Long Time….no see

Posted bychefcrispyPosted inUncategorized

So it’s been awhile…and so much has happened since I last wrote. I think it’s been since before COVID hit us that I’ve published a blog post, my apologies to my loyal readership lol. Being out of work for almost 4 months was crazy as I’m sure some of you know. At my previous kitchen job, Toasted Oak, we closed after dinner service on March 14th and didn’t open again until July 1…sadly many restaurants won’t open again. Oh yeah, I’ve changed jobs since I last wrote as well, but more on that later. These last few months have challenged some of the feelings I’ve had as to what I thought were my long term goals and my perceptions of what I thought I should want for myself, more on that later too.

First off, the garden or as it’s come to be known on my Facebook and Instagram posts #GnomerieGarden. In my previous kitchen job, working under Chef Ken Miller, there was always an emphasis on how increasingly fragile our environment is becoming and how unless we take it upon ourselves to seek change the harm will become irreparable. Inspired by Chef Miller’s passion and connection to the land, I decided to tap into my farming roots and start a garden on the patio of the condo I share with my girlfriend Megan. I enlisted my mom to help with the planting and nurturing of my seedlings and so the adventure began.

The “bare bones” where I started. Two planter boxes containing two types of peas, lettuce, beets, lavender and eggplant. Super sweet 100 tomatoes are in the closest pot and sungolds in the far pot. It expanded rapidly from here.

My enthusiasm for the project got the better of me at the beginning and I decided why not see what else we could add to this little experiment. My grandmother always loved morning glories and I remember the sunflowers that always grew along the length of the backyard fence, their bright yellow heads bobbing in the warm late summer/early fall breezes were always the grand finale of the season. I also thought fresh herbs would be an obvious addition as well and so added thyme, rosemary, tarragon, oregano, marjoram, basil, pineapple sage, chives and a fennel plant. Trust me….it didn’t end here.

Some new additions joined my growing farm. A pair of gerbera daisies and a pot of pansies added some much needed color. The herbs were just planted as well as a lone strawberry plant in the foreground. I also planted a box of morning glories along a trellis in the background. At this point we’d already added two coneflowers we got from Megan’s mom and planted a bunch of sunflower seeds in some soil on the other side of the patio railing.

Early on I developed a desire to find a spot for little forlorn plants my mom and I found in different places. Though it might require some fuss I figured we could always find a space for some orphan that popped up. The strawberry plant was just such an orphan. It wasn’t long until our hard work began paying off and we noticed little sprouts popping up in various spots with, I’d say, the morning glories being first.

First out the gate! One of my grandmother’s favorite flowers morning glories, these sprouts popped up after about a week.

As May moved into the warmer weather of June gradually the garden became full of little sprouts. Soon, little micro greens of lettuce, beets, eggplant and peas were growing seemingly overnight and it was amazing to be growing not only living things but also food for us.

One variety of peas I planted, what I found was the soil was too moist because of my choice of planting vessel. Unfortunately, I would lose both types of peas and would have to replant.
Megan’s mom gave us these two coneflowers to bookend the sunflowers. Come the end of summer they would increasingly dwarfed by them.
Speak of the devil, our first sunflower sprout. When you glimpse them at the end of summer it’s hard to believe they were once this small.

With plenty of warm sun and fresh water everything seemed to take off, ESPECIALLY the sunflowers. I honestly believe at one point they were growing a few inches a day. It is such a source of satisfaction when you see a living plant that you invested a little of your life and live, into. Next, part 2

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