lycopersicon esculentum hypochondriac

Definitions
Lycopersicon esculentum = tomato
Hypochondriac = personal problem


Part 1: Let me introduce you to hypochondriac Savanna I warned you about here...
Currently, Ian and I don't make it a point to buy organic fruits and vegetables. I've looked at the list of the fruits and vegetables with the highest risk of pesticide residue (dirty dozen) and the only "dirty" vegetable we eat on an almost daily basis is lettuce. There are also few more fruits and veggies on the higher risk list that we eat somewhat regularly/seasonally: blueberries, strawberries and green peppers. We thoroughly wash our fruits and vegetables and hope for the best. 


We have discussed switching over (making the investment/gambling on long term health benefits) to organic fruits and vegetables on the "dirty list" (if and) when I become pregnant. But, until then, we do try to make other (more affordable) smart choices like choosing fresh food over eating food from cans or frozen meals. Oh, and we don't microwave in plastic. don't do it! (and every once in a while, like last night, we make a random/horrible choice Taco Bell for dinner. crap.)


There are a million hypochondriac things I worry about.... not on a daily basis, but in waves, like:
- are we eating healthy enough?
- pesticides on our food and in the air (living near so many farms)
- possible lead contaminated paint on or in my house
- using safe household cleaners and personal hygiene products 


Most of the anti-crunchy-granola people I know (ahem, my parents age) proudly remind me that they are alive (duh), and they lived through the height of lead paint use, lead in metal toys and the plastic boom of the 1960's...aaaaand the earliest version of the microwave...


In my defense, I come from a generation that has grown up with/and continues to use the abundant available information via the weber-net (hehe)...there are lots of studies...and lots of stories to sift through. It's hard to ignore and it's difficult to decide what information is worth believing. I know it's about balance. I need to take the information available to me and make reasonable decisions that fit our lifestyle. Therefore, when our family becomes more than 2 + dog, we will probably switch to more organic food options. We have already started switching over some of our household cleaners to more natural products. Lastly, I have been switching over to organic/natural personal hygiene products as my old ones run out. 


Is this going somewhere? Oh yes.... 


Part 2: Let me introduce you to my chipping house full of character...

The house has been repainted in the last 8 years, but what's happening is all the layers of paint are chipping off together. And because there are layers of paint that date back to 1920, there is a possibility that there could be lead contaminating the soil right around our house. The chipping isn't bad, but mostly prevalent after a bad storm, and a potential risk. (We plan to take care of this and paint or add siding at some point.)


Here is where our tomatoes and peppers were planted last year. (Now, this place is the home of some lovely un-edible perennials we planted this year.)

Some good friends of ours, with a house about the same age, had a study done on their soil and found that their soil did have higher levels of lead, but the soil examiners told them that the lead does not contaminate tomatoes. However, after some negotiation with the hubs, we added perennials around the house and made a separate garden for my own sanity. 


Part 3: Let me introduce you to our new garden... 


Because we had the space and the ability, I annoyingly nagged until I got my way voted that we build a raised garden with soil that is more likely to be lead free.


And, although the tomato plants last year grew big with the help of non-organic plant food and miracle grow (pesticide).... in effort to be as healthy as possible this year we decided try to grow our plants without plant food or miracle grow. Just rain a sprinkler and shine..


We began building the garden the weekend after Memorial Day weekend. 


***please note that all of our grass is now brown, don't feel bad that your yard probably looks like poop. The only green grass we have now is a foot around our garden because of our sprinkler***


Ian bought 5 railroad ties from Menards for $8 a pc. = $40.00. His brother helped him place them in our side yard.

Please ignore the terrible lack of landscaping here. We tend to forget about the side yard because the yard and that garage actually belong to the duplex next door, which Ian's family own. With his family's permission, we decided to put the garden here as our yard is pretty small. In case you are wondering, the railroad tie in the middle is for walking through the garden, if needed.

Here is one perspective of the garden below. That is our house, then a public alley and then you can see the railroad ties to the bottom left of the photo near the lilac tree.

Here is a another perspective.  You can see the duplex (and a guy cutting tile for a bathroom remodel/and Ian's mom, brother and brother's girlfriend) next door with the railroad ties between us. a family affair.

Ian and his dad took soil off his parent's land in the middle of the woods. This saved us a lot of money!

We planted a variety of 6 tomato plants and a variety of 8 pepper plants.

Despite 1) the crazy summer heat 2) the lack of rain 3) lack of plant food/fertilizer, the garden has been doing very well. We Ian waters the garden almost every day.


Here is what our garden looks like today!

jungle o' veggies

I see some baby peppers!

Our first pick. Grape tomatoes.

Darn hot summer!
XO