Planted Garden

This year I decided to plant more veggies & fruit! My only problem was since we are moving in a few months, I couldn't plant anything in the ground - they all had to be planted in pots so I can take them with me. SO, I found veggies that grow well in pots, and got right to it!

Here is a list of what I have, so far:    :)

*Lettuce: Romaine, 2 kinds
*Spinach
*Lettuce: (I forget this one)
*Chives
*Cilantro
*Pepperocini
*Strawberry
*Tomato
*Green Beans

What I learned about gardening this batch so far: 

*Lettuce only needs morning sunlight & shade for the rest of the day.
*Strawberry plants are suppose to be easy to grow & don't require that funny looking pot to grow. A 12" pot is best.
*Lettuce grows excellent in pots!
*My new tomato plant is growing faster than last years (almost time to turn it "upside down")!
*You can grow different sorts of veggies/herbs/lettuce in the same pot. You can even plant them with flowers.
*Not all pots have holes on the bottom for drainage. Why, I'm really not sure since I'm pretty sure whatever you plant (food or flower) NEEDS drainage. Therefore, I had to use some extra manuel labor and drill holes in the bottom of yes, every pot.

New flower bed /

I finally got around to redoing my flower bed in the front yard a few weeks ago, and now it looks FABULOUS :)  I forgot to take pics of the before, but trust me it was weedy and nasty hehe It wasn't too hard, and it only took a weekend to do!

*Remove brick border
*Remove rock and weeds from flower bed
*Till ground
*Remove old plants/shrubs
*Fill in holes where brick was
*Lay new mulch
*Plant flowers

Tomato Plant Update _5

Well, I'm not sure my tomato plant has completely died, but its not growing anymore  :(  I've been watering it, and its gotten plenty of sunshine....but nothing yet. I keep going out there to take a picture of the progress, but it looks the same as last month- SO no picture. If it doesn't completely die before it gets cold outside, I'm going to try and bring it indoors & hope for the best!

Herb Update _1

I haven't given an update on my herbs, so thought I'd share how they've grown. Only two of them have actually spouted, the others are taking their time :)

CHIVES

CILANTRO

Tomato Plant Update _4

I think my tomato plant is starting to slow down in its growing speed :(   But, its not dead yet, so that's good!

Herbs

My next gardening adventure is herbs! We use them ALL the time, so this is the perfect next step for me! I found kits similar to the tomato plant (all-in-one), but they didn't have some of the herbs I wanted, so I decided to pick my own. I went to Lowe's and found the five herbs I wanted: Parsley, Chives, Rosemary, Cilantro & Oregano. I then looked for small pots to plant them in. . .I found them ON SALE! Plus they were super cute! :) I found these pots for only 99cents each!! Can't beat that!

My herbs!

 

After planting, I made little signs so I remember which is which. You can easily make them with toothpicks & masking tape (mine is a scrapbook type).

Then, I placed them outside for sun & water.

 

I pushed the signs down so they won't fly away. 

Tomato Plant Update _3

Slooooowly but surely, my tomato plant is growing! They're starting to get longer & I see little buds (or something) sprouting! I wonder if they don't produce tomato's before it gets cold, will they grow inside during winter?? I should do some research!

Tomato Plant Update _2

I finally turned my tomato plant upside down today! I should've done it a few days to a week ago, but I'm lazy I guess  :)   I hung in on our back porch...the way it attaches to the planter doesn't look too strong, so I hope it doesn't fall!

Look how much they've grown!

Tomato Plant Update

I took this picture 6 days after planting ~ they are actually growing!! I have them sitting outside to get sunlight, and surprisingly with all this 100 degree weather, my tomato's are starting to GROW! (crossing my fingers they'll continue)  :)

Let the planting begin!

My parents have a good sized garden at their home, and I've always wanted to attempt to grow one as well (a small garden). I've been especially motivated ever since we started using e-mealz, because I know which vegetables/fruits we use the most and I KNOW I could save money by growing a select few veggies on my own!

So lets start with tomatoes!

I've seen those tomato plants that you grow upside down, and have always thought they LOOK pretty cool! I figure, how could I go wrong when they give you everything you need in this box and all you do is water? (we'll see). I found these on sale at Lowe's for only $2.50! I grabbed two - I figure if I kill the first, I'll learn from my mistakes and grow the second  :)

First, you put the soil block in a container & pour 8cups of water into it.

 Let the soil sit in the water & use a spoon/shovel to help break up the soil until tender.

It should look like this when complete.

Transfer soil to pot (provided), and fill to top.

Put lid on pot, then flip upside down.

Count out 9 seeds to place in pot.

Place 3 seeds in each hole, then bury them about 1/4" under.

That's it! All I have to do now is water water water until they're 5" tall, then I get to turn them upside down & watch them grow!