Friday, April 29, 2011

Plant Babies

I am taking my gardening a step further this year by growing an all-out vegetable garden. Container gardens, houseplants, and landscaping are all things I've had recent experience with, but I want to get back to the kind of food production I witnessed as a little girl. All of my grandparents (I'm lucky enough to have 3 sets of grandparents, some blood and some not but grandparents to me since birth all the same) have been growing their own food for as long as I can remember. I'm hoping to carry the torch and grow vegetables to share with my loved ones too, starting this year.

For our backyard garden, we decided that square foot gardening was the best use of our space. It's basically a method of organic gardening that utilizes densely planted beds to grow a large variety of produce without the wasted space of rows. It's a very interesting method, and I think it will suit us well without sacrificing too much of our yard. Here's our current setup:

Our Square Foot Garden

Ours looks a little sparse since the plants are still very young. To see what these gardens look like when they are packed full of large, thriving plants, click here and here for a lovely selection of square foot garden photos.

I'm the type of person who thinks all babies are adorable- baby people, baby animals, and even baby plants. So when I saw that our seeds had sprouted, I went a little crazy taking photos of those sweet plant babies.

Baby Pea Plants

 Baby Bean Plants

Baby Corn Plant

And if you're wondering where I found a set of colorful, custom garden stakes to mark my plants with, let me just show you.

Custom Garden Stakes
Custom Garden Stakes by Hollyrocks on Etsy

I made them myself! I figured I'm probably not the only one who enjoys things that are both functional and decorative, so I decided to offer these garden stakes for sale in my shop.

Custom Garden Stakes

I am so very excited about this new gardening venture. I will keep you updated on the progress of our garden and let you know how this technique works out for us. I think the kind of plants people grow says a lot about them. So tell me, what does YOUR garden grow?

15 comments:

Katie said...

Oh my goodness, these are so cute! I had meant to make plant markers for my husband's garden last year, but never got around to it which made the garden quite confusing for the first couple months. Great job!

Briana Shepley said...

Um, will you have those awesome stakes next weekend?? I believe the mister needs a set!

Pili said...

Oh my those stakes are oh so cute and perfect for anyone growing a garden!

I can't wait to see all your veggies!

Cindy said...

My garden consists of two Cherokee Purple tomato plants, rosemary, dill, thyme & sage. I plan to add a couple of cucumber plants also. I can't wait to read your next garden update! P.S. Love the stakes.

alexkeller said...

omg - sooooo cute! your baby plants and those markers :) as a little girl we used to grow everything in our back yard. i just don't have the green thumb necessary, plus it's incredibly dry and hot here. i plan to visit a local food coop garden with Kyle so he can see how his carrots grow!

JUST ME said...

I want to plant some herbs ASAP....the weather has just been so shitty here in CO that I haven't wanted to expose cute baby stalks to it.

But - as in everything you do - your garden is ADORABLE.

Danelle said...

CUTE! I've never been able to keep a plant alive. But I've always wanted to have a herb garden. I think that would be so cool. :)

Brigid said...

Oh, I have garden envy! I think I'm taking this year off from planting sadly, but I'll be glad to help you eat any extra veggies you might grow. ;)

Audrey said...

I'm hoping to get into the garden by the end of the month! Thought spring was here, but it snowed on Sunday :( Luckily it will be gone soon.

Love your little plants!!

Anonymous said...

Ohhh... square foot gardening! I will have to read more! I love it when my seeds sprout too.. I just planted some purple cone flower seeds a couple of weeks ago, and they are starting a little slow with the lack of sun lately, but growing, they are! :) Love the garden marker idea too, so cute! ♥

The Fancy Teacup said...

Kudos to you for having your own vegetable garden...it's so fun having one! Although I can never seem to grow anything except tomatoes :) Those handmade stakes are super adorable.

Ink Obsession Designs said...

Holly, I LOVE those garden stakes! And your garden looks amazing! I can't wait to see it chalk full of veggies! :)

Heather said...

These are so cute! and your garden looks like it means business with those precise lines! I made a new veggie bed this year too and am anxiously waiting to see how it turns out. Happy growing!

Diary of a Madd Weekly Painter said...

You and your beloved are smart to do the Sq.Ft. thing. Much easier all the way around. And of course it will get better w/each year 'cuz you'll be adding compost and cow Poo - Right? And I can suggest NO corn next year, they take up way too much room. Your stakes are clever too. Happy gardening.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Your garden stakes are wonderful!