Occasionally my indoor garden includes Mung bean sprouts growing on the kitchen counter. They only require a water rinse twice a day and seed to sprouts takes less than a week. (Tip: Soak the beans in water overnight before putting them in the sprouting trays.)
I've had luck with Yellow Pear tomatoes. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a bountiful crop but if I have enough to add to our summer salads that's plenty good. In the fall I save a few handfuls of these little heirloom tomatoes and replant them the following spring.
Perhaps it's our environment - large shady oaks with far-reaching thirsty roots - that stunts the growth of our plantings. We planted two bare root apple trees in the front yard and five years later they still look like the sticks we stuck in the ground - with just a few more branches.
So imagine our surprise when this spring the Gala apple tree (stick on the right) flowered heavily and now all the flowers are turning into wee apples. Yes, lots of wee apples. And then you can imagine how I felt to find a hairy creepy caterpillar taking bites out of my apples.
So far I have only found a single caterpillar on the apple tree but I've been seeing his friends on the rhubarb. The hairy critters get squished when I find them but in the meantime my baby apples needed extra protection.
I covered them with Organza bags.
I'm not sure if the bags will protect the wee apples - I hope they do - but the Organza bags and their ribbon ties sure make a lovely sight on a breezy day like today.
I think the birds volunteered seeds to one of the big planters because a mystery plant has taken root. The pot had been empty (the geranium died) so I'm leaving the mystery plant alone for now. Since it's green, it counts.
