jenna rose journal

Last fall we lost an old large plum tree in our backyard. A major limb had broken and the fruit was usually inhabited by little white bugs, so we decided to cut it down. I had thought the loss of the tree would give us enough sunlight on part of our garden so I could finally grow vegetables instead of shade plants. Unfortunately there weren't enough hours of sunlight on any of our garden beds. There was however plenty of sun on the concrete walkway beside our house so I filled it with pots and voila, a vegetable garden.

Chocolate mint for tea.

I still have to mount this basket that sits just outside our kitchen window and is filled with my favorite herbs. The dill isn't doing well. This is the second dill plant I have put in this basket because the first one died too. Any suggestions why? I am guessing maybe it doesn't like one of it's neighbours- either the parsley or cilantro?

Jalapenos and cayenne peppers, Jeff's top choices. We also have bell peppers.

I am a huge tomato fan. I think I eat tomatoes just about every day. I planted four different varieties and am so excited to see them growing happy and healthy in the pots. I can't wait to be able to pick them each morning for my salad.

After years of only being able to grow shade loving plants, this little garden is pretty exciting for me. Although we won't get an abundant amount of vegetables I still have big plans for pickling and preserving market vegetables this summer. I picked up this book a while ago and am going through it one recipe at a time, tagging the ones that I definitely would like to make. Things that we usually buy like pickles, roasted red peppers, relish, and hot peppers. I marked fifteen recipes so far, and haven't even entered the tomato section yet. Being my first year at attempting to fill our cupboards myself it's doubtful I will have time to move onto the non-essentials, like spirited pears. Although they sound so good.

With my old raleigh being rideable again, I picked up this bike basket for all my summer market trips. I have been working hard on restoring the bike and will show you more photos soon. I got it this Detours basket at Freewheel Cycle in Dundas. It's big, sturdy, and made with naturally dyed woven pandan grass. It detaches easily and has carrying handles too.