Scary Storms and Container Gardens

Yesterday, we had a huge storm come through Sacramento! The rainy season has begun! Although, I hear from people who have lived here longer than 4 months that storms are somewhat rare around here. Coming from Santa Cruz, where they have many, many storms every year...well, I'm a little disappointed.

My plants appreciated the rain though! Although, the tall tomatoes really didn't fare well in the 50+ MPH winds. It wasn't too bad, two pots fell down, a few tomatoes were lost and one of the pots cracked open...





Although, the biggest loss for me was my lone bell pepper, which snapped off in the winds. I've had good luck with peppers this year: fresno, jalapeno, cayenne...but only one bell pepper actually went to fruit. Alas.


Here it is on my kitchen counter. I think it's big enough to eat anyways.


So, I repotted my tomato plant and added a few things to the garden. Namely, broccoli and sugar snap peas. Apparently, Sacramento gets so hot that it has two planting seasons...so the sugar snap peas are actually viable in winter!

I had to go buy some more potting soil and when I went to go pay, I asked the cashier if they had any tomato cages (because my tomatoes have recently exploded!) He looked at me like I was absolutely nuts. He asked what I was going to use them for.
".....tomatoes?"
"Yours haven't died yet?"
"Nope."
"Wow. We stop selling cages this time of year"

So, apparently, my tomatoes kick ass.


In lieu of cages, I had to get a bit creative....
I tied them to bamboo poles and, most recently, to the stairwell next to my porch. Luckily, the neighbors don't mind! In fact, I think that they really like my garden. I live in a drab, ugly 4-plex so the greenery really brightens up the place!


In conclusion, here is my favorite photo of the day...my fresno peppers that are just starting to ripen...