My very first garden....

    So last year I attempted to grow some peppers and tomatoes in pots on my deck.  I reported their progress daily to Angela as I spent a lot of time in her office last summer getting my hip fixed. 

     Each day I would tell her how my little tomato plants and pepper plants were faring.  To my dismay I only managed to successfully grow jalapeno peppers....and plenty of them I must say.  She coached me along and encouraged me as my tomato and pepper plants were ruthlessly eaten by a tomato grub.  Why couldn't that silly grub go after my jalapeno peppers?  No, in one day that fat little worm managed to eat 10 tomatoes and 5 peppers.  I think in total out of 1 cucumber plant, 2 jalapeno plants, 3 pepper plants and 2 tomato plants I was able to get 3 actual peppers, 0 cucumberes and a few tomatoes...and like I said jalapeno's out the ying yang.

     So here I am 1 year later and I have totally expanded and to say I am nervous and a bit apprehensive is an understatement.  Brandon and Brooke attended Angela's organic gardening seminar this past April and between many texts to Angela and Chris we have successfully planted our first garden.  I'm not gonna lie, Jim and I did a high five and a kiss when that first tomato plant (which I now know is NOT a tomato plant, it's a banana pepper plant) was planted.

     We started collecting compost as soon as the kids went to the organic gardening seminar.  We saved our egg shells, banana and orange peels, strawberry tops and anything that would grow back into the ground.

     Our first day Jim went out and dug up all of the weeds, plants, and whatever else was growing in our "new garden area!"  We lined out where we wanted to grow and Brandon and Jim dug out the grass.  We tilled the garden area and then I actually went to Lowe's and paid money for cow poop.  Between spreading cow poop and our many piles of compost I thought the kids were surely going to die of embarrassment.

     Brandon and Brooke both stated that the entire yard smelled like "poo" and that they were a bit annoyed that you could see "trash" in our yard.  I told them I didn't really care what the neighbors thought and that when we had fresh veggies on our kitchen table, they wouldn't care either.  Gage came home later that weekend and at dinner on Sunday night, he said "Carole, why is their trash all over our yard?"  I had to explain to him that this was compost and it would soon bear some beautiful veggies for all of us to eat.

     I think the most fun Jim and I had was our day shopping for our plants at the South Bend Farmer's Market.  Who would of thought that picking out and planning your garden could be so exciting?  We bought tomatoes, red and orange peppers, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, spaghetti squash, yellow and green zuchini, cucumbers, and some herbs....basil, cilantro, sage, parsley and oregano.  We also bought two salad bowls, 1 was baby spinach and the other was mixed greens. 

     The last thing we did is bought some organic soil and some worm casing's for fertilizer (at the South Bend Farmer's Market).  It was now time to take all of this stuff home and get it in the ground.  We were like kids in a candy store....we had a truck full of items and we were ready to go.

   It only took about 1 hour to get all of our plants planted.  We planted all of the main plants in the garden, we planted the herbs in planters on the porch and left the salad bowls just like she had them.

     Since the big planting on May 9th we have already been threatened with a freeze.  Don't get me wrong, but I completely panicked.  I mean really all of that hard work and now the "big freeze" was coming and all of my plants were going to die.  We survived the freeze (although I think it only got down to 34) I brought the herbs and the salad bowls in the house, and covered the garden with sheets.

     We have already "trimmed" our salad bowls and enjoyed the first of our harvest.  Yesterday I needed basil for my spaghetti squash and meatballs so I simply went to my back yard and picked a few leaves.  There is nothing more exciting to me than eating veggies out of my own back yard and picking fresh spices to use in my recipes. 


     I also noticed yesterday that our banana pepper had it's first flower.  I can just taste those sweet veggies now. 

     I'm still more nervous than I was taking care of my first child - this seems so out of the norm for me and I can't believe I am even attempting it some days.   I constantly question if I should water, if I shouldn't if I watered too much, or not enough.  I still have a little room left to plant and Brooke is getting us some broccoli and cauliflower from her agriculture teacher.  We'll just wait and see what happens. 

     I check on my plants at least 5 times a day.  Watching and waiting for something to happen.  I am so afraid of waking up one day and finding all of them keeled over. 

     But, I am committed to taking on this new adventure.  And when those veggies start pouring in, I'll take pictures and share my harvest with all of you.