Gardening is something I love and loathe at the same time. I loathe it because I don’t even really have a garden. I just have a terrace garden, an urban garden, call it what you will. That means there obviously isn’t much room for gardening. Little space and plants growing in pots sadly means that they’re very vulnerable to pests like plant louses or fungi like mildew. Every year, usually in autumn, I get to the point where I’m just over the daily amount of care I have to put into these damn plants.
And yet, every February and March, I’ll open the folder where I keep my seed packages, and start dreaming up new ideas for my little terrace garden. It’s just too exhilarating watching little seedlings grow from seeds, like heralding in spring by way of my tiny plastic greenhouses. That is why I love gardening, and will keep gardening no matter how frustrated it makes me.
My Terrace Garden Right Now
The terrace looks really sad at the moment. A lot of the plants seemingly didn’t survive the winter, even though I’m still holding out hope for the oregano and the lovage. The thyme and the lavender seem to be fine, and the chive is coming back strong. I still need to clean everything up and cut back the dead leaves. I couldn’t resist and planted early radish and carrots in the empty spaces where the herb seedlings are supposed to go once they’re big enough.
Gardening Diary: What I Sowed
If you only have a small balcony or a roof terrace but want to make the most of it, my recommendation would be to stick to herbs you can use in the kitchen. Fresh herbs make every meal miles better in an instant! You can also dry the herbs to use in winter or even make your own tea! I usually use these little coco tabs you can buy in the garden center for sowing. Put in these plastic mini greenhouses you can easily transport them! I usually keep them in the kitchen. Once it’s warm enough, I put them outside during the day and bring them back inside to keep the seedling safe from the cold at night.
I usually use one type of seed for each row just to be safe, because sometimes the seeds in one coco tab won’t grow, or in case one plant dies. If there are leftover plants I just give them away to friends or family. I sowed the following herbs from top to bottom: basil, marjoram, Thai basil, dill, sage, rosemary, and cilantro. Basil is of course mandatory if you love Italian food, and we very much do. Phil likes to cook Asian recipes, hence the Thai basil and the cilantro. Marjoram is a personal favourite, dill is for fish, and no kitchen garden is complete without sage and rosemary.
To be honest, I usually only grow chili and tomatos because they do well in pots. This year I felt adventurous though. I planted, from top to bottom: tomatos, strawberries, cape gooseberry, a mixture of salad seeds, arugula, cucumber, and chili. We’ll see if that works out. Wish me luck!