Garden, might be too ambitious a word. Growing herbs in a pot would be more appropriate. Either way, for quite some time now, I have had some strong impressions to lead a simple life and be as self-sufficient as I can be. Part of this self-sustaining impression was to find ways to cut down on spending, live well below our means, be diligent about food storage, and grow some basic herbs and vegetables, so that I could reduce the amount I spend at the grocery store.
I have not attempted to grow anything in the last 15 years. In fact, the last time I did grow anything, I was still in elementary school and my family had a big yard. My father would give both my sister and I a small piece of the yard in which to grow our flowers, etc. My dad is a green thumb and I was a lazy bum. My sister was much more diligent about her plot than I was, but I did manage to grow some things, and ‘borrow’ the rest from my sister 🙂
A week ago, I did a lot of research and made a trip to Home Depot. At first, I was excited to see all the various seed packets and started picking up every single one that I could think of growing. I ended up with about 24 packets of seeds. Realizing that this could be a herculean task and unsure of my green thumb abilities, I decided to just get a few herbs instead. I went home excited and equipped with potting soil, a couple of pots and a handful of seeds. After considering the germination time for each of the packets, I chose the one with the least time possible, so I could see faster results 😀 Cilantro won the pick. So I planted the seeds, watered it, made sure it got enough sunlight and waited.
For a whole week, nothing. Then one day, little tiny green shoots came poking up through the ground, bearing only two leaves. I was so thrilled to see something grow – something that I had invested time and energy and patiently waited for.
Here is a before and after picture of the beginning of my herb garden efforts. Note the leaves in the big picture are already starting to look like cilantro leaves.
