Saturday, March 21, 2009

Be Green! Grow a Garden!

I'm going to share another avenue of my life with you, gardening. It's not a common hobby among most in their young twenties, but it has always been one of mine. When I was a little girl I used to spend so much time in the garden with my grandma, and I just loved it. And because my dad picked up her green thumb, it is something I have always had the opportunity to be around. To take care of a whole yard can be a task, that is true, but a simple summer garden is so much easier than you would think. So think about it! You have the next few months to decide, and I think you should decide to plant a few seeds, grow some fruits and vegetables. Be green :)

I went to rite aid the other day with Martin, we saw the large assortment of seeds, and we couldn't help ourselves. So 15 dollars later, I had the seeds, potting soil, and containers for an amazing summer garden. All seed packages have directions, you don't even need to research, just go for it. To be honest, gardening is a lot easier than most of my recipes, and, you're getting healthy fruits and vegetables in return! Almost all of the seeds I chose should be planted in may or june, after the last possible frost, but if you plant them in containers first, you can just keep them indoors at night, and then you can see the fruits of your labor (no pun intended) months earlier. Also, instead of planting the whole container of seeds at one time, I usually do them in thirds. So plant a third of my selection in march, another in may, and another in july. Then your crop is spread out, and you're not overwhelmed with your fruit and vegetable supply. My family uses a plot of land close to home for most of our gardening since we grow a lot, but we've planted in our backyard for a few years and you can still do a lot in a small space. And we have a tiny backyard, so you have no excuses. If you really are feeling lazy, you can buy all these already a few weeks old to plant, you don't even have to deal with seeds. But really, seeing the first sprouts come up is my favorite part!!!

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So, I'm growing zucchini, sweet corn, cantaloupe, tomato, green beans, and the camera shy yellow squash. These are all smaller plants and most likely Martin and I will find a place in his yard to grow them, since he has a good size yard with plenty of sunshine. In my family's garden I will be growing pumpkins, butternut squash, and maybe a few other things. At the garden all year round we have our boysenberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and concord grapes. But all these plants take up space, time, equipment, and they really are better done in a large area; which I why, for the most part, I'm just going to keep you updated with my summer garden project.


Maybe just pick one plant to grow, if a whole garden sounds overwhelming. Try a tomato plant. They're very hearty, and they'll have ripening tomatoes until late fall. Good luck, I'll keep you updated!

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1 comment:

  1. Oh, my gosh! You really are wonderwoman. I have determined to plant a garden this year. I could use some tips.

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