Gardening For The Pre-Beginner

My friend Sara has graciously written a guest post for this month of gardening.  Her blog is a great read (she is much funnier than I will ever be) and I am hoping someday she will write a memoir :)  Enjoy!

 My thoughts on being able to grow a vegetable garden that eventually yields edible food is the equivalent of being able to drive a stick shift: I don't understand the mechanics and it's just easier to drive an automatic car to the store to enjoy their produce section.

Even so, I'm trying to challenge myself more this year and I thought I would take on starting a garden with Kristen too. Alas, this resolution is falling into the same category as my resolution to read more and watch less reality TV: it's a good thought, but how can I not watch when Shahs of Sunset has premiered?!

 

 Having had very little experience and success with plants, I decided I need to start small and take baby steps (like replacing one reality show with another instead of just adding yet another show to the que. Plus my DVR is getting too full and won't allow me add a new show).

So here's my guide for those of us whose green thumb is kinda broken and might even qualify for disability:

1. Lower Your Expectations- In my mind I thought I had to create something like this:

 

 

I decided to just work on growing something, anything. And it didn't even have to be a fruit or vegetable. If it had leaves and was mostly green, it would count.

2. Start Small- really small. I tried one of those little pre-packaged flower pots in the dollar section at Target:

Only 2 stalks have survived and they still look the same after 3 weeks of "growth". I think they're ready to be replanted in the backyard now, right?

3. Enlist Help - I've found child labor is best. It's free if you've got a few kids hanging around. The younger the better because they find this stuff interesting and don't mind playing in dirt.

If you don't have enough kids, find a local mom's group and organize a gardening "play date" and let everyone at it in your flower beds.

4. Play Your Cards Right With Mother Nature - or just plant one stalk of mint out of desperation. You might get rewarded with this:

So there you have it, in 4 easy steps you too can make new friends with local moms, fight childhood obesity through digging, and have fresh mint for your dinner salad (salad not included). If the taste of sweet success and mint have you wanting more, keep checking Kristen's blog to see how a real garden is grown (or at least properly attempted).