Being fortunate enough to outdoor space in New York City, my first attempts at balcony gardening was in 2018. When you love fresh food, growing some kind of food is a no-brainer. Having grown up with my father gardening in the back yard, I wanted to introduce homegrown food into my cooking in the growing seasons.
I don’t fully know what I’m doing. But its fun figuring it out!
Summer 2019
Garden salad with homegrown kale, yellow cherry tomatoes, thai basil, Shishito peppers, and a vinaigrette laced with Tabasco peppers.
Harvest time … one of many!
Freshly harvested spicy yellow cherry tomato salad with sautéed Shishito peppers, Thai basil, and tabasco peppers.
My 4th and final harvest in early September.
Growing yellow cherry tomatoes. Always wondering why they’re called “yellow” when they are clearly orange. Hmmmm.
Growing kale (or anything) in small containers means a smaller crop. Big, leafy kale requires more space for the roots to grow. So so mini-kale was the result, which is perfectly fine. It was delicious.
My Shishito pepper plant was quite successful.
Tabasco pepper harvest. Used these bad boys to make Tabasco vinegar.
Thai basil
Summer 2018
Seedlings brought home from Home Depot.
Trouble in paradise … (left) forgot a morning watering on a day when an extreme heatwave swept across New York City but they made a miraculous recovery after a healthy dose of water; (right) learning about pesticides – or lack thereof – the hard way.
Harvest time.
My sautéed collard greens, click to view my full recipe.
Lesson learned … many turned over-ripened as I kept waiting for them to get bigger.
Baby eggplants simply roasted in olive oil with kosher salt and black pepper.