eden inspired

 tiny basil sprouting (finally) in my recycled version of peat pots...an egg carton!

 perhaps i inherited it from my grandmother with her productive idaho garden, or from her daughter (my mother) for whom each year hope springs new as she considers her own garden possibilities.  life in japan proved that most people have the potential to grow anything anywhere as i observed tiny japanese balconies and porches pouring over with plant filled pots.  and the more i understand the benefits of organic and local food, the more i desire to grow my own.  what is the name of that singular pleasure summed up from digging in the earth, planting seeds, watering them, hoping, and watching tiny green sprouts emerge from the dirt? 

a shot of heirloom tomatoes from the aspen farmer's market last september. 

i shot 3 rolls of film at the market as it was a feast for the eyes.

 last summer i fell in love with heirloom tomatoes.  our CSA provided me with enough black, yellow and red gems to garner a taste for meaty, juicy tomatoes that tasted like nothing i've ever purchased from the supermarket.  a month or so ago i spotted a book at the bookstore called grow great grub: organic gardening for small spaces.  

 gayla trail originally started as a blogger http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/03/30/tomatoes-to-grow-in-containers-or-otherwise/ as she documented her own container gardening on her apartment roof-top deck.

since our rented home is for sale, i had originally given up on garden possibilities this year.  however, galya's book opened up the option of starting a garden that i could take with me.  since i hope to reap the bounty of my harvest - container gardening seemed a perfect fit!  i found some heirloom tomato seeds at the local nursery and planted tomatoes from seed (inspired by my friend holly who has a huge garden in oregon).  and miracle of miracles...they actually sprouted!

black heirloom tomatoes that i started from seed in an old seedling pack.  

i can hardly believe they are growing!

it really felt like an exercise in faith as i watered the dirt for over a week before any green poked through.  but the sprouts have shot up and i hope that a few of them will turn into real tomato producing plants.  the plants still have about a month before they will be safe to plant outside (colorado still has potential for frost), so the story remains unfinished.

heirloom yellow pear sprouts (with 2nd generation leaves- the 3 pointed ones)!

last week i planted lettuce and arugula in outdoor containers, and today i planted some more basil and flat leaf parsley in indoor kitchen pots.  once again i've started watering my seeds in the dirt...hoping that more green life will spring up.  i find myself in awe of God and his design that provides so well for us.  the seeds once held in a tomato, lovingly dried and saved may birth many whole tomato plants.  i hope a happy ending awaits, but in the meantime it brings delight to participate in this little bit of eden, as small as it may be.