Green thumb in the making

First, I apologize for my absence. I really don't know where I've been. It's not like I'm on summer vacation or anything (except that I am...). I even missed Wordless Wednesday this week. I guess I've been preoccupied with preparations for Drew's upcoming big event... you know... the first birthday party?

Speaking of, did you know that today was Drew's due date? June 17th! One year ago today I was really hoping he would be right on time. Drew, however, had other plans.... he made me wait another 12 days! That means it's only 12 days until he turns 1!!

Anywho... I actually wanted to share some pics of my brand new vegetable garden. And by brand new I mean I planted it a few months ago, but I've never had a vegetable garden like this.

I am sooooooo excited to have actual vegetables growing. I've had a patio planter for a while in which I've attempted to grow basil, tomatoes, and peppers. I've never had much success. The basil always did fine, but usually, if I got any veggies at all, I only got a few, or they were strangely misshapen.

This year we actually dug up an area of the lawn and turned it into a vegetable patch. I go outside almost every day and just stare at my plants. There is something so satisfying about managing to grow things. Sometimes (but really only sometimes) I feel like, "yeah, sure, I birthed a baby.... but I can grow cucumbers!"

So, let's check out what my garden is doing!

I'll actually begin with my somewhat unsuccessful tomato plant. Once again, I put one in my patio planter (new soil and everything this year!) and it just isn't doing very well. I fertilized well (too well, probably) and it grew HUGE, but it has only produced one freakin tomato... one very large tomato, but still. It has had a ton of blossoms, but they keep turning brown and falling off. My research tells me I either over-fertilized (fairly likely) or the weather is too hot (100% likely). Tomatoes like hot weather, but they apparently don't like day time temperatures over 95 (which they have been for the past... oh... 4 or 5 weeks!?) and they prefer night time temps to drop below 70.

Here is my HUGE tomato plant (yes, it looks a little wilty, don't worry, it got some water!). This is actually after I hacked it back a bit. I cut off the vegetative stems, hoping that the plant's energy would go into the blossoms. Oh, and it's a topsy-turvy type planter... not sure I'm a fan.

And here is my one tomato.

Those funny bumps on the stem are beginner roots...
During hot and humid weather apparently it's common for tomatoes to do that

Here it is with a smallish store-bought tomato for size reference.

And here are my poor dying blossoms.

But my vegetable patch is doing much better!

Tiny jalapeno pepper on the way!

Cucumber!

I have like 10 or 15 tiny cucumbers growing!

Cherry tomatoes!

A soon-to-be zucchini!

Corn!! I actually have no idea what to expect with this...
It was mostly an experiment.

A little ladybug stopped by while I was taking photos!
Are they good or bad for vegetables?

I can't believe I didn't get any photos of my enormous basil!! I have another batch of pesto on the way! Also not pictured are my red bell peppers which are flowering, my squash, and my green beans!

Also, I thought I'd leave you with a photo or two of my gladiolus! I watched these like a hawk last year, with a secret hope that when they bloomed, I would go into labor. Unfortunately that didn't work out so well. In fact they bloomed and died before Drew even had thoughts of making an appearance. They didn't get to live to their full potential this year as a windy storm blew them over, breaking the stems. I did put them in a vase and enjoyed them for a little while indoors, though.

I wouldn't call myself a green thumb because the fact that anything is growing is really more luck than anything. But I do enjoy my garden! Do you enjoy gardening?? Veggies or flowers?