surviving the bad economy: grow your own!
By American Girl in Italy on July 9, 2009 at 12:05 PM in Current Affairs, Michelle Obama, Sara in Italy
Two months ago I decided to try and plant some tomatoes on my terrace. I have been craving a garden for years, but lacking a yard, I didn’t think I could grow fresh veggies. Well, I decied to give it a go, and boy - did it work!
This is my terrace on May 4. I planted six tomato plants that we picked up at the store - not knowing anything about tomatoes, I didn’t realize the plants come in different varieties, some better for terraces. We just bought what they had available. These happen to be the vining kind, not the best for terraces, they do have shorter bushier types for that. But these worked well, anyway, for our terrace.
Below is a picture of the newly plants tomatoes. Also, in the corner you can see my avocado plant, started from a seed from an avocado we ate. We now have three plants - all starters. I don’t know if they will actually bare fruit, but I am hoping. And they are pretty plants, anyway.
I also planted one tomato plant upside down, inspired by the Topsy Turvy planter thing (also available through Amazon). I really should have used a larger planter, but we couldn’t figure out a way to attach it anywhere (that yellow wall is not strong enough) and so we just threw it in a planter we had, and said *what the hey*. You can see the little plant coming out the bottom. I planted a little flower in the top, but have now replaced it with a water bottle cut in half, and a tiny hole poked in it, to provide a slow drip of water to the tomato.
Three springs ago I picked up this little strawberry planter, and six plants, and for the last three years we have had luscious strawberries! (although, my neighbor tends to eat most of them because they grow when we are on vacation…) The fruit is bare right now, but the leaves look really good.
I also have two lemon trees - one I purchased, and the same week Zia Giuili (Franco’s Aunt) got me one for my birthday. This spring they didn’t look so hot after the cold winter, but after feeding them a few times, and giving them lots of sun and water, they are taking off. They are loaded with flower buds and teeny tiny lemons. I love fresh lemonade, and having lots of delicious lemons on hand for fresh fish, or on salads. My husband even eats them like oranges, sprinkled with sugar. They are also wonderful squeezed over our fresh strawberries, and sugar.
Here are my plants now. They are about five or six feet tall, and LOADED with tomatoes and flowers. Loaded.
The upside down tomato has one great tomato growing and lots of new flowers. He is a little slower I think because the lack of dirt and water. But, he is doing pretty good, considering.
My avocado trees are growing like weeds. The tall one is about six feet tall, too. And loaded with new growth. It might take a few years to get actual fruit off the tree, but it would save a fortune! Avocados are so spendy.
Today we picked the first two tomatoes. They are a little funny shaped, I think because when I was in Seattle they suffered a little for water. The newer ones on the vines are all perfect and round.
Next year I plan to do this again, but will definitely invest in a bigger pot, and maybe plant only two or three tomato plants. I think soon we are going to have them coming out of our ears. They need watered about twice a day now because the weather has been so hot, and their planters are too small. They are thirsty little suckers. I also want to plant a zucchini. I love fresh zucchini! I did buy one of those Topsy Turvys when I was visiting my mom, and will try the zucchini in it next year (I just need to figure out how to hang it…)
I also picked up some Sangue di bue at the store when I was searching for some tomato fertilizer. It had a picture of tomatoes in the label, and I knew sangue was blood. I had heard that some kind of blood stuff was good for tomatoes, so I bought two bottles. It is GROSS. It is literally ox blood. I have used it three times, once a week, and the plants seem to love it. I used it for all of my plants, and seriously, they are all thriving. It is a great food, if you can get over the smell and the bubbles it makes when you add water. EWE!
If you have wanted to plant a garden, but don’t have the yard for it, go for a terrace garden! It is just a little investment, a little bit of work, and lots of reward!!
And a big plus to terrace gardening is safe lead levels! Purchase safe, rich soil, and you won’t run into the same problem Michelle Obama did with her White House garden.
