Oh, Happy Day!

We've grown something!!!! [Insert blog post title here]. Our spinach seeds, (pictured below), have sprouted. Aren't they cute?! Now, what I'm supposed to do with them from here is a mystery, but we're super excited about them in the meantime. The package says something about moving them one inch from each other, but what am I supposed to do with the ones in between? Throw them away? I don't think I have the heart to :( Haha! I guess I'll just see how it goes from here. If they all get suffocated and die out, I'll plant more, knowing full and well that I can actually grow something.

As for the other plants, they've gotten so tall!! Listen to me, I sound like a mother talking about how big her kids are...creepy. Haha! They all look really great. So far, so good.

It's pretty addicting, actually. Now that I have these, I want to grow more. There are roses in my front yard, from the previous owner, and I just marveled at how pretty they were and kept thinking, "I can't wait to grow my own roses!" I'm also in love with sunflowers, I want to try them as well. I want more spices, too. I've used the basil and rosemary in just about every dish so far. I hope Ryan doesn't get sick of them... It would be great to be able to use fresh thyme, parsley, oregano, etc, etc in my dishes. It's made me want to cook at home more often. I need more. More! More!

Another thing is that I feel more connected with my house. Corny-sounding, yeah, but seriously. I feel proud every time I open my back door. It looks so great, for one. And for two, it was our hard work that made it look that way. And for three, it's giving back to us. Sure, I may have put in 150 smackers to build the darn thing (nope, still don't wanna talk about it) but soon enough I'll have fresh produce right in my backyard. Pesticide-free, even! Oh yeah, did I mention that before? We're going organic. We haven't seen any of the nasty creatures yet *crosses fingers* but we know we don't want to use any pesticides. Gardening tip #7: Do some research on harmful and beneficial (yes, some are good for your garden) bugs. Then, come up with or research ways to ward off the harmful bugs other than using pesticides. A few things I've learned is that slugs hate salt. Thus, sprinkling salt in your garden or hell, directly on the nasties works well. Cayenne pepper powder or pepper oil are also good to use to get rid of other pests. I'm most certainly not a pro at this (check out my bio), but its what I plan to try and research so hopefully it works!

Well, I'll leave you with that. I'm excited and I hope you are to see what the next few weeks hold for our glorious garden! Until next time...

¡Adiós!
--Gardener in Training

P.S. Funny quote I found: Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden. - Orson Scott Card