no one has ever accused me of having a green-thumb...

...and that is mostly because I kill a lot of plants!  It is not that I don't desire success, it is because my life doesn't afford me the time needed to be a great gardener.  Not yet, anyway.

So far I have managed to kill all of our seed starts.  How did I do that?  I have no clue.  They were rather puny because I didn't buy a grow light (I persisted in my belief that I could do without one) and then the ones that made it wilted very soon after being planted. 

Now the herb plants that I started from seed have all called it quits. 

Could it be that plants just don't like me?

I finally broke down and bought the above herbs plants that have already made it past the first, delicate days of life.  Now that they are hardy and strong, we will get  along just fine. 

I hope.

I do have a couple of successes in the garden so far.  The radish are alive and growing and the spinach is looking downright edible:

I didn't know that when we got Maddie we were getting a garden-guard in the bargain!  She can hardly stand that we make her stay outside the gate, but she loves the soft dirt inside and it seems to appeal to her digging instinct:

How is your garden growing?

Comments

[Mindy]

Your spinach looks yummy!

I have gotten a plot at the community garden this year. Mine is okay so far!

[Gina]

Things seem to be moving right along with our garden. The weeds are definitely flourishing, the rest remains to be seen, I guess. I have an ongoing battle with dear and ground squirrels and bunnies. Maybe I need a Maddie...

[thislittlepiggy]

I kill plants too. I had an elderly neighbor that told me it was my body chemistry. Go figure.

I have a new identity.
I have a brand new name.
If you read between the lines,
You'll know me just the same.

*Hug*

[amber m.]

So funny. I posted about this exact same tendency yesterday!

http://mcillecespot.blogspot.com/2008/05/farmer-tony.html

[Melody]

All my herbs from seed are just about goners as well. I keep thinking if I move them to different container, they might bounce back - but I keep forgetting to go get new pots at the store. I'll probably just end up going to the garden store to get herb plants that are already started (and hope that I don't kell them, too!)

[Judy]

I don't think we are having a garden this year. I can't start anything from seeds. Maddie is getting so big.:)

[momrn2]

How is my garden growing?? It isn't. It's been too cold to get anything going. I'm hoping in the next week or so. And then if I can just keep the deer out...

[cindy]

Ohh sorry all your little seedling croaked! Thats some good looking spinach too! I think everything grew about 2 feet over the weekend because of all the sun we had but now we are back to rain and I hope that they don't all drown now.

[Stacy]

Ugh. It's NOT growing. It's not even planted yet, for crying out loud.

The rain pours down and I peer outside at our empty garden and nearly ache for thinking we're going to have a weak garden this year.

I am so anxious to plant! :)

Great job on your radishes and spinach! Did you do your starts inside? We've never done that, but everyone I've heard from who has tried that has not had much luck. I think those little plants like to be OUTside. :)

Can't wait to see how things progress for you!

~Stacy

[Susan D]

I haven't started mine yet. We are between houses and i hope to get some time to get one in the new house so we can enjoy it this summer.
Susan

[Stacy]

I actually have pictures of our flowers today - what a coincidence! I have planted my herbs but they are looking a bit weepy - I need to give them a shot of water to perk them up. I'm hoping this will be the year that the bunnies don't eat everything. ;)

Your garden looks great! I tried to do seed starts too and they didn't work too well for me either.

[Kelsey]

I can totally not do seeds either they never grow. I just splurge and get them as plants already haha

[Jill]

Oh, Randi, I'm so sorry to hear about your seed starts! Don't worry. There's still lots of time.

Our garden is growing well. And so are the weeds! I'm looking at the weather for tomorrow in hopes of getting out there for an hour or so to clean things up.

The beans go in the ground next week. Popping up so far are peas, carrots, beets, lettuce and onions. We also bought peppers and tomatoes as plants. All doing well.

Best wishes to you in this growing season! XO

[val]

never fear...try again next year. You probably didn't know you need to 'harden' seedlings off when your introduce them outside. I learned THAT little tidbit the hard way too!