Lead Found in White House Garden
So we all know that the White House garden has lettuce, beans, chard, broccoli and collards, among other things. But lead?
Yes, the soil in the White House garden has tested positive for lead, but not in levels that are dangerous, a White House official said on Thursday.
For Urban Gardeners, Lead Is a Concern
The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Housing and Urban Development advise remediation if lead levels in soil exceed 400 parts per million in children’s play areas and 1,200 p.p.m. elsewhere. But some states and cities have set much lower limits. For example, 100 p.p.m. is considered hazardous in Minneapolis. In the Netherlands, 40 p.p.m. is unacceptable. Unpolluted soil averages 10 p.p.m.
Excessive lead in soil is the legacy not only of lead paint but also of leaded gasoline, lead plumbing and lead arsenate pesticides. Although these products were outlawed decades ago, their remnants linger in the environment. Lead batteries and automotive parts, particularly wheel balancing weights, are still widely used and are sources of soil contamination.
Fetuses and small children, because of their rapidly developing nervous systems, are more sensitive to and suffer the most harm from lead exposure. Adverse effects include damage to the brain and nervous system, lower I.Q., behavior problems and slow growth. Adults may suffer cognitive decline, hypertension, nerve disorders, muscle pain and reproductive problems.
If soil is found to have high levels of lead, experts advise covering it with sod. Those who want to grow flowers or edible crops can either replace the contaminated soil or alkalinize it by adding lime or organic matter such as compost. Soil with a pH level above 7 binds with lead, making it less likely to be absorbed by plants and the human body if the dirt is inadvertently inhaled or ingested.
The White House is mixing lime and compost into the soil for its kitchen garden, which according to a National Parks Service analysis has 93 p.p.m. of lead — an amount above background levels but not considered hazardous to children or adults by the E.P.A.’s standards.
Dr. Filippelli recommends planting kitchen gardens with fruiting crops like tomatoes, squash, eggplant, corn and beans because they don’t readily accumulate lead. Lead-leaching crops, he said, include herbs, leafy greens and root vegetables such as potatoes, radishes and carrots. Dirt also clings to these crops, making it hard to wash off and thereby increasing the risk of ingesting lead
Don’t be afraid to give it a go! I don’t do anything special, and don’t consider myself a green thumb. Like I said, with just a little work, you too can have inexpensive fresh produce, even if you live in an apartment or condo!
Tonight we will be having Insalata Caprese - my fresh tomatoes, sliced, with olive oil and basil (from my herb garden) with fresh mozzarella di bufala. Buon appetito!
(List Price: $27.95 - Your Price: $15.47)
By Sarah Palin (Release date: November 17. 2009)
Thanks for this Sara! Almost everyone can grow something, and doing so gives a special feel–being closer to the basics of life I guess.
Tomatoes are the greatest things ever to grow on one’s own. They taste nothing like what you buy in the store. Delicious!
Next best bet is zucchini. Beautiful plant (but not good for around small kids because the leaves have little stickers). Hardy and big producers.
Isn’t it amazing how many people can be supplied with just one tomato and one zucchini?
Whoops…see below…make that tomato and zucchini plants.
i just LOVE fresh zucchini! i make it so many different ways! even the flowers are soooo delicious!
Sarah, the terrace garden is gorgeous!
thank you! :O)
Yum. My grandson lives in the country, promises he has enough planted to keep me in tomatoes all season and maybe beyond. I’ve been in fog most of this summer…so far. However, I’m going to plant a pot of herbs this week and try a tomato plant just to see if it will encourage the sun. Nice to see how successful your container garden is! That’s what I have too. My flowers are doing fine but most vegies, etc. need sun, sun, sun.
Isn’t it amazing how many people can be supplied with just one tomato and one zucchini plant?
yes! my neighbors better like tomatoes! hehe
Aside from food, my grandson, a landscape designer, will only do indigenous, drought resistant gardens…the good news here in dry CA is that people are keeping him busy, getting rid of lawns in favor of edibles and ornamental grasses, etc.
that is an excellent idea!
