What We Are Planting - Part 1

I mentioned earlier that my mom always had a garden when I was a kid. I remember eating something akin to salad (I can't remember what we called it) in the summer when her garden was in full swing. It was essentially a giant bowl of veggies, minus lettuce, that had salad dressing on top. I thought, and still do, that it tasted so much better coming out of the garden than from the store. We are planting quite a bit this year, a lot more than last year, but if you think my garden is large you should check out my parents set up. I will have to get a photo of how big their garden is (they own about 5 acres so they have some extra room, lucky them!), but for now here is some of what they harvest in the summer:

eggplant, watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers, onion,
cabbage, lettuce, potatoes and of course tomatoes!

Can you see where I get my love of gardening? Like I mentioned earlier we are adding onto our garden this year. Our tomatoes went crazy last year, I did not at all expect them to get that large. They vined so much that they
formed a canopy between the boxes as the plants grew together and Nathan couldn't mow part of the grass because it was covered with cherry tomato vines. So this year they are getting their own long box between where our four boxes are now and the fence. It's a pain to mow anyway so we might as well fill it with more food! I don't have it all mapped out quite yet, but here's what we are planting this year:

Herbs

- Basil

- Cilantro

- Dill

- Oregano

Fruits

- Ground Cherries

- White Strawberries
- Melon

Vegetables

- Purple Pole Beans

- Broccoli

- Carrots

- Okra

- Yellow Squash

- Zucchini

- Tomatillos

- Tomatoes (six varieties)

- Cherry Tomatoes (two varieties)

- Bell Peppers (two varieties)

- Jalapeno Peppers

- Pepperoncini Peppers

- Cucumbers

Miscellaneous

- Strawberry Spinach

- Tree Tomatoes

- Amaranth

- Marigolds

Whew! I hope we aren't taking on too much, but when it comes down to it gardening is not overly complicated. There are a lot of tips and tricks out there that I do believe are helpful, and I hope to share some of those with anyone who is interested in gardening. However growing a garden is essentially 1) planting in good soil 2) planting where there is full sun, 3) keeping an eye out for bugs or disease and treating (preferably with organic options) those problems, 4) watering. These plants are meant to grow and produce food, so if you keep them watered, give them enough room to grow and expose them to plenty of sunlight you can definitely have a successful garden.

I am going to try and keep my posts on the shorter side (I could talk forever...), so I will stop here for now. Next I will talk about some of my favorite things we are planting this year, as well as go over what varieties of tomatoes and peppers we are planting.

-Kelly