What's mine is not mine...it's the birds'

Ripening tomatoes - Left is yours, right is mine

Remember that tomato trunk that had broken during a freak wind gust (Full story --> Man Down! - When Disaster Strikes)? The one we stubbornly wanted to save because it had tomatoes? Guess what. We were able to nurture it to health by following our anonymous reader's suggestion of placing it in a container with water until a few roots developed. This little trick worked because tomato plants are capable of growing roots anywhere in the trunk. We also removed a few branches to minimize water requirements and kept it in the shade. After a few days we transplanted it and acclimated it by letting it receive only a few hours of sunlight a day. At this point do not let the plant receive full sunlight (6 hours+). If this happens the leafs will start to wilt and the plant will die.

But here we were with a healthy looking plant that still had green tomatoes. So we waited and waited and just when I had given up hope that they would ever ripen I saw a hint of red at the bottom of two tomatoes. Success! We would finally be able to eat our first tomatoes. Or so we thought.

Today I woke up and did my usual routine of checking and watering the plants. Everything looked good. There was one tomato fully ripened so I made a mental note to pick it in the afternoon. Mistake. I came home at noon and the tomato was missing. WTF! No one had picked it, it had not fallen...something must have taken it. That's when I realized that what's mine is not mine, it belongs to the birds. Sneaky little bird came and took our tomato. Lesson learned. We picked the other ripe tomato and ate it right there and then. It tasted great. Go eat someone else's tomato, crazy bird.

Tricks and Treats: Mint Yourself

Mint or Mentha

I'm back with more Tricks and Treats! This time we'll talk about flavorful mint! The mint family is plentiful, frequently consisting of aromatic plants and culinary herbs. We have some of them in our container garden, such as basil, mint, rosemary and oregano.Today I'll address just the mint or mentha genus.

Tricks

Mint are mostly short-lived perennials that spread by underground stems. If you are looking for a particular species, start with small plants because with so many available varieties you might end up with the wrong one. Also sometimes seeds are slow, although this was not our case. Ours sprouted in a couple of days and grew savagely.

Mint is fairly easy to grow, it is said you can "plant and step back". It's best not to mix mint in a container with other plants as the roots tend to take over and can crowd neighbor plants. Actually our mint grew so much that it strangled itself. If this is your case, just prune back heavily and it will sprout again.

Treats

We tend to think of mint in terms of beverages but it actually has many culinary uses. Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams. Numerous ethnic dishes are seasoned with mints of different kinds.

Besides its flavor, mint is highly regarded for its smell. Position your mint container where you can brush against it as you walk by or near your favorite seating spot and brush against your face after a busy day to calm your nerves. Mint is employed for medicinal use. Rub on itchy skin or on you gums to alleviate toothache. Mint also aids digestion; traditional after-dinner mints grows from this! Peppermint is a good antispasmodic, so you can use it on tea for menstrual cramps, diarrhea and tummy-ache.

Mint is almost instantly related to mojito! But to give it nice twist I want to share an original recipe: Raspberry Mojito. Super easy to do and delicious.

Raspberry Mojito
Ingredients:

• Raspberry Rum
• Club Soda
• Sugar
• Water
• Raspberries
• Mint!

Preparation:
Add water to sugar little by little until you create a syrup. Mix Raspberry Rum, Club Soda and sugar syrup in equal quantities. Gently mash mint leaves with a muddler. The mint leaves should only be bruised to release the essential oils and should not be shredded. Add some raspberries to the mix and leave the others to use as garnish along with some mint leaves. Cheers!

The F Word

I know, I know. Today's title is a poor attempt to grab your attention...but if you're reading this it worked. I've promised to write about today's topic for quite a while now. No, not the pesto night. That one's coming soon, I promise. Today's topic is the F word....Fertilizing. Plants need three main elements to grow: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Nitrogen stimulates healthy foliage, phosphorus is for flowers, and potassium promotes strong roots. Plants also need other minerals in smaller concentration for optimum growth. These include chlorine, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc.

