A bit of history

I have decided to take on a challenge, and that challenge is producing produce.  I attempted this last summer by buying two tomato plants, a planter, an "upside-down" planter (so the two plants could duel) and ended up with this:

The two tomato plants dueled and cumulatively produced one tomato.  It was delicious, but I was hoping for more.  I also had some herbs (seen on the right side) which I also bought pre-started, which did fine, but weren't much of a challenge.

This summer I am, in all likelihood, biting off more than I can chew.  But I like to dream big.  I have rented a 45' by 22.5' plot from the city of Columbus, IN in the community garden.  I think part of my epic failure of last summer was due to the fact that my small patio only receives sunlight for 2 to 3 hours a day.  While the community garden is more inconvenient than my back porch, it is necessary if I actually want any fresh produce.

One big change from last summer will be that I am attempting to start my plants from seeds.  I've done a bit of research on this and thought I'd give it a try. If all else fails, I can always go buy starter plants again, but I hope it doesn't come to that.

A Groupon came up yesterday for this kit and I decided to go for it.  I've also purchased some additional seeds and starting materials.  So far, including the land, I've spent $95.  Who knows, maybe I'll grow enough veggies to start selling my extras! At the very least, I hope to be canning some of them to be better prepared for the apocalypse.  It is 2012, you know.