IN FULL SWING!

Got very busy gardening and completely forgot I was blogging but things are in full swing here. I convinced my husband to enlarge the garden by A LOT!!! ( more growing, less mowing). He agreed so we added herb plots and three more vegetable plots.

Back to work..finally!

If you follow my blog Key Elements than you know that we (my family) has had the flu so I am behind in everything but I finally started planting. I purchased a grow starter kit at Dollar General and a starter mix along with seed from Menards and Walmart.

I placed the mix into each compartment and the seed sparingly. Water lightly and then secure the clear dome .

Now, in order to be certain of what I planted in each compartment, I simply use a sketch pad and draw a rough (really rough) picture of the planter. I use a little paint and mark the front left corner of the planter, this way even if the lid should be turned, you'll know what you've got. As I place the seeds, I write in each box.

Very crude but Hey! it works. I keep this sketch pad with my Gardening book.

The seeds have to be lightly watered daily and I am lucky enough to have a bay window off of my breakfast nook so that's where they will be sunning. Now, we wait. Meanwhile there is the taks of planning the garden.

Planning

Here I sit looking through a dusty window at a dreary day. Windy and rainy. February. The worst month of the year in the Midwest. The month of waiting. March, although often times equally dreary and cold, holds the promise of spring. We can feel it, smell it, count the days to it so lest we be caught unprepared, in February we have to plan!

I have always loved gardening. Now please keep in mind that this does not mean I am a good gardener...it simply means I enjoy it. However, our recent ecomony has turned my love for gardening into a necessity. Last year I had an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, radishes, greeen beans and zuchinni.

This year I plan to have all of that and more. I love cooking with herbs so last year I planted some in the large garden but lost track of them and as time wore on was unable to identify them except for the lemon balm. This year, I will be starting them indoors. I picked up a few packets at Menards over the weekend and plan to get more We use a lot of oregano, basil, lemon and cilantro but I would like to experiment with some others. In the past we have used a garden tiller, a simple plan and planted. I will be using this book along with the advice of my friend Terri who runs a beautiful, successful, organic farm just a few miles away. She is able to supply the local cafes with produce and fresh herbs! (I am so jealous.) I will be thrilled just to able to enlarge my garden keeping my family and friends in fresh produce for the summer and fall. Last year I did quite a bit of canning and freezing and this year I am going to experiment with salting. We made gallons of salsa from mild to extra hot...basic to black bean and corn. Lots of work but well worth it! My husband makes soup for one of the local V.F.W posts several days a week to make sure that some of the older vets have a healthy lunch and our garden provides a great deal of the ingrediants he uses.

Well, I am off to purchase some small containers and soil for the herbs. I will get them started and placed in my kitchen bay window tomorrow and we will see what happens!