Well, all my seedlings died.
But that’s okay. Because Lowe’s sells adolescent plants!
Next year, I will make more of an effort to protect my little babies against the elements. I think a lot of things kind of conspired against me this year. First of all, the soil I used wasn’t very . . . thirsty, for lack of a better word. I planted all my seeds in those little jiffy planters (the kind you can just plant in the ground along with your seedlings because they’re also made out of organic material) and then went to water them the first time, the water just kinda sloughed off the top. It didn’t saturate the growing mix. So I added more water. At that point, it just felt like the seeds were swimming around in water and there was only a little bit of soil.
And then there’s the problem that I have run in to for the last few years: I don’t really have a place to put seeds at home, so I seed them outside and keep them in the closest thing to a climate-controlled environment I have: the house that my partner is fixing up. There’s a furnace in the house, but he keeps it at 50F. That may be too cold for these plants.
Here are my to-dos for next year:
- Invest in a greenhouse-type structure
- Get better starter soil
- Work on irrigation in the garden itself
But honestly, for the most part, I am in love with what my garden looks like right now. I went to the hardware store and bought a few tomatoes, a few peppers, a bean, a squash, and some spinach. Here’s what the garden looked like a week or so ago:
There are a couple spots in the middle right where I am going to put some more lettuce, as well, and maybe another green bean. I also have a strawberry!
Gardening is always a journey, and I’m learning more every year. It’s always so exciting to see what grows out of this little plot. And this year, I even had boarders!
It felt wonderful that four little baby bunnies shared their space with me for a short time as I was getting everything in the ground.
Can’t wait to eat peppers and squash and beans!
Liz Makes Stuff 