I have my first tomato!!!
It's so cute. It's really small yet, probably only about 10mm or so. I hope that it will get bigger eventually. I think I have a few other flowers that are just about ready to turn into a tomato too. It's really really really exciting. I thought that the pepper plants were not going to produce anything b/c they were so small in comparison to the tomato plants (which by the way have way out grown the 56" cage. They are freaking enormous. In the pot, they are as tall as I am. Way better than I expected. Next year I'll have to get another pot and plant even more stuff. Maybe I can grow stuff during the winter too inside. I'm just afraid of it not really getting enough sun light. I really should start an herb garden so that I can have fresh stuff year round. Basil, rosemary, chives, sage, thyme, and maybe some dill. I should start that up soon...
I'm really getting good at growing things. I think that the success of the African Violets over the last year really pumped up my confidence to try other things. The success of the tomatoes so far really helps. I like being able to grown things that make my place look pretty and/or I can eat.
My roommates are all into the same things. All three of us currently are growing things. Some herbs, some tomatoes, some flowers. We're freaking grown nuts. It would be really awesome if we had a small plot of land were we could have a true vegetable garden, rather than having to put everything in pots. I guess it's the best that you can do in the city though. There aren't really any other options. It will be interesting to see if the decrease in the economy will really increase the amount of personal gardeners and vegetable gardeners, or if this is really a yuppy thing driven by the foodies and organic food movement. Anyone have any outside of a big city opinion?
Personally it's partially driven by a want to grow stuff, and partially driven by the organic food movement, and partially driven by the need to have fresh fruit and vegetables of high quality. I grew up one block from my grandmother's house. She has been a lifetime farmer/gardener. When my mother was a kid they had a huge farm - and they used to work it - pick fruit in the orchard, pick vegetables, can the veggies and fruits for the winter, can the jam from the berries. If you were hungry you went out and picked something out of a tree, bush, or field and ate it. My grandmother, even at like 75 is an avid gardener. She does a lot less now than she used to, but she can't stand eating the lower quality grocery store veggies. I've been spoiled the majority of my life, and it sucks to have sub par fruits and veggies. I really hope that this type of movement drives people in the city to due things like plant fruit trees in their yards instead of oak trees, use green space around their houses to plant fruits and veggies, and generally make good use of the green space available. It doesn't take a lot of room to produce a lot of veggies. I know that there are local co-op gardens - where they essentially take an open lot and you rent our a small area to grow stuff.
Even growing up, my mom had a garden for a number of years. We would stew the tomatoes and can them. We would go pick pears and peaches and can them. Make jam from strawberries and raspberries. In the fall, pick apples and make apple butter, apple sauce - and can that too, apple pie, apple tarts, apple cider, everything you can think of.
I think it's funny because of of the girls at work always comments about how "healthy" my lunch is. How does vegetables and/or fruit make it healthy? Eating bread, cheese, fig spread, and some smoked salmon is not uber healthy. There are no veggies in that meal, there's a lot of fat, and carbs and excess sugar. It's delicious though. It's weird though, because I think most of my friends eat pretty much the same way. They aren't such veggie snobs as I am, but they eat fruits and veggies and always have a wide range of options at dinner parties. Not just crap pasta out of a box all the time, not frozen stuff that you just heat up. We buy meat fresh and eat it the same day we buy it. Not just hamburgers and beer (though that does happen occasionally ...) all the time.
I don't understand how a lot of people pay for their food bill. It's expensive to eat fresh fruits veggies and meats. I can't imagine having to eat frozen grossness all the time.
I'm really getting good at growing things. I think that the success of the African Violets over the last year really pumped up my confidence to try other things. The success of the tomatoes so far really helps. I like being able to grown things that make my place look pretty and/or I can eat.
My roommates are all into the same things. All three of us currently are growing things. Some herbs, some tomatoes, some flowers. We're freaking grown nuts. It would be really awesome if we had a small plot of land were we could have a true vegetable garden, rather than having to put everything in pots. I guess it's the best that you can do in the city though. There aren't really any other options. It will be interesting to see if the decrease in the economy will really increase the amount of personal gardeners and vegetable gardeners, or if this is really a yuppy thing driven by the foodies and organic food movement. Anyone have any outside of a big city opinion?
Personally it's partially driven by a want to grow stuff, and partially driven by the organic food movement, and partially driven by the need to have fresh fruit and vegetables of high quality. I grew up one block from my grandmother's house. She has been a lifetime farmer/gardener. When my mother was a kid they had a huge farm - and they used to work it - pick fruit in the orchard, pick vegetables, can the veggies and fruits for the winter, can the jam from the berries. If you were hungry you went out and picked something out of a tree, bush, or field and ate it. My grandmother, even at like 75 is an avid gardener. She does a lot less now than she used to, but she can't stand eating the lower quality grocery store veggies. I've been spoiled the majority of my life, and it sucks to have sub par fruits and veggies. I really hope that this type of movement drives people in the city to due things like plant fruit trees in their yards instead of oak trees, use green space around their houses to plant fruits and veggies, and generally make good use of the green space available. It doesn't take a lot of room to produce a lot of veggies. I know that there are local co-op gardens - where they essentially take an open lot and you rent our a small area to grow stuff.
Even growing up, my mom had a garden for a number of years. We would stew the tomatoes and can them. We would go pick pears and peaches and can them. Make jam from strawberries and raspberries. In the fall, pick apples and make apple butter, apple sauce - and can that too, apple pie, apple tarts, apple cider, everything you can think of.
I think it's funny because of of the girls at work always comments about how "healthy" my lunch is. How does vegetables and/or fruit make it healthy? Eating bread, cheese, fig spread, and some smoked salmon is not uber healthy. There are no veggies in that meal, there's a lot of fat, and carbs and excess sugar. It's delicious though. It's weird though, because I think most of my friends eat pretty much the same way. They aren't such veggie snobs as I am, but they eat fruits and veggies and always have a wide range of options at dinner parties. Not just crap pasta out of a box all the time, not frozen stuff that you just heat up. We buy meat fresh and eat it the same day we buy it. Not just hamburgers and beer (though that does happen occasionally ...) all the time.
I don't understand how a lot of people pay for their food bill. It's expensive to eat fresh fruits veggies and meats. I can't imagine having to eat frozen grossness all the time.
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