First Taste of First Fruits

I'm so excited! Several of the tomatoes have turned ripe and it's time for picking!

I didn't realize that these stupice tomatoes grew small. The champion tomatoes grow larger but unfortunately those didn't really produce much. Only one grew and it never got ripe. Then I discovered this hole! What the heck! Something burrowed inside it. =(

I've got four ripe stupice tomatoes. The basil plants haven't fared well though. But I was able to get a few leaves. So I don't think I have enough to make bruschetta.

So I'm thinking, I'll make an omelet!




So this is it! The first taste of my first fruits! It was amazing! The fresh grown tomatoes tasted vibrantly juicy. The taste just exploded in my mouth! And the basil, oh what a difference! Yummers!

Ripe Colors

OMG! The first tomato has turned orange!

Waiting, waiting, waiting

It's been a couple more weeks and I've got more green guys growing! I wonder how much longer it'll be before they start to turn orange!

Sheet Mulching

We're finally ready to work on the backyard!

I mentioned in a previous video that I'd be sheet mulching the yard instead of digging up the dry grass and weeds. I'm told that I shouldn't disturb the soil by digging it up. So sheet mulching is a technique that one could use to quickly create a soil bed. Granted, it'll take a few months for the layers to decompose into good soil. However, I'm told that I can put a cover crop of peas and lettuce and such for the first few months while we're waiting.

My friend Ty is helping me out on this one as he teaches me and my friends this technique. He references a book by Heather Coburn Flores called "Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Lawn into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community". (Check out www.foodnotlawns.com and www.foodnotlawns.net).



Big thanks to Long Beach Organic's Wild Oats Community Garden for giving me the free mulch and thanks to my friend Michael for helping me get a truck full of mulch with his truck. Thanks to Ty for teaching us and Ofelia for bringing the food (she's the Catalyst mom!). Thanks to Tanya for the green matter and thanks to Jerry for the green matter and wood chipper. And thanks to my friends from Green Long Beach Sharon, Chris, Earl, Matthew (and buddy - the pup), Ana, Bree, and Sonia for coming to help out!

Here's Ty explaining what we're gonna do:



Here's some pics of our progress!

Blooming Tomatoes

OMG! So yesterday I noticed the first Stupice tomato baby guy thing growing!


And then today, I noticed a few more tomatoes formed.

There's also several other flowers starting to bloom!




Wow, this is exciting because I can imagine bunches of tomatoes eventually. It'll be so fun to pick them when they're ripe. I wonder how long it'll take before they're ready?

Planting My First Veggies and Herbs

I finally got to do some planting!



It's been 3 weeks and I have finally planted my first vegetables and herbs. Last week I shared a video with you about planting tomatoes and basil in a pot so I finally got a chance to do it.



Also since last week, I picked up some new plants that my mom gave me and I picked up some wood (and stuff) from a friend.







I went to Armstrong Garden Center here in Long Beach, California to get the plants and supplies and stuff. I found out that they have a frequent buyer program where you get 1 point for every $25 spent, and when you get 25 points you get a $25 gift card. Sweet! I'm sure that'll add up. So far I have 2 points! haha

I purchased:

4 tomato plants (champion/stupice at $2.99 each) $11.96
4 basil plants (sweet italian large leaf at $1.99 each) $7.96
7 flower & vegetable plant mix ($5.99 each) $41.93

Total: $61.85 -ish (not including tax)

Cracked Pits

Cesar and Alonso are two weeks old. Cesar has cracked open quite a bit but I still don't see anything shooting out of him. Alonso just barely starting to crack open. I really hope these avocado guys survive!