In The Dirt

I like to garden. It can be flowers or veggies it doesn't matter, I like to have my hands in the dirt. The flowers I like because there are so many different options with them. You can get early bloomers, late bloomers, ornamental grasses, vines, it is hard to pick just a few. An the planting options are endless, in buckets, in beds, hanging baskets, or even the basket of a bicycle. There is no way to go wrong with flowers and I love them all. Even the pink girly ones. I use alot of ornamental grasses. I like that they need very little care and are hard to kill. Vegetables are a different story! We had a garden when I was younger, but this is the first year I have planted one myself. I have always had tomatoes but never a full garden. So far, I had three cucumber plants and two onions. After something ate them I was left with one onion. Yesterday I started over. This time I am using something to go around my plants to prevent, hopefully, any animals feeding on them. You can use almost anything round, and few inches tall. In my garden I used plain plastic cups because it is so small. I just cut the bottom out and popped the cup on wherever I placed a seed. In the garden that a friend and I are doing together we used plastic tubing about six inches tall and placed them around the store bought plants. If you are new to gardening or don't have alot of space I suggest using a container. It can be a large flower pot or a wading pool. Make sure it has drainage holes in the bottom fill with potting soil and your favorite vegetable, just follow the directions on the tag. Make sure the container you are using has enough room for the roots to grow down or out. If you place it in a container too small the plant will not thrive. And that's it! Place it in a sunny location, give it water and watch it grow. Wether you have a big garden, small garden or just one plant there is no better enjoyment then being able to feed your family from the work of your own two hands. Enjoy your weekend!