Garden of Eatin'

How would I describe my "bucket list"? Long...very long, and diverse. A huge variety of passions exist within me; pyramids, oceans, fast cars & big trucks, ballet and even gardening. Yep, you've got it, gardening and this summer 2011 will be the true test of my gardening ability...or inability.

Kyle (my boyfriend) and I moved into an old farm house just outside of town this past winter. The home has a cute yard with a very large vacant area next to the horse pastures which we have agreed will make a sufficient spot for a vegetable garden. Here's where my gardening ability will be tested and so far I have not been off to an incredibly successful start. 

Shortly after our decision to garden was made I was informed by Kyle's mom, Pam, that there are certain types of plants that need to be planted a little earlier indoors so that they have the chance to mature completely and produce more vegetables before the first fall frost. Cabbage & kohlrabi were just a couple of these types. I planted ten cabbage seeds and ten kohlrabi seeds in some small store bought planters and placed them on a small setup Kyle created with a grow light hanging over head. The seeds broke through after only three days and I was thrilled, Kyle was impressed. His faith in my ability was shaky from the get-go.

 After a couple of weeks the plants were reaching up for the sky and looking wonderful. My visiting of the little mini-garden had become habitual. Every morning when I woke up I would go straight to the laundry room plug in the grow light and spritz each plant with their morning drink. Then it was off to work for the day while I let them bask in the light. At night before bed I would give them another spritz to sleep on and unplug the grow light. I was pretty proud.

One glorious morning me and Miller, my miniature Dachshund, were just chilling at home and he suddenly decided to spew a couple of lovely stomach fluids onto my carpet. I sure love that dog. So I proceeded into the laundry room to get the carpet cleaner and rags.

After getting it all cleaned up I took the handful of rags and cleaner back to the laundry room. In my haste to clear my hands of messy rag debris I set the bottle of cleaner on the top of the washing machine, next to my mini-garden, and then left the room. 

After a few hours I had the sudden urge to check up on the garden. So I walked into the laundry room and stood examining my little green prizes and came to the conclusion that their soil was looking slightly dry. I grabbed the water bottle and went to spritzing them with a mid-day sip. After a few moments, and about 9 plants worth of spritzing, I happen to glance at the bottle in my hand and stopped.....immediately. 

The sprayer on the bottle in my hand was no longer blue, but a bright, taunting pink color. Blue equals H2O. Pink equals 409 Carpet Cleaner. I was stunned at the realization I had just come to. What do I do? So I dropped the bottle of cleaner and frantically grabbed the H2O bottle and sprayed every plant until thoroughly drenched.

After attempting to somehow wash the cleaner out with the water I walked into the other room feeling utterly defeated and called Kyle. His reaction of "You killed my cabbages!!??" was obviously not encouraging considering the circumstances.

So after a mild emotional breakdown, ten newly planted cabbage seeds,  that look fabulous as of today, and even an entertaining FB status & comment, my first "inability" experience with gardening has not yet put a damper on my hopes but rather taught me one of, I'm sure, many lessons to come about my garden of eatin'.