Probably the most cosmopolitan strawberries in the world

Ever wondered if it is possible to post a living plant over some thousand kilometres so that it survives?

Well, let me officially tell you - it is!

This bunch of wild strawberries maybe doesn't look like much at the moment, but believe me, there are tiny brand new shoots showing up in the middle of all the dry stuff.

They were dug out from their growing place in Poland, wrapped up in wet tissue paper and cling film plastic, then packed into a bubble envelope and posted to me here in Ireland with a standard postal service.

I have a funny suspition that this may not be exactly legal, but if you, dear reader, happen to be an off-duty officer of the Law, please don't prosecute me!  It's only few tiny plants and I swear I'm not going to let them go wild and take over the island...  Anyway, the social damage is minuscule, and if I get my wild strawberries this season, there will be one more happy citizen around.  Or two, perhaps, if I decide to share the bounty.

You know what's the best part?

AN EARTHWORM was accidentally dug up and posted, too.
It survived.

Tomatoes with personality

Mmmm, home grown tomatoes, mouth waters at the very thought.  I was brought up on backyard tomatoes and moving to Ireland meant a tastebud shock when I was reduced to eating supermarket pale imitations.  Now once again I have a chance to remember the taste of a real tomato... if only.

If only my tomatoes survive.

As you can see from the picture, the first squadron in my tomato army is thriving (and winning!).

I have no idea if two plants in one pot have any chance of survival in the end.  If you do, would you mind letting me know?

I have a funny feeling that a 20 cm high plant shouldn't start budding, as mine does.  As far as I remember, tomatoes are decent size plants, roughly waist high or so, and I'm really wondering whether its miniaturization is a good sign or not.

Another tomato observation is an ultimate proof of their high individuality (and sometimes I suspect a highly developed maliciousness).  I have planted few pots in the same time, two seeds to each.  Only two sprouted.  The first one, the one on the picture, has both seeds growing like crazy.  The second one has only one plant and it's one third of the size of its colleague.  Why???  It has more space, more nutrients etc.  It must be some tomato-ish mischief. 

I know that tomato growers are a big presence in the virtual world, so if you happen across this post, could you give me some tips on growing?  My garden is experimental, but it would be a shame not to taste the real tomatoes again due to a failed experiment. 

+++ DESSERT  - A HANDFUL OF TOMATO TRIVIA +++ (because I might be only an experimental gardener, but I'm really good in collecting tasty stories)

* It belongs to the nightshade family.  Just as potatoes.  And deadly nightshade (which is said to be an ingredient in medieval witches' flying concoction)

* Logically, it's poisonous.  At least the leaves are, so remember, tomato tea is a really bad idea. 

* Italians called it pomo d'oro, golden apple.  Similarly, in Polish it is still called pomidor, although the origins of the name would be lost to most Poles.

* It comes from South America, and travelled to Europe either with Cortes, or Christopher Columbus.

* It ranges in colour from pale yellow, through all shades of red, to deep purple.

* The largest tomato ever weighed 3.51 kg.  Imagine that!

* Bunol, in Spain, celebrates an annual tomato fight event known as La Tomatina.  In 2008 40000 people gathered to throw 115000 kg tomatoes at each other.

First harvest

I swear that was the best tasting radish I've ever had!

Must have something to do with the fact I've grown it myself...

Also, never before was I so scrupulous with scraping every bit off the cutting desk. 

The first time I've eaten radish leaves, too.

Oh, sure, you can eat them. 

My first harvest was tiny, only two radishes altogether, so I figured I need to eat it whole to really appreciate it :)


PS. A new lens hot off the press, check it out - How to turn your garbage into a garden

Warning! Addictive!

Ain't gardening addictive?  I started with few pots on the window sill and this is where I am now.  Or, to be precise, where I was few days ago, and I've added a few plants since. 

All you need is some space and some garbage...  I don't have a single 'proper' container, all my pots have started their life as packaging for food or drink.

It's endlessly fascinating, to check up on the plants every day, to see what's grown, what's changed...  I have few plants flowering already, I've even eaten the first greens and it all happened in two months.  I simply cannot stop myself from sowing something every day or two, it grew into a full size addiction.  Oh well, I can live with that. 

Sure I've scored some magnificent failures, too.  I'm learning by trial and error method.  I'm trying out whatever seems to be a logical solution and if it doesn't work, I'm looking for a different option.  Works so far, and gives me heaps and heaps of joy. 

So if you're looking for a healthy, gripping, time-consuming addiction, go for gardening.

The greatest plant killer...

...is WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Believe me or not, it spreads destruction in the garden like nothing else.  It's an official number one on The Most Wanted Plant Killers list.  And it's all the more deadly for being so inconspicuous.

The scenario is simple.  Your tiny seeds have finally turned into tiny plants.  You think the deserve some nourishment for the effort.  You water them.  Completely forgetting that at this delicate stage a single drop of falling water is enough to break and kill them.

I must have lost tens of plants in this way.

Also, finding balance between enough and too much water proves pretty tricky.

I tend to overwater them.

Some plants, especially onions and thyme pay me back in a cruel way.

They sprout.  I'm jumping sky high.  They decide they don't really like it here and die. 
How can a gardener watch this and not be pissed off?

I swear, sometimes I think that plants have very sharp sense of humour.

Grow your own... basil

Here's a short story how a smart idea can sometimes turn around and kick your own ass.

See the container above?   It once held for hyacinth pots.  Oh, how proud of myself I was when I came up with this fabulous plan to sow four different types of basil in it, each type in its own cell.

It would work fabulous, if only I didn't neglect marking which kind went to which square...

