[Robert Schonfeld]

The fascists who run our building won't even overlook a pot of basil on the fire escape. I love the greenmarket, but I miss being able to grow herbs and vegetables, and harvesting them for dinner.

What do you grow?

[galleygirl]

My back porch is luxuriantly shaded, so I've been stymied on herbs...Bu this year, the BF has agreed to a garden plot is his yard (whoa, almost sounds like commitment!!!!), so I'm hoping for Purple Cherokee tomatoes, basil, Thai basil, holy basil, oregano (gottah have it for those tomatoes!) and any other herb plants I can find seedlings for at the farmers' market....

[Lippy]

Years ago I grew some cherry tomatoes in a window box on the balcony. When I added up all the expenditures, each tomato came to about $2.40. :o

That was my only foray into gardening. Even houseplants die when they come into my orbit.

[helena]

i'm also planning to start a small plot on the sunny side yard:
for the same reason as galleygirl (minus oregano, unless is find the greek type), asian greens, lovage and
some exotic chiles from this place.

[scamhi]

I live too close to the BQE (Brooklyn Queen Expressway) to grow tomatoes..the lead count would be sky high.
Union Square grenmarket is where I forage for farm fresh.

[Anny]

I have a south facing balcony and last year grew tomatoes; coriander; lettuce; chives and radishes in a soiless medium of perlite/vermiculite (holds more water than soil) in pots.

[Abbylovi]

Basil, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, mint, chives and oregano.

For the last several years I've attempted tomatoes but critters/weather/neighborhood kids have all foiled my crop so I'm giving up this year.

I might try some greens on my back roof instead.

[Ron Johnson]

Abby,

You can take a five gallon paint bucket, drill a couple holes in the bottom, fill with well draining soil, put a wooden stick or old broom handle in it and plant a tomato plant. Set this out on your back roof. Just tie the plant to the stick as it grows taller throughout the summer. It can work reasonably well. You can also cover the whole thing with chicken wire to keep out critters.

[g.johnson]

Ron, I can't see your avatar. No permission to view the site or some such. Are you stealing another sites bandwidth, you lawyer, you?

[Wilfrid1]

It's a Grateful Dead logo. I had to fiddle around to see it.

Ron, you should just download it to your PC and upload it again at your avatar settings.

[Ron Johnson]

I am changing it as soon as I can you bunch of complainers. :P

[Rail Paul]

Basil (holy and genovese), sage, carnello tomatoes (maybe), lots of cilantro. The tomatoes are a maybe because they're so much work, and when they're ready, the farmers market has 25 pounds for $5

I've found Well-Sweep Farm in Port Murray NJ to be a fine source for seedling herbs and spices. Dozens of basils, sage, lavender, mints, oregano, etc but no tomatoes, no peppers. It's getting a little cutesy now with frog water spouts, and wreathes, but their selection of unusual material is great.

Gentleman's country farm with 10 different kinds of chickens, several sheep, riding horses, etc. It's open on Saturdays, but always closed on Sundays.

I usually go out there early in May. If anyone is interested in making a day of it, please let me know.

[Robert Schonfeld]

Rail Paul, on Apr 2 2004, 12:25 PM, said:

The tomatoes are a maybe because they're so much work, and when they're ready, the farmers market has 25 pounds for $5

This is a pet peeve of mine about the USGreenmarket - not the market itself but the vendors. They hold the (full retail) price on tomatoes right through the end of the season. I have often marveled at their apparent ability to sell the very last tomato at full price. Either that or something else is happening to the unsold crop.

Just about everywhere else, one sees 20, 25 pounds for 5, 10 bucks.

[Rail Paul]

Robert Schonfeld, on Apr 2 2004, 03:56 PM, said:

Rail Paul, on Apr 2 2004, 12:25 PM, said:

The tomatoes are a maybe because they're so much work, and when they're ready, the farmers market has 25 pounds for $5

This is a pet peeve of mine about the USGreenmarket - not the market itself but the vendors. They hold the (full retail) price on tomatoes right through the end of the season. I have often marveled at their apparent ability to sell the very last tomato at full price. Either that or something else is happening to the unsold crop.

Just about everywhere else, one sees 20, 25 pounds for 5, 10 bucks.

In the suburbs, that's much less obvious. I didn't chart it this year, but the price parabola was textbook perfect for non-organic tomatoes. High in August, dropping for weeks thereafter. By early October, tomatoes were 25 pounds for $5, and they'd thow in ten pounds of apples.

If I had the time to process them, I could have had 200 pounds of good tomatoes in early October for the price of an entree in most NY restos.

The organic people have it much rougher. My CSA guy from Wantage Twp threw in the towel at Madison. The very affluent, Wall Street plus college professor crowd busted his cojones that his tomatoes weren't blemish free, his lettuce wasn't huge, his potatoes had black spots, etc. They'd show up in their SUVs, talk the enviro game, and decide not to buy from him, picking the the Ortho farmer down the row. The specialty lettuce / greens lady had the same problem. People talk the game, but buy on looks.

[Robert Schonfeld]

And to add insult to injury, last year the tomatoes were lousy. Maybe at least we'll have the right weather for a tasty crop this year.