The Gardening Bug~Has It Bitten You, Too?

Yep. I have been bitten by the gardening bug again. It's been a couple of years since I've tried anything, but we have the perfect place for it in our backyard and I just can't stand it if we don't at least try this year.

We have wonderful farmers markets here because the area we live in is full of beautiful farms (both Amish and "English") and last year our sweet neighbors shared much of their garden bounty with us. So we were very blessed with lots of fresh produce. You may remember that I learned to can tomatoes last summer because we had so many from our neighbors' garden. We sure have enjoyed those all winter long!

So far my gardening experience is extremely limited. The first year we tried it everything was in containers. Then we graduated up to a raised bed. The next year I experimented with starting seeds. But last year I tried nothing at all ...and I was a little sad about that.

This year may be a total bust, but I at least want to give it a shot. Every time I have gardened I have learned something more about it.

This year I haven't heard my hubby mention anything about building raised beds (he's been pretty busy lately), so I'm guessing we'll sow directly into the ground. Our gardening neighbors have graciously offered to let us use their tiller (bless them!).

I am, however, going to start the tomatoes and bell peppers early so they can be transplanted rather than directly sown into the ground. Not that I really know much about the 'how's' and 'why's' of this, but that's what the package said I should do.

And, boy, did I have fun picking out those packages of seeds! The kiddos helped and we came away with seeds for not only tomatoes and bell peppers, but jalapenos, onions, okra, sweet peas, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, summer squash, zucchini, and sunflowers!

So this afternoon the kiddos and I plan to get busy starting those seeds and maybe mapping out our soon-to-be garden. So exciting! (I'll have to remind myself of this enthusiasm when it's so hot outside and I have to go pull weeds and water).

How about you? Are you an experienced gardener or a novice like me? Are you planning a garden this year?

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