New York

A Rooftop Vegetable Garden: The Beginning

8 July 2010

Brooklyn, DIY, Gardening, New York, Photography

Guys, I hit a landmark!!!!! The last post I wrote was my 100th published post! Yaaaaay!

And now, the garden. So when we parted last, I had fetched all the supplies I needed in Red Hook and dragged them home. I had the good fortune of starting my garden on one of the lovely 95+ degree days a few weeks ago. I’d love to tell you that the heat was therapeutic and inspirational, but it was not. It was disgusting. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that girls don’t sweat.

Above you’ll see my 3 cubic feet of organic potting soil, the container for the tomato plant with drainage holes I drilled myself (and yes, my drill is powered by AA batteries, and I love it), and the beast (Harry) demonstrating one way a tomato plant might use a tomato cage.

And that’s me (sweaty and gross)! Me and my garden! I would have loved to have shown you some pictures of the planting process, but as soon as my hands got dirty, the camera was abandoned. These things happen when you garden solo, I guess. You can’t quite see all the pots for the plants (but that’s ok because they’re not super beautiful or anything). You may notice (duh) that I didn’t plant seeds, but full-fledged plants. I started way too late in the growing season to start anything from seed. I also wanted to keep it pretty simple for my first little vegetable and herb garden (because I don’t know what I’m doing). The tall plant in the large container is an heirloom tomato plant of the Striped German variety. Sharing the container are two Lettuce Leaf basil plants. A third basil plant sits immediately in front, and to the left of that is a Tabasco pepper plant. All are organic.

So that’s my garden! Readers, garden–garden, readers. We’re all acquainted. Lovely. One of the most exciting moments of the gardening process so far: I already had my first bee! If you don’t know that much about gardens, bees are very exciting as they keep harmful insects away. I was standing up from finishing up the transplanting process, wiping the sweat from my brow and a bee came along and buzzed by each and every plant. Amazing. NATURE IS SO COOL.

The whole planting process happened two weeks ago. Would you like to see how it’s doing today? I’d be happy to show you!

Isn’t that SOOOOO COOL? Look how much it has grown! Guys. I love nature. Really. It’s amazing. Watching things grow is so fascinating. I have so much basil right now. I think I may need to do a big harvest today and make some pesto because I can hardly keep up. I think there’s basil ice cream in the future, too. The basil plant in front is suffering a little. I expect it’s because it’s housed in a terra cotta pot (which pulls moisture away from the soil very quickly). My poor little pepper plant lost most of its leaves because we were away for the weekend and it was HOT here. But never fear! You can see a whole host of brand new baby leaves sprouting from the base of the stem.

I’m loving this whole gardening experience. I look forward to sharing more victorious moments in the future, and maybe some not so victorious ones, too.

We’re heading to Puerto Rico for a WEEK starting Saturday (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), so please pardon my absence. Hopefully I’ll have some beautiful images to share with you when we return.

A Rooftop Vegtable Garden: The Building Blocks

6 July 2010

Brooklyn, DIY, Gardening, New York, Photography

3 Comments

It has now been two weeks since I planted my rooftop garden, and because it did not immediately perish, I feel confident enough to tell you all about it! Soon. For now, I’d like to share with you the wonderful resources that made my garden possible.

One of the things I needed most in my gardening adventure was knowledge. Previously, mine extended only about as far as houseplant care. I sought out some books online, found a few, and narrowed down my selection. I ended up purchasing just one:

Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces, by Gayla Trail, author of the blog You Grow Girl. I wasn’t previously familiar with her blog, but she makes some beautiful plants grow and takes gorgeous pictures of them. I don’t know that I could have found a more helpful book for me! It features specific information about container gardens (which mine is!) and what kinds of plants work best in them. My favorite part is her honesty and straightforwardness:

I’m not going to lie to you. There is a heck of a lot to learn when it comes to growing a food garden. But you don’t need to know everything now in order to begin. You’ll learn over time through doing, succeeding, and yes, even failing. (pg.7)

Sure, these are words of advice to live by when you’re starting anything new, but she’s sort of a gardening goddess so it’s nice to see her admit these things. And it did give me a little boost of confidence to get started sooner rather than later.

In seeking out a place to buy supplies, I considered several options… the bodega around the corner that has some vegetable/herb plants, the little flower shop by our subway stop that has the same, etc. These would probably be fine, but also have been sitting out on some semi-grimy streets for a few weeks. Also, they may not have the size containers I need or enough potting soil. Again, I turned to the internet to help me find someplace that could provide me with everything I needed to get started.

I was incredibly fortunate to have access to my lovely sister’s car for a short time, and so I transported myself and my ideas easily over to Red Hook, a neighborhood typically only public-transit-accessible by bus. I had found a place called the Liberty Sunset Garden Center that was well-reputed for its selection, integrity, and fantastic views of Lady Liberty.