The three numbers prominently featured in fertilizer packages represent the N-P-K percentage of the fertilizer (example, 5-10-5). If you're growing plants for their leafs (think lettuce) then you want a fertilizer with a high nitrogen ratio. If you're growing plants that flower (think tomatoes) you want a higher potassium concentration.

Fertilizers can be classified into two categories: liquid/powder fertilizers and slow-release fertilizers. Liquid or powder fertilizers are meant to be dissolved into water. You apply them when watering your plants. Slow-release fertilizers are applied directly to the soil.  They come in time-release shells which dissolve over time releasing nutrients into the soil. They can last from 4-8 months, however, in containers, because of the frequent watering needed, slow-release fertilizers last only between 2-4 months. We recommend mixing slow-release fertilizer into your potting soil before planting and then supplementing with a liquid/powder fertilizer when necessary. 

If you've been reading our blog you may have noticed that we've talked about "balanced fertilizers". A balanced fertilizer is simply one with a 1-1-1 ratio of N-P-K (example, 5-5-5). To keep it simple you can use a balanced fertilizer for everything and supplement other elements when needed (for example, phosphorus booster for roses or tomatoes).

So now that you've learned your basics about the F word go and F something.

After the storm

So it seems I jinxed myself. Two days ago I posted that Irene wouldn't stop us unless the internet went out. Guess what. The internet went out... for two days. Lesson learned: Choose your words carefully.

Speed round today

• Our plants are ok. We moved them outside today and they seem happy. 
• We're keeping inside the tomato that was broken to speed up its recovery. So far it's looking like it will recover. 
• On Saturday we picked our first cucumbers. They measured approximately 6 inches. They were delicious.
• Peppers continue growing. We have three growing right now with a bunch of flowers on each plant.
• Tomatoes keep growing too.  Hopefully we will be able to harvest them in a few weeks.
• We have a new addition to the garden: Lupin (aka Lupine). Lupin is a tall flowering plant that comes in many colors.

That's all for today. Our next post will be about fertilizers unless a storm pushes us off track again.

Tropical systems and your garden

Tropical Storm Irene

Tropical storm Irene is at our doorstep but that won't stop us from publishing (unless the internet goes out!). Actually, the storm served as my muse for today's post. In case of a predictable natural event, such as a hurricane or tropical storm, container gardening in Puerto Rico offers an advantage over in-the-ground gardening; the ability to move your plants. Most plants that we grow on containers would be heavily damaged or destroyed during a hurricane or strong tropical storm. With sustained winds over 75 miles per hour you can imagine the state your tomatoes will be after a hurricane. With careful planning all your plants can survive a natural event.

When planning your garden make sure you are able to move all of your plants. Place large, heavy containers on top of a dolly or other wheeled object. Make sure your trellises and other supporting structures are easily removable. Water shouldn't be a problem since it will be plentiful outside but having 2-3 days worth of water for your plants wouldn't hurt. Plants will require less water than usual since they won't be exposed to wind and sun. Do not worry about your plants not receiving enough sunlight for a few days. Your plants will survive.

That's all we have for today. Follow these simple guidelines and your plants will be safe. If you are in Puerto Rico and growing a container garden get your plants inside. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Pickling your interest - Part 2

Yes it's big.

And we're back. After tragedy struck the other day everything's back to normal. We still don't know if the tomato trunk will survive but as soon as we know we'll write about it. Continuing with our cucumber theme today. Cucumbers are 90%+ water therefore the key to growing them is consistent watering. If the soil is allowed to dry the cucumbers will taste bitter. When the weather is hot (as it always is in Puerto Rico) the vines (and the cukes) grow fast. Very, very fast. To support this growth you will need to provide a balanced fertilizer every week or so. (Editor's note: I know we haven't discussed fertlizers yet but who said we were writing this blog in any logical order.)

