In the summertime, I usually plant at least a tomato plant.  This year, I’ve been so obsessed with the idea of making my own pickles that I planted 3 pickling cucumber plants in addition to my tomato and melon plants.  I also planted a bunch of herbs that are growing like crazy.  My problem is that I’m really short on space and there aren’t a lot of spots around my house that get full sun for a good part of the day.  On top of that, we have had the craziest summer and the weather has been extremely mild.  No hot sun means no harvest.

But today when I went out, I saw that my very first cucumber is nearly ready to be picked!  And I have one tomato that is on the verge of ripeness.  Eeek!  Here’s some photos:

Mint, basil and lemon balm.

Tomato.

Pickling cucumber.

Melon. This one is called Minnesota Midget, which looks kinda like a cantaloupe.

You’ll notice that my garden is entirely planted in large pots.  I used tomato cages to keep them growing up instead of out.  Just goes to show you that you can grow your own fruits and veggies even with very limited space.  Even if you just had a small balcony, I bet you could pull off a new plants.  The plants themselves are cheap and, aside from watering them every day or two, they require very little effort on my part.  I’m so excited about my pickles.  I’ll be sure to let you all know how it goes.