Crafting · New Hobbies

Let There Be Life (Or How To Feed Yourself And Not Kill Things)

Sophie

So today we’re starting on another new adventure – gardening!

Like a lot of what I write about on here, gardening isn’t exactly a new hobby. In fact, I’ve had some semblance of a garden at every place I’ve lived in since college, including my adorable little container box herb garden which was the only thing I could fit on my apartment balcony at the time. The problem is that gardening happens during the summer which means I have to maintain interest when it’s a sweltering 100+ degrees because apparently that’s a thing in Iowa. (I’m a redhead. If I spend too much time in the sun, I could spontaneously combust. Like a vampire.)

Anyway, every year I start off in March and April with tons of motivation. Getting the containers together, planting the seedlings, watching them sprout (hopefully) and maybe even going to the garden center and looking at all the pretty flowers that Adam says we really don’t need. (Speaking of, we went to an antique store this weekend and after insisting that we absolutely had to buy just about everything in the store, I’ve now been banned from going to the Salvage Barn without his direct supervision. Apparently I can’t go with my awesome friends because they’re “bad influences.” I did walk away with a $125 antique cabinet that is super adorable though so… I win!)

How To Set Up Your Vegetable Garden

#1. Make a planting schedule. I put my schedule together back in January since some plants do take 10-12 weeks to germinate. Additionally, I sent it off to my mother for approval because she is the all-knowing goddess of garden. (No. Seriously. The woman knows her shit. We used to have artists come paint the garden in our backyard because it was so gorgeous. Needless to say the bar for successful gardening has been set very high in our family.) Below is the schedule I put together.

Note: This should not be held as evidence that I am an organized person.

Now you might have noticed that this past weekend was supposed to be my 3rd planting weekend. It was not. After making this schedule I completely forgot about it until this past Sunday and just said “screw it” and just threw everything into some dirt. It’s going to work because it has to.

#2. Assemble all of your supplies. If you’re prepared, this will involve seed trays, a heat/grow lamp, watering can, and seed starting soil. It should probably also include the seeds you want to grow because – well -they’re kind of important. I had way too much fun ordering from the seed catalogs this year and basically just got one of everything which absolutely will not fit in our garden, but whatever. My garden was a veritable tomato and cucumber jungle last year (no exaggeration) and we made out just fine. (My neighbor might not have been quite so happy about the cucumbers growing through his side of the fence, but whatever. His 2 year old likes me!)

It might also be useful to find a space in your house that is out of reach of pets. Easier said than done with curious-but-not-particularly-graceful cats. We already had one incident before I even finished planting. (Why is the only interesting room in the house the one that I am standing in? Go be somewhere else for 2 minutes!)

So many pretty colors!

#3. Plant your seeds. I read through the instructions on all the seed packets and then just did whatever I wanted. It’s dirt. They’ll be fine.

#4. Label your seeds! I didn’t actually do this last year and it was anybody’s guess what was what after they started sprouting. We didn’t have any popsicle sticks (because we eat our ice cream straight of of the carton like the adults we are!). Instead I created adorable little labels out of cardboard and wood skewers which will promptly be destroyed when my cats realize this is something I care about. Oh joy.

#5. Find a good spot for your plants. Give them a little water and light and voila! Instant vegetables. (In reality, it takes like 10-14 days to start to see anything but I’m really not a patient person so we’re ignoring that part.)

The grow lamp is a cool fushia color which is sure to freak out my neighbors. Yay!

P.S. Yes – I’m categorizing gardening under the “Crafting” category because I don’t want to create another new category and I didn’t know where else to put it. So sue me.

P.P.S. If you couldn’t tell by their magnificant clarity and quality, all the photos in this post were taken with my brand new 50mm Nikkor camera lens! Posts with lots of photos incoming!

22 thoughts on “Let There Be Life (Or How To Feed Yourself And Not Kill Things)”

  1. LOL too funny!! Thanks for the gardening tips – I usually end up with a grand plan, buy seeds and potting soil then find both of them in mid July tucked behind the extra garbage bags and paper towels in the closet. Maybe this year will be my year!! 😀

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  3. As I was going through your list I was starting to feel real anxiety. I was like, “Damn, I need to get organised. I need a SPREADSHEET! I need SEEDS! I need TIME! I need a GROW LAMP!”

    ….And then I remembered I don’t have a garden.

    So.

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  5. Hey! I saw your post in the community pool!

    I’ve always liked the idea of gardening, more so than the actuality. In high school, my family had a pretty large garden, but my parents worked long hours, my younger siblings weren’t much help, and I could never seem to find the energy or willingness to take care of it myself. Obviously in college my housemates didn’t have the space for much more than a few potted herbs; a Basil (named Ulysses S. Basil), a Parsley (Elvis Parsley), and a mint whose name I can’t remember anymore.

    Anyway, all that aside, I really liked this post! I may re-attempt a bit of an indoor garden this year. Also, I find the concept of your blog really interesting.

    Thanks Again!
    -John

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    1. I totally hear ya. Sounds exactly what I go through with the laziness and lack of energy. An indoor garden is great if you’ve got the space (and ability to keep it away from pets who want to destroy it).

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    1. Thank you! I use a spreadsheet because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t remember to plant anything until May. I hope I have as much success as you! So far the only thing to sprout are my cabbages and a single broccoli…

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  10. Wow this looks fun! I’ve always wanted to grow my own produce so this is sure to help me when I began gowing them! If I’m trying to grow produce in this season (March in NYC with fluctuating temps), do I HAVE to use a grow lamp in order for them to grow or can they be displayed in the natural sunlight? If I need a grow lamp, where can I get one from?

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    1. I’m so not an expert, but if you have good natural light, I say go for it. I use a glow lamp to a) keep them warm and b) keep them in a space that’s safe from cats. I bet you can find some good guides for urban growing online!

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