I think I got pretty overzealous with my gardening endeavors this year. Something happens when you’re this far north. Sure, your growing season is shorter, but it’s intense! All the lettuce, radishes & spinach I started back in February or March… dead. Nothing. Too early, too cold. I almost gave up when my tomatoes didn’t seem to be taking off. I’m glad I didn’t.

I was also concerned when we went on outreach. I had no one to come and water them, and we were in the middle of near 90 degree temps. (We would have the hottest summer on record this year, wouldn’t we?) Ugh. So, I took my 4 cucumber plants in little pots and my 3 big tomato pots and set them inside of 2 big Rubbermaid Action Packers filled with water. (Man, those things come in handy for all kinds of things!) I know this isn’t the best idea. It’s not good for them to sit in water like that, which is why we drill holes in the bottoms of the containers, but I had no choice. I wasn’t hoping for major growth while I was gone, just survival. My biggest dilemma was my flower box of green beans. They wouldn’t fit in with the others, and I had nothing else. I had read something about using shoe laces… soak them in water, have a bucket of water nearby, but above the plant, and use the laces almost as a drip waterer/siphon. Well, I tried it.

When I got home from Liepaja, I went almost directly to my balcony garden. I was pleasantly surprised. In the end I did lose 2 cucumbers and I don’t know if one of my tomatoes will produce or not. I thought I’d lost my beans, as they were as dry as anything, (shoe laces just did not work) but after a few soakings, they’re fine and growing. My biggest surprise was that my tomatoes grew about a foot while I was gone for 9 days. Wow.

So, today, I did it. I picked my first green bean. Anyone who really knows me knows I LOVE fresh green beans. I was SO excited! It was so crunchy, juicy and YUM! My two remaining cucumbers have some flowers on them, one more than the other. I’m trying to train them to climb my balcony railing to keep them off the concrete and give them more sun. And my 2 main tomato plants each have one good sized green tomato and more tiny little green ones on the way.

I do feel proud. I’ve tried this so many times in the past, and the only success I’ve ever had was with 2 tomatoes in Ohio… the summer we were gone to England and Czech and our “Kitty-Nanny” was able to reap all the benefits. Can’t wait to eat it all up!