Besides, the last time I tried to grow anything, my tomatoes never ripened. I was so excited about the hundreds of green tomatoes weighing down my plants until the doggone frost came and took them all. Despite covering them at night, they never did ripen. I still remember the day...shoulders sagging and feet shuffling I drug myself out the the backyard to pull out the plants and put them in the garbage. It still hurts, can you tell?
This year will be different, however. I am a determined woman this spring. Now that we finally have some good weather, I purchased two tomato plants. One is a Sweet 100 Cherry and the other is an Artctic Maxx. Usually, folks around here suggest Early Girl plants because they take fewer days to ripen. According to the Hmong lady at the Farmer's Market, Artctic Maxx plants take even less time. Sold!
She recommended chicken manure as a supplement to the soil. At first, I thought 'chicken poop, where am I going to find chicken poop?' Lord knows I certainly wasn't going to spend money on some. Fortunately, I remembered my friend, Amy. She was gracious enough to scoop some out of the bottom of her coop for me. That's a good friend right there!
So, the plants are in the ground now with chicken wire to protect them (also courtesy of Amy). Any other tips anyone wants to share with me?
I'd love to be able to can some tomatoes as well as make and can some salsa late this summer. Speaking of, I also planted some tomatillos, a couple pepper varieties and cilantro. Along with some onions starts I have yet to plant, I just may have the makin's of my very own homegrown salsa. Stay tuned!
There's also an herb pot with sage, marjoram, chives, parsley and oregano (I still need to find some basil)...
...a lone mint plant on the front porch specifically planted for mojitos...It sits on the broken porch swing I intend to fix so I can drink my mojito on it...
...and of course, some Johnny Jump Up's because they remind me of my grandmother. We called her Da. No, I'm not growing a pretzel plant...they were abandoned by the boys. Roman will be delighted to find a snack in the yard though.
So there you have it. Nothing too impressive. Just a tiny garden to go with my tiny house and tiny yard...just the way I like it.
A tiny garden means not so much work, as well, right? That's my kind of garden too! :-)
ReplyDeleteI think that you're supposed to pick some of the tomato blossoms so that there aren't too many. The plant spends all of its energy making blossoms and not ripening the fruit. But, you should Google it....I'm buying from my friend Kathy this year because her gardening skills are a sure bet. Mine....not so much.
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