Tomatoes, or “the tommies,” as I like to call them, are clearly the pillar of our urban gardening experiment this season.

But I want to tell you something. Can you keep a secret?

Come a little closer…

I’m one of those man-children who think eating a raw tomato all by itself is, well, kinda yucky!

I’ll eat anything tomatoes related, but just…not…raw…please!

Shhhhhhhh. I know. I’m an eight-year-old. But, at least I’m an honest eight-year-old.

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let me share all the happenings going on around our little urban patch.

Sun Gold, Sunny Boy, Early Girl and Juliet

Situated smack in the middle of the sunniest spot on the property, the tommies, all varietes included, are doing great thus far. We pretty much just let them go nuts in the beginning, then a few weeks in, I pruned lightly, as discussed previously.

I water them diligently in the early evenings (they really soak up the water!). They’ve gone even more nuts.

A few more weeks, and I pruned a bit heavier and built support structure. I went full Macgyver, using little plastic twistys, some dowel-like stakes and a couple legnths of vine I had laying around.

Macgyver could make explosive devices with less, so I figured I could at least hold up some plants, right?

Close in size and shape to a cherry tomato, the Sun Gold and Sunny Boy varieties ripened first. They look so similar, I need to constantly check the labels to tell them apart!

Now it’s high season and every few days we’re treated to a handful or two to add to a dinner dish or toss into a salad. What a blessing!

Purple String Beans

The beans did well too! I was able to harvest four separate meals (for one, as Ms. IS can’t have them) worth, about a large fist size each time. I did let them go a bit longer than I should have, so I lost a fifth round due to dry out.

I didn’t realize when I picked up the seeds, but the beans turn green when you cook them! Ta-da! I like my veggies steamed, but that’s just me.

Frankenmonster Bed

Sooooooo, the squash and zucchini are slowly taking over the planet. Look out your window, you can probably see them.

I’m pleased they seem to like this spot. I was a bit skeptical at first, given the limited sunlight it receives.

We may have made some decent choices with our herb and vegetable decisions.

I was a little concerned the big leaves of the squash and zucchini would crowd out the other plants and herbs, specifically, the beets and arugula. Naturally, the pruning tools came out.

I let the garlic go too long and they began to flower. I pruned so they could divert all of its energy into the bulb.

Herb Trough

The parsley, thyme, mint and basil are all productive. We’ve harvested little bunches multiple times.

The parsley and basil were “starts,” while the mint and thyme came from seed. So, inevitably the latter lagged somewhat. A different author might say the herb was taking… ahem… its sweet old thyme.

Berries

Our strawberry porch trough is working great! The yield is a single or maybe couple at a time, but gosh they are delicious and so sweet! With just a few plants, it will continue to be one little treat here and there, but hey, that’s fine by me. I found that I can encourage them along if I trim up the dead stems.

The other day, Ms. IS and I were enjoying a glass of wine on the porch. Two little strawberries looked ripe for the plucking, so we tossed one in each of our glasses. A tasty little surprise at the bottom!

The blueberries are beginning to develop fruit. It’s not a very large bush so this will also likely be a trickle of a yield, but again, who cares? We’re smiling and we got some fresh blues coming!

The climber behind the blueberry bush is.. wait for it… climbing nicely. I prune it infrequently and encourage it not to interfere with the blueberry. It seems to be working.

Peppers:

Can’t forget about these friends! The pepperoncini plant looks healthy. Some (multi-colored) peppers are developing. I was even more aggressive with my tomato pruning around this one, thinking the pepper plant might appreciate a little more elbow room.

The Santaka plant is up, but no peppers yet. The plant grows quickly from seed. I think they like this spot on the corner of the porch. I’d describe it a spartial sunlight. I don’t think I need to be so generous with the water, but for some reason I think everything is going to dry out.

Grape Vine Propagation:

I mentioned in the last update, due to some unfortunate placement (an oversight entirely on the shoulders of this here bozo), one of my only two grape vine cutting pots fell off the porch and smashed on the ground. It was a good ten foot plunge. Four of the seven cuttings were lost. I think only two of the seven were showing signs of propagation to begin with, i.e. they had a tiny bud sprouting. So, I lost one of two successful cuttings, or 50%!

Huge bummer!

I was pretty excited to transplant them somewhere on our little urban garden dirt plot. I was even thinking about building a trellis or an arbor. AND, I figured I’d have a few to spare so I was hoping to give some away so others could introduce grape vine to their backyards. Johnny Grapeyseed.

Well, too bad, I guess.

I’m down to one little pal left. It appears to be doing great though. It was one of the smallest cuttings so I’m starting with only the runt of the litter! If I were to translpant this and begin training it up something, we’re probably talking about years before it would look like anything more than a sad twig! But hey, it’s our sad little twig!

A second consideration is timing the transplant. I need to do some more research here because I’ve never attempted this and I’m a bit nervous. I’d hate for my little pal to perish after it’s gotten off to a strong start in the pot. It may end up being a houseplant for the winter, not quite sure yet.

What do you think?

Macintosh Tree:

Speaking of things that take a while. Meet Mitch.

Mitch is a Macintosh tree. While heading over to my local Ocean State Job Lot (think Dollar General-esque, for the uninitiated) to pick up some junk, a massive container greated me at the door. It was filled with saplings.

They were fruit trees!

Apple, pear and peach trees lined the box. I’ve been thinking about the prospect of raising fruit trees in the future and did some initial investigation. I was disappointed to find our local nurseries sold them for anywhere from about $75 to a few hundred dollars. Yikes! I’m not that interested. So, imagine my inner glee when I see a $17.95 price tag on these saplings. Yeah, I can do that.

Hence, Mitch.

Well, honestly Mitch looks no different than the day I picked him out of that industrial sized container. I put him in this pot, likely way too small for him so I’ll need to transplant before too long. I’ve missed the boat on a spring transplant so I’ll be looking at moving him to a more permanent spot sometime late fall. Where shall it be?

I did notice a couple of tiny mushrooms that sprouted up in its pot. I’m not sure their type, but I hope they did something positive for the soil.

Mycology, the study of fungi, is super intriguing to me and a topic for further experimentation. I do have a project going that I will hopefully be sharing with you in the future, so more to come.

I’ll give you a hint: it rhymes with SHITAKES!

Well, that pretty much does it for this urban garden experiment update. Next thoughts are on harvesting all of these lovelies and planning and planting our second harvest. I’m not exactly sure what we’ll put in, but it’ll likely be a bit more modest. I’m thinking more herbs for sure.

Any suggestions? What are your gardening successes/failures this summer? What will you plant for your second harvest?