Hi - an LA person here. I decided to plant only things I could eat, however wound up also planting shrubs and plants that attract bees so as to pollinate easier.
Now have a zillion tomatoes. In LA there is a Spring Sale at the nurseries called Tomato-Mania (look out in your area, it may be spread across the country).
But the big hit is Zucchini, Summer Squash, Butternut Squash & Cucumber. They are taking over. I’m growing some in big pots and growing them up trellises to save space. I have two wooden trellises as an A-frame over a bed underneath. The trellises support all the squash and the leaves shade more shade-loving plants underneath.
Last year I planted a Persimmon tree and a Pomegranate in the front yard. An Asian pear in the back. Go to the Asiam markets for exotic food trees. I’m not big on Mango and Guava.
I already have a Plum, Apricot (not as good as my daughter’s) and two Almonds (You need two kinds for cross-pollination) that the squirrels regularly strip (any help gratefully accepted).
This year - Lemon tree, Mission fig, Peach, and 3 kinds of seedless grape for that side yard you don’t know what to do with. I notice they’re selling Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes this year so perhaps next year, I can make wine.
I have a lettuce/arugala bed (did you know that lettuce will winter over L.A., grow 6 feet tall, and taste disgusting?)
Well, hopefully when my job ends, at least I won’t starve!
i’m coming over to your house! :O)
My mom has a great garden going now, she retired last year. She eats tings fro her garden every day. I love that!
Great garden, reminds me of “home”: lemon trees (and orange trees) that give out the most delicious scent in full bloom, almond tree orchard that in late winter provides a beautiful blanket of soft delicate pink in an otherwise barren scape, pomegranate orchard provides the opposite in the fall - strong round and full trees with deep color - and the fig tree - tall and full with dark large leaves that always made me feel somber and melancholy….felt sad for the tree. I think through the years I knew what was going to happen to it, it got cut down….. family members complained the fruit fell to the ground and attracted too many insects.
Only missing, a couple of olive trees for full strength olive oil, a large rosemary bush, potatoes and garlic.
I saw this guy on TV. I’m getting both his books. You get two copies of each for just 20 dollars. One for you and one for a friend. This book has been around a long time, when I first saw it I wasn’t able to get the website, so I went in search of it and found it from a lot of places for about 40 dollars for just this one book without his other one on lawns and gardens. Then I saw it again and got the website. I know he addresses squirrels in it.
Dr. Miles Bader’s “1001 All-Natural Secrets to a Pest-Free Property” will help you eliminate almost every kind of insect and critter you can think of and do it using natural substances.
https://www.pestfreetv.com/flare/next
Thank you Diana!
Try adding grapes with seeds. The seeds are beneficial.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/grape-seed-000254.htm
It’s Official: This economic crisis is worst since Great Depression.
Just peachy. What we need right now is a FDR. What we have is a Herbert Hoover.
To compare Ozero to Hoover is demeaning to Hoover. But no worries, now All Your House Are Belong to Us.
OMG. I read section 304 of that bill. We are so screwed.
So many people around here are making these moves already to cut long term costs but this is a bad bill in every way.
Just sent this to the kids who have their own well water and both have solar; concrete floors with radiant heating so they are off the grid. The do have to use back up propane for the washer, stove and fridge though. I think they have double paned windows but??? And they have a wood burning fireplace as most out their way do. That might cancel out their other virtues. They are using their sunny climate to hang the laundry outside. While they might pass muster on their own place, son-in-law is a contractor…big problems for new clients…assuming he will have some. How will existing properties afford to come up to these codes overnight? Really bad news.
The guiding philosophy of government control is chilling.
Get 2 ml plastic to cover everything to protect from the cold and grow greens all winter. I do!
really? like a greenhouse? we did cover the lemon trees, and most of the other plants with some big pieces of plastic, but they still got a little sickish… But they are fine now!
