It is my goal to eventually grow everything I need to make my salsa. This year I took the first step toward that goal, planting tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro, among other things. Unfortunately, things haven’t worked out quite as well as I had hoped, but there have been a couple of bright spots.

The cilantro plant died out pretty quickly, and I’ve heard from others that it can be a difficult plant to keep going, though I haven’t done any additional research myself. After getting a single tomato very early on, which was subsequently eaten off of the vine by some tomato-loving birds (just as it was ready to pick—perfectly vine-ripened), and losing one of our two plants, we now have 4 tomatoes on the one surviving tomato plant. The jalapeno plant is doing very well, and is currently full of peppers, both green and red.

The current crop was all planted in pots, but next year I hope to have a raised bed or two for them. I also hope to grow some additional types of peppers, including serrano, poblano, and perhaps habanero. Additionally, I’d like to plant some garlic, onion, and have some success with cilantro.

Wish me luck!