Moondogs

Two Weeks ago, I started my first garden.

I’ve always joked that I could make plastic plants die, but I have a new strategy. I’m planting in pots, so there’s no beds to prepare, and I’m planting things I think might grow. I’m not planting the finest tomatoes, or premium peas, just the starts I can find at the local hardware store and the local farmers markets.

My method is this: I prepare the pot with good soil, plant the starts, then water a bit over the summer. If they do well, I’ll plant that again. If they don’t, I don’t. I’m not overly concerned with pampering the plants, or chemicals to make them grow faster, or bigger, or anything. I plant them, place them in the sun and see what happens.

Tomatoes

I love the Roma tomatoes. Beefsteaks are fine, but the tart, acidic Roma is definitely my favorite. I’m thinking that mostly I use tomatoes for Italian food, so Roma tomatoes would be about right. They do well in Mexican food too, where I’m looking for a really tart tomato. I planted two.

Basil

Last year I got a basil start from the farmers market and it did so well, I just finished off the last of the fresh-frozen I had chopped from last year. I really enjoy a good pesto, and there’s nothing better than fresh basil to make that happen. I bought two at the hardware store, but they smelled more like lemon than basil so when I saw another at the grocery store, I picked it up. That one smells like basil!

Tomatillos

My wife’s favorite is Mexican food, and there’s nothing like fresh tomatillos to make the perfect green sauce. I can’t find enough of them at the grocery store. There’s usually about 12 or 15 and I need all of them for a batch of sauce, so I’m stuck with the culls. I bought two tomatillo plants at the hardware store. I hoping I get enough to make at least two batches of sauce.

Tarragon

I also bought some Tarragon. Now this is interesting.

In the grocery store, in the produce section, there are herbs you can buy that are supposed to be “still alive”. Well, I was skeptical to say the least, but so far, the plants are doing well! I put them in a small pot, and if they do well, I’ll transfer them to a larger pot to see if they winter over.

I’m really looking forward to the little bit of produce I might get out of my garden in pots. I hope I don’t kill them all from too much or too little water, but its exciting to think I might be having fresh pesto and maybe some bruschetta with that basil and some fresh roma tomatoes. Ahh. I can picture it now…

Tags: Gardening

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