what I planted


I've been in the market for a time machine on several occasions recently. My little brother's 18th birthday. My little brother's high school graduation... and my tomato plants. See, I got real ahead of myself and planted the seeds in the winter. Then it was a pretty miserably cold winter... and spring seems to have never existed... so my tomato plants didn't exactly shoot up.

They all looked really healthy but they weren't exactly getting miles taller. Meanwhile, my dad's tomato plants look like tall leggy green models. He offered repeatedly to take my short, cold tomato plants in like they were from a bad home... and I kept delaying it. And then I never did it.

And if I wasn't failing my tomato plant children enough, I definitely failed to transplant them early enough. The itty bitty seed pots are just too tiny. So, while the garden is planted and looking good... it is not looking incredibly strong. So, we'll see how this goes. Since everything is in the ground, it is time for a quick roundup of all the gems we are trying to grow this year.

So here are some notes:
  • Tomatoes // Yes, there are 10 varieties. There are 4 varieties that my dad grew that are planted in buckets outside the normal garden. For what it's worth.... they are thriving despite the fact that soil was not tilled, composted, or anything. One of his plants already has a TOMATO on it. 
  • Onions // yes, I almost didn't plant onions but I only need so many radishes (actually, I need none), carrots, and peppers. Also, onions came up in many plant charts are being great for its neighbors (e.g. peppers, carrots, tomatoes, etc). 
  • Cucumbers // These are not thriving at all. I'm giving them a week and then I'll be buying a plant from Lowe's. Year two attempting Mexican Gherkin is not going well.
  • Kale & Lettuce // I only did 3 plants this year versus the 5 or 6 I did last year. The lettuce has really picked up speed in the last few days. 
  • Herbs // Growing herbs is not for me especially when I can buy them for less than $3 at Trader Joes - which is what I did. The parsley seems to have passed on to a better life but the basil is thriving. We are going with parsley (maybe), green onions, rosemary, basil, and thyme. 
  • Carrots // I went all in on the carrots this year. I'm really hoping to build some solution to help store them in the garage this winter. Really pulling for the purplesnax carrots to crush it. They are purple!
  • Snap peas // not doing amazing. I'm a little worried that the salt marsh hay was too close to it and has affected some growth. Going to give it a week and then replant as needed. I'm real invested in this pea trellis.
All funny notes aside, this garden is the best part of my day most often. I check on it each morning and often in the evenings. On the weekends, you can frequently find me just staring at it looking at everything. I'm still not sure why the weeds grow faster than everything else but I'll keep pulling them out. Unlike last year, I bought the saltmarsh hay from a local greenery. Buying it was the smart move, putting it in the front seat of my car was the dumb move. Hay everywhere.

So, let's see how 2017 fares. I'm going to keep staring at the plants and slowly bringing tiny rocks back from the beach for the border.

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