In the Garden

So I know I promised that my last spring cleaning post would go up on Sunday, and it is now... Monday. I was a crazy weekend, although I'm not entirely sure why, but I was working on getting the sponsors buttons up, and linking properly (did you check them out yet?) and somehow Sunday seemed to come and go without me having time to write a post.

However, my last spring cleaning post was supposed to be about cleaning my garden, and become a perfect segway into my next series: in the garden. So, since there was no time yesterday, and the weather hasn't really been appropriate for photographing my garden, and I'm sure you are all tired of two paragraphs of whining!... I bring you the first 'In the Garden' post. This series will focus on tips and tricks to having a beautiful flower garden, productive vegetable garden, or a small scale balcony pot! I will place a link in the sidebar, so you can find the posts easily, and can share them with others if you are interested! :)

So to start out, we are going to talk about some of the things you need in order to get your garden started:

Some of the basics:
- A few pairs of gardening gloves (simple cotton gloves for simple planting, cotton gloves with reinforced grip palms for planting or yard work (raking), and heavier leather gloves for pruning and brush removal)
- knee pads are a good purchase, they save your knees and your jeans
- small clippers (for trimming, and cutting dead-heads and flowers for your kitchen :)
- a trowel, this one has depth measurements to help you with planting depths
- a small watering can, I find it more versatile for planting, but a larger one works better for thorough waterings
- jiffy pots, and soil for early spring plantings
- seeds, these are mostly vegetable seeds, but you can get flower seeds also.

Speaking of early spring plantings. If you are planting a vegetable garden, some veggies do best when planted inside before the outdoor growing season begins. The growing season where I am begins about the long weekend in May (approx. May 24th). In other places I might be sooner or later. Some of the veggies that like to be well establisdhed before they are planted outside:
- tomatoes
- peppers (all variations)
- cucumbers
Others that I planted inside:
- green onions
- broccoli
For the most part you should plant these inside 4-6 weeks before you plant them in your garden. If you have yet to do this, do not fret, you still have time. Get them in the pots today!

Here are my plants, I planted them a little over two weeks ago. Another good thing to have on hand is a water spritzer. Follow the package instructions for planting, and then spritz with water every day, this will help from drowning the seeds, and help them to germinate.

 

So something to keep in mind, if you are totally new to gardening, don't rush out and purchase all of these things from the fancy nursery down the road. I got many of these things from the dollar store, helping to keep costs down (see those items here).

I hope you are having a great day! How is your garden coming along?