Container Gardening

When my oldest daughter was two years old, I decided to endeavour into the world of gardening. I have never been one to take much of an interest in plants, but my deep love for cooking pushed me towards trying to grow our own vegetables. At the time we were living in a small apartment with a tiny patio. Although the space was adaquate for a small container garden, the sun exposure was minimal and our success was minimal. Now that we have moved into a house with nice sunny windows and more yard space, I thought we would try our hand at growing some of our favorite veggies and herbs once again.

This week our homeschool studies have tended towards learning about plants so what better time to get started on our seedlings. In our growins zone (AZ9) it's really important to get the seeds planted in January because the intense summer heat can start as early as April or May.

This year we have seeds started for tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, Anahiem chilis, okra, mini bell peppers, cilantro, basil, dill, chives, garlic chives and flat leaf parsley. We planted all of these about a week ago and so far the cucumbers, basil and squash are peeking out of the soil. In a few weeks I will be transplanting them into 5 gallon buckets and setting them out on tht patio. We are also planning to start (directly from seed) some oregano, rosemary and a couple different kinds of flowers.

If all goes well I should have some more pictures to share in a week or two when all the seeds have sprouted :)