Balcony Garden Update

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Picture taken a week ago. I now have two more 'bag' pots and a couple of regular pots added to the mix. I really am amazed at how well my garden is flourishing. Had enough basil to make a batch of pesto and a head lettuce which I harvested along with some oak leaf lettuce and herbs for my first garden salad. So glad I took this project on as it is giving me so much satisfaction and pleasure. I really had no idea how much I missed gardening.

My herb garden

And the apple tree is thriving, covered in blossoms and leafing out really well.

Update: July first and I harvested my first carrot today. Have also been eating peas for a couple of weeks now.

Update, July 26:

The garden continues to flourish. Have had carrots, beet greens, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, a pepper, lettuce and plenty of herbs. Yesterday's lunch consisted of a tomato, a cuc, a pepper and some basil - delicious. Added a few crackers and a very mild blue cheese

Balcony Garden 2

Since the last post I have transplanted everything into 2" pots with a good potting soil and all I can say is WOW! Everything is flourishing. As can be seen from the picture, the plants have really taken off. Even now, three days later I see more growth.

Today I took the next step and planted some of the more cold tolerant plants as shown in the picture below. The chives are left over from last year.

I was pretty much exhausted after planting those three bags but it's reminiscent of a time many years ago when spring would find me working in the garden from sunrise to sunset. It's all relevant, but the feeling of satisfaction is the dame,maybe even better now because the obstacles are greater.  Another hurdle overcome and it feels awfully good. Of course, I'll have to remind myself of this in a day or two when my muscles and joints are aching.

Scotch Oats

Bought some scotch oats, also known as, Irish oats or steel cut oats, yesterday and had a bowl full for dinner. I moistened them with rice milk and used a bit of maple syrup as a sweetener. Tasted pretty good and went down well. This morning, however, I did have a bout of diarrhea, but just one and and as soon as it was over, all was well again. In fact, I felt really well. Been good all day in fact. So my thoughts are that this might be a solution for when my diet constipates me as it has done a couple of times, although only mildly and no longer than a couple of days.  And there's also the fact that oatmeal is one of the healthiest foods going.
This evening I made a stir fry using leftover chicken breast, and a stir fry veggie mix I bought at the market containing, red, green & yellow peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, and onions, the last item being the only one not on my edible list, but it was a small amount and I knew they'd add to the flavour considerably so decided to risk it. Used about a tsp of ghee to fry up the veggies (surprising how far a little bit of ghee goes), added the cooked rice and meat. Scooped out about half the mixture added a little soy sauce and gobbled it down.  Absolutely delicious.  Now about to enjoy a cup of peppermint tea and settle in for the evening.
By the way, I attended an open house at the arthritis Society this afternoon where there was an abundance of delicious looking treats but I ate nary a one. Wasn't easy but glad I resisted. I did bring a gingerbread cookie home which I may have with my tea. Better idea, save to eat next time I have ginger tea.