See this lonely plant in top right corner?  I would be more than happy to provide her with some company, only that I have no idea what basil it is and I don't want to mix them.  Oops. 

I guess I will have to wait until it's big enough, than simply pick a leaf and smell it.

Because oh yeah, my nose should be able to recognize it.  The four varieties I have growing are:

- Greek basil - tiny, tiny leaves
- Leafy basil - OK, just the ordinary one...
- Lemon basil - here's where the nose enters
- Cinnamon basil - and when I saw this written on a seed packet it swept me off my feet.  I so love cinnamon!  Hope it's not over-advertising and it really smells of cinnamon

Anyway, one more thing I can share about basil at this stage - they take eternity to grow.  (Or is it just me being crappy gardener???).  The plants you see are about 6 weeks old.  Goddamnit, by radish managed to get from seed to bulb in this time! 

Oh, and while we are speaking basil - I've just published this brand new article on what can you make pesto with.  Obviously, basil would be the first choice, but if you feel like experimenting, there's plenty ideas to get you started.  Please, please, please visit, it needs some love!

New seeds on the ground

Pictured above, my lovely, growing bunch of rocket.

BUT - is such a bunch enough if you love rocket as much as I do?  Not a chance in hell!

I've been accumulating empty plastic bottles over last few weeks.  It reached a stage when I couldn't get out of my bed without kicking at least one.  Well, recycling your garbage means you have a lot of garbage lying around the house until you get to use it.  Unless you're a really tidy, organised person.  Which I'm not. 

So today was the big day when I finally decided to catch up on pot-making.  It's a bit like an assembly line once you start, cut, cut, cut, wash, wash, wash, pierce, fill, and finally SOW.

I've ended up with 12 new pots, made of bottles, juice and milk cartons and even one trifle pot.  Watch how green I am! (Laughs)  I'm not taking being green that seriously, but if it helps - why not? 

I didn't get any new seeds recently, so I had to double on whatever is already growing.  Added some tomato and chili pepper plants.  One extra nasturtium pot - I love the fact that you can eat the plant whole.  And it grows like crazy!  Plus two of my gardening stars (so far) - lovely, lovely rocket and radishes.  The more, the better. 

Now it's few days of impatient waiting ahead, before the first green shoots start coming out. 

Grow your own... radishes

I'm a proud owner of two pots full of nearly grown-up radishes.  Of all the plants I started about six weeks ago, this is the very first one nearing harvesting stage.  I'm salivating at the very thought...

Conclusion:  radishes are fool-proof and satisfactorily quick to grow. 

Nearly all the seeds I've sown have germinated (which sadly cannot be said about all the rest of my plants). 

Once they sprouted, they were pretty resistant and I didn't lose a single plant (which, again, cannot be said about the rest).

They survived harsh weather conditions intact.

They don't seem to mind small containers. 

Another week or so and I'll be harvesting the whole lot. 

I'm sure you have plenty of your own ideas what to turn the tasty red bulbs into, I'll be going for cottage cheese with chopped radishes, cress, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.  Or a salad?  Hmm...

What you may not have known (and certainly I didn't know until today) is the fact that radish leaves are edible too.  They are supposed to taste slightly bitter, so don't overdo it, but they are full of healthy nutrients and pretty versatile when it comes to preparation.  You can boil them, steam them, stir-fry them or eat them raw as greens.  Well, since my harvest is so tiny, I'm certainly going to make the most of it and eat the whole thing.  Oh, discard the stems.  Only green parts of the leaf are worth eating.

I'm off to sow some more radishes. 

Weather casualties

Oooh, it's been a hell of a storm here in Ireland over last week or so.  Nothing unusual as far as weather here goes, but there are some conclusions to be drawn regards gardening..

My tiny (still!) balcony garden survived it quite well, but some losses are, I guess, inevitable.

1.  Raspberry bucket developed a nice pond of rainwater.  As I neglected piercing bottom of the bucket when I planted the bush, excess water had no way of flowing away.  I hoped I would not encounter this problem, with the bucket being decent size, but, eeeeh, I was wrong. 

TIP:  make sure you pierce all your containers to allow drainage.  Whatever their size.

I simply poured the little lake out, but the soil is still awfully waterlogged and I fear it does not do much good to my brave little plant...  Fingers crossed for its survival.


2. I've moved a new bean plant (maybe 10 cm high) outside just before the weather turned nasty and its leaves got broken within the first day.  The plant has been quickly evacuated and thrives, but it confronts me with a serious question - how to protect grown plants against strong winds.  I won't be able to simply move them indoors once they get bigger, because there will be no space left for me to live in, and the thought of nurtured plants being lost doesn't give me much joy either.  Time for some brainstorming :)

Anyone has a useful tip how to tackle this problem?

Garden under the weather

I'm just discovering one aspect of gardening I wasn't aware of before.

What can weather do to your plants???

I live in Ireland, right at the oceanside.  This equals magnificent view from sitting room, but it also means terrible windstorms, pretty often, too.  Most of my plants live on the balcony, right out there in this terrible, terrible conditions... 

I literally wake up at night, listen to the howling wind and think - will my radishes survive???

You can guess the weather has been pretty rough here recently...

So far plants are doing well.  I have put all the pots inside a cardboard box, so it's a bit harder for the wind to scatter them around.  It gets wet, but it does the job.  So far none of my neighbours has been killed by a flower pot falling from above... 

Funny, I never suspected worrying about the weather will be a part of gardening, but somehow now it seems pretty obvious. 

Oh, and we don't get tornadoes (such as the one on today's picture) around here.  I just wanted to add some drama... :)