We have decided to try something new this summer and grow a few of our own vegetables and herbs on our balcony. While traditionally we feared that the life expectancy of anything we might try to grow would be about the same as our livers, the chance purchase earlier this year of a Lemonella tree and its subsequent flourishing in our care persuaded us to cast a wider net. So, we headed down to the garden centre and in a fit of enthusiasm, bought tomatoes, strawberries, a chilli pepper plant, parsley, dill, coriander, sage, chives, cos lettuces, rocket and basil.
Remarkably, the results to date have been stunning with one crop of rocket already eaten and a second ready to eat. Today we spotted our first actual tomato though with all our plants flowering extensively we expect a bumper crop. We also have multiple chilli pepper flowers and the strawberries and turning nicely from green to red in this wonderful sunshine.
It's been great fun growing the plants and watching them go through their life cycle and we still have the best to come (we hope) as they bear us fruit. If this year goes well, next year we expect to be more ambitious still. If you haven't tried growing your own plants yet, we'd thoroughly recommend it as a great way to move deeper into the great food and drink adventure.
Remarkably, the results to date have been stunning with one crop of rocket already eaten and a second ready to eat. Today we spotted our first actual tomato though with all our plants flowering extensively we expect a bumper crop. We also have multiple chilli pepper flowers and the strawberries and turning nicely from green to red in this wonderful sunshine.
It's been great fun growing the plants and watching them go through their life cycle and we still have the best to come (we hope) as they bear us fruit. If this year goes well, next year we expect to be more ambitious still. If you haven't tried growing your own plants yet, we'd thoroughly recommend it as a great way to move deeper into the great food and drink adventure.