Berry good year

Our urban garden is about to get a new crop! Yesterday we ordered two blueberry bushes from Miller Nurseries. We were inspired to add the berries to our fresh produce list that already includes tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and herbs) by our neighbors Charles and Michele S. We saw their two beautiful berry bushes on a visit to their terrace garden last summer and realized you don't have to hike the upstate blueberry trail (or hike to the Amish market) to get your daily dose of antioxidants.
Doing some berry research, we learned that blueberry bushes need company to pollinate, so two will produce far more berries than one lonely bush. We bought Polaris and Chippewa varieties, which are considered "half high" and are appropriate for growing in pots. Each was only about $10. We also needed some supplies. We ordered soil acidifier (basically fertilizer)because blueberries grow best in an acidic environment. A 2.5 lb bag was $10. We still need a digital PH thermometer to make sure we maintain the correct balance in the soil. Miller was sold out, so we are looking for one on Ebay. They are also available at any garden supply shop.
The only drawback is we'll have to wait a year for a meaningful harvest. Miller told us the first year's yield will be slim pickins. But the pair of plants will look nice all summer and will be especially pretty in autumn when the leaves turn bright red. And summer 2011 will be a berry good year...

It's heeeeeeeeere

Spring came in with a bang, with 70 degree temperatures and plenty of sunshine. For the first time since the construction of 2008, I was able to sit outside and enjoy breakfast on my terrace--a real treat for the first day of spring. Already, the Hyacinth bulbs are peeking up and my Hydrangea is sprouting green. I spent much of the day weeding the pots and window boxes, just cause I could! On Friday night, Mitch and I picked out our 2010 tomato crop from our favorite site, Tomato Fest, which offers an encyclopedic variety of organic heirloom seeds. We ordered six packettes, including our usual Brandywine and Cherokee Purple, as well as a few newbies, like Black Cherry and Aunt Ruby's Yellow. Hopefully, we'll be starting our seedlings next weekend, and planting them in our pots by Memorial Day!

Spring in the air

Forget that arctic blast you feel hitting your face every time you leave your home these days. New York may be in the deep freeze, but hints of spring are in the air-- well, in the ground. Stepping out on my terrace for a quick weather check yesterday, I noticed that pots of parsely that I thought were long dead thanks to the cold, were actually growing! And then I saw buds sprouting on my Hydrangea. No kidding! I didn't think plants could grow through sustained freezing temperatures. But there were the green shoots and purple buds rising from the soil. So as I pack up my skis this weekend and head to even colder territory, I can leave with the assurance that soon enough, I'll be planting our crops for 2010. And it can't come soon enough. The supermarket produce is killin' me!

Valerie Squared (or quadrupled!)

I had dinner this evening at a little Manhattan bistro called Bar Six in the West Village. This is not extraordinary, since eating out in Manhattan is a fairly regular event for most NYC residents. But at this table on this night sat four, count 'em, four Valeries - Valerie Block (that's me) Valerie Smaldone, Valerie Geller and Valerie Romanoff. Each of us career women in creative fields just sharing a meal and a name. Valerie Smaldone and I have been friends for years, and well, she thought it would fun to bring together all the Valeries in her life. I couldn't have agreed more. I'm always tickled when I meet another Valerie - maybe that's because when I was growing up I never ran into any Valeries. There were none in my schools, my family or among my friends. In fact I was in my 20s when I first met another Valerie. When I was in my 30s, a Valerie moved into my building on the West Side. And not just any other Valerie, but another Valerie Block! She's written novels, and people often think I wrote those books. I have to admit that I did not.
Anyway, I found it very amusing to break bread with four Valeries. I think we will do this again - and I'm hoping to bring more of my namesake into the group...so, if you know any cool Valeries in NYC, send them my way...

Giving Thanks

Another year, another full belly, another night with family for Thanksgiving, that all-American tradition. The feast, with turkey, cranberry, stuffing, green beans, sweet potato caserole and lots of pie - choclate cream, pecan, apple...My sister-in-law Phyllis did the cooking and made everyone feel at home. Bravo!

