Our first harvest

Ian trying to explain why it's okay that he accidentally decapitated a sweet pepper bud.

The culprit!

FINALLY. Collard greens and a jalapeno. Please recall the condition of the collard starters. I don't think any of us thought that they'd survive past the first week, and now we're eating them!

They're still alive! And growing!

On July 8, 2009 we realized that all of a sudden our little plot of plants had exploded overnight into a perfect verdant cacophony. Our scrawny little plants were actually growing and we'd hardly noticed. We finally have a real life garden!

We got sweet potatoes! For free!

Free on craigslist = best site ever. Sweet potato starts courtesy of a very generous West Philly gardener.

A dog pooped in our garden.

Gardening can't always be fun.

D Day + 1

Butternut squash and mystery squash and/or zucchini and/or cucumber plants. UCHS.

Cherry and mystery tomatoes. Nice woman we found on craigslist who lives in Upper Darby and UCHS.

Ace sweet peppers. UCHS.

Habanero, jalapeno, another hot pepper. UCHS.

Collard greens. UCHS.

We officially broke ground on Wednesday June 24, 2009. On June 25, 2009, they were still alive. Success!

How it all began (scroll to the bottom first)

DONE!

Innovative watering techniques.

Pruning with a bread knife.

Our (free) plants! Courtesy of Nic Esposito and the fabulous people at University City High School and the Urban Nutrition Initiative.

Crazy weed pile.

Breaking new ground!!

Our overgrown garden-to-be.