Watch My Food Grow ~ A South Florida Raised Vegetable Garden

I’m not the biggest gardening geek on the block any longer and that is saying a lot given that I have live streaming video of my tomatoes.

To your right, please see my newest garden technology find, the EasyBloom Plant Sensor.

EasyBloom Plant Sensor and Educated Garden Advisor

• Step One: Buy the EasyBloom Plant Sensor.
• Step Two: Stick it in your garden.
• Step Three: Stick it in your USB port.
• Step Four: Do whatever it tells you.

Does the EasyBloom Plant Sensor Work?

I don’t know. I don’t own one. I’m seriously thinking about buying one, however. My tomatoes are brown and I’m not sure if it is from too much water or too little water. My mom used to have a plant hydrometer that would report the level of water in the soil. I came across this product while looking for a hydrometer.

The Amazon Reviews are fairly positive — three and a half stars out of five with 24 people voting. The editors at the technology magazine CNET also gave the EasyBloom a ‘Very Good’ rating.

EasyBloom Plant Sensor Review and Recommendation

I love metrics. I’m just not sure if I’m willing to spend $60.

I like that the device accurately measures the amount of sunlight and soil conditions. I like that it connects to the internet and figures out which of 5,000 possible plants would like your garden the best. I like that it will tell you what is wrong with your plants based on a description and its captured condition data.

But, for $60, I also want it to do, at minimum, a pH test of the soil.

Anyone Using the EasyBloom Plant Sensor?

If you’re using the EasyBloom or another automatic garden data gathering device, please let me know. I’d love go know what else is out there. Also, why are my tomatoes brown?

—Farmer Matt

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The question, what’s for dinner, takes on new meaning when you have a backyard vegetable garden.

“What’s For Dinner?” Requires Trip to Backyard Garden

When you have your own vegetable garden, you never really know what you’re going to eat until you see what is available. Some vegetables are always available such as tomatoes (of one variety or another). There is also plenty of cilantro and lettuce. The question then becomes what are we going to use as our accent food.

Fairy Tale Eggplant

Tonight’s accent vegetable will be fairy tale eggplant. They don’t get much larger than six inches. Most are less than three inches. I imagine I’ll just fry them up in a pan green-tomato style. If you have a better suggestion, let me know.

There are half a dozen green peppers that’ll be ready to eat this week. I’m thinking fajitas for them.

Cucumbers and snap beans are still a few weeks off but are sprouting nicely.

—Farmer Matt

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Lunch is served, backyard garden style.

Before: The Raw Materials

After: A Yummy BLT Sandwich

It’s Not About the Garden

Lance Armstrong wrote an entire book to tell us It’s Not About the Bike. (Of course, don’t tell that to Trek Bikes, a major sponsor. They dumped millions of dollars into designing the most perfect bike for him.)

I’m here today to tell you it’s not about the vegetable garden. It’s about the food and process.

There is great satisfaction in walking 30 feet across your back yard and plucking the food you are about to eat.

Locavores and Locatarians? I Laugh in Their Faces

You want to eat local food? You can’t get much more local than my back yard. I’m not there yet but backyardavore may be in my future.

Well, at least as soon as I get my bacon seeds in the ground.

—Farmer Matt

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