It’s Official

I am a Grower.

An Official Gardener.

Don’t believe me? (it’s okay. My husband didn’t either)

But the proof is in the pudding. (So they say)

It might LOOK like a jumbled mess. I MAY have gone a little overboard in trying to fit the maximum # of plants in a minimal amount of garden space. But I promise, everything is planted in neat little rows.

Here’s a closer look………

See these? They are the starts to some wonderful (at least I’m hoping they will be wonderful) zucchini. I can hardly wait to throw these suckers on the grill.

And HERE>>>>> Give me another month, and that will be some real, bonafide, corn on the cob. With the 4 rows of corn planted, I am hoping we will have LOTS and LOTS and LOTS.

Then there’s my green beans and my peas. TWO varieties of peas to be exact. “Little Marvel” for early harvesting, and Sugar Snap Peas. Because, let’s face it. You just can’t have a garden without snap peas.

Even my little Tiny Tim tomatoes are blossoming. I planted Tiny tomatoes because have you ever seen the price of little grape tomatoes at the store?? It’s outrageous. I cringe every time I buy them. But Miles loves them. And it is one of the only fruit-vegetable thingies I can get him to eat without much of a battle. AND they are “early” fruit producers. But don’t worry. I also planted plenty of Homestead and Roma tomatoes. And when they ripen, I am going to attempt to can my own stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce.

And Salsa. I am going to try canning my own Salsa.

Which is why I also planted some Green peppers, and onions. The green peppers still have a ways to go. No blossoms here yet, but I’m sure they won’t be long.

I didn’t take any pictures of my carrots, but they are coming along nicely. And my basil plants are still pretty small. But I am hoping there will be enough to use in my spaghetti sauce and to make (and freeze) a bunch of fresh Pesto sauce.

It would be a HUGE understatement to say I underestimated the amount of room my pumpkins would need. The answer?? WAY more than I thought. But I have just been thinning them down a couple times a week. I didn’t want a pumpkin patch. I just wanted to end up with one pumpkin we might be able to carve for Halloween.

It’s looking like that won’t be a problem.

All in all, I have been completely satisfied with my exercise in organic gardening. Did I mention all my plants were grown from organic seeds? In organic soil? And with no chemicals of any kind? It’s been great. My only regret is not planting MORE.

Next year I want to add some strawberry and raspberry plants to the mix, along with some lettuce or spinach, radishes, squash, broccoli, and bunches of herbs.

MMMMM…I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!