This year (just like last) I bought all seeds to start our vegetable garden… With the exception of tomatoes. Rather than starting them indoors, I bought little seedling plants and put them straight into the ground. A few things I learned last year should be highlighted so I don’t make the same mistakes again. First… If you don’t build a fence around your vegetable garden, those adorable bunnies will gobble everything up before you can blink. Maybe that’s why we got a baby bunny nest in our yard this year- they know we’re the morons who grow great food and don’t try to keep them out. Second… With three of the same variety of tomato plants and two people in the house, you will have A LOT of tomatoes maturing all at the same time. Sure, this year I’m eating for two, but nobody needs THAT many tomatoes all at once. Third… It’s easier to put stakes in the ground when you plant so you don’t disturb the roots. The tomatoes will definitely need the support.

Okay, so now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, you can see my plants in the photo above. The fences I built may not be pretty, but they’re there. I consider that a win. And the stakes in the ground seem pretty tall… But you never know how big these things will grow. And oh yeah, it’s the smallest size I could find at Home Depot. Again.. They’re there. Win.

This year I chose three different varieties:

1. Mr. Stripey Heirloom Tomatoes- I’m really excited about these ones. They’ll make great caprese salads and will look gorgeous on our plates. The plants mature in 80 days and I can’t wait until they start popping up and we can bite into them.

2. Red Beefsteak Heirloom Tomatoes- a classic I felt we should have. These will be great on the burgers Will grills up this summer. This plant takes 90 days to mature, so we’ll have to wait a little later in the season, which I’m okay with.

3. Sun Sugar Tomatoes- yellow and orange cherry tomatoes perfect for snacking and salads. These will mature first, in 75 days, and apparently they’re super sweet.

Now that are tomatoes are planted, I need to focus on our community garden plot and map out the rest of our vegetables and fruits for the year- green beans, zucchini, summer squash, strawberries, and watermelon. The sooner I plant, the sooner we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. 🙂