Zinnia's from the garden and a furry surprise.

It took all summer but FINALLY the Zinnia's from the fruit smoothie mix came in. This is the first to fully bloom. It reminds me of a blazing august sunset. I cant wait to see the other colors. I also have to note that my peppers have gone into overdrive producing numerous buds which will be tons of peppers by mid to late September...which is perfect for making tasty Caribbean style pepper sauce to use over the winter.

Lastly here is the surprise:

This is from last week.

And this week.

The kitten is named Juma which is Swahili for "friday born". He shakes like he has Parkinson's, so I hardly get a clear shot of him. He is now hopefully the last of four rescued cats.

Garden Pics: Asters

This is just a quick picture to show you all the aster crego mix flowers that have been blooming profusely since the beginning of august. I have enough flowers to cut new ones everyday.

Garden Critters

This what I believe to be an eastern black swallowtail caterpillar that has taken up residence in my curly parsley. I usually would run like hell in the presence of most creepy crawly caterpillars but this one reminds me of the blue caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. It is going to turn into a beautiful black based butterfly if it sticks around. Ill take an update picture later on in the summer...stay tuned!

This is what it will turn into!

Pink Room Garden News: August Edition

Sadly the end of the summer is nearing and I cant stand to think about it. Why does summer feel like the shortest season? Probably because you're just enjoying it too much. Anyways....on to the garden. August is the month that the tomatoes finally decided to come in. They didn't grow to the size I wanted them too and I just think they took entirely too long to ripen, I will not be growing big boys next year. Instead I'll grow some roma tomatoes and maybe some heirloom varieties. I also lost an entire plant to some fungal disease which reduced my expected crop dramatically! Ill do a lil' more research to prevent these problems next year.

The Big Boys

The sunflowers and zinnias I plated in the vacant box by my neighbors window seems to be growing at a greater speed than those planted by my window but I believe I know why. The zinnias and sunflowers over by my neighbor have enough space since they are in their own boxes. The flowers in front my window are cohabiting. I ignore a lot of planting rules...I planted a whole pack of asters and morning glories in a box that's about 2 feet and the morning glories grew up an entire story. I guess it didn't work in my favor for the zinnias. Don't get me wrong they are growing, just slowly.

The zinnias by my neighbor grew so fast!

The sunflowers are almost as tall as her window!

I'm also waiting on my African cayenne, habeneros, and Trinidad hot peppers to come in. So far I've gotten a few peppers from one of my habenero plants.

Habenero pepper.

African Cayenne, its about 4 inches now.

Check out my rosemary from last year...its gotten so robust! Over the winter it looked so scrawny and half dead. I asked some farmers from USQ farmers market for some tips and I was told to change the pot your rosemary is in every year and keep in a sunny spot. I followed these tips in April and even changed the soil it was in....within a month the half dead rosemary started to look better than when I initially bought it.

Finally I harvested some sweet pea flower seeds to use next year. After the flowers drop, a pod starts growing in the same spot. You let the pods turn brown and then you harvest the seeds. You place them in a dry place in an envelope and plant next year spring.

Dried seed pods

Sweet pea seeds

Sunshine on the Fire Escape

These sunflowers came from a cheap pack  of seeds with no description so I really didn't know what variety they were and what to expect. Would they be some dwarf variety or the giant blooms that can grow as tall as 12 feet? I planted the seeds in small containers but soon found out they  outgrew them within a month or so. You definitely know when a flower has outgrown its pot when the bottom leaves continually turn yellow/brown and drop off.  I transplanted some of the flowers into a vacant space next to my sweet peas and the rest went into my neighbors vacant herb pot that became a home for pesky weeds. I though she would enjoy seeing flowers every morning opposed to weeds so I did some guerilla gardening, tossed those weeds and replaced them with sunflowers. The majority of the sunflowers have bloomed (just waiting on about two slow growers to open) and they all average about 2 feet tall with 3-5 inch flowers. I am soo proud of my flower growing progress this year, now the last to bloom will probably be the asters and the Zinnias.

P.S here is a pic of a baby carrot that was thinned from the carrot pot, it already has good flavor!

Garden News

This morning glory vine has been running so well its gone from my floor up to the roof, its gonna be a beautiful sight when the whole vine flowers!

So the strawberry plant has given its last set of strawberries for the time being...I dont know if itll bear anymore for the summer ill keep it outside and monitor it.

The Zinnias are getting ready to open...I wonder what color mix I'll get.

Sweet Peas continuing to bloom!

These are the sweet peas on the trellis I made for them.

The Garden is coming along slowly but surely...Im waiting for my first tomato though. Patience is the name of the game.

End of June Cupcake Criminal Happenings: The Garden

Click to see it larger!

The summer solstice starts tomorrow and I am excited to revel in the excitement of my favorite season. Summer to me means outdoor parties, bright colors, festivals, and carnivals. The foodie in me loves summer because it means the smell of charred food on a grill, abundance of fresh juicy fruit, and creamy cold ice creams or sorbets. I really cannot wait to churn up a couple batches of ice cream and sorbets with some delicious strawberries, blackberries, gooseberries or any berry that I find in the farmers market.

