One of the best things about having an outdoor space is being able to have a garden! Now that we are in a shelter-in-place order, it’s something that I’m especially grateful for. Having the time to watch our plants grow is fun and exciting and enjoying fresh vegetables is a luxury.
We are trying to be experimental and optimistic, but the space and weather will limit what we can grow. San Francisco can be foggy and slightly on the cold side most of the time, even through the summer. Our small space is mostly shaded by surrounding structures, but parts can get sunshine during midday through the afternoon.
Picture Summary of our first plants:
So far, we’ve been able to harvest a few radishes, bok choy, and arugula. The radishes were nice, but they were small and few, mostly just nice to look at. The bok choy did not turn out how I imagined (the leaves are longer and skinnier vs fat and short) but we’ve harvested the outside leaves for continuous harvest and been able to throw in a few soups and stir fries. Arugula was the biggest surprise – we get the pepperiness because it’s so fresh, and it’s great to just throw in a salad or sandwich or on top of really anything.
Social-Distancing Tips:
- You can still get almost everything you need online. Seeds are a little scarce, so we’ve just tried some less common varieties.
- We didn’t have enough planters and are still trying not to buy anything new, but amazon has an option to look up used products when searching so we were able to get some delivered.
Since our first planting, we’ve moved things around, purchased more supplies, and have been ramping up our growing….hopefully more to come!
This is so exciting!!!!! Can’t wait to see pics as the plants grow. I don’t have my mom’s green thumb but I am still wishing you good luck!
Thanks! We need some luck!
YAY!! what cool veggies! I am inspired! ❤Mom
Can’t wait to see your veggies this year too!!
What a beautiful space! Boc choy is hard to grow I’m on my third year of producing very strange looking skinny little ones. There must be a trick. I’ll forward if I find out!
Auntie Rita
Yes, let me know what you find! I think there might be a different baby bok choy variety that you are supposed to harvest while they are still small and the bok choy variety that they sell in stores is different than the seeds?…but at least it still tastes good!
Well done! Cannot wait to see more…
Thank you! We’ve done a lot more in a month – will have to write another update soon!