Garden Complete....for now

This morning I finished planting. My porch is rather full, with pots lining nearly all the corners in search of the prime sun spots. Even though every plant I bought was designated 'full sun', I know some will fare better than others in the heat of the texas sun. So, placement of the plants is a bit fluid for now while I figure out who can handle the most direct light.

Here are a few photos...the aloe is up high because otherwise it takes up too much space. It's grown enormous in the past year! 

This year's crop

I am determined to start the growing season optimistically. At this moment, I will assume all of my plants will thrive. I will temporarily forget the difficulties of keep everybody happily watered in the depth of the Texas summer. I will pretend that I know what I'm doing.

To pump up my fragile gardening ego, my first purchases for this year's garden were the plants that actually succeed last year:

• bell peppers
• jalapeno pepers
• strawberries - I didn't have to purchase them, they're actually still alive from last year. * shock*

And to push my burgeoning green thumb, I've added:

• roma tomatoes
• cucumbers

And finally....in a moment of BLIND optimism, I purchased some seeds. I realize I will probably have to chalk them up to a "learning experience"....so, if I even get a couple of sprouts, I'll be very happy.

• snow peas
• mesclun

Next step: I'm going to do some research into the right type of pruning for each type of plant.

  

Destination Big Lots!

I just returned from the ghetto Big Lots near my apartment. And I mean GHET-TO.  Was it worth it? YES!  

For what I could easily spend on two nice looking, good sized pottery pots, I got a TON of stuff. The true steal was a large blue pottery pot for only $10. Then I went over to the plastic/foam section. Got a TON more for super cheap, as well as a trowel, gloves, shears, and a  tomato-wire-thingy (I really don't know what they're called).  I also picked up a solar light (also just $10!) that has a slight asian style to it. I'm looking forward to see how well it illuminates the garden. I'm hoping for a nice soft glow.

Now I have the fun chore of unloading the car and dragging everything to my 2nd floor apartment. 

Spring has sprung, and I've returned!

Well, last year was my first stab at gardening. I had some good results and some disappointing. My red bell peppers never turned red, but they were mighty tasty green. My jalapenos sprouted like mad, and I was so excited to cook with them that I made multiple dishes so hot that I had to throw them away. My strawberries grew, but never had the healthy large plump berries I was hoping for.

So...some lessons learned. And now, I'm back for more. Hopefully, I'll be a bit more regular about posting this growing season. 

I am still living in an apartment and all my plants are in pots on the patio. I just went to the garden store today (along with the rest of suburbia) and picked a wide selection of flowers and herbs and veggie plants. Some of my goals for this season include:

• trying some new veggies - tomatoes and cucumbers are currently waiting to get potted
• trying to create pots with multiple layers of plants
• trying to grow a few items by seed - i've heard lettuce is relatively easy, so that's what I'm trying.
• learning to prune and pinch back properly - this is by far my largest challenge

That's about it. I hope to connect with some other aspiring gardeners this spring. Now, go get your hands dirty...