Townhouse Gardening Update: from grow light to the great outdoors

Ok, time for something happier.

Tomato Planting:

Last weekend, I finished planting my little hardened-off seedlings outside! Here are some photos.

My tomatoes fell over under the grow light and grew in a n “L” shape. I saw this as a ‘fail’ on my part until I tried to plant them in the grow boxes – they were too tall for me to plant straight up and down and still have part of the stem in the ground. But if I planted them sideways, it worked out nicely! It’s almost as if nature planned for them to fall over and send more roots into the ground.

Here are all six Earth Boxes full of heirloom tomatoes. I still have to put up the trellis systems for some of them.

I haven’t had to water them all week! I bought them because they’re self-watering (just pour water down the tube that feeds into the base) and they’re durable.

My only complaint is this: I’ll have to figure out how, why and what to use for the dolomite and fertilizer next year. I don’t plant to spend money on six refill kits if I can do it myself for less.

Here are Earth Boxes and staking systems on Amazon.com:

Here are some articles about making your own self-watering containers:

• Homegrown Evolution: Self-watering containers
• How To Make A Self-Watering Container (using buckets)
• New improved homemade self watering container / Earthbox (using totes)

Cucumbers
I also planted some cucumbers and pear tomatoes in window box planters hanging off of the deck.

You deserve to see reality: This is what it all looked like directly after planting all of those boxes. I’m soaked. Who knew deck farming could be so messy?


Beans and Cucumbers:

I turned over the soil in my raised bed to find oodles of worms, yay!

I companion planted bush beans and cucumbers in my raised bed.

I’m going to stretch a net from the bottom of the raised bed to the top of the fence for the cucumbers to climb. Eggplants, more tomatoes, and herbs will be planted to the sides this weekend.

Crookneck Squash
The squash isn’t really loving the dirt leftover from the clematis vine – too much drainage. To do: mix in 2/3rds soil and save the rest of this peat-like stuff for something else.

French Heirloom Peas:
There are enough on my pea tee-pee for a veggie stir-fry!

Composter:
Just got it, hooray!

What’s next for the grow lights:
I’m still growing some herbs and a few cucumbers that I plan to donate to my son’s school veggie garden. After that? Kitchen grow-light salad!