Ultimate Garden: Day 30

On June 1st when I planted the second annual "Ultimate Garden", my worst fear was a super-dry summer similar to last summer when I was frantically supplementing my garden with city water right from the spigot. Sure, its void of nitrogen but it saved the garden. Of course, a bit of Miracle-Gro every 7 days transformed the tomatoes from wilted weed-like vines to lush, tree-trunk-esque shrubs which made the tomatoes grow faster than Barry Bonds' head.

So far this year, we've had between 4 and 7 inches of rain. Last year, we had a little over an inch during the month of June.

Stats aside, here are the pictures comparing the first few days in June to the last few days of the month.

Future Fruits of My Labor

For the second straight year, our family garden, commonly referred to by many neighbors as "A Vegatable Eden" and others as "A Garden Experiment Gone Wrong" is planted, hydrated and thriving beyond expectations.

My garden isn't huge by any means but it does the job. Keep in mind, when it comes to gardens, size really doesn't matter. It's the quality of the food that the garden produces in August and September that is the barometer of a successful garden. After dumping 160 pounds of compost and other nitrogen rich additives, get ready for an endless supply of tomatoes, peppers and other viney fruit in roughly 80 days. Pictures will be forthcoming...



Notice the second picture. Yes, that is a tobacco plant. No, its not "Hippy lettuce" or "The Chronic" or some other illegal leafy plant, it's just straight-up tobacco. If all goes well, I plan on harvesting it and rolling a cigar in the fall. Then again, it might curl up, dry out and die next week. We shall see.