Black Thumb Betty-Update

I am happy (oh so happy!) to report that so far (fingers crossed WHILE knocking on wood) all of my plants are still alive (well, unless you count that hanging basket.......).

Here are some photos I took yesterday morning:

Pepper plants still, uh pepperin'...well, not really pepperin yet but they have grown a lot!

Photo: WHY WON'T YOU TURN?!? I turn you the right way before I upload you and *poof* you are sideways again.....you must also be approaching three years old like my toddler....anyhoo....zucchini plant is the one on the RIGHT and is doing preeeeetty well (some hungry animal is trying to get the guy on the end..er, bottom there). On the left are the cucumber plants and they are taking off!! (in the good way, of course)

Photo: my blog readers (I think I have readers other than mom...Hi, mom!) do NOT want to stand on their head to look at this basil. so, knock it off!! So, here is the basil.....I did some moving around last weekend (more to come on that) and had this empty white pot so I planted a couple more basil seeds (more spread out this time) because a) we love basil and b) I am just excited the first ones grew at all?? who knows....

and, lo and behold, look who decided to join the party!!! CILANTRO!!! We had a few days of slightly cooler weather and my little cilantro seeds got excited and FINALLY started sprouting!! However, knowing it was about to get HOT again, I decided to see if these dudes (you don't call your plants dudes? well, you should...they are very hip) would grow in my window sill and, by golly, they have!! They have shot up 2 inches in the past week?! Go, buddy, go!!

Speaking of something else that has really grown.....my son. he has grown TWO AND A HALF INCHES since the end of March. 

SERIOUSLY. 

That tells me two things (lots of things around here tell me two things...) a) those "growing pains" we thought he was having in the middle of the night were more than likely definitely (I am so confident, eh?) growing pains and b) my baby isn't a baby anymore :..( off to cry in my cilantro pots now....

ok...*sniff* I am back. If you are wondering why I have everything so close together, etc. Mostly it is because I didn't honestly know if anything would grow....so I over seeded...whoops!! Husband and I have been discussing making some raised beds for me to do my gardening in but haven't ironed out any details so when we do, I will maybe be replanting some things....my concern is that re-planting them will kill them...thoughts? suggestions? If anything, I really need to plant them in some 5 gallon buckets but, I think Husband would like something that looks a little nicer than that so who knows. We shall see! All I know is that they are growing!! 

Black Thumb Betty

If you have read this blog before, you may have picked up  on something....I have a black thumb....not just a black thumb but more of a black bubble surrounding me where any plant that gets within 5 feet of me, leans over and dies on the spot. I kid you not. So far this spring, I have successfully killed two ferns....actually, my lovely birdy friends killed those but I had a hand in it since I couldn't figure out what to do to keep the stinkers out of my hanging baskets or keep my ferns alive while the little birdies nested in there, one small floral hanging basket..(I seriously don't know what happened. I received two hanging baskets from my lovely mother-in-law for Mother's Day-to replace the aforementioned ferns, of course, and one it thriving and beautiful and the other one completely turned from green to white and dried up even though I continued to water it, had them both in the same location, etc) and, I am sad to admit that even though Son's plant he grew me at school seemed to be doing great for about a week or two there, it too suddenly looks a little "off" and "sickly". Anywhoooo, moral of the story is I cannot grow ANYTHING............

or couldn't.....until now. 

What am I talking about you might ask?

a container garden.

do ignore the grass that is not growing right there...potted plants are my area...the grass? leave that to my husband...I like to call him Hank Hill when it comes to our yard..he LOVES working in the yard and has been working VERY hard to get it in tip top shape and we will be removing/replanting/something with this back area so excuse the "work in progress" there

I know....I know....what am I thinking?? why on Earth would I put these poor seeds through the certain demise of not surviving in my care? Well, to be honest, wishful thinking? maybe a stubborn attitude that tells myself "I WILL grow something successful, dangit! (other than that sweet baby, of course)

and you know what??

THEY"RE GROWING!!

These last pictures were taken a couple of days ago and they have grown even more since! (I will try and remember to take another picture this evening to update)

So, here is what we have growing (or not growing) in our container garden:

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Basil

Green Bell Peppers

Jalapenos

The zucchini, cucumbers, basil, and cilantro were all planted from seeds and the peppers were planted from small plants I purchased at Lowe's. I chose these plants for several reasons. Numero uno, they are all things that my household will eat enough of to make it worth the money spent to grow them. They are all things I purchase weekly either at the local farmer's market or at our local grocery stores so I know they will be something that will be easily consumed at our home (as much as I would have loved to grow some tomatoes, I am the only one in the house that eats them therefore cannot justify trying to grow them) Numero dos, my mother in law inspired me with her "garden". She has container plants in her backyard where she grows yellow squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes and since she lives very close to us, I thought...hmm, I wonder if I can do that? So, I gave it a shot and so far, so good.....well, except for the cilantro....turns out (much to my taste buds sadness...*sniff*) cilantro doesn't like to be hot....should have done some more research on that one...I know it can be grown in our area but I need to go about it differently...turns out when cilantro's soil gets above about 75 or so, it gets cranky, packs up, and leaves town. While I am stubborn in wanting to be a gardener, cilantro is more stubborn and flat out said...nope, not gonna grow for you, lady....nice try. 

So, please continue to join me here for successes and failures of container gardening!! and maybe more!