Garden: Late Start as Usual!

I just ordered $50 worth of Heirloom seeds from Baker Creek's website. I requested a catalog sometime last year, and was completely stoked to receive the gorgeous thing early this year! I wanted to buy everything, but after much toiling (and possibly detrimental delay), I narrowed it down as best as I could!

Here is a preview of several of the more exciting fruits and veggies I hope to be displaying later this summer! Eeek, getting giddy just thinking about spring!

Purple Russian Tomato

Chinese 5 color Hot Peppers

Tigger Melon

Cosmic Purple Carrot

Mexican Sour Gherkin Cuke (Just bigger than a quarter!)

I know I'm getting a late start, but it's actually planned! My hubby bought me an aerogarden for Christmas, which I planted an herb garden in, and some of those herbs germinated within 3 days! The hydroponic nutrients, rich light source, and constant movement of water is just the right recipe for starting seeds! So this year I'm scrapping my downstairs operation, purchased a seed starter kit for my 7 pod aerogarden (I bought a smaller corner 6 pod garden to transplant my herbs into so I can use the larger kit), and plan on starting my garden this way this year! I still may need my downstairs operation, but I'm kinda thinking about turning it into a straight up hydroponics system. I purchased some vermiculite and hydroponic nutrients (which I need for my aerogarden anyways), so I practically have everything I need, I just have to put it all together.

I'm also rolling around an aquaponics project, complete with fish and everything, but don't want to bite off too much again this year. I'm still planning on doing the rain barrel this year, which is yet another project! I think I need to keep it to one big idea per year! I can't deny that I get all my best ideas from Patty Moreno, the Garden Girl! The aquaponics idea is from a video on her site, check it out!

Green Thumb

My thumb just turned green.

Last year I did it for fun, this year I'm doing it functionally. Neither will be fruitful, I'm betting, but it's all practice for this inevitable depression. (And if not, at least it will help with grocery bills!)

I'm reading Mel Bartholemew's Square Foot Garden. It's basically a method of gardening for people like me with little space, not much time and or patience to tend to. But it's supposed to put out tons of veggies. And we love veggies here.

Supposedly one 4'x4' square will yeild enough food for an entire year for one person. I have 3. Since I'm a kindergartner when it comes to gardening, I severely doubt I will be planting all year long, but I'm going to consider it practice, so that eventually I will be able to do that.

I'm planting lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, onions, beets, radishes, celery, carrots, potatoes (hey, I'm Irish. We can live soley on potatoes in an emergent situation.) cucumbers, squash, peas and beans. Supposedly I can fit all that into just 48 square feet. And hopefully I can freeze/can some of this harvest (that may be 1st grade gardening, not sure...) There's just something about the smell of canning tomatoes that brings back some great memories.

But beyond preparing for the worst, it's therapeutic for the soul, it's rewarding, it's fun, it's exercise, it's outdoors, and it's good for a nice tan. Farmer's tan, but tan nonetheless. Plus the kids can get in on it.

The only thing bringing me down is that the more I read, the more I learn about what a pain in the ass it is to be good at this. Last year when birds ate the strawberries, I said oh well, que cera, and didn't eat strawberries. This year, I have to find ways to keep birds, bugs and rabbits out and it's becoming much more tedious (and expensive).

Not to mention I'm considering starting a compost heap. That's gardeneese for rotten food in a pile.

But just wait, give me a month and I'll have fresh produce growing out my ears. And a hellatious farmers tan.