Greening Up.

It is with a poor sense of timing that I now grow some roots, literally...

I have had a yard, big or small, pretty much all my life. But not once did I care to garden. When I was little, I resisted every overture of my parents to help with the weeding. That was their project, not mine. And until you could show me a flower that grew Doritos, I was not about to care. Just before coming here, I had begun to help occasionally with a campus/community garden. But even then, I was just backup to be called upon in a pinch.

I have spent most of my time having the resources, but not the ambition to plant some seeds. Now that I am on the other side of the world, these factors have flipped. I have been increasingly motivated to grow some things as of late. It started as a couple indoor potted projects in the winter, and they have now moved outside. I have no lawn to speak of, and the same goes for the rest of the neighborhood. I am working from my third floor balcony, to the right of the washing machine, and the left of the air conditioner.


Currently there are four troughs: the first has two tomato pants, the second has lettuce/basil/mint, the third has green pepper/mystery Thai pepper 1#, and the fourth has spinach. In pots: there are six chive sets, a parsley plant, aloe, mystery Thai pepper 2#, and a bipolar strawberry plant.


We hoped for cilantro, but ended up with parsley. It works well in falafel at least. I think I am compensating for something, a lack of interaction with nature. Maybe I just like having the project. My predecessor left me a mini hammer that I just put to use making a shelf for the troughs to sit atop the AC unit. It is always a fun trip to bike back from the gardening shop, bikes loaded down with organic soil, plants, and cut boards.