~* Garden Gumption *~ Post #1

~*Friday's "Garden Gumption" Post!!*~

 Post #1: Let the Gardening Begin!!

Well, Everyone...Here it is! The first of several "Garden Gumption" posts!! Every Friday, I plan on blogging about gardening -- whether it be about gardening tips and tricks, or about how my own indoor/outdoor gardens are progressing.  If you're following these posts, I encourage you to comment and share your own thoughts, tips, or how you're own garden is doing! We can learn from each other and have fun doing it!

Last year I decided to finally create my own gardening area in our backyard. My husband and I dug out/ carved out a small section of our little yard -- a space that would not have been used for anything otherwise due to its location.  We were actually excited and impressed on how well it turned out!

While the garden area was being created outside, I started planting a select bunch of seeds inside. After the seedlings grew, I planted them in square foot sections in my outdoor garden space. After some work and care over the course of last spring and summer, I was able to come out with a small harvest at the end of the season --- small, but pretty impressive for a 1st year, inexperienced gardener like myself.

This year, I'm starting my garden in much the same way, with a few more additions to my variety of vegetables!  My 2-year-old son and I have already planted our selection of seeds. This year I purchased 4 Burpee "green houses" (2 green houses came in each set, along with peat pellets, seed markers, and a sheet for keeping track of you seeds -- found them at the Home Depot).  My son enjoyed helping me set everything up and plant the little seeds in their individual spots.  Here is a list of what we will be growing this year: sweet corn, cucumbers (for slicing and pickling), zucchinni, long red & green peppers, a mix of bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, beef steak tomatoes, garlic, white onions, scallions, yellow onions, red onions, potatoes, short carrots, cabbage, a salad mix, lettuce, peas, and green beans. We'll be planting the onions, garlic, and potatoes in the ground outside as soon as we're done prepping our garden areas (my husband was so impressed by how well we grew things last year, he's decided to add another small garden area to our yard!) We're also attempting to grow strawberries in a pot this year.

Within the first week of planting the seeds, we already had some cabbage and salad mix sprouts coming up out of their little patches of dirt. We're now in our second week, most of the cabbage, lettuce, and salad mix plants have their sprouts growing very well. I can't wait to see how many more sprouts we have by this time next week!

If you are looking for a book about gardening, or are interested in finding creative ways to start your own garden no matter how little or large your gardening area might be, I recommend reading All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space! by: Mel Bartholomew.  I found his book at my local library and rented it from their last year. I believe this year I will be purchasing it!

Well, I believe that is all I will be posting today. Enjoy your Friday, and don't forget to leave a comment below about any gardening tips, tricks or stories to share! Happy Gardening!!