Jeff, the A.D.D. Chef

It didn’t take long for these seeds to start sprouting. Here’s the results after four days.

Black-Seeded Simpson (Lettuce) & Romaine Lettuce

Broccoli & Red Sail Lettuce

This is the time to start your seedlings for planting in April. Since it’s still chilly here in the Northeast U.S., the first planting should be cool weather vegetables. I selected Butterhead lettuce, Spinach, a red leaf lettuce, Romaine and Black-Seeded Simpson. In addition I’ll be planting broccoli.

Creating seedlings is easy and fulfills the A.D.D. minimum daily requirement of getting dirt under your fingernails.¹ You’ll need seeds², seedling tray and soil. The seedling tray is your typical flimsy plastic tray and the soil is Jiffy-Mix® Seed Starting Soil.

Before filling the plastic trays you might want to cut them into smaller sections and place them in small aluminum trays which makes it easier to find a spot for them on your windowsill. (See below) You then fill the little plastic trays with soil, place one or two seeds in each pod and used your finger to push the seed into the soil. Warning! Each time you put a seed or two on the top of the soil push it down immediately. If you do not you will find that it is almost impossible to differentiate the seed from the soil. (Yes…I speak from experience. )

I used a piece of masking tape to label each grouping of seed pods. Be sure to do something to label the pods because you will certainly forget, usually within fifteen minutes, as to which seeds are in which pods. After you’ve finished putting seeds in the soil, take a measuring cup and carefully water each seed pod. (You did put the seedling tray into another tray to catch the water that dribbles through…right?) Don’t drown them. Just get them moist. When you are done you can place a piece of cellophane over them to help keep in the moisture. (See below) Water them every two to three days.

Check back here in ten days or so for a “progress report” on the seedlings.

1. The FDA recommends A.D.D.ers get a minimum of 120 days worth of dirty fingernails. [↩]
2. Duh!! [↩]

That small patch of dirt with the blue tarp in the middle (there are lawn chairs hiding under there) will become a vegetable garden in less than a month. It doesn’t look like much of a vegetable garden right now but contrast it with some of the pictures below which are from last year and from this same small patch of dirt.¹ So even if you don’t have much land to work with you can still have a very productive vegetable garden.²

 Eggplant

Broccoli

What To Plant 

I’m writing this on March 11, 2008. It’s still a bit chilly in New York (okay…it’s freezing cold…I admit it). However by early April you can start to plant some cool weather vegetables such as lettuce and broccoli. These plants will have reached the end of their productive cycle by the time the weather goes from cool to warm to hot.

There are many varieties of lettuce with different textures and very delicate flavors. If your only experience is with Iceberg Lettuce then you’ll definitely want to try some of the more interesting varieties such as Black-seeded Simpson or Ruby. Even Romaine tastes better when it is homegrown. 

My family and neighbors were ecstatic over the broccoli I had grown so I’ll certainly grow broccoli again. Since I only have broccoli seeds I’ll start the seeds around the end of March. They’ll be ready to grow into the ground by early April. Be warned. Those little tiny broccoli plants grow REAL LARGE so give them plenty of elbow room.

So, get out there and get in the dirt. It’s a wonderful break from the winter doldrums.

1. See: The Perfect A.D.D. Activity [↩]
2. Urbanites can also grow some vegetables in large flower pots. [↩]

My Last Home-Grown Cucumber for 2007

Growing vegetables - such as cucumber, broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini - is the perfect A.D.D. activity. Here in the Northeast U.S. where we experience (most of the time) four seasons, growing vegetables is a part-time pursuit that runs for approximately six months. By the time the boredom of weeding, watering and pruning sets in, the growing season is over. So there is no guilty feeling for neglecting your garden. In fact, you get to release a little tension by pulling everything out and turning over the soil. You then take a rest from it for six months. In April of the following year you start anew.

Some Broccoli Florets

Vegetable growing has a relatively fast payoff: that’s perfect for A.D.D.ers. Within about two months of planting (sometimes sooner) some of your vegetables are ready for picking and eating. By about the third month you get to my favorite part of growing vegetables: giving away the surplus to your neighbors. It’s like Christmas without the snow and ice!

Habaneros - the orange one is ready…and hot!

Eggplant

Finally, there is the calming effect of working in a vegetable garden. Compared to a regular job, there is no tight schedule to keep, no train to miss, no deadline hanging over your head. All you need to do is keep at it consistently and for only six months. You get to see the fruits (vegetables?) of your labor and you get to taste it too. You get to be outdoors.¹ You get some sunshine. You get your hands dirty as you pull weeds out of the soil. And you get the satisfaction of finding out what a cucumber (or tomato or eggplant) is REALLY like.²

[The following was added on Sept. 21, 2007]

With the image above I hope to be able to convey the high moisture content of the homegrown cucumber. That glisten on the slice of the cucumber is caused by the moisture that is in the cucumber.

1. For me, it’s a mental health break from sitting in front of the computer. [↩]
2. For example, REAL cucumbers are NOT waxy on the outside. They have a mild aroma and taste. And they are so moist that you may find yourself plucking them from your garden and just munching on them…instead of potato chips. FYI: “Supermarket cucumbers are often waxed to seal in moisture.” See: Cucumbers. This year was the first year that I grew Bok Choy. I was amazed at the amount of water that was in each stalk. I would break it off from the plant and in the palm of my hand were drops of water…which came from the plant itself! I’ve been purchasing Bok Choy in the supermarket for years. I NEVER saw that happen. [↩]