30 Tomato Seedlings and 11 in the Ground

Hi All,

You know that feeling you get when your hard work pays off.  Yeah, I'm feeling that right now.  

The garden is doing great so far!  The past three days I've put in both transplants and seeds - and most of those have been tomatoes and peppers.   My mom bought four lemon boy tomatoes and Sweet Million Cherry from the Newport Garden Center.  She also brought some watermelon.

 You can see those in the picture above.  They are also interspersed with Early Sensation Orange or Yellow peppers and Knight's Red Bell (from William's of James City).  I also ran some twine for some royal burgundy beans seeds that I planted.  In the darker patch of soil between those plants I put in some seed for dill and chives which are supposed to be a good companion for tomatoes and peppers.  The white chicken wire fence screen (the old fence gate) is behind where I planted the watermelon.  I hope that they can climb it.

 Here on the other side of the garden we have a lot more room.  This is where I had planted collards and radishes.  Rotating crops around means that now I've planted Black Eyed Peas from Sow True Seeds and Early Sensation peppers also from William's.  I have a lot of room between the peppers and the corn so I might plant some beans but I also have to make room for my tomato seedlings and Lord help me if my old pepper seeds actually produce plants.

 You can see the corn is starting to pop up!  On the back side of the corn I plan on planting some beans of some sort.  On the side closest to the fence I am going to plant the squash and zucchini that my mom is growing.

 Our little patch of lettuce and Pak Choy (from Pinecone Perrenials) seem to be getting bigger ever day.  I've had a salad almost every day since I planted them.

 Here is a close up of the potatoes and the collards.  I have some nasturtium seedlings that I plan on interspersing with the collards and broccoli along with perhaps some thyme to cut back on the cabbage butterflies.

 It's neat to see the onions and peas taking off.  Underneath that black screen I have my strawberries.  I am worried that the net is preventing proper pollination but it is definitely keeping the birds away.

 And Rabitha with a flower in her hair.











As far as transplant / seedlings go it's been a surprising success.  I gave away some to my mom and I hope I can find new homes for a few more.  I still I have about 20 Better Boy Red Tomato plants as well as about five each of more Brandywine Yellow and Dr. Lyche.  In return I might end up with about six or so of yellow squash, zucchini, okra, eggplant, cucumber and maybe one or two other things from her.  So, I think that next weekend will be just a busy as the this has been.

Gardening is a lot of work but there is just something really awesome about going outside and seeing growth and change every single day.  I get a real sense of satisfaction from it.  I hope that I can produce lots of nutritious food for myself and my family.  On that note, I'm going to close until next time.

Hope your garden is growing well!

Take care,

Rebecca