This weekend Sam and I rolled up our sleeves, grabbed our shovels and cleared the weeds from a tiny patch of dirt behind his house. Then we mixed Kellogg Amend garden soil with the regular soil and planted vegetables and herbs.

We planted:
– red leaf lettuce
– spinach
– red bell peppers
– a jalepeno plant
– sweet peas
– cilantro
– sweet basil
– Green Zebra tomatoes (these are my favorite!)
– Sweet 100 tomatoes
– Pink Brandywine tomates

Sam has several citrus plants growing in containers, including grapefruit, kaffir lime, lemon and orange trees. We also discovered potatoes growing in the pot with his orange tree, so we transplanted those to the garden patch. Pea plants are climbing up the iron fence and the mint has spilled through the fence to the hillside, but the merlot grape vine remains dormant. For such a small area, Sam’s backyard is turning out to be a rather promising garden.

I am most looking forward to eating the spinach, lettuce and tomatoes, so hopefully they will be successful. I am also planning to plant some Scarlet Runner Beans–the inspiration for this site’s name–once I figure out the best location and way to plant them.

It will be at least 50 days (early May) before the vegetables are ripe, but for now we can enjoy snipping the herbs for cooking and watching the vegetable plants grow. More pictures to come along throughout the growing season!