R.I.P., Salad Greens

Before talking about the success stories at Mitten Farms, I'll talk about the massive failures.  Although my gardening book warned that salad greens such as lettuce don't handle hot weather very well, I figured that they would grow since I planted them in the relatively cool Miami Fall weather.  I was wrong.  The Bibb lettuce and arugula that I purchased from Home Depot simply failed.  The Bibb lettuce never formed true heads and bolted.  Both the lettuce and the arugula tasted very bitter and were overall inedible.  And full disclosure: I also killed a tomato plant from Home Depot.  But enough wallowing, and onto the successes!

Welcome to Mitten Farms!

Mitten Farms is a small urban farming experiment, conducted on the balcony of a South Beach condo.  It started with the simple gift of a Calamondin tree (a citrus tree that grows small fruit that look like miniature oranges, but with a taste more similar to a lemon), and a bit of inspiration from an English container garden. 

My Calamondin Tree

With the consent of my very understanding partner in crime, Mr. D., I borrowed a book on container gardening from the public library and headed for Home Depot.  This blog will chronicle the triumphs, tribulations, and more of my attempt to grow vegetables on our balcony. 

Mitten With Her Cucumber Plant

Mitten Farms is named by my intrepid assistant, Livi. She wakes us up early every morning, demanding that we tend to the garden before work.  "Mitten" (as she is affectionately known) is also the mascot and CEO of Mitten Farms, and its biggest fan.  Her particular favorite are the cucumber leaves, a rare delicacy. 

I'm a bit behind on starting this blog (the original plants were purchased at the end of October) but I'll start at the beginning and chart their progress from the start.