Laura Occasionally Blogs

Within the last six months (all of them winter), I've gone from 0 to "hobbyist gardener." Probably this is because I moved from a basement studio apartment into a first-floor condo with windows and a patio. Also, I moved to the crunchy granola-est neighborhood around, so I inevitably became obsessed with my carbon footprint. This spring, for the first time in my LIFE, I will attempt to grow some edible food.

My assets:

* An approximately 3 foot by 3 foot partially shaded raised garden bed in my yard

* Reading comprehension skills

* The proven ability to keep alive house plants rated "easiest house plant to grow" "no really you can just ignore it" "it doesn't care" over upwards of 3 months

My liabilities:

* Reading comprehension skills

* Easily distra

My friend Anna gave me an herb garden starter kit, so I'm starting with that! The first directions are to soak the seeds overnight in clear water. I don't know if that means tap water is insufficient. Luckily, someone in my household accidentally bought or stole a bottle of water months ago, so I'm using that. It turns out that seeds are really tiny! I am soaking them in these shot glasses, most of which were left behind by the previous owners of the house.



From left: parsley (misspelled), thyme, cilantro, oregano, garlic chives, basil. I don't know what garlic chives are but they sounded good. In the background, you can see four of the aforementioned house plants: an angel-wing begonia rescued from abandonment in an arboretum by a friend (I didn't quite follow the story, it may be "hot"), a wilted haworthia from Ikea, a keeps-on-truckin' problem-free jade plant from the flower stand at the subway station, a baby snake plant from Amazon.com.

I am open to suggestions for what to plant in my tiny raised bed, or in indoor/outdoor containers (indoor in winter). Here is the short list at the moment, based largely on what produce I enjoy.

* The herbs, obvs. (in pots)
* Strawberries (in a tiered planter)
* Assorted stir fry vegetables given to me in the same gift, including spinach, bok choi, and snow peas (need a trellis)
* Cherry tomatoes (probably in pots?)
* Onions (in bed or planter)
* Garlic (in bed or planter)
* Hot peppers (not sure)
* Lemons (in pot, need a dwarf lemon tree)

Notes: I'm signed up for a CSA this summer, so I don't want to repeat a lot of vegetables I'll already be swimming in. I don't think there will be a lot of fruits, though. I love raspberries, blueberries, peaches, and cherries, but I think those need more space.