my "babies"

Several weeks ago, I wrote about my lame 20-something single life, and an herb/vegetable garden project I was just starting.  I should mention I live in the city...and this is my first time planting actual vegetables.  I've done well with basil in the past, but only until it gets so hot in the NC sun that I couldn't keep up with watering.

For starters, I love the location I have for my container vegetable garden.  It is right out the back door of my townhouse, and I actually use this door regularly so I am constantly walking by the plants, and so I have no excuse for not noticing if they are dry or bug-infested.  It also gets GREAT sun (in the afternoons and evenings), which tomatoes need.  Not bad for "city" living...

Backdoor step, skyline view and PM sunshine

The last weekend of April (so only about 5 weeks ago) I planted little sprout plants in two containers, including a better boy tomato, a "patio" hybrid tomato (cultivated especially for containers), a red bell pepper, basil, rosemary, and cilantro.  I do not have baby photos, but I do have three-week photos.

Lil tomaters growing up!

Fresh herbs!

I was SUPER proud of my little guys at this point.  From left to right, it's the red bell, better boy, and the patio tomato.  I thought my cilantro was crazy at this stage... but this was just the beginning.  At four weeks, they were getting heavy, so I staked and tied them.  My stakes are 4ft, and only maybe 6" deep in the pot, so the one of the middle is not quite 3 feet tall.  I flipped my box around to help with even sunlight.  I was worried my little pepper (on the left) was getting hidden by the big leaves.  All the plants had at least 1 or 2 blossoms at week 4.

But.. the most eventful finding so far is my first fruits!  I discovered these last night and am THRILLED!  This is on the "patio" tomato. It is staked at the main stem, but has very strong branches so it did not need ties to hold them up.  I counted 13 fruits so far.  Since they are so easy to grow, I am skeptical of how good they will actually taste.  The more and more plants are crossed and cultivated and hybridized to grow easily, they start to lose their good natural flavors.

My pride and joy.

Next to the door to show how TALL they are. Nearly 4ft!

 The better boy tomatoes are a popular growing variety, hopefully because they're delicious.  The better kinds should probably be planted in more open beds with room to spread their leave without tangling with neighboring plants... but everybody is hanging in there pretty well so far, so maybe I'll prove that idea wrong.  My grandma and aunt told me about pruning "suckers" (stems that do not produce fruits, but suck good nutrients away from the rest of the fruit bearing stems) from tomato plants, and I had no idea I was missing such an important step!  I did prune the betterboy quite a bit to help with overcrowding and promote nutrient distribution. :)  (Nerd alert.....I studied biology in college after all...).

Overloaded with cilantro and basil!

Yum!  I need to find some good recipes for my herbs... I have made some salsas, cilantro-lime fish tacos, caprese salad, basil chicken with quinoa.  I'm feeling a little more experimental now.  It's so nice having my favorite herbs right outside the back door.

Growing my vegetables as well as my window boxes on the front porch of the house has really grown into a huge hobby for me.  It makes me LOVE having a real job and having the time (and extra disposable income...) to try these things out for the first time. 

Petunia, sweet potato vine (two colors), and celosia

My parents and both sets of grandparents were always big into gardening and landscaping.  My mom grew up on a farm, and even after my grandparents gave up farming, they kept quite a little hobby field farm of crops, a grape orchard, and even chickens.  My paternal grandma loves her garden, and I was at her house this past weekend helping her put in 40 begonias and spread mulch in the side yard. She is 89 and lives alone, and her outdoor space has become a big hobby for her too. I've been sharing my successes with mom, and this was her take on all of it...