I started lettuce, kale, tomato, and cucumber from seed. I babied these plants like crazy and they shot up pretty quickly. I was feeling pretty good about myself.
They grew and grew. I was very pleased with what seemed like a green thumb emerging!
They got to be pretty decent sized seedlings (I don't have a photo of them at their biggest and brightest). My husband and I were just about ready to build the raised bed and put them in the ground. That's when things went downhill. First some of the lettuce started to struggle and die. Then the rest of the plants went pretty quickly. I won't bore you with the details but my expert opinion on what may have happened to the plants:
They had too much water
They had too little water
They didn't have enough light
They had too much light
They hate me
That's basically the prognosis I came up with after some Internet searching. Plants are complicated beings and seem pretty smug when I can't figure them out.
I was pretty bummed and a little embarrassed at first. However, then it dawned on me...that was the biggest success I've ever had with plants on my own. I usually don't even get them to seedlings. So while I won't be eating my own homegrown veggies this summer, I will be happy with the experience and the small amount of success I had in the beginning. It's a start. Maybe next year I'll get even further? Luckily I had not invested much money so there was no issue there.
I am still going to consider it a goal that was completed. I gave it a good try, learned some things, stressed a little too much, and there is a great Farmer's Market in town where I will continue to buy kale, lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Goal completed (pretty much).
I did enjoy having the plants in my home office and I enjoyed the smell of earth each morning when I went to work. So, I decided to add some other plants to my work area. Plants that even I can't destroy too quickly (fingers crossed)... Succulents!
My iPOD does not take the same quality photos that my DSLR camera does - my apologies!
So, that's that. I will try again but I need a year to work up the motivation again.
One last thing before I finish this post, yesterday was Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. I was too busy enjoying Mother's Day with my family so wasn't able to post. Please help to spread awareness for this awful chronic illness. I live with it and many other people do too. I manage mine with a mix of traditional medicine and holistic approaches. I have found ways to manage through the pain, fatigue, flu-like illness, and many, MANY other symptoms but I still have flare ups that just knock me out here and there. I have learned a lot about myself living with this illness and I would love to see the day that we can wipe it out all together. Thanks for reading!
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