What do you grow in the winter?
Glad you wrote this. I have been gathering things to get by in hard times for the last year or three. Use open pollinated or heirloom seeds/plants if possible. That way you can save your seeds and the next years plants will come back true. That way you know you will not be growing some mutated animal/plant for consumption. Or one that seeds that will never grow anything monster or tomato. Look for them to make old fashioned seeds illegal.
Think about herbal medicine too and grow your own.
I am going to try gardening in squares. I have plenty of room to plant but want to try this method, which is great for small yards or patios too.
Thanks for a timely article, great job on the growing too.
I love the gardening squares! this little church by my moms house did that. martha stewart does that too. they are very cool!
terrace gardening is easier too, less weeding required and less bugs and gardening eating animals! :O) I hate weeding!
i like having things for the bees to enjoy, too!
Great post! I have a small garden with string beans, okra, squash, peppers and one volunteer tomato plant.
I may try for strawberries next year. Thanks for the info.
Lovely tomatoes. Bad economy, I guess. Soon to get worse. Now he’s going to tax the upper brackets to give healthcare to millions of people who don’t work.
Here is an alternative to containers for gardning, a straw bale. There are a lot of benefits to gardening in a straw bale, no tilling, no bending over, no weeds and almost no bugs.
You can line the bales along a fence. Or put them in rows like a traditional garden or in a victorian knot or a sprial shape if you have the room.
Just google straw bale gardening.
I would like to add that you can garden with straw bales on very poor soil, or you put the bales along the edge of a parking lot (at your church) or if you own your parking space you can put them there.
No bending, no weeds, no bugs, handicapped accessible.
-Just google straw bale gardening.-
just learned something. good info.
Lovely garden, AGI. If you are new to growing tomatoes, a couple of pieces of advice from a former Master Gardener:
1) Replace all the soil in your pots before replanting. Tomatoes are subject to lots of soilborne diseases. If you had an in-ground garden, you would need to rotate their location from year to year.
2) Tomatoes, in addition to liking lots of heat and regular watering, are heavy feeders. Make sure you use a time-release fertilizer for them with a high phosphorus content (that’s the middle number on fertilizer packages).
3) Most tomatoes bred for patios are determinate varieties, meaning they produce all their fruit pretty much at one time. You seem to be growing indeterminate varieties up your trellis, and that’s great, because you have a wider selection of varieties to choose from. However, as you’ve learned, indeterminate varieties are prolific. You only need a couple of plants to have plenty of tomatoes.
Looks like you’re off to a great start. Enjoy!
1. Replace the soil? You mean from year to year?
2. I just bought the sangue di bue, and it seems to be working great!
3. I did just watch a video about those two types, but didn’t realize determinate produce all at the same time. i think you are right, i got the right kind then… i can’t eat THAT many tomatoes at once! haha
Thanks!!
Yes, replace the soil each time you plant tomatoes in the same container. Also a good idea to wash out the container with soap and water before replacing the soil.
ok, now you’re pushing it - wash them??! hahahah
That probably won’t happen, since we don’t have an outside hose…. I will rotate the soil or something though. Thanks!
Hey, great post Sara! I too live in an apartment with a large terrace and have been planning to grow tomatoes with a Topsy Turvy. I haven’t gotten to yet mainly because the weather in Massachusetts has been so dreadful…cool and very rainy!
I think QVC sells some kind of strawberry plant or there used to be an infomercial on an uber strawberry plant.
Did you re-pot anything? If so, what kind of soil did you use?
repot??
The first time I bought soil it said universal. The second time (I added more soil to the tops of the planters) i bought some that had tomatoes on the cover. haha I am NOT a professional. The soil was really nice though. It was specific for veggies. I bought it at the grocery store…
good thinking to buy ones for vegetables. Some of the ones for flower plants have chemicals not good for consumption.
