My First Garden

Alternatively titled: Life's a Garden, Dig It.  You guys, this year I planted my very first garden.  Do you remember the game "Oregon Trail" that you used to play back in 1995?  You knew at least one person in your party was going to die.  That is kind of how I felt about my plants and seeds that I was planting.  I knew one (or more) of those guys wasn't going to make it through the summer.  But, with a trowel in my hand and hope in my veggie-loving heart I set off on my first garden adventure.

Our house came with a raised garden bed.  They also put a wire fence around it to keep all of the critters out.  It has been working so far.  I actually had my first harvest about a week ago--a cup of peas and one banana pepper.  To be honest, when I was first planting everything, I thought my garden would yield a lot more produce.  ONE cup of peas.  What am I going to do with ONE cup of peas?  Part of it is my fault for not doing my research.  You know how men do this funny thing sometimes where they don't read the directions that come with the packaging...well, I did that with my peas.  I may have missed one tiny detail that the peas were the climbing variety.  Most of the time I do zero prep work or research and I just kind of wing it.  Cooking - wing it.  Child-rearing - wing it.  Gardening - wing it.  The bountiful pea harvest of 2017 has made its way into the freezer and will likely find its way in beef stew at some point this fall.  I already want to expand the garden next year.  Think of the classic Jaws scene "We're gonna need a bigger boat."

Libby is my little helper.  She loved snapping peas with me.  I am about ready to plant more for a fall harvest.  I love any variety of squash so I will probably do that and maybe try and get another round of beans or peas in.  I like to use a lot of fresh herbs when I cook, so earlier this spring the girls and I started some fresh herbs from seed.  We did cilantro, basil, oregano, and parsley.  Those are the ones I use the most when I cook.  I bought these copper plant markers (pictured below) at our local farmer's market and I love them! 

Reflections to date: I will NEVER plant cauliflower or broccoli again.  Also, my tomatoes are proving to be a little more high maintenance than I thought they would be.   I can't wait for them to be ready!  I am hoping to make some homemade salsa when all of my tomatoes, onions and peppers are ready.  I have a really good recipe, so I will share that later at some point.

I hope you all had a great weekend. XOXO ......or XXXX if we aren't on that level yet. :)