I've been gardening for 8 years, but this year I'm actually going to do it right.
The first few years were rough. Mostly I planted in containers. There was the year I planted morning glories in a hanging basket and ended up with vines taking over the light next to the front door. (What? You mean they climb, not hang over the side?) There was the year I grew salad mix using an old tire with a ripped sidewall as a raised bed. (Doesn't that sound healthy?) The time I planted leftover wilting green onions I had in the fridge and was rewarded with some of the strangest looking bugs I've ever seen. Did I mention this happened when I was living down the road from a nuclear power plant? Let me tell you, if you've never had the chance to grow nuclear chives, those puppies are HUGE.
After moving to a less radioactive location, I stuck to mostly herbs and cherry tomato plants in containers on the deck. They did okay, but my desire for a real garden burned within.
A few years later the opportunity came. A new home, with a 25 x 15 raised bed already in place. A few items came up on their own before my plans were even in place--a shame I don't like asparagus, but the rhubarb was a thrill.
We burned brush, we tilled, we cleared, we planted. Tomatoes, peppers, carrots, spinach, lettuce, green beans, and the obligatory pumpkins for the 7 year old. The herbs were transplanted to a small bed on the back of the house. Things went pretty well considering our lack knowledge. After all, I think we were the only folks in New England to get many tomatoes last year.
I've been gardening for 8 years, but this year I'm actually going to do it right. I'm going to learn about what I'm planting and how to grow it properly. Keep your fingers crossed!
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I am jealous of your chives.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited you started blogging!!! Another GLU sista's blog I can add to the blog roll on my blog!!!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing about the progress of your garden and PICTURES!!!
I can't wait to start our garden again this year!!!!! Last year was such a thrill for us and we officially hooked. Even Kevin is excited!!!
Nuclear chives rule. They made it from the radioactive apartment to the pots on the deck to the ground. They've been growing for 5 years and I think if I pulled up the roots, they'd be able to walk away...
ReplyDeleteOh, I am so thrilled you're doing this, sweet pea!!!! A Virgo with her own home and garden is exactly as it should be. And it'll be great to have a place to come visit you when you're too busy for GLU!
ReplyDeleteChives will take over enough on their own without the nuclear boost, my goodness! I bet they were Super Sized!
Ya gonna save some room for a flower or two, or is this strictly a practical sort of garden?
If you are too refined to continue to grow thigns in old tires ( a grand old tradition in the South, I maight add; you can turn 'em inside out and paint 'em white if you feel real fancy) you might also want to consider planting them straight in those big bags of top soil or planting mix you get at Home Depot, Wal-Mart or any place you buy plants.
ReplyDeleteJust lay it down flat, and slit a hole in it big enough to put your plants in. I have grown many a tomato this way.
It also works with flowers.... I made myself an instant burm full of impatiens this way, and it also works well with petunias and anything that droops. It was best with the impatiens, though, which were in the shade.
It's great for those situations when you find that you have somehow managed to buy more things than you have time to plant right away....kind of a little holding bed, so to speak.