Tuesday, April 21, 2009

New Beginnings

It's rather appropriate, considering the name of this blog (Carrot Wishes and Cilantro Dreams), that my first blog will be about my first garden. Oh, I've had gardens in the past, but they were at my parents' house, bought with my parents' money and used my parents' resources. But now I'm living in my own little condo and have decided to start container gardening on my teeny tiny porch. There were several reasons for my decision (other than it being spring, of course, though that certainly helps). The first is to offset my carbon footprint. While my teeny tiny plants won't do a huge amount, every little bit helps, and hopefully my teeny tiny plants will grow into bigger plants - that is the point of it, after all.

Secondly, the expense of buying fresh herbs for a recipe is astronomical. At my local grocery store, I can get herbs imported from Israel (I think?). Israel. For herbs. Yes, I love herbs, and my sage and prosciutto chicken isn't the same without the sage. Yes, I love my basil in my Basil Shrimp with Goat Cheese Orzo. However, importing it from halfway around the world seems a bit off to me. A package of the herb of your choice is something like $4 and of course, I put the rest back into the fridge, where it sits until I either remember it in time to use it again or I start to notice a smell that's a bit off. The amount of waste going into that little package of herb makes me cringe.

Thirdly, well, truthfully, I need a hobby that gets me away from the computer all summer! There's only so many hours I can sit and stare and check my favorite blogs.

So I chose instead to plant a garden which has set me back almost $100 with plants, seeds, containers and soil, but hopefully it will be a good investment (and is already fun!). I've had good luck with herbs at my parents' house a few years ago (almost a decade, I think), so I hope that good luck has followed me here.

In my first foray into organic container gardening, I've planted basil, oregano, cilantro, sage, rosemary, cucumber, beans, carrots, garlic, onions, and cherry tomatoes. I'm feeling ambitious, though I didn't have space to plant the lettuce seeds I bought. I'll need to get some more containers (I'll be repurposing some things instead of buying the expensive ones from the home store) to thin out the beans, carrots, and onions when the time comes.

Honestly, I'm a bit nervous about the plants I'm starting from seed (carrots, onions, cilantro), and the garlic probably won't be as prolific as it would be if I were planting it in the fall (which is when you're supposed to), but I've got my fingers crossed. After all, if I can get the stuff to sprout in the crisper, why shouldn't it also do well in soil!

The plants will face a Southernly exposure which I hope will be good enough, especially as some won't get prime spots on my 4x6 porch.

Wish me (or rather the plants) luck!

4 comments:

  1. I think this sounds SO exciting. I admit, the prospect of a garden sounds very romantic to me and so practical too, but then I remember how much I hate doing anything like that and I ... change my mind.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Luck!!! I love gardening, and we have great luck with growing hot peppers up here, but I'm also the only person I know to fail at growing zucchini.

    One bit of advice for container gardening -- make sure your pots have plenty of drainage. We had one year where our poor basil drowned. Although I think we get more summer rain up here, too.

    You'll have to post pictures!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good luck, Bunny! I think what you're doing is truly wonderful and I wish you all the best with it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anorakilex - ha! I totally understand that feeling. Other than the rabbits, though, I don't have too many responsibilities in the summertime, so it's eminently practical for me. Besides, there's not TOO much to do with containers. Weeding, for example, is eliminated or cut down very drastically!

    Tryslora - Thanks for the suggestion! I'm hoping I have enough holes in the bottom of the pots and next year I'll probably add stones to the bottom to enhance that (I discovered that trick after I had planted!)

    Rhonda Jean - thank you so much for your encouragement!

    ReplyDelete