Putting a Question Mark after NYC.

It's been a tough winter. I mean not New England tough, but still, most of February was snow. And while I'm happy the shortest month was the month of snow, it got a little ridiculous. They closed the MTA because of the threat of snow (which later turned out to be JK RAIN/SLUSH/NOTHING). But still. Never before have I contemplated life further south and while a certain 9 month is certainly earning her inheritance from me with her cuteness, this winter had a huge chunk to do with me putting a question mark after NYC.

Really though, It'll be some time before I fly this crazy coop. What kept me sane through the blowing snow and freezing cold was the constant planning of the garden. The trickle in of seed magazines, the slow appearance of seeds and germination kits at Home Depot, how the dates crept forward, closer and closer to seed starting time. Mother Nature knows how to keep us hanging on with hope even when she's raging. 

I was determined to save money this year on the garden. Last year, in a fit of IT'S MID-MAY AND I NEED TO HAVE THINGS IN THE GARDEN resulted in buying almost all my plants at Home Depot, plants that weren't cheap let me tell you. This year would be different, I would inject some bucolic thrift into the city. So I went to all of the places where seeds exist, harried more than a few Home Improvement store workers and set out a plan. Do you know how many YouTubes there are about starting seeds? So many. And I've watched them all. Twice. Not that I'm really that surprised, but very quickly I had created a mid-sized grow lab in my kitchen that would make even the big drug kingpins jealous. All for my tomatoes.

I definitely over-planted, admittedly, I just assumed that since people can barely grow in a NYC apartment, why should I expect tomatoes to really grow. Well. Funny thing happened. Every damn peat pellet had seeds sprout, most of them had multiple seedlings. This is from February 20th:

There was a harsh Sophie's choice in the weeks to come. Seriously. These are from March 5th. How do you pinch back two of the three fully sprouted plants in a peat pellet?!

Currently I have two shelves full of tomatoes and kale and sweet peas and all sorts of flowers. And my kitchen is a ridiculous overgrown mess. This is from a few days ago. That's right 2 feet tall. On the left are my Early Girl, Mortgage Lifter and Cherokee Purple, on the right side are all San Marzano for sauce and jam. So if anyone is investigating mysterious abandonment of tomato plants throughout Brooklyn, it wasn't me, definitely not me, at all. Yeah.

With spring, finally having sprung, I've been in the garden for a week now, cleaning up a bit, constructing a somewhat ambitious trellis system and digging up boulders. Actual boulders. More on that later. For now, things I'm excited for: Rhubarb from the garden, a well planned garden and so many flowers!