Garden Update

Everything is looking good!

We have our first zucchini!

Here is basil for the pesto sauce I plan to make. I've found a lot of these Japanese Beetles eating away at the leaves already though. I think I might have to bring it inside.

The mystery plant is broccoli!

Tomatoes

Carrots

Balloon Flower

Colorful non-edible berries

Simple Gardening

A couple months ago I started my very own vegetable garden, thanks to my sister-in-law. She gave me lots of tips, let us borrow her tiller, and provided us with some very cool heirloom tomato and pepper plants.

I spent a lot of time hacking at the dirt, preparing it for the seeds. After spending so much time in the dirt, I began to think how amazing this brown/black stuff really is. I mean, we never give it much thought, after all, it's just dirt. But if you actually think about how you can plant a tiny dry seed in the soil and add water and watch it grow, it's amazing to me. I find dirt an odd yet wonderful substance. I don't know, maybe I'm just a little whacked. ;-)

After the seeds were planted, I would check on the garden almost daily. I didn't know what to expect, and I don't think I did everything exactly as the seed package had stated. However, I have to say, I'm quite happy with what I see so far! It has been fun for me (and the kids) to watch the changes each week. I spent some time today weeding it and trying to get some more of the grass out, which was left over after the tilling. It's not bad, for a first year garden. I planted a lot of lettuce, some broccoli, carrots, spinach, zucchini, squash, pumpkins, peppers, and tomatoes. I can't wait until the tomatoes are ready!

Carrots

Tomato

I love how this lettuce looks!

Hmm...too bad I didn't label everything. I'm not sure what this is, but it looks good to me!

Daisies. They just looked pretty so I had to include them in the photo line up.

~Our Garden~

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Penny, we will finally have our very own garden this year! Well, it's not a garden quite yet, it's more like a patch of dirt for now. ;-) Penny and her husband recently bought a brand new tiller and let us borrow it. It did the job well! I'm excited to start planting! Although I do like to try and eat organically when possible, with the economy the way it is, it's hard to spend the extra money. I have also been in a bad eating slump since last fall. Motivation to make healthier choices should come easier with the garden. In the summer months it seems a lot easier to eat healthy. This week the planting will begin!