These pictures are all from the garden center itself, or the piers immediately surrounding it. It wasn’t the easiest spot to find, but I ended up getting nearly everything I needed to make my little rooftop container garden happen. The garden center has an enormous indoor space with succulents and various houseplants, planters, lawn furniture, and decorative items. The outdoor space is beautifully landscaped and cared for and is home to much healthy looking flora. They also keep an amazing vegetable, flower, and herb garden that is planted and maintained by kids from the neighborhood. If you live anywhere close, I encourage you to go take a look.

Most people know about Red Hook because it’s home to the Brooklyn Ikea. After Liberty Sunset, I swung over there to get some containers to use in the garden. I quickly decided I should either go there every week or never again. It’s a dangerous and exciting maze of brightly colored home design objects. I can’t believe I got out of there with my brains in tact.

And so, with lots of help from Grow Great Grub and the Liberty Sunset Garden Center, I was armed with most everything I needed to start my own rooftop container garden…

The Making of Personal Style

27 January 2010

Brooklyn, Fashion, New York

6 Comments

I am a preschool teacher, and I find myself getting lazy with my style. Before you jump on me for that, imagine the working conditions: on any given day I may have to help a child out of their pee-soaked pants, wipe paint off the floor, and sit within reach of many a milk-spill. I’m not going to wear certain items to work when I know it might result in picking playdough out of intricate beading or carefully trying to dab out some bright red paint from dry-clean-only silk.

But I also live and work in New York City. I commute from my Outer Borough abode to the Upper East Side every day, and often make stops in the East Village, Chelsea, or Park Slope Proper for daily errands. My lifestyle does not include Soho loft parties, or glitzy philanthropic galas, but it does involve many live music performances, dinners out, and lots of time spent meandering through hip parts of Brooklyn. I don’t always want to dress like a preschool teacher. How does one shop for this kind of double life? Does it mean I need to have two separate wardrobes? I can’t really afford that… the rumors about teachers’ salaries are fairly accurate and the high cost of city living still shocks me. But I need to look presentable and professional, so what’s a lady to do?

Epic Piano Battle and Great Friends

28 September 2009

Brooklyn, Food and Drink, Lifestyle, Music, New York, Photography, Video

MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN

24 September 2009

Brooklyn, Lifestyle, New York

1 Comment

Every weekday I commute about an hour to work and an hour home. I walk a total of approximately 9 blocks and I take three subway trains.

When I hold this in contrast to my former commute, driving 22 miles each way, it’s amazing how much has changed. The solitude of driving is so different from the crowdedness of public transit. It’s funny that when I would drive, I would feel so alone, listening to NPR in my station wagon. But as soon as I tuned back in to the highway I was on, I would see all the other drivers believing that they were alone in their sedans and SUVs and delivery trucks. As if you could isolate yourself just by keeping your windows up… Hello!? They are windows! Transparent!

In my current public transportation commute, there’s no denying the connection to everyone around me. Often, I am literally touching them. And I’ve started to notice the others whose patterns overlap with mine. I’ll just give you a glimpse of the morning:

Each day, I leave the house around 7am.

A woman and her son stand on the street corner waiting for his school bus.

A teenage girl who wears mismatching Converse All-Star high tops (I’ve deduced that she has at least 3 different pairs that she mixes, I will continue to look and see if there are more) walks very fast and focused to the train station.

In the train station waits another teenage girl with dark hair and a school uniform pleated skirt, she will also be on the train home on many days.

The man who I think works in an office and keeps his hair buzzed short is reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter (a book I just finished a week ago).

After getting off the second train, a man with a tall beanie (I assume it holds dreadlocks) will be walking nearby me in the sea of people that are making the same transfer. He has a construction helmet attached to his backpack, and I constantly wonder if he just puts it on top of his dreads in the hat, or if he lets them down at work.

There will be a woman on the third train, in the same car in which I usually ride, who gets off at the next stop in her security guard’s uniform.

I always fight to stay fully awake, as I ride uptown on the express train.

As I walk from the final train station stop to my place of work, I will see a pair of golden retrievers walking together with their people.

I will pass either mom or dad (never both) with her three teenage boys wearing brightly colored yarmuklas.

A certain doorman will wish me a good morning on the last block before I turn to get to work. And then another doorman will nod at me as I pass by.

These are the kinds of things I notice. Maybe you think it’s creepy, but it’s who I am. I studied anthropology! I’m interested in what people do. Each and every person is not there every day, but I like the consistency of it. I like the routine. It makes me feel much more connected to everyone around me.

If this entry had a picture, it would be of a local train passing an express train, from the inside of the express train. I love watching the local trains pass by. It’s amazing to see the world of the other train. Just like the world of other drivers on the highway.

—REASONABLY SO

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