A planting we will go...
I'm surprised I haven't posted about this before. It's a project that's about 3 weeks old now.
I'm very new gardening, and just wanted to share about my garden, and maybe get some advice, if anyone's listening. It'd be nice if I could learn enough to provide the same service to future newbies, but right now I know so little I don't even know the questions to ask or the words to use to ask those questions. Only words I know right now are: "How?" "What?" "Why?" "When?" "Where?" and "How much?" as in "Help! How much do I water these little baby veggie sprouts so I don't kill them before they have a chance to live a long and fruitful life?!?"
So, to start I will say that I've planted a pseudo-square-foot-gardening-style veggie garden. I say "pseudo" 'cause I've built my veggie garden in two raised six foot by one foot planters and also am using hanging pots lined with that coconut hair mesh stuff for the herbs and strawberries. It's a very ambitious undertaking considering the only one time I’ve ever tried anything like this I failed miserably. But then, I didn’t have my square-foot-gardening book that time, and I didn’t think about it as much as I’m thinking about it this time. I just spent a whole bunch of money (which I don’t have the luxury to do this time), put a bunch of seeds in a bunch of those little peat pots, and waited for the seeds to sprout. I don’t remember feeling very dedicated to the project, but then I had money to burn at the time, so maybe that’s why I didn’t care.
I’m growing a square-foot each of:
Tomatoes (started from a plant purchased at Home Despot)
Cucumbers (started from seed)
Two types of peas (seed)
Beans (seed)
Carrots (seed)
Radishes (seed)
Beets (seed)
Bell peppers (plant)
Onions (plant, I think they're called "sets"?)
Also:
Two squares of lettuce (seed)
All of the following I started from plants purchased at Home Despot:
One hanging pot of strawberries.
One pot with spearmint, chives, oregano, and cilantro. Those are my cooking spices.
One pot with parsley, sage, rosemary, and (you guessed it) thyme. I don’t cook with them, but they’re pretty, and ward off evil spirits. :^) Not.
Anyway. Reason I’m so excited today is because one of the peas and a whole mess of radishes, beets, and lettuce have sprouted. The book says to water X number of cups per week per plant, and twice that in hot weather. But is that just for established plants? Should I water the seedlings more or less often? Is it X number of cups ONCE a week, or should I spread that out so they’re watered more often than once a week, just not so much each time? And what’s considered hot weather? I live in a very temperate zone year round, so the plants’ll get used to the cool ocean breezes and I fear a heat wave of 85 degrees might shock them.
They’re so cute, just little baby plants! I can’t help but love them. I want to hug them, and squeeze them, and call them Georgia!
I'm very new gardening, and just wanted to share about my garden, and maybe get some advice, if anyone's listening. It'd be nice if I could learn enough to provide the same service to future newbies, but right now I know so little I don't even know the questions to ask or the words to use to ask those questions. Only words I know right now are: "How?" "What?" "Why?" "When?" "Where?" and "How much?" as in "Help! How much do I water these little baby veggie sprouts so I don't kill them before they have a chance to live a long and fruitful life?!?"
So, to start I will say that I've planted a pseudo-square-foot-gardening-style veggie garden. I say "pseudo" 'cause I've built my veggie garden in two raised six foot by one foot planters and also am using hanging pots lined with that coconut hair mesh stuff for the herbs and strawberries. It's a very ambitious undertaking considering the only one time I’ve ever tried anything like this I failed miserably. But then, I didn’t have my square-foot-gardening book that time, and I didn’t think about it as much as I’m thinking about it this time. I just spent a whole bunch of money (which I don’t have the luxury to do this time), put a bunch of seeds in a bunch of those little peat pots, and waited for the seeds to sprout. I don’t remember feeling very dedicated to the project, but then I had money to burn at the time, so maybe that’s why I didn’t care.
I’m growing a square-foot each of:
Tomatoes (started from a plant purchased at Home Despot)
Cucumbers (started from seed)
Two types of peas (seed)
Beans (seed)
Carrots (seed)
Radishes (seed)
Beets (seed)
Bell peppers (plant)
Onions (plant, I think they're called "sets"?)
Also:
Two squares of lettuce (seed)
All of the following I started from plants purchased at Home Despot:
One hanging pot of strawberries.
One pot with spearmint, chives, oregano, and cilantro. Those are my cooking spices.
One pot with parsley, sage, rosemary, and (you guessed it) thyme. I don’t cook with them, but they’re pretty, and ward off evil spirits. :^) Not.
Anyway. Reason I’m so excited today is because one of the peas and a whole mess of radishes, beets, and lettuce have sprouted. The book says to water X number of cups per week per plant, and twice that in hot weather. But is that just for established plants? Should I water the seedlings more or less often? Is it X number of cups ONCE a week, or should I spread that out so they’re watered more often than once a week, just not so much each time? And what’s considered hot weather? I live in a very temperate zone year round, so the plants’ll get used to the cool ocean breezes and I fear a heat wave of 85 degrees might shock them.
They’re so cute, just little baby plants! I can’t help but love them. I want to hug them, and squeeze them, and call them Georgia!