You reap what you sow...or so I hear.

The garden went in last weekend and it is looking a little sadder than when I started, but I am chalking this up to the seedlings having an initial bout of homesickness for their former life at Lowe’s. That and a week of 90-degree days – who can compete with that?? And let’s be honest, I am not a natural. I like the idea of being one with the earth, I just don’t have much experience with it and find it kind of dirty and overwhelming. But I’m learning.

To my credit I did take good notes on last year’s inaugural garden and made some improvements. I didn’t plant 5 zucchinis. Turns out that is way too much zucchini to handle. And I abandoned the dismal failures (cantaloupe, strawberries), modified the planting style (much less crowded this year), and added marigolds because my grandma used to have them in her garden. I had to Google why she did that – turns out they keep aphids out naturally. My grandma was way ahead of her time…or she lived in a time when “organic” was the status quo and the thought of dousing plants in expensive chemicals for no reason was seen as weird. In any case, they look beautiful and give an instant feeling of gratification.

From a cost perspective, it’s cheaper this year. Last year we had to buy the pots for the tomatoes, and Gabe built the garden beds and prepped the soil with peat moss and compost. This year we tilled then jumped straight to planting, and I have a goal of conquering the magical world of mulch this season. Ah, the optimism of a novice.

The most immediate challenge is to find an organic fertilizer. I used a fish-based one last year, but it reeked. A day in the garden turned into an evening of Danielle and her fish gut fingers. Any suggestions here would be welcome. And if anyone has an idea on how to quell Jude’s natural “I picked a flower!” instinct that would come in handy as well…

Our final plant count: 2 zucchini, 1 Habanero pepper, 1 rosemary, 1 flat leaf parsley, 4 sweet basil, 1 pumpkin, 1 straight neck squash, 1 acorn squash, 1 Mexibell pepper, 1 Anaheim pepper, 1 hill of watermelon seeds, 2 rows of lettuce seed, and 5 potted tomatoes of different varieties. Total cost, $83.87.