Balcony Garden, Winter update

Things continue to tick along nicely with the second "crop" on my little balcony garden. This time around I've basically stuck to the same formula as my first attempt at farming - if it ain't broke why fix it?

That said, the Rosemary is well and truly cactus. Everybody said that Rosemary was really hardy - I could basically neglect it and it would spring back to life...it didn't.  It became more twig-like as the weeks progressed. When I was away house-sitting for my brother the boy was looking after my garden. He told me he was watering the plants with "warm" water as it was so cold outside he didn't want them to freeze. Maybe he boiled my Rosemary to death?

The first time I grew lettuce it was from some seeds a colleague gave me - for Cos + Mignonette . This time I decide to just stick with Cos...it's more compact so take up less space in the pot, plus I like it better - especially in homemade Caesar Salads.  I still haven't had any luck with the Radicchio that same colleague gave to me...the seeds are uber-stubborn and only two have sprouted in about two months. Maybe it's just too cold (like I'd know what these pesky plants need).  I'm tempted to pull out the seedlings and plant something else (space is precious after all) but I'll leave it a bit longer as curiosity is getting the better of moi.

Remember last month when I only had one shallot sprout. One! I mean REALLY! I aborted mission with that little fella and planted some new seeds in a (not much) bigger pot and things are going quite well. Even if I do say so myself!  I love how the shallot sprout had this tiny little black dot on it's tip (which is the seed it's sprouted from) - like a mung bung. These guys are still growing, but I'm thinking I'll be able to pick them soon.

Ah, radishes! These must be one of the easiest things to grow (and the tastiest). A few of these ended up in salads...but I mostly just ended up picking them, rinsing them off and them eating. They are so fresh + crunchy. The literally burst out of the soil when the ready to pick, just screaming "eat me NOW". Unlike the carrots - I have NO idea what's going on under the soil and when is the "right time" to pick them.

Pak choi is another fail-safe crop on my little balcony. This time around it's been too cold for the fat little grubs to dine out on my pak choi so The Boy and I have gotten to enjoy the lot ourselves. As it should be!  I've been using the pak choi in a wonton noodle soup (with frozen, store bought prawn wontons thank you very much) that's pretty much a staple in my house, and Muppy just blogged a good soba noodle recipe that calls for leafy Chinese Greens so the last of this crop was used for that.  I've finally found some Bok Choi seeds so will give that a whirl soon - just for something different.

I'm having a bit of trouble thinking of what to do with all my mint - so it just keeps going into homemade mint teas.  The mint looks like it's dying off a bit however, I'm not sure if it's from the cold weather over winter, or perhaps the pot is too...snug.  I also noticed that "somebody" has taken a bit chomp out of just one of the mint leaves...shoo grubs.

The good thing about the balcony garden is having to think of things to use the vegies for.  I've been a little bit more creative in my cooking and I'm enjoying cooking just the little bit more as I've grown some of the ingredients myself.