Green Food

No, I'm not talking about Wheat Grass, or even about lots and lots of salad (although there's nothing wrong with salad…) Instead, I think that as someone who tries to be socially and environmentally responsible, eating more organic and local food is one huge way to make a difference. That, and I also happened to notice this great TreeHugger article on just this subject. Not really about gardening, but still totally in line with my green leanings. Check it out! It's cool and has lots of links to other resources, like where to look up your local farmer's market, and how to can or preserve the food you buy/grow. Canning is tons of fun by the way!(Plus makes great personalized, inexpensive gifts for friends and family—who can resist a jar of homemade blackberry jam?)For more on canning, this site has links and info. And remember to check out the USDA for info on safety and the best way to preserve anything from meat to peas to peaches. They have a pretty good search function if you can't easily find what you're looking for on their site.

Starting out

Well, after a trip to Behnke's Nursery we have a fairly full balcony of veggies. We've planted two tomatoes, one bell pepper, an eggplant, a pot of bush beans, a pot of snap peas (hope they bloom soon!)and some sald greens and herbs. Oh! I forgot the pot of three cucumber (bush variety, according to Behnkes) plants and the pot of radishes. In addition, we have a hanging cherry tomato plant (we snatched it up at the Takoma Park Farmer's Market last week), a hanging basket of salad greens (two arugula plants and some other salad greens started from a seed mix, and a hanging basket of leaf lettuce. Ah, and I mustn't forget our dish garden of herbs. Hopefully, I will post pictures of our setup soon.