on my winter garden

Carrots just the right size for Polly Pocket

Here are nano-carrots I grew this winter. I'll spare you the sight of the baby spinach that never attained adulthood. It's not a lost cause, though -- my arugula and Italian parsley are flourishing, and the basil plant I bought a year ago is still hanging on. I've also grown a total of three sugar snap pea pods! Obviously I'm not exactly self-sustaining yet, but hopefully this summer I'll grow more than last year's five tomatoes. Is it too early to start planting them?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

All I can grow is rosemary — only Mengele could kill that. I did get some basil last summer, but the fun didn't last for long. Maybe you should get a pro over to consult? Sandy Gillis is great.

Anonymous said...

Go ahead and plant your tomatoes. It's safe once nighttime temps stay above 50F. I'm in Atwater and put in my first plant about two weeks ago and have continued to pot up containers as I've had time. FYI: If you're looking for a nice heirloom selection, try Burkard's in Pasadena.

Kathy A. McDonald said...

Tapia Bros. farm stand in Encino is having a tomato plant sale March 27/28/29. I've started my seeds--never quite as successful as the plants. Sunday Hollywood Farmer's market also has plants.

Anonymous said...

That's so sad. I'm planning to try to grow some tomatoes on my balcony, but I don't have high hopes. Most of my plants are barely clinging to life.

Anonymous said...

Those are so darn cute!!

Anonymous said...

In our Griffith Park Bl days, before there was foodie-blogging, our "yard" was the first real patch o' dirt over which I'd had dominion since I was a kid. When I got a look at the (then) Mayfair prices for their cute little "baby veges" and (what The Woman in The Hat referred even then as) "yuppie weeds" (micro-greens and heirloom lettuce) I got hold of some seed catalogs and went to work. Ended up with more yellow pear-shaped tomatoes and lettuce than I could get rid of. Never could grow enough carrots to make it worthwhile, though...

silverlake bodhisattva

Anonymous said...

Also, one of the beauties of buying vege seeds from a catalog is the incomparably optimistic prose; until you read it regularly, you just can't grasp that, say, Park's hybrid tomatoes are not only disease-resistant, easy-to-grow, and tasty, but they're verge on being absolutely soul-transforming, that the world will be a better and brighter place if you just plant some! (See, e.g. http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/5387/)


silverlake bodhisattva