Great-looking garden AGII!!! We’ve had a little vegetable patch for 3 years now. We try to grow a variety of tomatoes and especially love the Heirlooms. Thanks for the tip about feeding them with ox blood — don’t know if I can handle it though! We love Caprese salad too, with a bit of balsamic vinegar.
Birds seem to get most of our berries though and a ground hog just ate all of the broccoli. We have spinach and Swiss chard too but my favorite remains the fresh herbs — I really love to cook with them. Chives are currently at the top of my list (much easier prep than parsley and cilantro) — they enhance the flavor of just about anything, and they make for a pretty presentation too.
i have tons of fresh sage (salvia) and love cooking with that. Also fresh parsley - i freeze it, along with the basil. then i have it all year long, and it is already chopped and ready for cooking. Sage i use fresh though.
Hmmm, I didn’t know basil and parsley can be frozen — that’s very good to know! Basil’s so perishable but I’ve learned to put the cuttings in a glass of water which keeps them fresh and perky until I need them (we live downtown and our garden is on some other property we own).
Rosemary is another favorite herb. I need to figure out more ways to use it though.
BTW, we don’t exactly save any money by having our little garden. The cost to trap and relocate that pesky groundhog as well as a raccoon was $220. But gardening is such a Zen experience that it’s worth it in other ways. And there’s nothing quite like picking something and preparing it on the spot.
Our tomatoes are just beginning to yield ripened fruit. I’ll be up to my elbows in salsa soon. Yours in the photo look nice — I don’t think they’re so mishapened! I love your diamond-patterned espalier BTW — very attractive!
Oh yes, i just threw the basil in a ziplock bag, and it’s in the freezer. The parsley is all chopped up. My MIL chops up her parlsey with garlic so it is ready to go, from the freezer.
My friend Peg makes a peach salsa that is SO good!
We would like to grow tomatoes, etc. Unfortunately, what we have is trees. It is so shady that grass doesn’t grow well. Oh, well, at least it lowers the temperature in the summer.
grow potatoes! :O)
Here’s a tomato zucchini recipe my Italian Grandmother from Milan left us. I cook it often.
Blanche garlic in plenty of olive oil in a large pot.
Add cut up zucchini and add 1 can of whole tomatoes in their own juice (smash up with spoon). Add a couple cut up tomatoes from the garden. Add lots of fresh basil, a pinch of oregano and salt. Let cook on medium high heat until zuchinni’s are done. (you can add a can of garbanzo beans or white beans r even baked cut up chicken since this is the base for Chicken Cattiotore) You can adlib with this meal.
Serve with a good bread for dipping into the sauce/broth. mmmm good. Great for leftovers too. Takes about 1/2 hour to prepare froms tart to finish.
I love lemonade too. I’m drinking it right now.
yum!!! thanks!
This is great. Congrats on your BUtiful garden.
I want one so bad and I hope this summer I can tackle my back yard to have in ground planters, pavers, etc, remove the gravel that is all over, add compost and next year be ready to plant.
This past year has all been spent inside…and partially outside. I am so ready, but I have much work to get there.
I don’t think I have my grandparents green thumb. I grew up in Pitt. My Grandparent 2nd home where they lived many decades raising their children and welcoming the Grand kids, had the entire back yard as garden. Coming from Italy, they made the most of the land.
The cellar and kitchen doors met in the back. small patio with two chairs and a table, then started the back yard. Met with a wall of Roses on both sides of the arch walk thru, behind that a trellis of all grapes, Blue Concord, hanging behind the wall of roses. A brick walk way down the middle and both sides to the back wall filled with everything from zucchii, eggplant, lettuce, tomatoes, figs, everything. My Gram used every part. She used the flowers from the zuchini plants to make fritters and if we barked at my Grandpa trying to feed us a cherry tomato with the stem on it, we would get yelled at. lol
My first bus tour in Europe brought me on a detour through the very northern portion of Italy, near Switzerland (B U TIFUL) and I was just so excited. As we drove by homes, I stared in the back yards. The smallest of properties had enuf room for 1 chair, a table and some tomato plants in planters. My heart swelled.
