Major Haul

The garden went crazy while I was away. It was incredibly nice to come back to such abundance. As an added bonus it looks like I caught all the hornworm caterpillars. I was fully expecting to come back to at least one devoured plant, but no. No more plant damage!

Trickling In

The summer crops are beginning to trickle in. First it was the eggplant, now it's the cherry tomatoes. What will be next? Personally, I'm hoping for a watermelon.

The Beginning of the End

With August winding down so too is the rooftop garden. The Serenade melon plants were retired, On Deck corn plants were removed and I think the pepper plants will be next. The tomato plants are hanging on, I think a couple will last till frost.

Melons On the Way

The tomato harvest is sadly winding down. I'm already missing my daily tomato snack, but other crops are stepping up to take its place.

Gardening Highs and Lows

A few surprises in the garden this week. One bad, some good and one great!

Tomatoes and More on the Way

The harvest is picking up. All varieties of tomatoes, 1 pepper and 1 corn ear were harvested this week. Melons, potatoes and soybeans will be ready in the coming weeks.

Ominous Signs

Well, the good times had to end at some point. Last week's heatwave did no favors for the garden. Very high daytime and nighttime temperatures meant practically no pollinating or fruiting for the week, so reduced yield down the line. Prolonged hot weather also leaves plants weakened, making them more vulnerable to disease, which is unfortunately the case for one section of the rooftop garden.

Catching Up

Ok I'm back. Vacation was awesome and I'm sad it's over, but I'm very happy to return to gardening. I fully expected pests and/or disease to run wild while I was gone, but to my immense surprise nothing of the sort happened. The garden is still doing great! 2 plants look a little yellow, but just 2 out of 20+ is great news. All of the plants have grown immensely and almost all of them have fruited.

More Tomatoes and Some Peppers on the Way

The garden is, unbelievably, still doing great. I'm actually in a mild state of shock over how well everything is going. I cannot remember the last time something has not gone wrong by this time of year. I'm certainly not complaining though, I'm just pleasantly surprised.

Slowly But Surely

The garden is still doing great. There's no bad news to report so I've just been focusing on keeping the plants watered and fed and trimming the suckers off the tomato plants.

Looking Good

The garden is doing pretty well so far. No signs of disease, nutrient deficiencies or signs of insect pests. Which is surprising since this is the time of the year I usually expect some aphids to show up, not that I'm complaining! The melon and pepper plants are far behind last year's progress around this same time, but they're steadily growing larger so I'm not concerned.

First Harvest 2013

All Plants on the Roof

The 2 melon varieties were transplanted on Monday so that means every rooftop container has been planted. I'm glad, now I no longer have to worry about the seedlings drying out in their little cups before I make it home from work.

Winding Down

The last melon plant has been retired, more beet seeds have taken its place.

Sleepy Summer Days

One melon plant left on the roof. I'm not sure how much larger these fruits will get, the leaves are really worn out.

Plugging Along

Nothing exciting to report. Just watering and harvesting my way through the summer.

Daily Watering Is Incredibly Annoying

But ultimately worth the effort once the harvest starts rolling in!

A Casualty of the Heat and the 1st Rooftop Vegetable Harvest of 2012

Wow! Not even halfway through July and I've already lost one vegetable variety to the heat. I'm afraid to find out what the rest of the season will bring.

A Beautiful Sight, Melons Are Finally Here!

I was getting ready to hand pollinate the melon flowers when I found a few surprises hiding beneath the foliage.

The Aftermath of Hurricane Irene

Was not that bad! NYC and the rooftop garden certainly dodged a bullet. Damage was minimal and easily repaired.