This is where we are at so far...

This is pretty much everything we have. I still have some tomatoes I need to put into buckets but I need to hit the local BBQ joint for more buckets.   



Our heirloom tomatoes: Steak Sandwich, BrandyWine, Purple Cherokee, Green Zebra Striped, Yellow Pear, and a couple of varieties of cherry tomatoes.



Another 4x4 with some chives that made it through the winter, some 1015 onions, some garlic, 4 banana peppers, a watermelon, lemon cucumbers, regular cucumbers, and a cantaloupe, (I think)



This is a 4x4x12 that has 5 sweet bell pepper, a Charleston Gray watermelon, 4 cantaloupe, and 2 lemon cucumbers. I also planted 9 bush beans in that empty space between the peppers on the left and the melons on the right.



This is my pepper patch. 4 Early red jalapeno, 4 serranp, 3 green jalapenao, 3 ancho, and 2 Cayenne.



Of course the tomatoes in the buckets will be arranged differently and I plan on making an arched trellis to connect to the fence and another trellis made from a cattle panel. Still have some work to do it seems!
We are going to try our hand at some hot salsa this year. Last year we made some salsa but there was no heat to it with store bought peppers, (mostly jalapeno). This year I went heavy on the hot peppers and tomatoes to make sure we could make some!  

EDIT: I forgot to mention the chicken wire. We have a small daschund-chiuahua mix and she likes to run around the yard at full speed and also runs through the garden.

Looking good   

Looks good! No cilantro for that salsa?  

Looks great. I have grown tomatoes for the past 3 years in those large buckets.
Never thought about getting them at a barbecue place.  GOOD IDEA
I am growing Purple cherokee for the first time this year, have you had it before?  It is supposed to be great for taste.   We shall have to compare 

NICE!  How exciting!

For buckets, you might check your local Sam's Club bakery or if you have a Kroger grocery store, their bakery.

Sam's is supposed to recycle them, but I have one close to me that will give them to me.  And they're food-safe!

@ TxGramma: OOOPS! Yes, we do have Cilantro. We have a small planter with a little bit in it and one of the 4x4 beds in the big picture has a full row of Cilantro along with Spinach, lettuce, and salad mix.

@GWN: This is actually MY first real, honest to goodness attempt at a real garden. Up until last August I was working overseas so my wife had to do ALL the work last year plus deal with the kids. This year we went all in and decided to give it all a try since I am home permanently now. I will definitely be posting more pics, (good and bad), on my progress. I'm hoping to have some nice harvest pics later in the year and we can definitely compare our tomatoes!

@ATLMarie: Yeah, there are a few BBQ places within just a few miles of home. I picked up a couple more buckets on Saturday. They've all said that the jalapenos, pickles, and BBQ sauce all come in 5 gallon buckets. They are food grade so no worries there. In fact, I need to make another run this week to pick up some more. I have about 15 more tomato plants I need to set! WHEW!

Yeah, I figured you probably did have some you just didn't mention it so thought I would pick on you a bit lol. Last year was my first year with a garden and my tomatoes didn't do very well...got too late of a start but I loved the Cherokee Purples. I'm planting more of them this year. What BBQ place did you get the buckets from, did you call ahead or just stop in?

Wow, nice row of tomatoes! What are you going to do about staking them?

s1rGr1nG0 wrote:EDIT: I forgot to mention the chicken wire. We have a small daschund-chiuahua mix and she likes to run around the yard at full speed and also runs through the garden.

So, you've got a chi-weenie.  We are currently living with the 6th dachshund in our life.  We've lived with them for more than 50 years.

Pics???

@Gramma: The BBQ place is some local joint here called "Midway BBQ". They also do deer processing. There is a chain restaurant called "Rudy's" that I picked a couple buckets from last weekend. Midway said they just toss all their buckets and I could come by and pick them up. They said Thursday was best since that's the day the truck comes with all the new stuff.

@Marc: I am going to buy a roll of wire "fencing" and make an arch to attach to the back fence. Then I will train the plants up the wire and prune to a single, maybe two, stems. That way I can walk under the arch and pick from the backside as well.

@Rabbit: Yes, we have a chi-weenie. "Lola" is her name and we adopted her from the local Tractor Supply last year. She is about a year old now. If she was an outside dog she would be a great garden protector. Everytime we go outside she runs off any birds and tries to climb the fence or tree to get to any squirrels she sees.  

Thanks s1rGr1nG0! I'm in La Porte so no Midway on this side of town but there is a Rudy's not too far away and Gabby's so I'll check with them. And there are plenty of donut shops around that I could check with too. Sure beats having to buy them and I need some this year.

Yeah, I would imagine that pretty much any restaurant would have buckets. Things like Jason's Deli or Schlotzki's might be good places to ask around too.

You have done and wonderful job and are getting me very anxious to get my garden all in!  Your garden is inspiring!