Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary...


...how does your garden grow?

I admit, when we first moved into our home, I was elated at the prospect of planning how our very large yard would be landscaped.  I had visions of blooms...lots and lots of blooms.  Names like snapdragons, dianthus, geraniums, hydrangeas, and, of course, roses danced through my head.

I was less excited about vegetables.  Herbs, sure...who doesn't like a fragrant bunch of basil or lavendar or sage?

But vegetables?  The 5 year old picky eater in me was quickly surfacing.
But we had this little plot of dead grass in our backyard...a section where no sprinkler head reached...with full sun.  So my sweet hubster labored to create this.


A fenced in plot where our pupster cannot enter and our veggies can grow in peace {well..except from the occasional bird or squirrel}.  After our first harvest of a million and five cucumbers which were pickled into the best pickles you've ever tasted, I was hooked.


We planted our first crop in August and had a mid-late fall harvest.  And I cannot take credit for the bounty.  I do not possess a green thumb in any way, shape or form.  I am descended from both a legacy of green thumbs and brown thumbs.  My Great-Granny Willie Mae could take the most barren soil and make beautiful things grow.  Ditto with my Grandpa.  And my brother...well if you hop on over you can see he inherited the genes {morning glories were also a specialty of Grandpa's}.

*Ahem.*  So that brown thumb legacy?  I'm thinking it's linked to the eye gene.  'Cause my Granny was not as talented in the green thumb department {though she could keep ivy alive}, my mom is a little less talented with the ivy-keeping, and I have killed every ivy plant I've ever owned.  And we all share the same blue eyes.  Which means...my little Kiddo is likely destined to kill plants. {Hopefully not!}

Our first crop was grown from seeds.  We have purchased plants that have already been started {is that the right term?}.  But this year, we are more budget conscious thanks to my new career.  {I joke that I get paid in smiles and poop.}  So we have gone back to planting seeds.  

And, until today, I never realized that you can save your seeds and replant the next year.  Apparently, that's how heirloom seeds are passed down.  And there is even a whole website dedicated to passing on the know-how of seed-saving {www.seedsavers.org}.  So...you buy your seeds once.  And replant year after year.  

Now seeds are already ridiculously cheap.  We spent $1.38 on a packet of red bell pepper seeds {which, coincidentally is how much they currently cost per pound at my local grocery store}.  And if we save seeds from our pepper harvest...we can replant them again next year...for free!

I'm hooked.  I might not be a coupon genius...though I admire those who miraculously haul in large amounts of food for little or no money...I do not have the time to hunt down those deals.  But drying out seeds and replanting for next year?  Done.  :)



1 comment:

  1. thanks for the link! i was teasing your brother yesterday that he's going to end up like my great grandpa-- gardening in the backyard in his shorts and an undershirt, tanner than hide, but with GORGEOUS flowers!

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