Tag Archives: gardening

The Green Thumb Project – part two

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Hello hello!

So last week  I introduced you to my Green Thumb Project.  Well it continues! I spent Easter weekend at my boyfriend’s in Connecticut, aka the home of my garden.  We made a trip to Home Depot where he bought me dirt – romantic, right? Personally I think there are a few motivations behind his support – 1) it keeps me entertained while he’s working, 2) it will (hopefully!) produce home grown veggies at his disposal – really, the way to a man’s heart truly is through is stomach! and of course 3) this project makes me happy.  Anyway, we came home with a few bags of both potting soil and garden soil.

I spent all weekend turning this:

Into this:

I tilled the existing soil, spread and mixed in the fresh, new, stinky, garden soil, and then, after a decent amount of research, determined that the easiest way to figure out the number of seeds/plants in any given area, and what is where, would be to plot out a square foot grid.  Many seed packets, or instructions, say for example, 16 seeds per sq ft. or two plants per sq ft. So that’s what I did.

The green beans you saw sprouted last week – those will go in the back where I’ve tied string for them to grow up.

My last step for the weekend was to plant the direct sow seeds I mentioned previously – carrots, swiss chard, kale, arugula, mesclun and broccoli raab.  I marked them, watered them, and hoped for the best!

I also planted a cherry tomato and a basil plant in a larger planter.  I was later told it was all-together too early and that both will probably die – so hope for no more really cold nights! Later I gave the planter some other inhabitants – cilantro (for the boyfriend, not me, I think it tastes like soap.  Do you feel the same way? read this NY Times article.) and rosemary.  I planted mint separately so it doesn’t take over – it’s bossy like that you know. How great is it to have fresh herbs at your finger tips?!

As of today, April 23rd 2012, everything is sprouting in the garden! Exciting! At the moment they are teeny, tiny little sprouts, but they are alive and growing strong. Yay!

Continued suggestions, words of wisdom, and motivational thoughts welcomed! I’m not going to lie – I’m going to be pretty disappointed if nothing actually grows.  I try and remind myself that at the very least, it’s peaceful and relaxing to play in the dirt. That simple fact makes me feel this project is certainly helping me live well by reducing stress, and it will hopefully help us eat well this summer.  That’s what it’s all about – Live Well. Eat Well. Be Well.

The Green Thumb Project – part one

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Hello and Happy Monday!

You’re probably grumbling at the idea of a new work week, but you know what? I figure it’s like this…. Don’t you feel good when someone smiles and wishes you a good day? You do.  So here I am to wish you a happy Monday in hopes that it may, just may, help make the Monday blues just a little less cloudy.

One thing that has been making me happy lately is my attempt to turn my black thumb, into a green thumb.  I’m one of those people who kills plants. I’ve always relinquished any responsibility when it comes to keeping greenery in a house.  Dogs, cats, people… those things I can keep going.  Plants, not so much.

But that’s about to change people, I’m telling you, I can feel it! I decided to give myself a project this summer of starting a garden.  Now, living in Brooklyn in a North facing brownstone, I have zero natural light to even have window boxes, but I’m fortunate to have a wonderful boyfriend who lives in a wonderful house with a yard (!). And guess what, he bought me dirt! Isn’t that just the sweetest thing? I think so!

Anyway, I’ve gotten a step ahead of myself again.  The gift of dirt will be explained next time.

The Green Thumb Project started with a bunch of seed packets from my local coop, a trip to Home Depot, a very helpful garden specialist named Antonio, and a 72 seed Green House Kit.  It was determined that I would plant the carrots, kale, swiss chard, mesclun, arugula and broccoli raab directly in the garden, the rest I’d start by seed.  Everyone told me to start with the easier method of container planting, did I listen? No. Typical.

Because I’m an organizational freak, this is what my seed starter spreadsheet (yes, thank you grad school for teaching me to use Excel for everything) looks like… You gotta keep track of these little buggers!

Now, after just one week, this is what they look like (minus a few green beans, already transplanted):

The green beans are the eager beavers of the class for sure!  The summer squash (bottom row) are the runners up.

Look! The green beans even had to be transplanted to bigger homes already!

I’m a bit concerned, solely because I’m being told it’s entirely too early to put the green beans in the ground, so it’s quite possible that they will take over the entire living room, The Blob style, before I can put them outside in a few weeks.  Wish us luck!

I’m super excited about this project, but recognize I’ve definitely bitten off a bit too much for my first gardening attempt.  I’ll try and keep plant homicide to a minimum, and hopefully this summer we’ll be eating home grown veggies!

Are you a seasoned gardener? Do you have any wisdom to impart to this newbie? For my plant’s (and my ego’s) sake, please help!