How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

Whether you’re a Master Gardener, or you just plant a couple small plants on your kitchen counter, learning the skill of gardening is very important in Food Storage. Today we’re going to update you on how our gardens are doing this year.

For those of you who have followed our blog for the last three years, you’ll know that I haven’t been into the gardening scene all that actively yet. It hasn’t been for a lack of interest, but rather a lack of knowledge, space, sun, and courage! Well this year I decided one way or another, I WOULD have a garden. I spent a lot of time debating between 3 garden options for me this summer.

I was trying to decide between:

Using my yard that is tiny and gets virtually no sun
Renting a garden plot in my community
Planting my garden at my mom’s house which is about 10 minutes away

Each of these options had pros and cons. I wanted so badly to plant in my own yard so I could see daily progress, however it became pretty clear that the overhaul that would have to take place on a yard that may not see the light of day probably wouldn’t work. I decided I would monitor the amount of sun that comes in this year and maybe attempt it next year after having a year of good practicing in an area that actually gets sun. I decided to plant in a row at my moms house since she’s a great gardener, could help guide me, and I’d have someone to water for when I’m out of town etc. So here you have it, my GARDEN! My area is half that first row – and I’m so proud of it.

My mom was SO helpful in getting me past my anxiety of planting a garden. I’m kind of the type that doesn’t like doing things that I don’t fully understand (ummm that is how this blog started in the first place actually hahah) so this is big for me. I felt like I was walking blindly into this whole thing, but with her help I feel much better now.

Here’s what we did a few weeks ago:

We planted the plants that you can plant in the cold weather outside
We planted herbs and spices in indoor planters
We planted a bunch of varieties of tomatoes in indoor planters – fully planning on buying tomato plants in a few weeks in case they don’t work

So I’m very proud to report that my tomato seeds are doing awesome… while my spices and herbs seeds WERE doing awesome….until they got knocked over and smashed by a 3 year old. Ah well – this is going to be my test year anyways 🙂

I got started a little later than I had intended on my garden this year (ok that seems to happen every year, maybe I should just plan on it, lol). But then we got a few of our crazy late spring blizzards and I was glad I hadn’t put too much into the ground yet. I’ve got a good start on stuff in the ground and stuff growing inside. It’s so fun to watch everything growing! My camera is being troublesome but I will try to get some pictures uploaded later today. Here is a quick summary of my progress so far.

What’s Outside

So far I have peas and onions that are coming up quite nicely. Like I said, I planted them late but I’m hopeful I will still get SOMETHING out of them. My potatoes aren’t showing any signs of life yet, but I have faith that they will product!

What’s Inside

I have a whole tray of seedlings going. Pumpkins, zucchini, and cucumbers are growing like crazy. Watermelon (first time trying it!) and some herbs are doing well. Tons of tomatoes and peppers are coming along but not as quickly as I would like. Oh well, they won’t go into the ground for a while anyway.

To Do This Week

I need to transplant a lot of my indoor seedlings into bigger pots. That’s always a fun (and messy) job. I’m also going to plant a lot more straight outside. Carrots, beans, corn, etc. I know it may be a bit late for spinach and lettuce but I’m going to throw some of them in the garden just for fun and hope for the best. I also need to finish cleaning out the weeds from the rest of my garden beds and I’m hoping to get some brick borders to section off my larger garden area along the fence.

What are YOU doing in your garden this week??