Text 19235, 51 rader
Skriven 2007-08-21 17:11:52 av Carol Shenkenberger (3:800/201)
  Kommentar till text 19032 av Shawn Highfield (1:229/452.1)
Ärende: Re: Saturday 11 Aug
===========================
*** Quoting Shawn Highfield from a message to DAVE SACERDOTE ***

SH>  BLT's and even just toasted T's are my one true addiction. ;)  Living
SH> in an apartment I now bug
SH> all my friends with gardens for tomato's and failing that will even bu
SH> them at a farmers market.
SH> It's the one sammich I never get sick of.

If you have a porch (Lanai in Hawaii) and it's sturdy, there are several things
that next year (too late this year really) you can container garden reliably.

Italian tomatoes in a big pot.  Think tree pot.  Cherry tomatoes work well too
but wont be as useful for BLT's.  Those big light plastic ones that look like
terra cotta or sone, work just fine. Make sure it's got lots of holes in the
bottom and line it at the bottom with an old towel or old blue jeans then fill
with dirt.  The 'drip pan' underneath is needed.  If it's the big pot I am
thinking of, water with a 1 gallon milk jug in the morning, and may need it
again at evening.  Depends on how hot and dry your area is.

Those long (4-5ft) deepish (look for 8 inch deep or so) planters are very
useful.  Like the tomato planter, line the holes with a layer of old blue jean
or tshirts (keeps the dirt where you want it) then fill with soil.  These do
well with butter lettuce, chives, and will handle green onions well enough to
crop off the top greens.

Got a brown thumb but want something to putter about with that can also be
useful?  Mint in a container pot.

For the green onions, no need to get expensive seedlings.  Get a bunch at the
store, leave 3 inches or so of the tops and bury the rest about 2 inches down.
 The tops will regrow for a long time and normally come up again for 2-3
years.  Because the bottoms of chives (bulbs) are normally removed, get one
small seed pack of those.  Like the green onions, they will keep comming up
for years.

Romaine lettuce works too.  Do lettuce with little seed packs, using only 1/4
the pack, then about every 3 weeks put another 1/4 packet down. This will keep
you in lettuce for 12 weeks.  While it's young, you can remove a few leaves
from each plant and it will keep growing until it's bolting age (remove then
as the leaves become bitter and you need the space for fresh little ones).

People used to love my little 'garden' when they'd see it from the street in
San Diego.  I'd try all sorts of things and some worked better than others,
but these ones here are easy.  Oh, if you like hot peppers, they do well too.

It's one of the things I've missed here but it's too hot and I'm never home
enough to keep it going through summer heat.
                                       xxcarol

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