In Season: August

This Thursday marks the beginning of September and I'm starting to get that panicked, end-of-summer feeling. The past few weekends have been dark and dreary and have really impeded my beach going. Labor Day is upon us and therefore Fall is soon to follow. While the farms are still reaping fresh produce and schlepping it to the City for us, be sure to snap up a few of these fruits and veggies in season this month:

Beets, Blueberries, Peaches, Cauliflower, Peppers, Summer Squash, TOMATOES, Corn, Eggplant, and Melon are all in season this month. As August wanes, so do these flavors. Get thee to a farmer's market! Grand Army Plaza Green Market, I will see you Saturday.

How To Save Your Plants From Irene

Here are some tips on how to protect your plants this weekend from Kimberly Sevilla at Greenpoint's Rose Red & Lavender:



- Secure your plants. For those of you with balconies, it may be a good idea to put your lighter plants and plastic furniture inside. With 50 to 100mph winds, anything light that that is left on a balcony will be blown away. Don't worry about the plants that are in big heavy pots, if you have trouble moving them then they are probably fine. Put everything as close to the building as you can. The same rules apply to roof top gardens as well.

- Remove the covers from your gazebos and take down any umbrellas and store in a safe place.

- Remove any window boxes that are hanging on railings and put them inside or on the ground.

- Take down any hanging baskets and put them inside.

- Stake and tie plants in your garden. Try to secure your plants as best as you can but remember that they may not survive the storm. Take the time to harvest any vegetables that are ripe. Harvest any tomatoes that are close to maturity. Pick the large green ones too.

- Don't forget to cut some flowers and bring them inside. Chances are they won't be so nice after Irene rolls through.

- If you have any garden ornaments, plastic lawn furniture, chimes, empty pots, garden tools, etc. outside, secure them and take them inside. They will be blown away.

Good luck and stay dry!

Defeat

I suck at growing tomatoes. I had talked with a few people about my tomato-less state and after the inevitable, "Does it get enough sun?" and "Does it get enough water?" questions, they asked, "How big are your containers?" Well, apparently, not big enough. Plant roots need plenty of room in order to produce fruit and when container-grown vegetables don't produce fruit, even if they are fertilized, watered and everything else is done correctly, the problem can usually be traced to the fact that the plant's roots have a restricted root environment. Tomatoes produce best in containers of at least 20" or 22" diameter with a soil volume of 4-5 gallons. Yup, my containers are too small.

Here is a basic chart to go by when gardening in containers:

             Chart

I guess this season, and this blog really, was an experiment. I've never grown large tomatoes before, only cherries, and they are a lot harder than I thought. I've learned my lesson and promise to have HUGE containers next year. I'm still holding on though for my current three baby tomatoes. I'm sorry I restricted your roots, but please let me taste you before the summer is over.

Tomato Update

Because I was growing about 20 tomato plants on my desk from February to May, people at work started to notice. Now that they are gone and growing around NYC, people always ask me in the hallway, kitchen, elevator, etc., "How are your tomatoes doing?" And I have to say, "Not well."

So, I'm embarrassed. My tomato harvest has been pathetically puny with a grand total of one. I didn't take a picture of it because it was a little gnarly. It had succumbed to Blossom End Rot. I thought that by mid-August I would have had a plethora of tomatoes. So many tomatoes that I would have been giving them away freely, eating endless caprese salads, and making ketchup and sauce just to get rid of them! Alas, I have had one, ugly tomato. I should re-name the blog, "A Tomato Barely Grows In Brooklyn." I'm trying to hold on to some optimism though. I do have about three baby tomatoes that are the size of a thumbtack head. Come on guys. Please grow big and delicious. I beg of you.

Surprise!

Look what I found on my desk at work this morning:

With this note!

One of my coworkers who I gave my tomato seedlings to has left me a present! Not sure who to thank, but definitely excited to cut this baby up and enjoy. Happy Friday!



Sensitive Plants

Mimosa pudica, or the "Sensitive Plant," can not handle touchy situations. Also known as the "Humble Plant" or "Shame Plant," Mimosa pudica would rather shrink away from confrontation than stand and fight it. OK, OK, enough with the puns...check out these videos!

My friend Carly has introduced Mimosa pudica to my life and I am obsessed. The plant is native to Brazil and is a part of the pea family! When the plant is shaken or the leaves are touched a chemical reaction that drops pressure in certain cells causes the leaflets to fold and cower. The stimulus to fold and droop can be transmitted from one part of the plant to another in a chain reaction. No one really knows why or how the Sensitive Plant does this, but some theories state that folded and drooped leaves are not attractive to herbivores, and are often passed by in favor of more normal appearing leaves to eat.  Which seems totally plausible, because who wants to eat wilted lettuce? I also have my own little hypothesis that maybe it's a defense mechanism against unwanted insects. Something lands on its leaves and then is immediately slid off before it can do any damage to the plant. What do you think?

Thanks Simon for filming!!