From El Huerto

I found beautiful Ball quilted jars at Wegmans which I intended to use for entertaining.  I thought it would be nice to use them for their actual purpose.  I found a recipe at the Ball website for the jelly. It was pretty simple and omitted the green food coloring.  I like my food to look natural.  I picked the jalapenos from the plant and proceeded to cut them in my kitchen when I made a BIG mistake: I rubbed my eye with my bare hands!!! Thanks to the internet, I found a great solution to the problem: I made an eye wash with a shot glass and milk.  It really calmed the inflammation. Note to self: wear gloves as the instructions state!

Pretty Ball Jars

The last step, processing the canned contents in boiling water

I did not have all the canning equipment of the pros but I managed to follow the instructions and effectively sterilize the jars in my Le Creuset without getting burned.  Once the content was set on the jars, I placed them in the kitchen until fully cooled.  A few hours later, I started hearing popping sounds, indicating the jars sealed.  The proof came the next day, when I got to try my jelly.  I was very proud of myself!  It had the right balance of sweet and spicy.  I later served it at a party with homemade cornbread bites and gave extra jars as gifts.  Overall, I thought the process was going to be more complicated than I thought, happy that it turned out well.  Looking forward to doing more preserving, especially with the fall and winter fruits.

Ready to be served!

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My herbs…

To begin, my plants have taught me patience. I recall planting tiny seeds into small soil pods on an incubator. Every day, I would take a look through the plastic cover to check their progress. When I returned from a two week trip, I noticed the seeds had sprouted, tiny little green plants were born. As they grew, I transferred them to a pot. After four months, they just began to flower. Hopefully by the end of the summer, I will have eggplant and peppers. One of the things I acknowledge I need to work the most on is patience. It is in those moments when we stop micro-managing (or in my case, micro-observing) that the magical things happen.

Jalapenos from El Huerto

My plants have taught me that sometimes we need to cut excess in order to be abundant. It sounds like an oxymoron but it is true. Take herbs for example. In order to have tasty herbs, you have to cut the flowers from the plant. When I first saw my basil plant topped with flowers, I was thought it was great. I soon found out it has a negative effect on the production and taste of the leaves. In order to have leafy, tasty basil (or other herbs for that matter) you must cut these flowers. From my move from Brussels to DC, I have learned more possessions doesn’t necessarily mean more abundance. I have cleaned my closets and given away/thrown out things I no longer needed. The excesses took away from the abundance and flavor of my home and life. My basil plants reaffirmed this.

Waiting for my Eggplants

My plants taught me things can change for the better even when you think hope is lost. I planted two tomato plants in a container. After two months, they produced yummy roma tomatoes. Once the tomatoes grew, most of the plant dried up. I gave up on the plant, thinking it was some rookie gardening mistake, and set it aside in order to throw it away when I returned from my 9 day Eurotrip. Upon my return, I was surprised to see although most branches were dry, there was a long, strong green stem with beautiful leaves. I do not know yet if it will give me more tomatoes, but the fact that it was there standing tall made think about life. How sometimes when we think hope is lost, but we can be pleasantly surprised.

My Basil, all grown up…

This is my first time with a little garden. I find myself every morning on my deck, checking the progress of my plants. I water them carefully, smell the fragrant leaves, touch the soil, and rescue them when the sun has been too rough. At times, we complicate our lives so much with excesses we do not need when just like plants, a little water and sunshine can take us a long way!

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My Belgian Crop

 Now, I am in Washington with more predictable weather and a mini back yard (for urban standards). Given my current environment, I decided to experiment with a little “urban gardening”.  Unfortunately, my mini yard is mostly cement, therefore my gardening experiment is contained.  I figured Hope Depot is a good place for beginners. Thankfully, there is one on Rhode Island Ave and it opens on Easter.  What better day to plant new seeds than the day of resurrection? As a novice, I decided to get some tomato plants, herbs, and seeds.  I love basil and the weather in Brussels was not conducive for growing it. Taking advantage of the warm DC summers, I got 4 plants: 2 sweet basil and 2 purple basil. I also bought oregano, thyme, and rosemary.  Aside from misplacing my father’s seeds as a child, I do not have much experience but given that they were so cheap ($1.99 per pack), I decided to experiment with sweet peppers and eggplant seeds.


My Science Project


My friend and I returned home to set up the beginning of the urban garden. We both commented how we felt like 5th graders with a science experiment, especially as we placed the pepper and eggplant seeds in incubators.  I was not even aware I could place seeds in incubators until yesterday!  My garden endeavor was reasonably priced ($75 for plants, soil, containers, incubator, seeds) and was happy to know Home Depot gives a 10% military discount.


My DC Herb Garden

 Now that I figured the process is relatively easy, I would like to get into planting flowers on the small space on my front yard, learn about composting, and maybe getting a fruit tree.  The nature of planting:  the feel of the soil, witnessing an organism grow, being able to eat what you grow feels like an amazing phenomenon for me. Then again, I am impressed by the smallest things!  Now, I look forward to my plants thriving, seeds sprouting in the late spring, and making yummy dishes with the products of my urban garden. 

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