A nice garden has SOOO many benefits-economics, clean(healthier), better tasting, fresher and stress reducing.
Oh and my sister recently purchased back my Granparents home after going in to another owners hands in the 80’s. She is redoing it to a modern version of when my Grandparent first bought it and hoping to retire there. NEAT, huh? They’re there right now doing more work on it. She had all siding put on to the original colors. Has the same kitchen and basement. I don’t know if she’s going to fill those wall to wall shelves with her own canned tomatoes or pickled eggplant as they did, but it will be there if she wants to.
Again, thanks for the boost with your great post. I hope all make an effort to try. I will be.
i am in northeren italy, it is very pretty, isn’t it?
You need to get out there and make a garden!! i would love to have a yard!!!
I have my usual postage stamp sized garden with 15 tomato plants including Beefsteak, Early Girl, Better Boy, Celebrity, Roma, and Grape Tomatoes. There are 5 zucchinni plants, 5 cucumber, 6 japanese eggplant, 7 pepper plants of differnt varieties, Tai and Italian basil. And Camomile. I have a guy come and til it each spring so I can plant before May 1st. I put peat moss and Lime in the area of my tomatoes. Lime sweetens the soil.
The worst part is having to weed it.
GREAT postage stamp
If you add egg shells that also sweetens the soil for the tomatoes.
I have my usual postage stamp sized garden with 15 tomato plants including Beefsteak, Early Girl, Better Boy, Celebrity, Roma, and Grape Tomatoes. There are 5 zucchinni plants, 5 cucumber, 6 japanese eggplant, 7 pepper plants of different varieties, Tai and Italian basil. And Camomile. I have a guy come and til it each spring so I can plant before May 1st. I put peat moss and Lime in the area of my tomatoes. Lime sweetens the soil.
The worst part is having to weed it.
I am glad to see people getting back to enjoying the basics. I hope we all never need to rely on a garden for sustenance and that it can remain an enjoyable hobby. But, it is good insurance as well for this economy. In the first depression, people were a lot more self sufficient than they are today. Unfortunately, most people today would be lost in a second great depression. Keep spreading the word, and don’t forget to gather some heirloom and non genetically modified seeds. You can save your own seeds from your garden and dry them to plant next time if need be from heirloom plants.
Jonah Goldberg on the Obama doctrine and does Obama has an ideological problem with democracy.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzIxN2VjYjhjZTMzMGM4OTdjNTI4ODM5ZmJlOWE1NmI
American Girl, your garden is beautiful. Congrats on getting so many tomatoes.
I did a container garden this year too. Tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, strawberries and fresh herbs.
i might need to try peppers. i had one of those tiny pepper plants once, I think. it died. haha But peppers sound good!
Impressive terrace garden. I tried planting tomatoes on a window box and they did not do well at all. They produced few sad looking tomatoes and browned and shriveled while still blooming. Someone told me that the organic soil I planted them in was too rich for the confined space. As a fertilizer I prefer Cockadoodle Doo….anything with blood is a no no, grew up on blood sausages, ugh.
[...] Read more: surviving the bad economy: grow your own! : NO QUARTER [...]
we plant ours far enough apart to run the tiller thru it .takes care of those pesky ole weeds lol.
Wow!
Just got back from watering the garden and here is this sweet little thread.
I dug up the whole back yard this year..
I’m growing Brussel Sprouts,Broccoli ,two varieties of onions,sweet peas,strawberries,herbs such as basil and several tomato plants with hundreds of tomatoes.
Also in the backyard are mature plum,cherry,apple and pear tress.
Next year I’m doing even more!
Yum! My mom tried broccoli rabe (?) this year, but it died. I love sweet peas, right out of the garden!
