Hello There!

Welcome to my blog. I'd like to think that I was sitting down and chatting with a friend, even if it is only virtually. So grab your favorite cup of coffee, tea, water, or soda and sit down, relax and let's have a chat. 

I never thought of myself as a gardener. Of course, I always loved the idea but unfortunately for me, I'd kill just about any plant that I brought home. To me the garden was a waste of money and just plain dirty. Don't hate me, I've come a LONG way since then. I remember my first garden. I bought cucumbers and tomatoes and tilled the ground until my entire body hurt. I threw the seeds in the soil, not knowing a thing about gardening or companion planting. I ended up killing the tomatoes because I planted them too close to the cucumbers. I think I planted like 4 packets of cucumbers all at once. Ha! The joke was on me. We couldn't give all the cucumbers away. 

In planting that first garden, something in me began to get curious. I wondered if I could plant more? I didn't have the space for it where we lived at the time and I'd heard about this neat Topsy-Turvy planter that tomatoes could grow on your balcony. I also read that some people had luck with growing cucumbers in them, so I gave it a shot. What harm right? Well.... WRONG! I failed, but decided I would grow flowers instead. I went to the store and brought home huge hanging baskets of flowers. In 3 short days they were fried. We had gotten a lot of rain and sunshine, I didn't think anything of it. I couldn't figure out why I was killing every plant I tried to grow. I must not be a good gardener. I guess it's not for everyone. Or dare I say I had a "black thumb". It certainly wasn't green. Nothing I tried to grow lived except those cucumbers. Maybe it was beginners luck. Who knows?

When we bought our house we currently live in, I tried several gardens. We have clay soil and I made many mistakes like planting too close to a tree, not knowing that the tree would soak up all of the nutrients. We also found out that year that we have several ground hogs and rabbits that visit our yard, along with the random deer family from time to time. NOTHING survived! I was done..... until 2020 happened. For the first time in my life, I went to the store and the shelves were bare. I was shocked, scared even. I mean, we have 3 boys who can eat like grown men at times. We needed to be able to put food on the table for them. That's when I started digging in and doing research. I'm NOT perfect by any means, and I still have a LOT of learning to do. I still make mistakes each and every day, (Just ask my husband about a few days ago when I forgot to lay down the weed barrier before planting flowers OOPS!). 

I am happy to say that last year, our garden, although small but mighty, was a success. I was able to bring in healthy foods to help supplement our families grocery bill. I am hoping to be able to do the same this year. My hope is that each year, I will grow in knowledge, as my garden grows in size. I hope you will join me in this journey, and learn alongside me. Teach me what you know as well. I'm here to glean all that I can, as well as, help others learn what I have learned the hard way, so you don't make the same mistakes I have.

until next time,

be blessed!