Once the crazy growth starts you will see a few males flowers blossom. A few days afterwards you will start seeing female flowers (the ones with a little cucumber behind them). At this point you can follow our advice for pollinating if there are no bees in your area. Once the cucumbers start growing you need to keep an eye on them. Never let a cucumber mature in the vine. If the skin turns yellow your cucumber has matured and the plant will stop producing cukes. Picking the cukes early and often will encourage the plant to produce more.

We still haven't picked any cukes yet but they are only a few days from being ripe. Once we pick the first we'll let you know how they taste. If you follow our advice you will be getting cukes yourself in no time. If you do let us know how they taste. Until next time!

Man Down! - When Disaster Strikes

:-(

Fact: Mother Nature conquers all. Today our post was supposed to be a continuation on yesterday's topic: cucumbers. However, mother nature had other plans. Today we had a lot of rain and wind due to a tropical wave. I arrived home and, as usual, headed to our balcony to check on our container garden. I open the door and find myself before a disaster. Our cherry tomato plant had its trunk broken in half. The tomato was at least 3 feet tall with some large green tomatoes. So needless to say we're very sad.

The plant broke at the stake height

A slightly broken tomato trunk can be saved by splintering it; much like you would do with a bruised finger. This one, though, is damaged past the point of splintering. One error we commited when planting this tomato was that we did not provide a supporting structure or large stake to tie down the plant. Tomatoes can get very tall and top heavy so providing some support is recommended. We had a small 1 foot stake which actually contributed to the problem (see picture). Lesson learned!

Will it survive?

However, we're not giving up hope. Tomato trunks can generate roots so we're going to try and save it. What we did was cut off the lower branches to maximize trunk area and minimize water requirements.  We followed our standard procedure for planting tomatoes which includes inserting crushed eggshells (for calcium) and matches (for phosphorus) in the hole. Then we planted the trunk as deep as possible to stimulate root growth. We'll know in a few days if the plant survives.

I hope you all learned from our mistakes and take our advice on how to plan for growing tomatoes. Join us next time for more on cucumbers. I hope.

Pickling your interest

Our cucumber container

So today we're going to talk about cucumbers (also known as pickles or cukes). Cucumbers are an ideal plant to grow in Puerto Rico. Originally from India cucumbers like hot and humid conditions and hate the cold (much like myself). Cucumbers will generally germinate only when temperatures are above 70 F (21 C). The warmer it is the faster they'll sprout. Cucumbers currently hold our current record for fastest germination: overnight! Seed today, plant tomorrow.

Cucumbers are usually categorized into pickling and slicing varieties. Slicing varieties are ideal for eating raw while pickling are better for making...pickles. In nature they grow in vines but plant breeders have come up with some variations that grow like a bush. Our cukes are the vine type. Vines can grow up to 6 feet long so take that into consideration when planting cucumbers.

Small strings attaching to the net

Space plants at least 1 foot apart with a minimum soil depth of 10 inches. Under the right conditions the vines (and the fruit!) can grow very quickly. Vines send small strings to attach themselves to any available structure. Trellises or other support structures are recommended for growing any vine plant, especially cukes. We used a net which we tied around some posts as our trellis. We then trained the vines to move around the sructure. We'll see if the net holds up when the cucumbers grow heavy.

Pollinating a female flower

Cucumbers produce two flowers: a male and a female flower. Both flowers are yellow but they are easy to distinguish since female flowers contain a small cucumber behind them. Bees or other animals pollinate these flowers but if there are no bees in your area you can pollinate the flowers yourself. Early in the morning pick up a small soft brush and go from male flowers to female flowers. Congratulations, you've just become a human bee.

Well that's all we have for today. If we pickled your interest join us tomorrow for more cucumber action. Who knows we may even show you our cukes!

The more the merrier - Arugula!

Our Arugula seedling

We have a new addition to our garden! Arugula!

