A Visitor

Reagan has seemed to have made herself at home in the corner of our garden. I've caught here twice out there now and I have to pick her up to move her fat booty out of the garden.

I think they are going to make it!

I really didn't think we'd get strawberries this year (I know, the season isn't over yet) but I found little baby strawberries peeking their way into this world. I can't wait until I can actually eat one!
Here's what I've observed so far:
*the strawberry plant has flowers that blossom
*the flower loses it's leaves
*the stems turn down and the strawberry grows from the middle of what was the flower

The seeds are a sprouting!!

I planted green bean and carrot seeds and I wasn't sure that they'd actually grow, but lo and behold they sprouted!! Watching the bean sprouts grow is just fascinating. The last picture is the same day, just 6 hours after this first picture!

The Topsy-Turvey does work!

Absolutely crazy that this contraption is actually growing plants.
March 14

March 20

We have noticed that not all of our herbs are doing too great here. The 2 oregano plants and cilantro just get too much sun are are droopy and just sad looking. On the brighter side we do have one oregano (on the right) plant that is thriving and the chives and basil seem to be doing well.

It's already been one week!

Well we've had our garden for 1 week and nothing has died, yet! Here's a quick recap of what has happened and what we've observed in our garden:
*harvested basil and lettuce
*strawberry plants do not like the Arizona sun on them ALL day
*there are lots of flowers on the strawberry plants that will hopefully turn into little strawberries
*all the plants have some sort of new growth going on
*the carrots and green beans have started sprouting!!
*oregano and cilantro aren't big fans of the sun all day
*we figured out a creative way to shade the plants at different times during the day
*lettuce grows fast
*Reagan enjoys laying in the garden

A comparison

It amazes how much can happen in one week with plants. We've had our garden going for 8 days now and here's how much has grown!
March 14

March 20

March 22

ETA: Looking at the pictures all together, I see I need to adjust the color in the last 2 or take them when the sun isn't directly on the poor little guys.

Our first harvest!

So earlier this week I was making spaghetti sauce and decided to get some from basil. It was so fun being able to go out and get my own herbs. I love how I can now have oregano, basil, cilantro, and chives anytime I want.
I also harvested some lettuce since I had lost some leaves due to wilting. I used them in some turkey wraps for lunch and it was delicious.

Now we just need tomatoes to start growing and I'll have a great salad!

More flowers and flies

Our strawberry plant is doing so well! There are 2 blossoms open and a bunch more just waiting their turn. Now I need to consult my little plant sticks to see how long it takes for fruit to actually show up.

On another note, we have flies. A TON of them. Yesterday we sprayed some insectiside all over to hopefully deter the little suckers away from our garden. You'd think a loud noisy dog would be enough! Today the flies are still out there but a lot less than yesterday. They don't seem to have done any damage but they are super annoying.

As Seen on TV

We are big suckers at times and this time Ryan bought the Topsy-Turvey to see if it really works. He brought it home and after reading the directions we realized we needed a tomato seedling.

Got the tomato seedling and put it in and realized we needed herbs to go on the sides! So off to Lowe's Ryan went again. We are finally up and running. Be ready to start getting tomatoes from us all the time!

A Late Addition

Well we have one late addition to our little garden--lettuce! Just one small little guy but it seems that he is ready to pick any day now.
Here's the newest layout now. The poor lettuce got shoved a little too close to the tomatoes but I didn't want to mess with my green bean seeds.

And so it begins

Well Ryan and I are going to try out our green thumbs this year. We'll be chronicling the ups and downs as we take care of our first vegetable garden.

The stats:
*4 x 4 square foot garden
*mixture of Miracle Grow organic soil and some "cheaper" soil (can't believe how expensive soil is!)
*seedlings: 2 strawberry plants, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, crooked neck squash, zucchini squash, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, regular tomato plant, basil
*seeds: carrots and green beans
*marigolds: to help keep the bugs away

Preparing the land













2 little boys helping build the bed













our first strawberry flower!!