Now I want to show you all some garden progress and plants that I bought to add to the greenery on the fire escape. The main picture on the top shows from left: The spring onion that is coming up great, next the asters that I may have planted too closely but they seem to be doing fine, then the morning glories which I'm training to cover the fire escape, and finally the curly parsley that was off to a painfully slow start but as of recent seems to be growing in hyper speed! Here are a few more pictures.

The carrots have sprouted so much in just a few weeks!

Strawberries!

Theses Strawberries were bought at USQ farmers market for $1, I didnt want to buy too many plants because I know strawberries take a year and a sunday to grow and its already coming to the end of their season.

Sweet Peas climbing the trellis I made for them. 

The wildflowers are in full bloom.

The sweet peas are strangling everything around them especially the wildflowers, I am patiently waiting for them to flower.

Wildflower Buds.

Marigold Disco Mix

These are the tomatoes. Im not sure if this lil guy was harmful or not!  I saw no damage so left it.

Season two of my gardening project seems to be coming along well, Ive made some mistakes but Ive also learned so much from last year. Im thinking of trying hydroponics next year once the funds are there.  

2011 Gardening Season

Last years class photo.

I realize reading this post may make you question the name of my blog. I mean after all the name implies that this blog may be solely about cupcakes....but its not. Cupcakes are just a part of my being and a large part of my business but I'm a much more diverse person overall. Along with my love for cupcakes, cake, Caribbean food, and Asian food I also have a new found love for gardening. I started planting last year as my own little urban renewal project. Living in the city its very common to be faced with only brick walls when you open your window. My front windows faces the street where trees and other plants are grown but my kitchen window faces this depressing grey wall that I just couldn't stand to look at anymore last year this time. After reading a couple of urban gardening blogs I set out to the farmers market with cash in hand and a hopeful green thumb. Last year was my first season growing and I learned a lot of things and I also scared myself half to death because despite my love for gardening I cannot stand BUGS and we all know where theres dirt there are creepy crawlies! Last summer I grew heirloom brandywine tomatoes, various herbs, peppers, petunias, marigolds, and a couple other flower varieties.

My baby Brandywines from last year

Gardening overall is hard work but its even harder when its done in a small space such as a fire escape. Even though its hard growing your own plants is one of the most rewarding experiences. Even if you don't have access to a rooftop/yard/or fire escape you can grow a few herbs of flowers on a windowsill or counter that has access to sunlight. Target and my local farmers markets have been great resources for me. Target has cute pails and gardening tools in their dollar section, even seeds are available in the dollar section. In Targets outdoors department there are more seed varieties and plant containers you can buy. Farmers markets have starter plants that you can buy throughout the growing season if you don't want to grow from seed. The farmers can also give you tips on how to care for your plants when you get home.
This year I have tried to challenge myself by buying seeds to start most of my plants instead of only buying starter plants from the nurseries. Its the last week in April and so far I have sunflowers, wildflowers, asters, morning glory's, curly parsley, chive, big boy tomatoes, and some other herbs from last year. R.I.P to my habenero pepper plant, sage, and spanish thyme they just didn't make it through the rough winter.

This years class so far..they are still babies but their coming along.

As soon as extra money presents itself I will be planting some hanging vine plants to cover the entire top of the fire escape to create my own urban oasis.  I also want to plant carrots, cucumbers, a next variety of tomatoes, and some more herbs.  I learned so much between last year and this year garden wise and I hope to keep learning and improving my green thumb. Maybe you all will decided to start up a few plants of your own like some fresh herbs to sprinkle on your dishes or even plant marigolds which help keep pest away from other plants and can be seeped in hot water to make a medicinal tea that is cleansing and detoxifying.  You can even plant wheat grass and make your own wheat grass shots instead of buying them.
Here are a few gardening tips from me to you:

1- Make sure you check your growing location for steady sunlight. Most plants need at least 6 hours of sunlight a day.

2- Use a good soil mix that contains organic material(compost), perlite, vermiculite, and peat moss. you can make your own or sub with miracle grow.

3- Feed your plants regularly for the best possible growth. Read up on the individual plant so that you know when to feed them. 

4- Choose a container with drainage holes to prevent water logging plant roots. You can make your own drainage holes in pots by using an ice pick if they don't already have.

5- To make your garden more eco friendly you can reuse old bottles and containers to plant seeds. 

6- Beware of garden pest! If you notice an infestation try to take care of it asap! 

In the picture below I had a problem with fungus gnats in my sweet pea seedlings and sprinkling ground cinnamon on the entire plant helped to get rid of them.

Finally don't hesitate to contact you local botanical garden for help with gardening. If you are in the Brooklyn Area the Brooklyn Botanic Garden offers various gardening classes for beginners and experts! With that said I hope you decide to activate your green thumb...HAPPY GARDENING!