Garden 2007: Sweet 100, JetSetter, Banana & Green Grape Tomato Plants

I’ve been a bit surprised at the ongoing popularity of the one or two posts from last year on my tomato harvest, particularly the pictures of my Mr. Stripey tomato.

As a result, I thought I’d post an update for 2007 on my garden. I love working in the garden – my only regret is that I only have 3 garden boxes to work with. Of course, that’s about 10x the space I had a few years ago when I was growing plants on the balcony of my apartment.

This year, I’ve lined up what I think is an excellent crop:

Box 1: Peppers

I love medium-to-hot peppers, so this year I’m growing five varieties:

• Banana
• Serano
• Jalapeño
• Thai
• Habañero

Here’s a shot of the 9 plants (2 of each except for the 1 Habañero)

Box 2: Cucumbers

I also grow cucumbers, using a trellis so I can get a large crop with very little space. This year, I’m growing four varieties of cucumber. Two years ago, my Japanese cucumbers reached almost 2 feet (24 inches) in length, so I’m trying to build on that success.

Here are the four varieties I planted this year:

• Lemon
• Japanese
• Table (regular)
• Armenian

I’m excited about the last one, because I’ve never grown Armenian cucumbers before. They apparently are light green skinned, and can grow to 3 feet long! Should be fun.

The plants in the bottom corner are herbs that I use to fill out the box – basil, oregano, thyme.

Box 3: Tomatoes

And finally, my prize plants, the tomatoes. This year, I’m trying to stretch a 3×6 box to handle 4 plants. I’m also trying out a much more robust 7mm steel support for the plants after last years disaster with my huge plants bending the smaller steel frames mid-August. I got them at Gardener Supply online.

The four varieties of tomato this year feature two hybrids for volume & eating, and two heirloom varieties for flavor & fun.

• Sweet 100 (cherry)
• JetSetter (large, red)
• Banana Fingers (4″, orange/yellow)
• Green Grape (small, green/stripe)

I’ve had them in the ground for four weeks, and they are really doing well. See below.

Should be a great year for the garden. Everything is really taking off. I feel like Brie from Desperate Housewives, but even my Hydrangeas are doing fantastically well.