container garden update

Lots of activity in the container garden lately. While it has a way to go, the basil has really taken off. I started these from seeds in some herb containers in the kitchen. At first, there were several sprouts, but they seemed to die back. Then, without warning, several new sprouts popped up and have shown some significant growth. I may be able to move at least one of the outside to see if it yields a better result.

The chives, which also reside in the kitchen, came up very quickly but then seemed to stall. They seem very thin, if that makes any sense. I guess I thought they would be more hardy, similar to scallions but not as large. Maybe they just haven't matured yet. I used some chives the other day in a salad but I'm not convinced they are ready yet.

My spinach bolted this week and I'm rather disappointed. I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed that I didn't do more research on growing spinach or that I only got one good spinach salad out of it. (It was a darn good salad though!) I think I may try again near the end of the summer into the fall when temperatures are cooler. That should alleviate some of the boiling and hopefully defer the bolting for a while.

The tomato plants have basically taken over everything. They are everywhere and they are huge. I don't see any fruit on the stalks yet but they are starting to flower. So I suspect that I'll see some fruit soon - yippee!

The zucchini are GIGANTIC! I wish I knew how big they were going to be because if I did, I would have planted them somewhere else. They are currently in containers and I keep thinking that I may move them to the ground. It's just that I don't have much sunny space for them in the ground. No veggies on them yet, but lots of flowers. I can't wait for the zucchini :) You'll see, I'll be breaking out all the zucchini recipes when the harvest comes.

The hot peppers have sprouted. In fact, I wasn't really paying attention to the pepper plants, but I took a look today and there it was. I think this one is the jalapeno. Either way, I'm not sure exactly when to harvest it and I hope to get more than this one (which is more than I can say for the spinach plants). I'm going to give it a couple days and keep an eye on it.

*k*