garden grows

So with virtually no previous practical experience I planted my first vegetable garden last month.

I have bibb lettuce, peas, beans [bush and pole], cucumber, chinese cabbage, kale, swiss chard, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, eggplant, another tomato, green peppers, red peppers. The bolded ones I planted from seed.

Herbs [which I have grown before]: basil, thyme, dill, italian parsley, rosemary, lavender, marjoram, oregano, sage and cilantro [which sadly died]

Except for the cilantro everything is still alive. Some are thriving. Some like the tomatoes are just hanging out waiting for hotter weather. The eggplant and cucumber actually have a flower on them. It seems like it's too early but they must know what they are doing. The lettuce is probably still too thick [baby greens to eat!]

I got a rudimentary watering system set up on a timer so that some watering gets done even if we are at the cottage. We had one of the three driest Mays ever in our area, only a half an inch of rain for the whole month. Watering is pretty important when that happens.

Gardening generates a lot of tasks of course. But I figure growing food should be at the top of my priority list. I need to get more mulch, there simply is not enough in some areas. I did get a compost bin last week, it was a wonderful gift I got in return for a donation to a good cause. But I need to get it out of it's box and put it to use. There is lots of weeding to be done, especially since we finally had a rainy weekend last week. I think I'll be totally bummed to leave the garden when I go to India, but still I am just so proud of it. I think I am starting to get an inkling of why people garden. It may sound a bit silly but I feel such pride when I look at it. finger crossed.