Moss, my Italian cousin started a garden in their back yard after he had built a screened in patio (San Joaquin Valley, Very Hot). He left a little strip of lawn but over the years, his fruit trees and huge garden took over. They never bought jam or jellies because he got into canning his excess plums, apricots, peaches, berries of all kinds, beans, tomatoes, cukes for wonderful bread and butter pickles and the mellons were to die for…even after feeding all the family and friends.
Now in their late 80’s you never leave without bags full of goodies. After the depression, they didn’t stop gardening…as much for economy as enjoyment.
I grow tomatoes every year - LOVE tomato sandwiches with cheese!
Lovely terrace garden you have!
That looks like an oleander in one of the photos. The garden looks lovely. My sister has lived in Italy since she was 21 and I am now feeling very nostalgic about my distant family. She and her husband divide their time between their apartment in Rome and, now being retired, mostly at their place in Umbria. There they have planted fruit trees and grow all sorts of veggies and my sis puts up preserves. There is an outside pizza oven and a small wood on their property. Bee eaters fly in every spring and nest in a bank at the end of the garden.
P.S. For a wonderful treat, try fiori di zucca stuffed with mozzarella and deep fried. Heavenly.
It is Oleander! And i looooooooove fried Zucchini flowers. My MIL makes them. The best ones I ever had were in Sorrento though. Were they good!
This year I bought a patio planter from Sam’s. I have a tomato plant and an eggplant hanging upside down in it. I tried strawberries upside down but they shriveled up and dried out. On the top side I planted a zuccini and a flowing plant to attract the hummingbirds. In another pot I have rosemary. Also my red leaf lettuce is looking great.
Does anyone know, for the winter, if I move this patio planter into my insulated garage and place it by the window, will the fumes from the cars make the plants inedible? I think so, but, I wonder how I can have fresh vege’s throughout the winter.
I just remembered that I have a Ron Popeil food dehydrator hidden in a closet. I’ll bet dehydrated tomatoes soaked in olive oil and garlic would be delicious! When I used to use it years ago I loved it.
Try adding grapes with seeds. The seeds are beneficial.
Among other beneficial effects, the active compounds in grape seed are believed to have antioxidant properties. In fact, a recent study of healthy volunteers found that supplementation with grape seed extract substantially increased levels of antioxidants in the blood. Antioxidants are substances that destroy free radicals — damaging compounds in the body that alter cell membranes, tamper with DNA (genetic material), and even cause cell death.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/grape-seed-000254.htm
Sorry… forgot to say great post - can’t wait to read your next one!
I think washing your pots of any type with Comet with bleach, eliminates molds and fungus. Rinse super well. Lovely garden. Sometimes, i found that using a mild (1/2 teaspoon to a gallon) bleach solution, in February or march helps get rid of Your general MOLDINESS in the soil. in damp areas.
Living vicariously, where in Italy?
northern italy, about a half hour-45 minutes NE of Milano.
Wife & I are envious. We drove from Avignon to Venice last October. This October, driving from Strasbourg thru the Lake District to Tuscany.
Enjoy!
What a great terrace garden! I live in the country, but I’m older with back problems, so I grow most of my veggies in containers on my patio. I love the fact that it really reduces the back-breaking weeding and I can just step out the back door, rather than slogging through a muddy garden to harvest my crops. You can grow any number of veggies and herbs this way. I also do all of my shopping at the Garden Harvest Supply. I try to save gas since I live so far out and I’ve found that this online nursery is the greatest. Check them out! http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/category/buy-vegetable-plants-online
Yay! I love it! I have a new community garden right next to me, and we have baby trees and flowers. Someone planted a whole bunch of tomato plants and today I saw little green tomatoes growing strong. Growing food and plants is wonderful. Green Life gets me so happy. lol.
I really enjoyed that garden tour, AGII. My nextdoor neighbor grows tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers just in her small side yard close to her house and has vegetables galore into September. I’ve never stolen even the reddish most delicious tomato, but have been tempted. I’ll have to ask her for a tomato as a reward.
Very cool. All that green looks great. This is something I should really learn how to do.