Square Foot Garden Update: Tomatoes and Beans Galore!

So, that last update with the tomato plants was apparently only half the story. Those bloody things have reached the lilac branches above the box, and are still growing!

I'm told the trick is to keep new shoots trimmed back so the plant puts more effort into growing the fruit. At the moment though, it looks as though we're not going to have any trouble there at all:

In the first two pics, you can see there are lots of flowers already on the plants. In the third pic, though, are the first fruits coming in. They're pretty densely clustered, so I'm not sure whether these are the beefeater or cherry tomatoes, but for sure this is going to be a good crop if the weather holds up.

Again, I think that answers the question of whether or not there's enough sun in that part of the yard. Remember, this is without any added fertilizer...just a few bags of manure mixed in with the gardening compost. That manure has led to some mushroom growth around the edges (mostly where it stays a little cooler than the middle), but nothing that can't be handled with a little plucking.

We also enjoyed the first green and yellow beans of the season, which was also a surprise. I actually went back to get some lettuce, but it was my daughter who pointed out that there were beans already on the bushes. The bushes are quite short actually...maybe a foot high or so. But the beans are coming in thick!

In fact, the only thing I'm worried about right now is the pepper plant, which isn't growing very quickly (though it is growing). When it went in, it was about 3/4 the size of the tomato plants. But because of their rapid growth they've shaded it almost completely. My hope is that this will give it an incentive to fight for some sunlight:

Still, I'm pretty happy with the way things are turning out in this garden project. The spinach is done...it's too hot now. I think next year I may plant the tomatoes separately; although realistically, everything else is doing just fine. Even the morning glories have figured out what they're supposed to be doing. My thinking is that the tomatoes will do well along the side of the garage, though I'm not fond of the soil there. The sunflowers seem to like it. And if I'm still in this space next season, I may build up another box for herbs (the parsley is the only thing that hasn't survived).

All-in-all, not a bad crop for a first-time veggie gardener: