Seed Swap and the GardenChat group

I attended #GardenChat for the first time on Monday night. Unfortunately I only caught the last few minutes but it was enough for me to know that I want to attend again next week. They seem to be a lovely group of gardeners from various backgrounds that are helpful and generous with their gardening advise.

One of the participants that I met, Amy Hill @MHenryMitchell, was inspired by the chat about tomatoes and has decided to do a Seed Swap. This is something new for me but if you've been following along you know I've been trying to find gardeners that would like to exchange seeds, not because I'm lacking in seed (although there is still a lot that I want), because I went a little overboard on buying seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and want to share them with others.

Gardening Anxiety - It is Not the End of the World

I am breathing. Mistakes happen, it isn't a big deal, I can fix it or change it or whatever. Then why does it affect me the way it does?

As I mentioned in Red Worms, Seedlings, Oh My, I planted seeds into one gallon water jugs as little greenhouses. One of the things you are suppose to do is put them outside after you plant them. I didn't do it. I couldn't. I kept telling myself that I was going to put them outside but it was so cold out there. I know, they say it is okay, it will make them stronger and then when it gets warmer they will grow. I kept telling myself I was going to do it later.

Beauty and the Bugs - Keeping Your Veggie Garden Happy

Photo by Elizabeth Famellos

I didn't have much interest in growing flowers in my veggie garden. I only wanted veggies because I could and would enjoy eating them. Flowers I thought just took up space that could be better used for my urban gardening efforts for growing tomatoes, basil, sugar snaps, etc.

I then discovered edible flowers. I wasn't sure about eating an edible flower, that just sounds weird. Supposedly they can be quite good. Yes of course I'm going to have to try some.

Red Worms, Seedlings, Oh My!

You never have enough good quality healthy soil when urban gardening. To make matters worse, I live in Georgia and if you know anything about Georgia it is almost all red clay. I had to do something or I was going to be throwing away money every year on soil and soil amendments for my veggie garden. I decided to start a red worm composting bin but it seemed I could only get them through the mail.

Growing Seedlings and Fear of Gardening

I used to be afraid of gardening, of putting plants in the wrong spot, of just not being able to do it right. Yes I know there are wrong ways of gardening that will give you low yields of fruits and vegetables but it isn't the end of the world, at least it shouldn't be.

Gardening in the Kitchen

I began planting seeds in my kitchen this past week to begin my intensive journey of urban gardening. The whole counter was taken up by seed packets, large clear containers (as my mini greenhouses), and soil just about everywhere because we all know I can't do anything in a tidy fashion. I have heard it is the creative personality type that things tend to explode all over the place.

Using What Is On Hand

I often have to use what I already have for my projects and this time was no different. I had a big bag of unopened potting soil from last year but it wasn't fine enough for my itty bitty baby seedlings to sprout through.

What could I do, what could I do?