First tomato, the reprise

It finally ripened!

Harvest!

wow!! i didn't get out to harvest yesterday due to heavy rain and thunderstorms so i went out this morning and lo and behold - cucumbers! they grew a lot in the last two days - good thing i didn't forget about them! i saw some more little ones, too. hoping those will grow well now that these aren't sapping energy! will update later on the taste of these two.

UPDATE - the boy approved of the cucumbers once sliced, however i felt they were a little bitter... not overly so, they were definitely edible! a link i found on causes of bitterness in cucumbers (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/bittercukes.html) suggests that i might have better results if i water them more evenly and mulch them. might give that a go...

veggies ahead!

i was a little worried about my cucumbers a week or so ago... there were NO flowers in sight. but then suddenly there were tons of blossoms all over the thing and today, 4 little cucumbers! cute little specimen below! that's the largest of them right now and i think they were pickling size so will probably take it off in a day. had to get some stakes for that plant though - it was running off on its on agenda!

Pickles - July 7th

in other good news - there are now 20 tomatoes or more on the tomato plant - can't wait until i see some red ones for harvesting!



Tomatoes - July 7th

my potatoes are a whole other issue - they are no longer displaying the yellow leaves that i decided meant i should fertilize them - i think that's a good thing. BUT... they are looking a bit sad and pathetic overall. i did just come across a comment online (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1428862/yukon_gold_potatoes_are_a_great_potato.html?cat=32) that yukon golds are short season so perhaps they are simply approaching harvest time already? [article quote: "Yukon Gold potatoes are a great choice for a private home garden potato. Yukon Gold potatoes are an early variety of potato so that means it needs a shorter growing season. They are a great potato choice for people who live in an area where the growing season is short. Yukon Gold potatoes have small eyes that are receded into the potato therefore they are more resistant to sprouting then other potatoes. Since the Yukon Gold potato is resistant to sprouting they are good for storing for a long "]

Garden - July 7

First tomato!

isn't it cute?? can't wait to see more! they should pop out soon since i see a few more flowers on the plant already!

My garden

so i decided this year to test my skills at gardening with a little container garden. my mother has a large plot in her community garden and, i'll go ahead and admit it, i'm a bit jealous of her fresh veggies! i got these planted a little later than planned, early/mid may. the tomato i tried to start from seeds did NOT fare well but on a recent visit, my mom blessed me with a little tomato plant that is doing well so far.

so from top left to bottom right: peppers, carrots, tomato, onions, potato, lettuce, cucumber, spinach. all planted in plastic planters with miracle gro moisture control soil and osmocote fertilizer at planting. the peppers, carrots, lettuce, cucumber and spinach were from seeds; the onions and potato were from sets and the tomato, as mentioned was purchased.

the potato plant has been growing marvelously, but then it started to get a bit yellow - not sure if it is sick and diseased or just malnourished since i neglected to fertilize them again since the initial planting. OOPS! gave them all a bit of miracle gro tomato/vegetable plant fertilizer. we'll see how that turns out in a few days.