have a garden

My garden this year was okay – lots of radishes (tasty, but how do you save?) Very few cucumbers (but oh my, were they tasty!) Lots of jalapenos – some used up, some chopped & frozen – and tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! I have made spicy salsa, sweet salsa, sweet & spicy salsa, and 3 batches of marinara (2 currently in the freezer, since I don’t know how to can) and I still have 5 pounds of tomatoes on my counter, never mind those still on the vine, and those given to neighbors. From 3 plants! I think I know how to grow tomatoes. Carrots, & red peppers – not so good. The few I got were tasty, but they were few. Something to work on next year. I love having a garden.

So far, I’ve eaten radishes. lettuce, and a jalapeno. I have about a million tomatoes, although they are still green, a few red & yellow peppers, more jalapenos, and a few cukes. Still waiting on everything else to get ripe.

Tomatoes & peppers are planted!

Tomorrow I’m going to plant the cucumbers, lettuce, carrots & radishes.

I think this may go okay.

Also planted some flowers out front, but that’s so new to me I don’t know how it will go. But it felt good to plant.

I don’t have the garden yet (won’t until next spring) but I have trimmed hedges, mowed my lawn, cut some overgrown branches. Okay, all that involves killing stuff that’s already growing, but it’s also helping it to grow better. In the next 2 weeks, I’m going to see what I need to do to the area I want the garden in next spring to prepare the soil.

I bought some herb seeds today. I plan on planting them tomorrow. I figure I can fit them on my balcony in a pot when they start growing. Is there anything better than fresh basil on your pasta, or chives on a potato? Also got some oregano & rosemary. Yumm. I only hope my balcony isn’t too sunny. Sounds odd, but for me it seems herbs are easy to burn.

Been house hunting. I’m very firm that I MUST have a yard. For my garden. And for my hammock. Having a yard is a “deal-breaker”. I won’t buy a condo because I must have a yard.

Planting was a little disappointing today. It wasn’t what I thought. The place has an actual landscaped garden, and I thought that’s what we’d be working on. It was actually planting native grasses & shrubs in the actual wetland & surrounding area. Forgot my camera, so no pictures, and unfortunately everywhere we planted is far off the trails, so I won’t even be able to see how they are doing. It was fun to get dirty, and dig holes & plant stuff. I didn’t make any friends, but I did practice my chatting skills & getting people to talk. I might do something there again. I haven’t decided.

well tomorrow I do the volunteer thing & help with the spring planting. It’s not MY garden, but it is A garden, and that’s cool. Maybe I’ll take my camera & take some picts, since I’ve been slacking on that lately as well. Maybe I’ll document the growth or something.

I signed up to volunteer for the spring planting at a local preserve next weekend. They mostly let everything grow as it will, just keeping paths clear. But the do one section with all strictly native plants & info about them, so I’ll be helping do that. It’s not my own garden, but I’ll be planting again, and helping things grow. And it’s near my work, so I’ll be able to go on my lunch hour & watch things grow!

I used to have a garden when I had a house. Now I’m an apartment dweller again. Been a few years, and I’m afraid I’ll forgot how to do it. More importantly, I’ll forget how good it felt to dig my hands into that soil & grow something, something wonderful.