Adventures in Gardening

I never really showed an interest in gardening until this year.  My parents always had huge gardens and I hated having to help them weed.  To me, gardens always meant too much work.  When we bought the house, I thought it might be nice to try growing a container garden with a couple tomato plants and a few peppers.  I bought some large pots and vegetable-friendly potting soil, then figured I would pick up a few plants the next time I was at Lowe's or Home Depot.

One Friday, when the Mr. and I were at a large flea and farmer's market in Rogers, Ohio, we purchased a flat of vegetable plants for $12.  This was way more plants than what would fit in my containers and pots, but I thought that maybe I could plant a few among the landscaping and see what would happen.  We got Roma and Beefsteak tomatoes, red, yellow and green bell peppers, hot banana peppers, red chili peppers, and one each of  cucumber and zucchini plants.  After thinking it through, and potting a few plants, I asked my dad to use is rototiller to prep a small garden space behind our garage.  I had low expectations for our garden since I did nothing to prep the soil, but I figured it would be worth a shot at growing more plants since I'd only be out the $12.  I still didn't have enough room to plant everything, but I got a nice mix of vegetables in and they started to grow.

I picked up a couple of herbs (basil, parsley & mint) and some more pots and we were well on our way to becoming green thumbs.

Since then, I've seen a lot of growth in my garden.  This hasn't been without a few losses.  We have squirrels and rabbits that created some damage early on, but things are really starting to produce.  I've learned some things along the way and am already thinking about changes I'll make for next year's garden.

Just yesterday, I noticed that our tomato plants are starting to turn.  Check this out!

This is a Beefsteak.

And we are starting to see some color changes in the Romas.

Right now, in all of my bell pepper plants, I have four tiny peppers.  There are lots of flowers, so we are expecting a few more.

The banana peppers are really taking off!  I have already picked two of them and there are lots more on the way.

So far, we've only had one zucchini, but I know these plants are big producers.  We are expecting lots and lots more!

And lastly, here are some chili peppers growing nicely in one of my pots. 

I don't have pictures of my cucumbers, but they are super small right now (about the size of a pinky finger).  The basil and mint is also doing well in the pots.  The parsley, sadly, was lost due to bunnies.

For the garden, I laid some black plastic to eliminate my need for weeding.  So far, it has served me well, but I will have to watch my plants closely as we enter into the hotter months to be sure the roots aren't suffering from heat damage.  I might try mulch next year.

It looks like we are going to have lots of ripe, red tomatoes soon and that makes me pretty happy!  I figured I'd be lucky to get a few veggies and it looks like I'll be getting a decent amount.  I'm also really excited about the hot peppers.  I love hot peppers!