Rooftop Patio - Summer Update

In this third installment of what has become the 'Rooftop Patio' series, I'm going to fill you in on the developments made by our green growing friends upstairs.  In the last post they were just babies, but now they're blossoming and producing delicious looking fruit and veggies!

First up, the Geraniums, because I can't resist their colour.  They really love the heat and all-day sun on the roof, and are exploding in pinkness right now:

Next we have the sweet green peppers, still just tiny wee things.  I will am really interested to see how big these get - probably not the same size that you'd see at a big grocery store, but maybe the same size as some of the organic peppers.  In any case, they will be tasty:

Beside the sweet peppers, and towering over them (drinking up all the stormy heat to infuse it into their fruit) are the jalapeno peppers.  They couldn't be in a better spot, and are never wilted, no matter how hot and dry it is.  I fear that these peppers will gain a little too much strength:

Then there are the three kinds of tomatoes.  These pear-shaped ones are the heirloom yellow tomatoes, and in the background you can make out one or two of the Better Boy normal-sized tomatoes.  All of them are green so far:

And here are the Super Sweet 100s, cherry tomatoes.  I'm really pumped about these because they're the only kind I'm growing that I know I'll like (the Better Boys are being grown almost exclusively for Drew).  I hope that they really are super sweet. I love them when they're small and crunchy and juicy:

Finally, the peas.  I'm so excited about these!  This is the only veg I'm growing that I don't know how to tell the ripeness of.  So far I'm pretty sure they're too small and young to be ripe, but I must get to them before the raccoons do, and so I must figure out some way to know when they're ready.  They snuck up on me actually, and I didn't notice they were there until yesterday, so maybe the coons won't notice either:

While I'm generally at peace with nature and the wildlife that lives around we pesky humans in cities, the little family of raccoons that lives near me is currently Enemy Number 1 in Operation Rooftop Garden.  They chewed two of the sweet pepper plants a while ago (because the leaves and stems taste and smell like pepper too), and they nabbed the last few of my strawberries in June.  I noticed when I was watering today that a small jalapeno had been nibbled and tossed in the bottom of the planter - I bet that little raccoon got quite the surprise!  Maybe that will warn them away from the other plants.  I can hope, at least!