As I write this, the radiators in our apartment are grumbling back to life for the first time in over six weeks. The building is filled with a smell I usually associate with fall, something I am guessing is burning dust–slightly musty and reminiscent of that first really crisp autumn day. The radiators’ burst of life will be short lived with a high today in the mid-sixties.
To celebrate our return I planted some seeds. Now, like the little boy in The Carrot Seed, we are waiting for the spindly seedlings to emerge.
In the garden this year we hope to have four kinds of tomatoes: Riesentraube, a flavorful cherry variety, Red Zebra, a small tomato and cousin to the Green Zebra, Illini Star and Illinois Beauty, both of whose virtues have yet to be discovered. Also on deck are small carrots and radishes, arugula, harlequin marigolds, calendula, cumin, basil, and cosmos. I purchased my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, located in Mansfield, Missouri. They have a high-quality product and are doing great work to preserve heirloom seed varieties.
In a couple of weeks I will direct sow the radishes and arugula, and we should be eating some rooftop produce by May.
It’s nice to be home.
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