So, as I mentioned in Sunday’s post, I’m trying my hand at a little gardening project this year. I was never that into gardening in the past (and I really do not have the greatest track record when it comes to keeping plants alive), but this year I’ve become inspired to grow myself some veggies. (I’m going to make a confession right now and admit that one of the big reasons I decided to venture into gardening THIS year was because of the overwhelming cuteness of the garden tools at Target…)

The hubs & I live in the 2nd floor apartment of a two family home, but since the 1st floor residents are his parents, we have unlimited access to the back yard/deck (score). Even so, the yard is small & so I’ve opted to start a little container garden, and grow just a handful of vegetables this year.

We’ve got a Lowes in town, with a great garden center. I was a little overwhelmed with the selection & options at first, but I figure the best way to learn is to dig right in (get it?) and learn as I go! So I purchased a pair of wooden planter boxes that I happen to completely adore. I thought about painting them fun, bright colors, or stenciling designs on them, but I decided I really love the simple, natural look of them so I left ‘em as they were.

The third planter is hexagonal-shaped, and was a quick add on to my supplies when I realized I had purchased too many plants to fit in just the two boxes! (Lesson #1 – tomato plants need lots of room to grow!)

On my first trip to Lowes several weeks ago, I bought a bunch of seed packets & thought I was going to be all Johnny Appleseed about it. Then I called my mother (garden pro) and she told me in order to grow my veggies from seeds I would have had to start them in indoor pots and care for them until they were sturdy & strong enough to be moved outdoors. Space is a limited commodity in our home, and most indoor plants run and hide from me in terror.

So I took those seeds back and waited a few weeks until we had passed the danger of frost in our area, and purchased myself some pre-planted & cared for mini seedlings. I think it’s kind of like adopting a child after all the messy diaper-changing & late-night crying years. So it’s like adopting a bunch of teenage plants. I can just stick ‘em in the ground, provide food & shelter, and let ‘em do their thang. Just like a kid…right?

Let me introduce you to the family. First, we’ve got the real stars of the show – a set of tomato plant triplets. I grabbed three because I want to increase my odds of successfully growing some delicious, juicy red tomatoes. (Again, just like with children. One of them is bound to get it right).

Next up are the easy-to-care-for and full-of-promise basil plants. (They are like the middle child – they don’t need as much attention as their siblings, but they’ll spend their whole life trying to make you proud grow delicious leaves). These little over achievers are going to become pesto before you can say… presto?

And finally, the babies of the family who will respond to extra love & attention – some cute little sugar snap pea seedlings.

You most likely already know how to go about planting things in dirt, but in case you’ve been living in the desert or on the moon for a while, here’s what I did in three simple steps:

1) Filled the planters 2/3 of the way with dirt (or should I say dirt’s more glamorous cousin, soil. I used one bag of ‘regular’ soil & 1 bag of Moisture Control Miracle Grow to fill all three planters.)

2) Plopped in the plants.

3) Added more dirt.

The plants were hanging out on the deck over the weekend, and soaked up lots of rain from passing showers. Even so, after I finished planting, I fed my little children seedlings with some miracle grow fertilizer, and made sure the pots were placed in the sunniest spot on the deck. There was some patting and cooing and “grow baby grow” encouragement offered as I planted, but that about sums it up.