Tuesday, April 24, 2012

How does your Garden Grow...

Yesterday I started a new project - something that I've always dreamt of doing.  Lack of knowledge, time, and space has always prevented me from actually going through with this little plan but I figured it's now or never so I took the plunge. 
I went with my girls to a local garden centre, picked out several seed packages - after some research into which varieties were best for my climate - soil, and some cute Martha Stewart gardening tools (okay, so the tools were purchased on a whim but they are turquoise and brown and very fabulous looking).
Very excitedly, we came home and laid out our new treasures in front of us.  I had seen on pinterest a few weeks back that you can save your empty toilet paper rolls and use them as seedling cups (click HERE to see the article), so I also had a big bag of cardboard rolls.  Apparently they can go right into the soil when you're ready to transplant them into your actual garden and the cardboard is biodegradable.
I found out that I had to start a few of my seeds indoors and a few of my seeds outdoors, after some reading and some very good advice from a domestic guru at Schnitzel and Boo.  So, after putting the baby down for her nap (nightmare trying to work with dirt and minuscule seeds when a one year old is climbing all over everything!) we got started.
The in-door seeds that we started were zucchini, onions, tomatoes, and thyme.  To start later, outside, we have strawberries, carrots, garlic, peas, dill, green onions, and potatoes.  Now, I'm the farthest thing you can be from an expert so I hope this is right - I guess we'll see with time! :)
We got all our seeds into the cardboard cups, marked them and put them inside on our lovely Ikea seed table.  First thing this morning my daughter ran downstairs to check out the "baby seeds" and she was pretty disappointed to find nothing more than our wet seedling cups just sitting there.  I assured her with some time and sun and love they would be growing soon (inside I thought to myself, "I hope!").
Seeing that this is my first garden and that it is becoming a family affair (the mister is going to build me a 8 foot by 4 foot raised garden bed) I will post updates on how it is making out.  What would success look like to me with this little project?  Well, right now, I hoping that the seeds actually grow and to be able to transplant them outside; I would love to see something - anything - out in terms of actual veggies so that the girls can see how a seed turns into real food!  I think, most definitely, the time we spend together, having fun working outside on our project will be a major win as well!
**Such a nice day yesterday we had some fun in the playhouse too - yes, when I go down the slide it's a scary sight!! :)

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