Home Farming in the City

For as long as I can remember I have loved home grown tomatoes. My grandmother had tomato plants in her garden, my Daddy had them in his, and I have them in mine. So I've been a "city farmer" for a long time. Now that Graham is retired and has the time, he has developed an interest in gardening. So this year will be a little different and more expansive than before.

 Here is the first tomato of the season, from our "Bush Goliath" tomato plant. He leaves lots of baby tomatoes on the bush!

 One of my most favorite veggies to grow - Kentucky wonder Beans! They're quick, they're easy,and they make lots of beans! There are also spring onions and radishes in this container.

 Here's that Bush Goliath and several of the maturing tomatoes. We have four other plants - an Early Girl, two Romas and a Juliet. (No, not Romeo and Juliet!) All have flowers and little baby tomatoes, but Bush Goliath is ahead of the pack in production.

 These are Graham's potatoes. I ordered this potato bag in a kit from Gardener's Supply along with a bag of Maine seed potatoes. These are just coming up. When we drove through Maine last fall, we were given some tips about the potatoes - how they grow and when to know they are ready for harvest. Very timely!

This is the second year I've grown herbs. Meredith has encouraged me by showing me how to cook with them. I have basil, mint and parsley. In the rose garden there are three Rosemary plants that I started last year. And yes, I do cook with all of them frequently. Just like the Barefoot Contessa, I can run out to my garden for herbs!

I have to say, though, as proud as I am of my little city garden, my niece in Boerne is growing a "country farm" size garden with something of everything I've ever heard of, and a little of some things I've never heard of! Good for her! She has four boys who are learning a whole lot about growing food and good nutrition to boot. In this day of uncertainty, plus ever increasing prices at the grocery store, we do well to learn the art of growing our own food while we can.