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!

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)

Bruschetta from Pot to Table

I'm really anxious to start trying stuff out but I think the yard is gonna take quite awhile to get ready. I came across this video that shows you how to grow tomatoes and basil in a big pot, then how to make bruschetta. It seems easy enough, so I'm going to try it out this weekend since we happen to already have two big pots in the backyard. I figure this will build my confidence and motivation. In the mean time, I'm still planning on digging up all the dry grass in the backyard. I'll try to make another video to show you how my tomato/basil organic garden in a pot turns out!



Here's the steps, taken from the article at Home with Lisa Quinn from Live Well HD Network:

Grow your own veggies! Plant tomatoes and basil right at home. It's a fun, cost-saving way to eat organically and locally.

Planting Tomatoes and Basil:

* Use a 16 x 16 pot.
* Buy new potting soil, do not use old.
* Try cherry, roma or early girl tomatoes.
* Buy basil of your choice.
* Use a 1" Stick.

Procedure:

* Fill the pot almost to the top with soil.
* Dig a deep hole for the tomato plant.
* Take off the bottom stems of the tomato plant so the roots can develop.
* Insert the tomato plant and steak it with yours stick.
* Plant the basil, but don't dig as deep as you did for the tomato plant.
* Water right away.
* Make sure it gets plenty of sun.