In My Garden (and photos of my picket fence!)

The end of July is bringing the heat, and my garden has not been all that I've wanted it to be. But I am embracing this learning experience, and I'm trying to not be too hard on myself. My own goals may have been a little lofty - visions of eating completely out of the garden in my first season (other than poorly growing tomatoes) was probably a bit unrealistic. The two things that have grown well are watermelon & squash. But I ripped out my squash because of squash vine borers. My watermelon vines have grown like crazy- up and down the trellis, all over two beds, over the fence and out to the road. But they were not producing at all and I was going to rip them out to make room for other plants, until David mowed the yard this past week and found some watermelons hiding on the outside of the fence. I cannot wait to try a watermelon from my garden this week!  I'm excited about getting ready for my fall garden, and I am gathering my thoughts and notes for next year's spring. A synopsis of my gardening notes:

-Start seeds inside earlier (January & February) especially melons!
-Plant more of everything
-Add another gardening bed or two (maybe a separate melon bed).
-Make my tomato bed an herb garden
-Mulch tomato plants, and stake/cone early

A look into my garden (and you can see my picket fence that I still have not photographed because it needs another coat of paint!):

 3 8x4 beds in my front yard

 Watermelon has taken over!

 A baby!

 Buzzing little garden worker!

 Budding babies.

 Okra that will hopefully start producing soon!

 Sweet potatoes - maybe we will get a few?

 Basil

 My garden gnome!

 Outside of the fence!

 Can you find the hidden watermelon?

Pure glee.

How does your garden grow?

Seedlings.

Grow, little seedlings, grow.

A look into my Rubbermaid green house.

 Each one is unique and intricate.

 I think these are particularly cool.

Cute and furry.

So far, I am loving the rubbermaid system. It's super easy to move, which was nice since we had a frost surprise us on the last possible week for a frost- after six straight weeks of weather in the 80's. I feel badly for the farmers that have been affected. Luckily, I just moved my little garden starts inside to sleep.

How does your garden grow?

Sowing seeds.

This week I started seeds for my garden; it's the first year I've ever started from seeds. I have planted small gardens in the past that haven't gone so well. This year, I decided to go for it. I may have gone a little crazy with the seed catalog....

Dmitri loved helping plant the seeds.

He got especially excited when he saw the watermelon seeds.

I planted the seeds in these little cups made from newspaper, with a handy paper Potmaker that I borrowed from friends. I saw the idea of starting seeds in a Rubbermaid container from Pinterest (naturally). It's like a $7 greenhouse that's lightweight and moveable- perfect just in case our Georgia summer spring surprises us with a cool snap. (It's been in the upper 80's this week!)

I started:

tomatoes (Beefsteak, Pink German, Homestead, Moneymaker, and A Grappoli D'Inverno)

peppers (Quadrato D'asti Rosso Pepper)

okra (Stelley)

watermelon (Moon and Stars)

melons (Kansas and Charentais)

yellow crookneck squash (Early Golden Summer)

lettuce (Henderson's Black Seed, Lollo Rossa, Red Romaine and Merveille des Quatre Saisons)

carrots (Amarillo)

cucumber (Solly Beiler and Suyo Long)

eggplant (Aswad and Black Beauty)

broccoli (Waltham 29)

Herbs:

basil

chives

cilantro

dill

oregano

parsley

stevia

thyme

and a few flowers too!

Send happy growing thoughts my way. I need them.

What are you planting this year? Anything new or exciting? Any new gardeners like me?

First Tomatoes!!

Do you see my first ripe tomatoes!! Aren't they vibrant!

So perfect and beautiful!

I am one proud tomato mama! ; ) Now I'm going to eat them...like a gerbil mama.

I apologize - that was a little creepy.

To see my post about planting my garden click here!

Number Six: Plant a Garden

I have never successfully kept a plant alive for an extended period of time...I have gone through dozens of orchids and rose plants throughout David's and my relationship, all of which have ended tragically. Despite having killed our many "love ferns," luckily, my ability to keep plants alive has not reflected ominously upon our relationship. Ironically though, my dream of being a farmer has not died. (Most likely due to lingering indoctrination by Laura Ingalls Wilder). Luckily, I do not have to rely on my green black thumb for livelihood and survival, and I can plant a garden that has little ramification upon my own survival if it should not survive or produce. So, I figure, what have I got to lose.

So to complete number six on my 21 before 21, I planted my first vegetable garden! I planted these the week of the last frost date, which was April 15th for central/north Georgia. Here are my plants after a month in the ground...

butter lettuce

tomatoes

cayenne peppers

 

 cherry tomatoes

 and my favorite flower..

 Aren't the tiny vegetables just too cute? I "visit" them every day, and I love watching them grow. I never would have expected what joy and pride I take in my little garden. I fantasize about the idea of living self-sufficiently, and this is one small way in which I'm taking a step towards consumer independence.

and here is a tease of my back porch/garden "center"...

I linked to these parties:  Today's Creative Blog, a soft place to land,