If I can do it, anyone can. I’ve planted my real first garden – ever. And I’m in love.
My grandfather always kept quite a large garden. As a kid I remember going out with him to pick tomatoes, okra, and all types, it seemed, of greens. But even though, well into my adult life it was condo dwelling and a self-perceived “brown thumb” that shied me away from anything more than potted herbs, or houseplants here and there. Well, I’ve lived in a house with a yard for the past five years, with more than enough space that had been staring at me everyday, waiting to be sowed.
In this space of 4 1/2′ by 10′, old shrubs and weeds were just…there. I’d daydream about all of the possibilities that could be housed in this nice and sunny symmetrical space. Then I’d get down to the garden department of Home Depot and be completely overwhelmed by the isles and isles of beautiful plants with unique requirements posted: annual, perennial, full sun, part sun, direct sow, sow indoors… uh, what? It looked as precise and nurturing as bringing home a new born baby. Then there’s the endless soils and fertilizers – potting mix, gardening mix, this mix, that mix. Once again I’d leave shaking my head, “Um, no I am not ready for this kind of commitment. Surely I’m bound to screw up and kill something.”
Then finally one day last month, while sitting out on the patio enjoying an amazingly beautiful, warm sunny day, I gazed again at the space in front of me, sensibly. I started doing a little research here and there, and used the collected inspiration by the growing movement of home gardeners. I thought, my gosh if it were that difficult, this planet would be barren. It would be contradictory to nature itself, plants cannot be this fickle! Back to the garden center I went, this time committed and with a plan which basically went like this:
- After properly measuring the space, I bought some pressure-treated wood, had it cut to size by the nice wood guy at HD. It’s 10″ wide by 10′ by 4′ planks.
- I got lots of good organic soil. Good all purpose soil for veggie gardens. And I got one small bag of seed starting soil. From what I’m told, the soil on our property is pretty good. But like a new mom, I didn’t want to take any chances.
- I collected a bunch of herbs, and some starter veggies like tomatoes and peppers that looked perky and eager for Spring.
- Marigolds were a must too. A BIG tip I got repeatedly is that they get along great in a garden, especially tomatoes, and keep certain pests away. Plus they’re so pretty, and cheap too.
- All of this took about 4 total trips to HD, Lowe’s, and/or our local nursery.
- And I did order a lot of seeds from a great company online, Burpee Gardening. Their site is awesome and user-friendly, they cater to the home gardener, and their site is packed with good info for novices.
That’s basically it. With help from the boys, we cleared the space, built the box, and raised a sprinkler that was already there.
So this is what I have going on.
My thriving herbs in pots:
- Globe basil (got this in pots and in the box garden)
- Lemon basil
- Cilantro
- Dill
- Tarragon
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Garlic chives
- Spearmint
These are the veggies that are planted in the garden:
- Tomatoes: roma, yellow pear, cherry
- Peppers: red bell, yummies (small, mild, and orange), jalepeño, cherry, carnival
- Japanese cucumber
- Kaleidoscope heirloom carrots (orange, red, purple, yellow) – as seedlings directly sowed in the ground.
- Garlic – directly sowed in ground
- Shallots – directly sowed in ground
These are currently little seedlings that I’ve planted in their tiny crib pots:
- Florence fennel (small variety)
- Arugula
These are all waiting to be planted from seed:
- Zucchini: summer ball, Italian ribbed heirloom
- Squash: Ronde de Nice heirloom, golden bar
- Radish: French breakfast heirloom, watermelon
- Beets: Chiogga (red/white spiral flesh), Little Chicago (tiny red beets)
- Lettuces: romaine, bibb (red and green), baby leaf mix, microgreens mix
- Blue Solaise heirloom leeks (small bluish-green leeks)
- Romanesco
This whole process has brought me so much joy. I’m like an obsessed new mother. We’ve had absolutely beautiful weather, which makes it all the better to be outdoors. The garlic and shallots have begun to sprout, the plants that I brought home one or two weeks ago are happy and taller. Constantly I’m looking over everything, as if staring at it all will make it grow faster. If I’m having this much fun already, I can only imagine what the first harvests will be like. I cannot wait to share!
<3, JMK