Arugula, also known as rocket or roquette, is a garden salad commonly used in Italian cuisine.  Although not as common in Puerto Rico as lettuce or spinach it is beginning to show up with more frequency in fine dining restaurants. It has a sharp, peppery flavor which differs dramatically from other salad greens. I would recommend planting Arugula in fall, winter, or early spring as it has a tendency to bolt (produce seeds) quickly in summer. If you want to grow it in summer find a shaded area under a large plant such as a tomato. To harvest just cut a few leaves and the plant will grow some more.

Keep tuned to follow the progress of this tiny Arugula and for more info on growing container gardens in Puerto Rico.

Tricks and Treats: Basil - Yucky, Yummy Edition

Hi again, good to have you back! Today we have another edition of Tricks and Treats© for basil: Yucky, Yummy Edition! Specifically, we’ll talk about basil common diseases and some ideas on how to use basil. 

Tricks for the Yucky!

Always starting at the root… root rot is fairly common with basil. As the fungi needs moist cool soil to grow in, root rot might present by over-watering the plant. As a first sign, be alert for lower foliage that turns yellow or drops off the plant. The roots of the plant will appear brown and mushy, unlike healthy roots that appear firm and tan in color. To get rid of it, change the soil of the plant and decontaminate the container with a mix of 9 parts water, 1 part bleach.

Basil can suffer from several foliar diseases that can ruin the crop and reduce yield.

Gray Mold on our culantro leaves

A common disease of basil is gray mold; it looks exactly as it sounds. It can also cause infections post-harvest and is capable of killing the entire plant. Black spots can also be seen on basil foliage. Both can be controlled by spraying the leaves with a mix of half a gallon of water and one teaspoon of baking soda (not powder!).

Treats are the Yummy!

Basil Vinegar

Take all your excess basil snippings (which you’ll have lots when the plant starts flowering), stuff them loosely into a glass jar with a fitting lid, and pour enough vinegar to cover all foliage. Red wine vinegar is a great complement for basil. Wait about a week, during which time the vinegar will extract the flavor, aroma and color from the basil. Strain off, discard the snippings and voilà you have made basil vinegar!

When using basil vinegar for cooking, use your imagination. It sure can make a delicious salad dressing but you could also add it to pot roasts, stews, sauces or even over steamed vegetables. If you enjoy basil fragrance so much, another delightful use for basil vinegar is in the bath. Oh yes, soak yourself in aromatic hot water heaven. Add about a cup of basil vinegar to the bathwater, slip in and enjoy. Basil stimulates blood circulation so it is both invigorating and relaxing. Don’t be afraid to sink in and start making bubbles, basil vinegar can also be used as hair rinse. The vinegary smell dissipates quickly and you’re left a gentle herbal fragrance on your hair.

Pesto

Nope. The Pesto Night Story is not today. Pesto is traditionally made with pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, basil, and Parmesan cheese. It's most popular use is tossed with pasta.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups basil leaves
• 1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons coarse-chopped pine nuts
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

In a food processor or strong blender, with the motor running, drop the pine nuts and garlic through the feed chute. Process until finely minced. Add the olive oil and pulse three times. Add basil, Parmesan cheese, and salt to the processor bowl. Process until finely minced. Refrigerate leftovers and use within 1 week. 

Have you bought your basil seeds? What are you waiting for!

Tricks and Treats: Basil Edition

Greetings fellow blogger-enthusiasts, this is my first time with you! As the official photographer, my contribution to this blog will naturally be photos but once in a while I might have a thing or two to say. Today, since Joel started talking about basil, we are going to cover the Tricks and Treats© for basil.

Tricks!

Let’s start with the root. Basil has a very vigorous root system so it needs lots of food (rich soil), lots of water and lots of space for its roots. Fertilize basil cautiously as it can decrease the aroma. Later on we will explain fertilizers in detail but for now be content with knowing that you can use a balanced fertilizer or one high on Nitrogen which will encourage foliage growth.

