A Garden Begins...

I'm spoiled-I admit it. Within five miles of my home I can buy or pick all the locally-grown fruits and vegetables I want, so I've never spent a great deal of time and effort growing my own food. And I like picking. Give me a bucket-on-a-belt and a water bottle and I could spend all-day picking cherries, blueberries, raspberries or marionberries.

I've always put in a few tomato plants and I have a small herb garden with oregano, thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, chives and tarragon. Some years I have actually managed to get some trellises rigged up for pole beans and last year I tried growing some potatoes in a half-barrel, without much success.

This year I am going to do better. My handy husband gave up a couple Saturdays to make these raised beds for me on the sunny, south side of the house and, with my son's help, we shoveled and wheel-barrowed in enough organo-rich "dirt" from the farmer's co-op to fill them. So far I only have some strawberry starts in, but this weekend I'm going to buy some transplants from Suzi Porter of Big Lick Farm at the farmers market. The Master Gardeners are also having their annual plant sale from 9 to 4 at the fairgrounds this Saturday, so I'll try to make it out there too.

Wish me luck and feel free to offer advice. I'll post my progress throughout the growing season.