[Emily]

There's always next summer. How about getting yourself to the local Farmers Market? :) hee hee.

[dianeinjapan]

I can relate. I like to select plants and design garden spaces, but I'm not so great on following through with feeding and watering once they're planted. Houseplants? I habitually forget them. But I've had great success with lettuce and cherry tomatoes in our present somewhat-meager garden setting. Both seem to take off and thrive with precious little attention.

[Ellen]

My garden is in the waiting stage right now: waiting for boxes to be finished and filled in, waiting for my mail-order plants (I don't do seeds yet because I too am a plant-killer at the moment) to arrive...I'm getting a little impatient and worried because several friends around here have already planted their tomatoes and beans outside!

[thimbleanna]

Haha -- it looks like you grow things the same way I do Randi. I never plant seeds anymore -- have to have real plants for them to have a fighting chance. Loved your small things post! And thanks for your swwet wedding wishes for my newlyweds!

[heidi]

the only way i can keep anything alive is if it inadvertently reseeds itself and comes back to life. yeah. that's what happened this year.

[Erin S]

It takes so much effort to grow from seed that I confess I have given up. Don't be so hard on yourself...I bet you and the kids had fun planting the seeds right???

My flower garden is going crazy. I wish I had the space for veggies, but I don't. Just flowers.

Maddie is such a cute dog I am sure she is great company.

[Susie]

Your garden looks nice and green! I hope you're able to harvest some of those wonderful herbs! (is that purple basil?) I love basil with fresh tomatoes in the summer!
Our garden is doing great. We have blossoms on most of the veggies!
xo

[Roberta]

Oh, you don't know how that makes me feel better. We started sugar snap peas and tomatoes. It's just now time to plant outdoors and the peas look a bit peaked, the tomatoes grew to about 1/4 inch, turned black and disappeared! I have start pots and seed packets on the counter...for next year I guess...and tonight spent, ahem, way too much on plants. Tomatoes, peppers, lavender, basil, chamomile, mint, lilies (on clearance) and some other flowers.

[Kim]

Our garden is coming along nicely. I did lose 4 cucumber plants though -- don't know what happened? I planted a couple more seedlings this morning. Let's hope they thrive.

[Crystal]

I am happy to report that the spinach, radishes, lettuce, peas, sunflowers and 3 zucchini plants are up! I just planted the rest on Monday so it will be awhile but that's okay. Thanks for asking! And I've given up on starting plants. You have to have perfect conditions for such tiny starts and it's better to just buy them started. I have way more luck that way. Enjoy your spinach salad this weekend :))

[Pam in Colorado]

Our first batch of seed flowers are looking good. We have another batch of flowers planted yesterday and three trays of different veges planted yesterday as well.

I am going to follow the seed pack directions carefully to be sure to harden the tender plantlings before I actually plant them. This should be interesting. I really hope they live. Our last cat and her kits have to leave before I can even pretend to have a garden or it will be one giant litter box!

Hope the rest of your plants thrive and have happy little lives until you gobble them up! :0)

[Mommy, the Human Napkin]

I have the same problem with seed starts not taking off. They'll sprout and then wither off and die. I did have a handful actually grow this year, but when I planted them outside, our two puppies ate them! So we resorted to buying the full-on plants, too, and decided to keep the herb pots up high where the dogs can't reach. If they eat one more thing I've planted, they're goners!

[jackie]

My garden is growing but so are the slugs..fat fat fat from eating my plants.

[penny]

i would LOVE to have my garden in, but with all this YUCKY rain, only my tomatoes made it into the dirt. my peppers, squash, zucchini, watermelon and cantaloupe are still in their peat pots. (sp?) all of my seeds are still in the sack; carrots, beans, okra, corn, etc........ what a bummer of a year!! maybe it'll prove to be best, who knows, maybe it'll be the latest planting time but the best harvest time!!! i can only hope!
Penny