To encourage a bushy, healthy plant and to maximize production, don't be afraid to prune basil. Yes Joel, pruning! This is a sensitive topic and will be covered in our Pesto Night story (coming soon, promise). Basil will usually have to be pruned every 2 to 3 weeks. Once the plant is allowed to flower, it may produce seed pods containing small black seeds, which can be saved. Once you have the desired seeds, pinch off the flower buds as soon as they begin to emerge. Cut them at the point where just four leaves are left if what you want is maximum leave production.

Treats!

Ok, now let’s use it! Basil can be dried, frozen or used fresh. Dry basil in small bunches by hanging them upside down in a dark, dry, warm, well ventilated room or on screens placed outside in the shade. Another method of drying is on a low setting in the microwave. Prepare the basil by sandwiching it between two paper towels. It could take up to 3 minutes to dry basil in the microwave. Stop periodically throughout the drying process to turn the basil to help promote quicker drying and to avoid burning. You can also preserve basil by freezing it in ice cubes (nearest to fresh taste when added to cooked foods), putting fresh leaves in vinegar or oil (most useful in salad dressing), and to make pesto.

Frozen and dried leaves are worth the effort but the best flavor is found in fresh leaves. The leaves can be used cooked or raw. In general, if cooked, it is added at the last moment, as cooking can quickly destroy the flavor. Crush, chip or mince the leaves and add to recipes, or add whole leaves to salads. Sprigs of basil make a wonderfully aromatic garnish. The flowers are also edible!

Tune in tomorrow for more Tricks and Treats©.

In the beginning there was basil

So I've been pondering about which topic to write and a revelation dawned on me. Start at the beginning! In the beginning there was basil. Jessica wanted to have some basil for cooking (and some mint for mojitos) so she bought some seeds at Walmart and planted them in a little pot. The idea was for the pot to sit by the kitchen window. But then we bought some additional seeds and since we live in an apartment we had no choice but to move everything to the balcony.

Below is how the basil plant looked as a seedling and how it looked at the height of its growth (before the sad pesto night [we'll talk about that in a future post]).

Basil seedling (left), mint (right)

Full grown basil (center)

Basil is one of the easiests plants to grow in the tropics. They love heat. There are many varieties of basil: sweet basil, greek basil, cinnamon basil, clove basil, etc. Ours is the most common variety: Sweet Basil. You can grow basil from seeds or cuttings. I recommend seeds. Usually books will list basil as a full sun (6 hours of direct daylight) plant. However, here in the tropics it can grow vigorously with only 4 hours of sun although 6+ is better. Most books will list basil as an annual but in the tropics it can be grown as a perennial.  A full size basil plant needs 6-8 inches of soil depth to develop its root. As a rule of thumb the bigger and deeper the container the better. As far as soil for containers always use potting soil; garden soil and top soil are inadequate for containers. Soil must be fast draining but it needs to be able to hold moisture. Any quality garden soil is adequate for growing basil.

If you've only tried dried basil you will be amazed by the difference in taste of fresh basil. So get growing! In a future post we'll discuss tricks and treats (© Jessica) for growing and using basil.

Roll Call

Time for a little roll call. Below are the plants we currently have in our garden. Photos taken by of our official photographer, my lovely girlfriend Jessica.

Verbena (right)

Culantro

Chives

Tomatoes

Pepper and parsley (at left)

Parsley

Mint

Cucumber

Chamomille

Lettuce

Romero

Miniature Rose

Oregano

Payasito

Basil (center)

Unknown flowering plant

Hello there world

Once upon a time there was a tiny basil seed which was destined to sprout and live its life indoors by a window. Alas, this was not meant to be. What started as an idea idea for having fresh basil evolved into a full balcony garden. Ideas are dangerous and highly contagious. 

Fast forward to the present and the basil now sits alongside tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, mint, miniature roses, recao (culantro), romero, lettuce, chamomille, verbena, statistice and a few unknown flowering plants. The more plants we acquired or grew the more we realized that there is very limited information on container gardening in the tropics, especifically Puerto Rico. That's why we've decided to create this blog, to share our experiences about container gardening in Puerto Rico. Who knows, we all might even learn a thing or two along the way.