apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

third year of container gardening on my balcony.

I got some good soil (what I believe to be good) miracle gro moisture control.

Am growing herbs, 2 tomato plants, petunias and geraniums (do well in intense sunlight). Lettuces, peppers, dwarf kale.

I have also drilled drainage holes into Ikea pottery (something that I was hesitant to do). Hammer drill and masonry bit makes the job simple.

I have put down a really cool patio floor comprised of composite pavers:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/sets/72157617885080169/

This year is about keeping it simple and creating a formula for future seasons.

Well, since you asked...

I've discovered my first tomato today!!! It's just a little tiny green thing, but I'm excited, obviously. Also got a good crop of lettuces (mesclun mix), some herbs (basil, lemon thyme, rosemary, and some cilantro that's already bolted), lavender and chives.

And if we have any walnuts, I have got to make banana nut bread before the bananas get too far gone.

My husband is growing tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, basil, thyme, parsley, oregano, sage, garlic, leeks, and shallots. Every year there are more tomato plants than the last. This year he has 55 plants and counting! We'll be cooking, canning, drying, and giving away lots of tomatoes.

this is my first year of gardening!
i am growing lettuce, chard, and spinach in pots. i have zucchini that sprouted last week. i have a couple herb pots with thyme, basil, dill, winter savory, sage, and rosemary. i have two tomato plants, already with little tomatoes on them in containers. tonight with dinner we had the first harvest of our sugar snap peas! they're almost 5 ft tall and still climbing!

I made easy pickled radishes with the crop from my garden - can't seem to get enough of them. Also eating lots of green salads with scallions and herbs all home grown. I love summer!!!

This is my first year of gardening and I'm growing rocket (arugula?), spinach, various lettuces and herbs. In fact I'm going to use the first of my rocket tonight in a pasta dish with crab, lime juice, chilli and cherry tomatoes.

Man, I'm so jealous - it's been too cold to even PLANT my tomato and beans (Wisconsin). Ugh. It's June, right?

However, the peas look great!

The patio looks great, Art! We have a square of concrete in the backyard that is just begging to be turned into something like that. Thanks for the inspiration.

This year I'm trying to grow tomatoes, courgettes and stawberrys in my window box (http://www.flickr.com/photos/samhradh/3596382760/ and just after I bought them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samhradh/3424795562/).
And I also grow the usual herbs in tiny pots unfortunately the "mint" got stolen by some birds...

I'm not growing anything, but I AM trying to figure out how to make the buttery crackers that are the most delicious thing ever that I grew up eating at my dad's country club in Atlanta.

They are saltine crackers baked or fried in butter and served crispy and hot. anyone got a recipe?

http://www.margincomments.blogspot.com

a non-gardening question:
My husband and I just got back from Italy. We stayed in an apt while we were there, and did some cooking for ourselves. One day we made ourselves some scrambled eggs, with eggs from the supermarket. They were the MOST flavorful and eggily delicious eggs I've ever tasted.

Do you have any idea why Italian eggs would taste so different than American eggs? I imagine it would have to do with both the breed of the chickens and what they were being fed. I'd love to find similar eggs here, but am not sure where to start looking. Thanks!

I'll be frying fresh fish all summer long, caught by me and my beau, straight from a few of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes!

After 7 days spent on the big island of Hawaii last week, I am ready to get back into the kitchen and cook! It's been two weeks since my last farmer's market trip so I'm really looking forward to the changes/new additions that I'll find this weekend to guide me in my endeavors. What is on my docket for this week: blueberry buttermilk scones for Saturday morning breakfast, grilled chicken breasts w/roasted corn salsa for tonights dinner and a roasted shrimp an orzo pasta salad for a potluck on Friday (obviously in no particular order).

@VirginiaWestfield: Umm, brush with melted butter, bake in moderately hot oven until they are as browned as you want them to be? I've never heard of doing this with crackers but unless there is some other component I'm not sure why a recipe would be necessary. Also, fyi, if people want to visit your site based on your comment(s) they could simply click on your name to see your user profile.

I have a question. I have been reading The Kitchn for a year now and love it. I made quite a few recipes from here.

But can anyone think of a UK site similar to The Kitchn? I won't stop reading The Kitchn, but I live in London, so I would love to read more local things as well. (I just can't pop in to any of your American farmers' markets, though they look lovely!)

I'm actually growing things this year! Got a tomato, basil, parsley and unknown (either oregano or marjoram) from my farm share last week and they're not dead yet. They're growing! The tomato plant put out a new branch yesterday! This is highly unusual for me.

It's greens time for my CSA and right now it's a lot of mustard greens, which are so spicy my eyes damn near pop out of my head. Would cooking mellow them out and if so, do you have any recommendations?

Trying out straw bale planting and making a fence to keep it deer/pet goat safe, strong on the bottom with woven wire and high with webbed plastic. Walking distance from a beautiful organic farm that even makes deliveries. Blueberry bushes are looking ill, one died already. Pro farmer neighbor says from draught two summers ago.