After the wet, cold, unpleasant winter all over the United States and in the southeast, everyone I know who likes to plant veggies was champing at the bit to get something in the ground. I was not one of them. Although I have three raised beds which could be tilled and used for easy planting, I decided to not do it this year. It takes more energy that I have to give this year.
However when my helper brought on new cross ties and three loads of good topsoil to rebuild an L shaped garden area in the back of my house I began to toy with the idea of a plant stuck in with the replanting of the perennials which were placed back into the area. A lot of the plants just did not make it but some did. So, on a trip to Wal-Mart I eased into the garden center just to have a look. I learned that to buy a good sized tomato plant it would be at least $3.50 for one plant. I was reluctant to play that for one plant so I kept looking around and found some smaller plants which looked nice and healthy and sold for $1.77 for four plants. I put that in my cart and keep looking. I added four green pepper plants to the cart and then bit the bullet to buy one black beauty eggplant.
These plants sat on a table in my sun room for a day or so, then I carried them outside and gathered the tools I would need, plus some bamboo stakes and twine. In about an hour I had planted all nine plants and watered them and tied up the stakes. They looked happy to me when I finally left them there to spend their first night in my original flower bed. So far they are looking happy and now we are expecting rain from the west tonight and tomorrow. Much damage has been caused in the states of Arkansas, and other states, loss of life and property is a scary thing in the spring anywhere and to know it is heading your way makes you very wary. This new garden area is in front of a stone wall which absorbs heat during the sunny hours and is a good spot for plants which like sun.
My neighbor is a "wanna" be gardener and last year had a lot of fun with one pot of tomatoes. She was so proud of the fact the fact that she could actually grow and harvest tomatoes. It is a very satisfying experience and if I have to scale down to be a gardener this year, then so be it. I still have blueberries growing inside of a bed which is covered with black netting. They are on their own this year but when I see them getting big and blue I will surely begin to enter the area and harvest them.
I hope you like gardening enough to at least grow one tomato plant on your patio. If you do not have a pot just buy a bag of potting soil and plant one tomato plant in it and keep it watered. You will not have a mess on your patio as the soil stays contained in the bag of soil. It is really nice to have your own tomato sandwich from your own tomato grown by your own efforts.
