My 2013 Container Garden!!

2013 Container Garden
Brussel Sprouts, Strawberry Plant, Raspberry Bush, Strawberry Plant, Cucumber, 2 Pepper  Plants, and  3 Tomato Plants

Look at it grow!!

Chocolate Cherry Tomato

Besides the usual tomato, pepper, and cucumber plants, I am adding strawberries, brussel sprouts, and a normal sized tomato plant to my container garden collection. I still have my raspberry bush from last year.

In the pictures above, I am demonstrating how to plant tomato plants.  If you take a look at the the tomato plant, you can see there is a lot of stem form the roots to the first set of leaves.  When planting tomato plants, you want to plant them, at least, up to the first set of leaves.  The stem that is planted underground will produce roots and will help produce a stronger root system.  A stronger root system will allow the plant to produce more tomatoes and help the plant hold up in hotter temperatures.  Also, if a branch breaks off of your tomato plant, plant the branch and it will produce roots, too.

Look at them grow!

Something is eating my Brussel Sprout plants!

Does anyone know what kind of worms these are....DEAD ONES!
They are actually cabbage worms.

Mega Bite Tomato Plant

Sweet N Neat Yellow Tomatoes

Chocolate Cherry 

The Newest Addition To My Plant Family!!!

Dilated at 3mm

Dilated at 6mm

Dilated at 7mm

Crowning

Close up

Okay, so I am a little early.  My lithops isn't completely done "delivering" its baby. Hopefully I didn't jinx myself.  Out of the three different lithops that I bought, only one survived.  I think what I figured out with lithops is that they need very, very little water.  I will not water this one again until the old one is shriveled up and dead.  The "baby" is being nourished by its "mother" and will not need to be watered. 

My Fresh Veggies!!!

Mohawk peppers and tomatoes

Fresh Spinach

Redskin Peppers

Delicious Cucumber 

Cucumbers and Cherry Tomatoes

Mega Bite and Sweet N Neat Cherry Tomatoes

My partner in crime, Mantis, member of the Furious Five!

For the most part my garden is coming along nicely.  The days of fresh spinach and cilantro are over.  I will definitely be expanding on my herbs and greens next year.  My blackberry bush didn't survive but my raspberry bush is growing nicely.  Hopefully next year I will be able to eat a few raspberries.  My cucumber plant was over taken by aphids.  I didn't realize what was going on till it was almost too late.  I thought the extreme heat was killing it.  It has been over 100 degrees for weeks now.  When I took a closer look, I turned the leaves over and they were covered with aphids.  I made some insecticidal soap to kill them.  Hopefully it will bounce back.  My sister tried to take out my Redskin Hybrid Pepper plant with her bike.  That is why they are green in the picture.  Her bike fell on my plant and broke quite a few branches that had peppers on them.  I made an omelette and put them in it.  I grilled my mohawk peppers and they were very tasty.  Mantis was found on my balcony where I have my succulents and some zinnias.  She tried to come inside, probably because it is cooler, but I shooed her back outside.  Did you know that the female praying mantis eats the male praying mantis after they are done mating?  I am pretty sure Mantis is a female because she was quite large.  My zinnias are getting close to blooming.  I will have to post some pictures when they do bloom.  I have a succulent that is having a baby.  I will post pictures of that too.  When I do, you will definitely think the same thing. That is all I have for now. Until next time, remember to do what makes you happy!

My 2012 Garden!

2012 Container Garden

Does my garden look a little different than expected?  Since I live in an apartment, I have to think outside the box.  All my plants were designed for containers.  This year's garden consists of three different tomato varieties, two varieties of sweet peppers, cilantro, a cucumber plant, blackberry bush, raspberry bush, and not pictured is spinach, it is upstairs on my balcony.  I am still debating on buying two blueberry bushes.

Tomato Plants:

Sweet "N" Neat Yellow:  Grows around 12" tall and produces lots of yellow cherry tomatoes.

Megabite:  Grows around 16" tall and can produce up to 60, 4" tomatoes.

Patio Hybrid:  Grows around 2' tall and produces large, red cherry tomatoes.

Tomato suckers.  To prune or not to prune?

My cucumber plant is a Salad Bush Hybrid and produces 8" cucumbers.

Pepper Plants

Left to right: Redskin Hybrid, Cactus,
and Mohawk Pepper Plant

Not quite 6" tall.

Mohawk:  Grows around 8" tall and produces 4"-5" sweet yellow peppers.

Redskin Hybrid:  Grows around 15" tall and produces 4" sweet red peppers.

I cannot wait to try my tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet peppers!

My First Half Marathon!

Pre-race

                                                             

Around mile 4.  

Running up the first "mini mountain."

Passing the walkers!

Blowin' it up around mile 10!  

At the top of the last major hill around 10.5 miles.  Someone requested one of my awesome high fives! Turn up the volume while watching.

Around mile 11.

The home stretch!

I did it. I really, really did it.  I ran my first half marathon.  All my training paid off.  I was so nervous the night before I was only able to sleep for 3 hours.  When I woke up, I felt great.  Prerace everything went as planned except for I wanted to go to the bathroom before the race started.  I didn't realize there was a huge line for the bathrooms until I walked over to the area of where they were.  The porta potties were on one side of the road and the line was on the other side.  There was about five lines for twenty porta potties. I still do not understand why people didn't line up directly in front of each one.  Being the noob that I am, I decided to forgo the bathroom and get lined up for the race, I didn't want it to start without me.  While waiting for the race to begin, I realize that I had plenty of time and could have waited to use the bathrooms.  Oh well, now I know for next time.

13.1 'nuff said!

Me kissing my medal

The first part of the race I had my music shut off so I would not start too fast.  Since I didn't use the bathroom before the race, I decided to go at the first bathroom stop.  I figured there would not be that many people waiting and it would be easier to catch up to my pace earlier rather than later.  After my bathroom break, I concentrated on my breathing and getting into my groove.  Around mile five was the first major hill or "mini mountain" as I like to call it.  I turned on my music and cruised up the mini mountain.  I passed a few people on the way up!  On the way down, I picked up some speed and passed a few more people.  Miles six through ten had quite a few rolling hills.  I was in my zone at that time and started passing people.  Some people started walking but me, I just kept going.  I was waiting for mile ten.  The "mini mountain" on mile ten was on everyone's mind.  It was either going to make me or break me.  Luckily, I had some support waiting for me.  I had my friends and family waiting on the hills to give me a high five as I passed them.  If there was a reward for the most high fives given, I think I would have won it.  I passed so many people on the way to the top of the hill.  When I finally arrived to the top and I ran the whole way up,  I read a sign that made me laugh.  It read, "I didn't wake up this early to watch you walk."  Good thing I wasn't walking, huh?  After that mountain, there was one more hill and then it was all downhill till the finish.  I killed the last two miles.  I felt like I was in a dream.  With about a half a mile left, I started to tear up.  I could not believe that I was going to finish and that I felt so amazing.  I figured I would be dragging, huffing and puffing, or something.  As I rounded the final corner, I started to pick up speed and sprinted to the finish line! My official chip time was 2:15:28.  Not bad for my first half marathon.