Tag: Urban Gardener

Growing Tomato Tips

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     My heirloom Hartman’s yellow Gooseberry tomatoes are sweet, mild and very tasty.  This is my first year planting them, and I’m pleased by the results so far.  When I purchased this seedling, it was about a foot tall.  I dug a whole twice the size of the pot it came in, and covered the whole root system with compost soil mixed with the dirt I dug up. I then sprayed it with diluted liduid kelp to give the plant a little boost of nutrients to get it going.  Within one month of adequate even watering and good sunlight, the plant tripled its size.  You can eat these raw or sautéed.  Anyway, you’ll just love the taste.  The color will also brighten up any dish and will wow any crowd.  Not to mention, they’re also very easy to grow. 

Growing Tomato Tips

  1. Spacing between plants:  2-3 feet apart for room to grow. 
  2. Cutting the tomatoes from the vine with a scissors protects the plant and the fruit. Don’t tug or pull. 
  3. Fertilize with Azomite and liquid Kelp both add calcium and trace minerals.  
  4. Store tomatoes if green on the countertop, stem side up to ripen. 
  5. If you refrigerate – limit for 3-5 days, this will also effect the flavor and texture of the tomato.
  6. Stake, trellis or cage tomato plants to support and keep them from the ground. 

     Growing tomatoes in the summer is simple, plus if you don’t have a garden, growing in containers work just as fine too. You can grow beets, lettuces, carrots, cucumbers and so much more in pots on your balcony or patio. If you have the space and the sunlight, go for it.  Check this beauty out below! 

Have fun with growing fruits and vegetables. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to grow your own foods. Organically of course😉

Resources: Grow Organic – Online resource for everything organically grown. 

 Tomatoe Pruning and Tomatoe Diseases 

Growing Beets in Containers – The Basics

Best Tomato Varieties For Containers

Growing Organic Carrots 

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Organic Carrots
Look what I see? My carrots are popping up. I’m so excited!!  My best advice for growing carrots is just grow them. I have them planted in four different locations in my garden. In order to grow amazing carrots the soil has to be loose, free of rocks and heavy debris, organic fertilizer, and can drain water well. 


I’m also tying to grow carrots in planters. These I started two weeks ago, and they’ve already sprouted.  I purchased organic potting soil and combined it with organic compost. I’m obsessed with carrots as you can see. They’re delicious number one and two, they’re one of my main bases for juicing. You can’t have enough carrots around. 

The best “How to video” for growing carrots and any other type of vegetable plants can be found on GrowOrganic website. They offer the best organic advise, organic fertilizer products, and so much more.  

I can’t wait to juice and sauté these bad boys. 

Me and My Lady Friends

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I woke up thinking it was Friday this morning. SMH! You could just imagine the feeling that overcame me when my reality settled in.  It’s not TGIF, instead Hump Day.  I was even planning out my weekend laying in bed. Oh well, it’s Wednesday, so I thank God for waking me up, and I got myself and the family ready to hit the city pavement.  The night before, I was pretty busy cooking, cleaning, and entertaining one of my favorite cousins, Ken.  I gave him a grand tour of OrganicREADY’s garden and of course shared some of my harvest with him. Ken left with a yellow squash, kale, callaloo, a green bell pepper and two eggplants.  After all of that and putting the kids to bed, guess where I went, back in the garden. 

Gardening is exceedingly rewarding, as you see here, but time consuming. That’s my beautiful organic eggplant above.  I grilled it on the stove yesterday and it was yummy!!  Growing my own vegetables have significantly cut down the cost of my monthly grocery bill.  I’m practically growing a little of everything. There’s carrots, cucumbers, garlic, yard beans, cabbages, tomatoes, peppers, hot and sweet and much more. It’s a wonderful feeling and my hobby. Gardening takes patience, planning, strength, and tender loving care.  Me and the family prune, weed, till, mulch, fertilize, water and so much more.  My body is extremly limited due to injuries I sustained in an accident earlier this year.  Lucky for me, my family helps out immensely. I wouldn’t give up gardening for anything.  Come to think of it, it’s my stress reliever.  I just wish I had an extra three hours in my day to get everything done.  Summertime is a busy time for me, especially; during the week because I also work. I average about 5-6 hours of sleep a night, where as, during the fall and winter months, it’s between 8-9 hours.  


Look at my eyes and my hairline, LOL! Last night, I got four hours of sleep time and my eyes are feeling heavy, dry and they even look dark.  Thank goodness for undereye concealers.  Hopefully, I’ll make up for it tonight.  My edges (hairline), on the other hand, needs some tender loving care or more like a dye job. Not going to happen this weekend! The grays will have to wait.  My priorities have shifted to my garden so my eye pencil will have to suffice for now.  


Check out my beets and some of my beautiful garden friends, the Ladybug. They play a natural/organic role in controlling unwanted pests in the garden. Ladybugs feast on aphids and anything smaller than them.  I ordered these from GrowOrganic. Aphids are annoying but so far, my ladybugs are keeping them at bay. 

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Are you planting a garden this year? What’s in it? I would love to share ideas and tips🌱

My Favorite Flower, Peony

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Freshly cut peonies from my garden.  Why should I just let my neighbors and random strangers enjoy them.  I have three big plants in the front yard so there’s a huge amount of flowers on them for me to cut. Plus, un-opened buds for later. According to the Old Farmers Almanac, peonies are hardy to Zone 3 and grow well as far south as Zones 7 and 8. In most of the country, the rules for success are simply full sun and well-drained soil.  Where I’m located, the sun is bountiful. 

Peonies even relish cold winters, because they need chilling for bud formation.  To find out which zone you’re in click here. Plant these beauties for a gorgeous garden. For more planting tips visit the Old Farmers Almanac for growing a successful bountiful garden. 


From my garden to yours. Enjoy!