The Joy of Gardening

Here's my story of a novice gardener's 1st organic vegetable garden.

Living on a hillside, having a garden is difficult without terracing. However there's a small, flat area of land that I had in mind for years. So 6 years after purchasing our home, and with my daughter's 4th birthday fast approaching, I woke up one morning determined to give my 1st garden a try.Beginning Stage:

An out of control mound of weeds. Astrid was out there helping me pull weeds. It took a good 2 hours to clear all the weeds.

My mom has a green thumb and I grew up watching her create all sorts of gardens. But I had never tried to grow anything on my own, and more importantly never thought I would be good at it. So now as a mom myself, I felt it important that I at least try especially for Astrid's benefit, to see where food comes from.Vision:

An organic vegetable garden after a lot of sweat and muscle.

My sweet husband came out with some ice water and asked how we were doing. I told him he could help by pulling some weeds and gathering them up for the green garbage. He mentioned his hay fever and said he was in the house doing laundry and washing the dishes. We both burst out laughing at the irony of the women doing yard work and the man of the house staying indoors cleaning and washing.

If I had my choice, I'd be outdoors in my garden. And I was glad he was there with his camera to take some photos of us.After laying down 2 bags of organic fertilizer and planting the seeds - here is what the garden looked like. A month later:

My tranquil, organic vegetable garden. I love it and so does my daughter. I needn't worry about forgetting to water it because my daughter reminds me everyday that we need to water the garden - morning and night.

I wasn't sure if I'd have any luck with seeds, but everything came up eventually.Butter Lettuce. Carrots. Pumpkin. They're already growing like crazy and I have a feeling they will take over the garden. Hoping for a couple pumpkins in time for Halloween.Tomato plants. Onions. End product:

Freshly picked lettuce we made into a salad with organic tomatoes and a vinaigrette. Something very satisfying about eating veggies from your own garden. However, next time I don't think I'll be growing lettuce again. It takes a lot of water and as you can see after all that we had 1 serving of lettuce.

Next I would like to try Brussel sprouts and hardier veggies, now that I'm a bit more confident of my abilities and what my garden will grow.

It feels good to learn something new and try something that I've never tried before. While I'm watering my garden I have some quiet time to meditate each day. I need that tranquility and peace, which my garden gives me. Now I get why my mom was so into gardening. It took me awhile but I finally get it.

My Very Own Organic Vegetable Garden

This is a pretty big deal for me. I've never been one with earth, or even a weekend gardener. I have a potted plant in my bathroom that I rescued from my office I used to work at, (they were going to throw it away because it was no longer "perfect") a fern of some sort that is still living 7 years later (with many near death experiences - I sometimes forget to water it until I see it's wilting).

People who have knowledge about such things and are good at it, mystify me. But I eat organic, and know that fresh produce is so much better - taste wise and also for the environment as it doesn't have been transported via plane, trains and/or automobiles. And then there's my fantasy which goes something like this - I need tomatoes for dinner, and instead of having to run to the grocery store, I just step outside and pick a ripe one off the vine. Being self sufficient and eating the fruits of my labor are great ideals. I like it. Where can I get it?

Oh that's right that means I have to go to Home Depot and pick up a bunch of gardening stuff like organic soil, tools, seeds, and gardening shoes. That's right - gardening while wearing green rubber shoes that even your kid says look funny. And then there's picking weeds for 2 hours in the hot sun.

I sure hope my first attempt at gardening actually grows some vegetables. I planted tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, pumpkin, and onions. Simple veggies for a first time gardener.

Astrid helped me pull weeds, even out the soil, and plant seeds. She was so gung ho about doing everything until I actually let her and each time it wasn't as much fun as she originally thought. "I'm tired. It's hard and there's too much!" Yep. I felt the same way. But it will be so much fun to watch everything grow and a great teaching tool for Astrid.

I'll be so proud if I can feed my family with this garden. Now I just have to remember to water it everyday.