I will be the first to admit I'm actually not thrilled about growing edibles in containers. Or really anything in containers! I much prefer to till fields (no matter how small and unfield-sy they can be) and work to create healthy soil over the long term. But I live in a small apartment and I have only my deck. My east-facing deck, I might add, where sun ducks behind the building by noon at the latest. That said, I can't not try (I mean, it's my job to grow food) and over the years, I have learned to adapt. Now, my deck is cluttered with pots and containers full of great-to-grow edibles that supply my kitchen and my pantry with produce for my meals.

Lettuces, are one of the easiest most rewarding of plants to grow and I grow as many as I can in abundance. Here are some pics from a spring sowing that I am now offiicially harvesting the last of. From seed to harvest was just about six weeks. From there, I cut from each plant for the better part of a month. They are only now just beginning to falter and turn bitter in the heat.

Progression of lettuce: early May

and here is the first week of June:

If you sow lettuces this month, be sure to choose varieities that won't bolt in the summer heat. I like the heirloom Deer Tongue, Little Gem (a small-headed romaine) and Rogue d'Hiver - a red-tipped leaf that has a nice crisp leaf and rib, but also has tender leaves. Perfect.

I have been canning for years and I have never used a pectin product in my preserves. At first, it seemed too easy. Like cheating. I remember talking to my foodies friends and we all swore it off. Plus, it's a processed product and I just don't like the idea of using a product for something that is natural. Why not use the natural 'thing'. And with that, I don't use a pectin product.

What I DO use is the natural pectin in a fruit. Pectin is found in varying degrees in fruit, but is particularly high in the skin, membranes and seeds. Further, pectin is especially high in apples and citrus. I will often add a lemon or an apple core to my recipes to add some pectin. OR, I will make a green apple pectin! Pectin is higher in unripe fruits. As apples naturally have a lot of pectin, young unripe fruits are pectin-packed! You may add this green apple pectin to your low pectin preserves (some berries, cherries) to help with the 'set' of the jam. It's a great shortcut that you can do all by yourself. A very DIY project for the coming weeks, as apple trees are just setting their fruit.

*A note about preserving: You should always, always, follow a tested recipe when preserving. While it's good to grasp the basics of how and why, preserving food is a sensitive process. For guidelines on canning at home, check out the Center for Food Preservation.

Green Apple Jelly

by Christine Ferber (with my very condensed directions)

3 1/3 lbs green apples (early July is a great time to pick!)

6 1/3 cups water

4 2/3 cups granulated sugar

Juice of 1 small lemon

Remove stems and cut apples into quarters. Toss in pot and cover them with the water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Strain this apple mixture through a fine mesh strainer, pressing lightly on the back of the fruit. Compost solids. Filter apple juice again through a cheesecloth so you have a nice clear(ish) liquid. (Wet and wring out your cheesecloth first.)

Measure 4 1/4 cups apple juice and add to a saucepan with the lemon juice and sugar. Bring to a boil, skim the foam and cook on high heat for about 10 minutes. Check set. (You want a thick syrup or jam-y set.) Jar and water bath can.

June is a great time to get a second sowing in of a few crops that will do well in warmer weather. Basil, beans, melons and more. With our cool spring, I've been planting cukes all over town this last week in the hopes that the summer sun will start shining!

Cucumbers are one of those vegetables that need not be planted as starts. They germinate rather quickly, grow to maturity over summer and produce enough fruit that the jump-start a seedling gives you is really negligible. I prefer to plant seeds directly into garden beds because it allows for much more freedom and experimentation. Why buy a start when you can choose from a handful of varieties and have a little bit of LOTS of cukes?

Cucumbers fall under several umbrellas, each offering a variety of fruits. There are the 'slicers' - these tend to have thicker dark green skins and are bred to contain smaller seeds. Slicers are what we typically find at the grocery store, so if you like a firm cuke with a nice round flavor, try these. 'Pickling' cucumbers are geared toward (you guessed it) pickling. They are firm-fleshed with a larger seed cavity. The skins are typically a more lime green and have those little spikes on them that are indicative of a dill pickle. These pickles aren't so tasty for eating raw, but they make great pickles and are a great way to stock the pantry. 'Gherkins' are smaller and thin skinned. Indian pickles and cornichons fall under this group of cultivators. Outside of these main categories, there is somewhat of a wild card category of cukes - Lemon cucumbers, Thai cucumbers and more. The flesh on cucumbers can be lime-hued, orange, red, yellow and more. They come in a wild array of shapes, too. Be sure to check out Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds for some great varieties to add a little mix to your garden. Try something new! It's not too late to order some seeds and get growing. And tips on how-to plant are coming soon!

