How Does Your - Producing produce

In what feels like nothing short of a miracle, we have produce growing out back on the patio. I've spent the last several days walking between the containers like a Disney princess, singing and cooing to each little plant as I shower them with fresh water. With all the containers that I planted I knew I was bound to make something grow, but to see it happening in real life and not just in theory is a completely different feeling. We have tomatoes on the vine, the pea pods have started dangling, our beans are going nuts and the lettuce is coming due soon. The carrots are just about cooked and I was able to pull one that was ready. Sales manager Kelly Schmidt sampled this year's carrot crop and gave it her stamp of approval. Some of us also split a cucumber (with the exception of sports editor Matt Frey who apparently does not eat anything green) and it was delicious and juicy, if I do say so myself. I also started pulling some of the radish seed pods. I had a few little husks that felt overly dry; their seeds were so dark they were almost completely black. Most of the pods were dry and brittle without being split, and the seeds inside those were medium brown. I did a quick internet search to see if I should discard the black seeds, but it looks like sparkler white tip radish seeds can be a variety of colors. What I should be checking for is texture as soft, cracked or broken seeds probably won't be any good. I put those babies in a dark cabinet where they'll stay until they're ready to go back in the ground. In less surprising news, the garden I'm not being paid to tend, you know, the one at my house, isn't churning out quite as much produce. That being said, the husband and I did have some rather tangy iceberg lettuce for dinner a couple of nights. Did I leave it growing for too long? Probably. Did we eat it anyway? Absolutely. We also ate one green bell pepper and Mike was treated to several red grape tomatoes which he said were delicious. I feel like it's significant to note that he was not under the threat of violence when he made that statement. I'm not exactly sure but I think our celery and cauliflower at home will be ready before too long. Only now as I write this am I realizing that while I studiously documented the preferences and details of all of my work plants, I neglected to do the same for my plants growing at home. Oops. In addition to neglecting my crops on the homestead I've also been out of the loop with my compost bin. We're still saving our scraps in the fridge and taking them to the bin when our ice cream container gets full, but I haven't been adding newspaper or rotating it to keep everything mixed. Compost should be a healthy mix of greens (scraps, green leaves, grass clippings) and browns (newspaper, dry leaves, straw/hay). Currently mine is a healthy mix of what appears to be rotten vegetable soup and mud. With how busy we've been the last several weeks, I'm just proud that I remembered to water my plants. Still, this season gives me hope. If I can plant a bunch of seedlings and get them to produce while being mildly neglectful, imagine the kind of success I'll have if I can tend to them at least almost as well as I do with my plants at the office. While I'm happy with the amount of containers I was able to plant at both locations, I'm excited to plant even more next year. I'd like to at least double my containers at home and add another 10 containers at the office. I'm quickly learning at home that one or two of each plant really isn't enough for my family like I thought it would be. We like our veggies, and in order for us to get more out of our garden I should really be growing closer to four or five of each plant, and that's with putting them in meals right off the vine without ever canning or freezing them, and I'd really like to get to that point. Pump the brakes. As much as I want more more more, growing with my garden is for the best. Financially, it keeps my initial investment costs down. Think about it; I'm making compost from things I'm getting for free which will turn out to be incredible fertilizer and help me revitalize my containers rather than adding in extra soil. And I simply can't afford to go in whole hog, as much as I'd like to. But mostly the benefit is a mental one; I was stressed about watering 10 little containers this summer, I can only imagine my unease if I had allowed myself to go wild. Soon, we'll have to start thinking about fall crops. We know we're planting radishes because we saved our seeds, and I'm also pondering over turnips and spinach. If I'd have researched a little sooner I could have had a shot at starting broccoli, cabbage and kale indoors before transplanting outside, but I missed my window. I'm not going to judge myself too harshly on that one. I've been swamped, and there's no thyme for regrets around here. Mandee Ellis is a reporter at The Star News. Contact her at Mandee@centrahuinews.com. mailto:Mandee@centrahuinews.com