garden explosion

The veggies were planted about a month ago and have settled in their new home rather comfortably. I expanded the width of the garden somewhat but got lazy on the lengthwise expansion, so the plants are probably closer together than they ought to be. Usually that's not a problem since a few of them tend to die at some point in the season. I've decided to try a new fertilization method this year, and as a result everything is healthy, green, and growing. Space might be at a premium after all.


These are the tomato plants. I usually grow plum tomatoes since they're small and run up the bamboo stakes nicely. Next to them are the onions, strawberries, cucumbers, and broccoli. I've never grown cucumbers or broccoli before, so I'm interested to see how they turn out.


Green beans are another new addition to the garden. They are Madeleine's favorite treats, so it would be great to be able to grow them myself instead of constantly replenishing our supply at the grocery. All nine plants have small bean pods forming already!


If you look carefully, you can see three small buds on the red pepper plant. I'm growing only red and yellow peppers, deciding to give the Cubanelles a rest for this year. Every pepper plant has several buds -- hopefully they'll all bloom.


The mint has made a big comeback after looking sickly over the winter. Mint grows like a weed and can easily overtake a garden, so I grow it in a pot. The only other herb I grow year-round in a pot is cilantro since it doesn't seem to do well in the extreme heat or cold (it tends to live inside on a windowsill most of the summer.) All the rest of the herbs -- parsley, tarragon, thyme, basil, oregano, sage, bay leaves, rosemary, and chives -- look happy and healthy, with the lone exception of the basil. We had a last cold snap just recently, and the basil I grew all winter did fine while the new stuff I just planted has wilted somewhat. Last year I had so much basil I ate pesto for weeks. Look for recipes using my homegrown veggies and herbs to pop up more often as the summer nears.