Garden = goodness!

[angelamary]

I have had a very lucky gardening season this year. My tomatoes are coming along nicely, so are my peppers. Oregano and Parsley are huge!

Even better, my mom and mother-in-law have been providing me with tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers like they are going out of style.

So far, 7 jars of salsa canned
1 batch of salsa prepped for canning (should yield 6-7 jars)
2 containers of stewed tomatoes cooling and ready for the freezer
1 batch of pasta sauce ready to cook up tomorrow, should make many freezer containers (6-8).

Current cost my time and $2.50 for canning snap lids. Will be buying 2 lbs of ground beef for the sauce tomorrow (approx $6)! That's it, woo hoo, pantry and freezer getting stocked for pennies! With fresh, preservative free, salt free canned food!

And when my garden is ready, pizza sauce will be done too! My kiddo and I have made this our summer project. He is six, a city boy, but we have our own mini garden! It has been a great bonding experience for us!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

UPDATE: 2nd batch of salsa did yield 7 jars. The pasta sauce only yielded 5 containers, but we are eating one worth tonight. Can't resist fresh pasta sauce. Ground beef was $6.49. And had to get cider vinegar for $1.49. Also came home with another full basket of peppers. Could have had more tomatoes, but didn't want them to go bad this week while I was at work. I see more pasta sauce in our future!

[anisa]

love it

this was my first year trying gardening as well. i have the smallest patch of dirt in the backyard and did cukes (omg they go everywhere!!), one cherry tomato plant, carrots and peas.

next year i am going to build a trellis for the cukes. i have already seeded one cuke and am ready with those. i seeded a tomato as well. and i have peas ready to sow as well!

i wasn't adventurous enough to even think about canning.

maybe next year.

congrats on you and your little one bonding thru veggies! :D

[barato]

So cool I did cherry tomatoes too, I need to make a better plan for next year

[flyingdutch]

great job OP! Sounds like you had a bumper year!

As an aside.... for those with little space or who want to dedicate little backyard space to gardening I would HIGHLY recommend square foot gardening. It differs from traditional "row gardening" in that you divide your space into 1' x 1' squares and plant a different crop (though you could plant them all the same if you wanted to) in each. It will magnify your yields without creating a large unmanageable (or if you are space limited impossible) garden to work with. Google "square foot gardening" for more info and there is also a book out by a guy Mel...something... can't remember his last name. Anways he "invented" this form of gardening and it's a good read with lots of information both on this type of gardening but also more general info.

I use to be a traditional row planter, that how my family has always done it, but I started this a few years ago to maximize my plantable space since growing anything here requires you to create a raised or inground bd since next to knowing grows in sand lol.

if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask... I'm by no means an authority (far from it) but I can try to help....

Again OP great post! I hop you enjoy all that delish tomato sauce and salsa!

[coupon girl]

i planted one tomatoe plant next to a rose bush at the side of my house it always gets the sun-wow i have had at least 10 large wonderfull tomatoes so far-they taste awesome

[ColleenMGorecki]

you can't beat the taste of fresh tomatoes.

[Shwa Girl]

Angelamary, great post. Your six year old is learning a great lesson on growign veggies and saving money. Good for you Mom!

i planted one tomatoe plant next to a rose bush at the side of my house it always gets the sun-wow i have had at least 10 large wonderfull tomatoes so far-they taste awesome

Can't beat free "organic" tomatoes.

[Natalka]

Aw, you are so lucky! WTG!

[angelamary]

Thanks everyone! I am loving the garden this year. It has been better than ever! I am also growing more heritage tomatoes just for something different. Cherry tomatoes have been amazing and going since the first week of July. Still waiting on the plum/italian tomatoes, they seem to be later this year. But hey, it's giving it to us in stages, less waste and more yield! Hope many people get to have some garden veggies this year. If not from your own, but from friends, family or the farmers market.

We tried a purple sweet pepper from a farmer's market this weekend and it was one of the yummiest peppers I've ever had. I think next year we will try something new! Purple here we come!!!

[hollyquaiscer]

What a great way to bond with your little one, and a great teaching experience too. Nothing tastes better than those fresh veggies. GREAT BRAG!!!

[ellemnop]

Next year we are going to do container gardening on our balcony.

[Nicole013]

That is 10 kinds of awesome. I have some homemade salsa from my MIL and will be doing some canning myself this year. I was going to can some cherries, but they turned before I could get to them. I did a test run of a couple of jars of blueberry jam and that turned out really well.

My birthday is next Friday and I asked my parents for a pressure canner. I found one at Target online for $21 (marked down from $85) so I've ordered it and sent it to a receiver in Sumas, Washington since they won't ship to Canada. Now I'm just waiting to see if they fulfill the order :>

[angelamary]

That is 10 kinds of awesome. I have some homemade salsa from my MIL and will be doing some canning myself this year. I was going to can some cherries, but they turned before I could get to them. I did a test run of a couple of jars of blueberry jam and that turned out really well.

My birthday is next Friday and I asked my parents for a pressure canner. I found one at Target online for $21 (marked down from $85) so I've ordered it and sent it to a receiver in Sumas, Washington since they won't ship to Canada. Now I'm just waiting to see if they fulfill the order :>

Canning is such a treat. Hope it becomes something you enjoy, it is the best investment I ever made to get the supplies. Now its pennies each year and a lot of good food! And have a happy birthday!