Here’s a peak at my third-floor veggie patch. It’s pretty utilitarian. There’s no room for a barbecue or even a chair. Heck, squeezing between the planters can be a challenge. But we’ve got other spaces for those fripperies. This balcony is dedicated to production. And boy, it’s productive. Everything is grown in containers, and this year, “everything” includes peas, beans, tomatoes, carrots, dill, basil, thyme, cucumbers, zucchini, poppies, nasturtiums, and a fig tree. All in a 4′x10′ space. I like it.

Would you look at that craziness? Someone ought to get their plot under control.

Oh wait, that’s my whacked-out bed. The arugula is flowering and flopping, the radishes have flower stalks as thick as woody perennials, and the lettuce is so crowded it’s getting claustrophobic.

Despite the seeming neglect, I’ve actually been harvesting from this, my Salad Garden, regularly. I eat the arugula flowers and toss the elbow-room-only lettuces into salads almost every night. I have no excuse for why I’m letting those radishes grow into small trees, however. Oh wait, here’s one: I’m waiting for them to produce seed pods. Then I’ll eat those, too.

I’m also harvesting ‘Sugar Ann’ peas which I’ve let grow plump (I actually enjoy eating the shelled, raw peas more than the baby pods, I’ve discovered); ‘Sungold’ tomatoes, broccoli, and herbs.

What are you harvesting now?

It feels like I’m a little late to the party, what with this being mid-July and all, but I’m just harvesting my first strawberries now.

Guess what? It was worth the wait.

In May, along with some friends, I planted part of a City-owned lot with Red Spring wheat as part of Lawns to Loaves, an experiment in urban agriculture (a project, I’ll add, that has been quite controversial). The hubbub has subsided, but the grain’s still growing. Seven weeks later, we’ve got ourselves a wheat field.

The wheat is about three-and-a-half feet tall, or the approximate height of a toddler wearing a bike helmet.

Other than the initial toil involved, the field has been pretty low-maintenance. I haven’t watered once. I’ve kept the morning glory, creeping buttercup, knotweed, and burdock at bay — barely — by hand weeding every few weeks. I’ve never fertilized.

Next up: harvest, threshing, milling, and baking! I can almost taste that pizza.

For more information on this project, read my initial post, visit the Lawns to Loaves blog, or read these Globe and Mail articles here or here.

‘Sungold’ tomato wins the Great First to Ripen Race of 2011. Growing alongside fellow hybrid ‘Super Bush’ as well as heirlooms ‘Black Krim’ and ‘Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter,’ this little orange cherry tomato easily beat out the pack in terms of earliness. Such an unexpected treat; who knew there had been enough sun to ripen anything?

Do you have ripe tomatoes? Which varieties are doing well for you?

Every month, Heavy Petal collaborates with Willowtree — a website for those with food sensitivities who want to find their culinary bliss — to bring you a celebration of an in-season edible. I’ll tell you how to grow it; they’ll tell you how to eat it. Yay!

With such a slow start to summer and a spring that seemed to redefine “cool and damp,” the Willowtree gals and I had radishes coming out of our ears. I have to admit that I didn’t really mind when my last sowing of radishes bolted in the recent warmth; I’d long since grown tired of radish salads and salted radishes and… well, what else can you do with a radish?

If you’re Jackie and Tina, you make salsa. Read on for the recipe and growing tips.

Ever lamented the fact that you don’t have enough sun to grow food? Rejoice! There are edibles you can grow in shade—even indoors (and it’s definitely easier than making a mushroom log). Here’s how to grow mushrooms indoors using a mushroom kit.

Last month, on my birthday, I picked up a few things to make my favourite kind of lunch: a couple of gooey, stinky cheeses; a good, crusty baguette; some nice olives; paté; and an arugula salad tossed with balsamic and olive oil. And because it was my birthday, some bubbles.

While at Whole Foods, I noticed kits for growing oyster mushrooms indoors (by fresh-thinking Back to the Roots). They were compact, utilized recycled materials (used coffee grounds! Hello!), and (here’s what really got me) had irresistible packaging. So, because it was my birthday, I bought one.

Can’t believe I forgot to mention the peas! We have peas. Lots of ‘em, in fact. These are ‘Sugar Ann,’ a snap pea that grows to about 2ft. tall (and thus doesn’t require staking. Yay!)

Are you growing peas this year? What are your favourite varieties?

And one more thing: Sugar Snaps! Yippee!

Last year I decided to introduce a series of blog posts I called “Now Harvesting.” Every week or two, I chronicled the food coming out of my garden. I thought it would be a good way to identify lulls; times when my garden wasn’t producing to its full potential. It would, I thought, help me become a better planner, and thus, grow more food.

Um…yeah. It’s a good idea in theory.

Unfortunately, I don’t think better planning could have helped my garden during this dismal spring. Lack of sunlight and warmth conspired to keep even the coolest of the cool-season edibles stunted and sad.

But things are looking up! I’ve been harvesting arugula and radishes for a couple of weeks, and now the lettuce is really starting to put in some effort.

Funnily enough, this time last year my Now Harvesting post didn’t look all that different than this: greens and radishes. The only difference was that I’d been eating them for at least a month. This? This was my first homegrown salad of 2011. And damn, it was good.

Now harvesting: ‘Red Sails’ lettuce, ‘Garden Ferns’ heirloom Italian lettuce, arugula (leaves and flowers), ‘French Breakfast’ radishes.

What are you harvesting now?

I’m thrilled to announce a new monthly feature on Heavy Petal: a collaboration between me and Willowtree, a beautiful and informative website created by my friend Jackie Connelly (the woman behind the gorgeous photographs in Sugar Snaps and Strawberries) and her sister, Tina.

“Willowtree provides information and inspiration to people with all types of food sensitivities and intolerances to help them live a hopeful, healthy and informed life,” write Jackie and Tina. “We have been struggling with food sensitivities for most of our lives. We are first-hand, front line, food sensitivity mavens.”

But despite catering to some very specific dietary needs, Willowtree isn’t a niche site. Jackie and Tina believe in eating whole foods—“local where possible, and organic if given the choice.” And that’s something I think we can all get behind.

Here’s how the feature works: Jackie, Tina and I will choose an in-season ingredient to profile. I’ll tell you how to grow it; they’ll tell you how to eat it. Fun, right?

Right now, we’re harvesting armloads of crispy rhubarb from our gardens, and while I’m freezing most of mine to pair with this summer’s strawberries in jams and pies, the Willowtree girls are already turning this delicious spring vegetable (yes, vegetable!) into Apple Rhubarb Crumble. Read on for the recipe and growing tips.