getting in the garden groove

Last summer's tomatoes. Ink and colored pencil.

If you know me, you know I like to garden. It's really so much fun. Fun to get the kids digging in the dirt. [Our pediatrician recently reminded me that Baby was eating dirt last summer. Totally forgot about that.]

Fun to plant seeds and water and wonder and hope things will sprout. Rejoice over the weather. Haul compost. Drag rain water. Fret over the weather. [When the package says 'full sun', I don't think it means full high-desert sun.] Pray to the Lord for some zucchini. That sort of thing.

It's been a long road...

The year we first put in our raised garden beds, and filled them with wonderful composted truckloads of dirty loveliness, when everything was ready, anticipating the seeds...

I laid down in the gravel landscaping, with my hands over my face.

"What in the world are you doing?" says my surprised husband.

And I say, "I'm going to fail! I'm so overwhelmed! What if I can't grow ANYTHING!?"

And he says, "Um... you haven't even tried yet?"

And I'm like, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Me and Little Buddy in 2008. First Garden!

No, kidding. I got up out of the gravel and started planting. After I got over the drama of it all, I realized he was right. And I re-learned that my husband is very wise. And patient.

But I digress.

There's nothing better than an early walk, with my mug of coffee, outside looking at the plants, counting the new tomatoes, squashing my arch-nemeses (squash bugs), and burning the breakfast eggs to a carmelized crisp as I was only going to be outside for a few minutes.

This year, my new challenge to tackle is sprouting seeds indoors. I have no place with good sun. Someone was thinking, when they built this house, about keeping too much sun out. Good for the air conditioning bills in the summer. Bad for seed sprouting. And honestly, for someone who loves to garden so much, you'd think I could sprout seeds inside!

Seriously - It weighed over a pound!

So, what's a girl to do? Growing lamp. It's big time over here now people! But then the question is, should I just go buy one (or a used one) or go the DIY route, build it myself, and spend just as much money?!

Time to get on it... need to get some of the best tasting heirloom 'Grandma Wolfe PA Super Sweet Tomatoes' planted!

[Let me know if you'd like some seeds!]