I am totally in love with the idea of beekeeping. As I don't have a yard, I was considering putting a few hives on my small urban patio, but my neighbor quickly halted that project! (Suggesting I keep rabbits or guinea pigs instead. You know........to raise for meat?!) Either way, while I remain bee-less this city is buzzing with beekeepers and education for backyard honey production.

I interviewed Corky Luster of Ballard Bee Company for the May/June issue of Edible Seattle and he is an absolute treasure trove of information. You can buy that issue on newstands now. Then, I wrote this sweet little article in Seattle's Child Magazine geared towards families and kids. Think beekeeping is unsafe? Afraid of getting stung? Read on to dispel some myths. My guess is you'll be stacking hives in your own backyard in no time. And let's not forget how very crucial bees are to pollination! If you're growing your own food, bees are the next best thing. Enjoy! (and let me know if I've convinced you to take the leap!)

One of the common mistakes home gardeners make with their vegetable beds revolves around when to harvest. People tend to let things go too long without picking or harvesting from the plant. My personal theory is that you're all waiting for what you're growing at home to look like what you buy at the store, but that's the wrong way to approach it! The beauty of growing your own food at home is that it really shouldn't look like you bought it from the grocery. Homegrown food is far more 'rustic' than anything you will find commercially grown. Embrace it!

With that, I am often asked by clients and friends, "When is the right time to harvest lettuce?" More often than not, I will simply say, "Harvest the lettuce when you want to eat the lettuce." A typically infuriating answer, no doubt! I don't intend to be entirely blasé about it, but rather it truly is a matter of taste. Some people prefer small tender baby leaves. Some people prefer something hardier with heavy veins and a cripsy bite. Either way, experiment at various times throught the plants lifecyle. As a plant grows, it's leaves and fruits develop flavor and the flavor profile will change. Young greens tend to be sweet and mild. Older greens tend to get bitter and tough. As with most things in life, timing is everything and it's up to you to decide.

To harvest lettuce, try to remove the larger, outer leaves of the plant first. Using a small scissor, cut the stem as close to the base of the plant as possible, leaving the small interior leaves behind. These leaves will soon fill in and become outer leaves, and thus you're creating a cycle of lettuces to harvest. If you prefer to harvest full heads of lettuce, do so when the heads are full and the outer leaves are starting to yellow and wilt, but know that if you cut the entire plant, the odds of it being regenerative are diminished.

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Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to get-your-tomato-plants-in-the-ground week. If you haven't already (and really, you needn't have) this is the perfect weekend to select and plant your tomato bed. But what to plant?

In the Pacific NW, it's best to chose varieities that mature quickly, as we have a shorter, cooler summer than say, Long Island. Big slicing tomatoes and juicy heirlooms will seldom ripen completely and should therefore be avoided. (Plus, you can buy them at the farmers markets from our Eastern Wa farmers.) A better choice is any cherry tomato variety. CHerry tomato plants produce smaller fruits, by nature. These small fruits are able to come to maturity AND still have time for sun-ripening sweetness. Ditto for the paste tomatoes, which are best for cooking. Paste tomatoes are your Romas, San Marzanos, Principhe Borghese, etc. These tomatoes are excellent for canning, as well, as they have strong flavor and a lower water content than slicers. If you're really craving a fuller fruit (good for slicing or panzanella salad) go for a medium-sized tomato at most. Taxi Yellow has grown popular over the last year and puts up a waxy yellow tomato with decent flavor and some acid, too. It's not overly sweet. Stupice are red tomatoes of the same size, though they are a bit sweeter. But really, the variety matters far less than the size of the tomato, so choose what you like sticking to this guideline.

Make sure to leave at least 18" between your plants, and be sure to water them deeply. I plant my tomatoes in an offset pattern to maximize space. In cooler climates, cloches are extremely helpful throughout June, as they really give the plants a nice strong start. In warm climates, just set them out directly.