I really thought having a container garden was a great idea. However, I have discovered it’s probably a good idea to do a little research and understand a little more about your crops before you plant and start the process. I thought things were going pretty well, but in the last few weeks I have noticed that several things have started growing at a crazy rate and flowering. Well, after a little research (aka Google) I have learned that first of all, not all crops flourish in heat. Second of all plants just like human have a reproductive cycle and should be harvested at a particular point or else they start flowering and creating seeds which means they aren’t really edible anymore.
My first victim was the cilantro. It was looking great and I had visions of salsa, guacamole and other great dishes. One day I look out on the patio and notice that there were several branches that had grown probably 4 inches overnight. Hmmm, I thought, maybe I’m a great gardener and was going to get a bountiful supply of cilantro. A quick Google search introduced me to a concept called ‘Bolting’. Well bolting is not a good thing if you’re wanting to eat your plant. It’s basically the seeding process that a plant goes through and once it starts the leaves become very bitter. The web suggested if I cut the plant down I may be able to slow the process and I should go ahead and cut the good leaves and try to salvage them while they are still edible. I harvested what I could and we made guac with it. However I couldn’t stop mother nature and it appears as though the cilantro I envisioned for the summer will be coming from Price chopper, not my herb garden. The cilantro got chopped up before I could take a picture.
Next victim, in a matter of days I noticed that my arugula had grown at least 8 inches and then the next day was covered with flowers. A quick Google search informed me that once arugula ‘bolts’ that it tastes terrible. Next day, something very similar happens to the basil. It just didn’t make sense to me. I saw beautiful herb and lettuce in gardens all over the UK. How did these folks manage to have produce half of the year. Well, after another consultation with Google It dawned on me that all of my crops that had bolted prefer cooler weather. Ah ha, London was in the 60s a good chunk of the year. It was starting to make sense.
My next challenge – Birds. My strawberry plant is actually doing pretty well. It’s producing lots of berries, but one small problem. The birds are getting them before I pick them. I kid you not as soon as a berry gets ripe a bird gets it. I’ll look at the plant and night and think, this one will ready to pick in the next day or two. The next day I will find a half-eaten berry and to make matters worse then they poop on the patio and play set. If you look closely you can see a couple of half eaten berries.
I am still holding out hope for the tomatoes. The birds do not seem interested in them and they seem to enjoy the heat more than my lettuce and herbs.