Food for thought

We finally got to see Food Inc. this weekend, and as expected, it gave me yet another reason to eat fresh food, grown locally and sustainably. Food Inc. held no real surprises - I'd seen King Corn (another great documentary) and read many articles on the subject of our flawed factory farm system. Still, it was a grim reminder of how dystopian our food production has become.
As I wait for the spring planting season so I can get back to growing my own, I visit the Union Square Green Market just about every Saturday to drop off my compost and pick up fresh lettuce, veggies, bread and cheese.
I buy Murray's chicken from our Associated grocery store now, but I fear that even Murray's is too commercial. After watching Food Inc.'s footage of Purdue chickens wallowing in their own feces, I am even more motivated to buy local meats from the market. I believe spending a little more to buy from local producers is worth it, from both a health and political pespective. To change the system, we have to support a different system, one that is sustainable, fair and life affirming. The food we get from supermarkets is cheap - but more than ever these days, we get what we pay for....

Catching up

We're back baby! Finally, after a year of construction and obstruction, our terrace was completed last month--just in time for biting fall weather, wind and rain. Still, we hauled all of our plants, pots and supplies off the roof and are slowly preparing for winter and the eventual coming of spring 2010.
Yes, we missed an entire planting season, but judging from conversations I've had with my gardening counterparts around the east, this was the summer to miss. Wet and cold, the weather was hardly ideal, yielding precious little.
Meanwhile, I harvested the last of the basil I'd planted indoors and made a nice batch of pesto over the weekend. I pulled two tomatoes off the Charlie's Green that I insisted on planting indoors and have them ripening in a bag (I did get one vine ripened tomato to put in my salad last month, which was a kick, I assure you!)
The parsley, which is outdoors now, is still growing strong, as is the oregano.
But with such a chill in the air, I'm looking forward to our long weekend coming up in Austin, Tx. where it's been about 70 degrees during the day. Yee haw!

Hot house tomatoes

I couldn't plant outside since my terrace was under construction all summer, but I couldn't sit out the whole season, either. So I planted a few crops indoors, mostly herbs like basil, rosemary and parsley, which all came along nicely. And I figured I'd experiment a little. So I took one of the tomato seedlings that Mitch started in April when we had hope that construction would end by summer, and I put it in a pot. The thing grew like a beanstalk. And it began flowering in late July. And now, two little tomatoes are growing! It ain't much, but hey, it's more than I expected! I didn't use anything fancy like grow lights. To help pollinate, however, I did use an electric toothbrush. I read that holding it near the flowers creates a vibration similar to bees whizzing by...

Tomatoes at last

I got great news today from Michele Scicolone, the adoptive gardener of our tomato seedlings and a neighborhood friend. Finally, after months of rain and waiting, she sent photos of the tomato plants and I'm happy to report that they're growing strong and ready to provide fruit. It's been a tough summer for us. We were never able to plant our own urban garden because of construction on our terraces. So, it's nice to see that our seedlings have found a good home and are being productive!

Blitzing Blossom End Rot with Hoffman Tomato Food

So, August is the time to reap the fruit of Spring's labor. When our tomato plants begin to shower us with juicy, red orbs, ready to eat.
But often, the early crop is marred by ugly black scars at the fruit's bottom. This is the dreaded "blossom end rot," so called because this blot is positioned where the yellow flower once bloomed.
Fret not, tomato growers. There is a cure: Hoffman's Tomato Food 5-10-10. Sprinkle a quarter of a cup of this fertilizer that is 5% nitrogen, 10$ phosphate and 10% potash about 4 inches from the plant stem, work into the top soil and water as usual. The younger fruit should grow unblemished.
Be sure to remove all damaged fruit - it will not taste good and will take up energy that the plant needs to produce new fruit.
We learned the hard way about blossom end rot, which damaged our early harvest for a few years running. Now, we fertilize early and often!
I hear this fertilizer isn't easy to find. In fact, I had to loan our box to my colleague Greg David who has planted his first tomato plants this summer. I'm going to be looking for a place that carries it. If anyone knows, please post here!