I've made a long term investment

in vegetable container gardening. Since I have no arable land to speak of I made a significant investment in containers and soil to grow my own food. I also went hardcore and started from seeds.

I've got tomato, cucumber, pepper and broccoli seedlings sitting near a south facing window. Once these are large enough I'll transfer the strongest into 4" pots, let them grow a little more, harden them off and then finally transfer them to their rooftop home. The pea plants and a few carrots are already in their containers doing their thing.

The weather hasn't been the sunniest lately so I'm trying to speed the process along with a grow light. Hopefully I'll be able to plant some stuff before my weeklong vacation in Paris.

I've never grown vegatables before so I find this process very interesting. Plus I like the idea of being able to eat food I've grown

myself. All told I've spent about $400 on containers and soil and about $50 on seeds and seed starter. Given the rising cost of food, especially fresh food like vegetables, I think the containers and soil will pay for themselves in less than 2 years.