Vegetable Garden - Week 3

My garden is starting to look like a real garden! I went to the Union Square Green Market last week and was pleased to find that all of the vegetable plant vendors are back! I browsed several of them to find the plants I was looking to use. I found a pretty big green grape tomato plant (produces bright, almost neon green cherry tomatoes that are tart and sweet and look beautiful in salads) and a small yellow brandywine tomato plant which is supposed to make big, yellow beef steak tomatoes. I want to plant a few big beef tomatoes as well. The heirlooms are definitely pretty and tasty, but the big beef tomatoes straight from the garden are equally as tasty and they're much hardier and produce more tomatoes. To hedge my bets, I want a few heirloom and a few big beef for a good mix. I also bought an eggplant plant - first time planting them and very excited.

I planted the green grape tomato in a peony-style hoop with a grid inside the circle to hold the individual branches (last year it got a little heavy). I planted the brandywine in a tomato cage and even though it won't need the cage for a month or two, it's better to put the cage in immediatly when you plant so you don't damage the roots. I planted the eggplant with a hoop just to prop it up once it gets bigger. You don't have to cage eggplants, but apparently the eggplants are straighter and easier to pick if they have some support.

And my peas! They're looking great. Very leafy and healthy looking. I put a tomato trellis between the 2 rows of peas so when they get a little bigger they can climb it. Again, I put the trellis in before it's really needed to avoid root damage later. I won't be out in the country for two weeks, so I'm hoping for lots of rain! Also, before I left I was sure to douse the whole garden and all of the plants in deer and rabbit repelent which smells awful.
Still no Swiss Chard - not sure that's going to work out.
No zucchini yet, but it's only been a week. We'll see.