Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Froot

I grew these in my tiny and quite sunless yard. I think there are enough quinces to make quince jelly.
I've got some tomatoes which are big but still green (the garden over the back has a greenhouse full of bright red ones) and also some olives which are too tiny to ever ripen. There is a small lemon tree which I thought had died and it was too difficult to throw it away: I was chopping bits off it and putting them in a bin bag week by week when it suddenly came back to life. I grow parsley, thyme, bay, chives and rosemary but you're never going to get fat on a diet of that! Next year I will plant the tomatoes and courgettes earlier; I have never managed to grow tomatoes from seed before and I feel quite proud. I might also try potatoes and maybe get one of those apple trees that is just on one stalk and try to grow cooking apples. The problem is the lack of light, but I remain optimistic.
Years ago I grew carrots in a plant pot. Their ferny foliage was a beautiful bright green and when I picked them they were tiny and delicious. And in our old house we spilled some parsnip seeds in a flower bed by accident. I looked after them and we ate the monsters for Sunday lunch when they were big enough to pull up.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's amazing what you can grow in pots and small spaces - you could try growing tomatoes in hanging baskets, so they are up in the light. I always havebasil on the kitchen windowsill - just one of the ones you buy in the supermarket .... I quite often rub the leaves just to enjoy the smell (that's a bit weird, I think!!)