Planting Addiction

I thought I'd show how my herbs are doing now since I shared a photo when my basil first sprouted.  The basil is at the top of the picture.  The chives are at the bottom.  The parsley I planted about a week ago is in the middle and is just sprouting.  The tiny pots on the left are marigolds that I planted a few days ago.  Everything is doing really well, I think.  They aren't big enough to use or transplant yet, but I think the basil and chives will be transplantable by this weekend.

This morning I had coffee with Beth and then came home and planted some more seeds in pots.  I planted the tomatoes and strawberries that I will transplant to hanging planters on our back deck.  I also planted two kinds of attractive lettuces, some mint, and more parsley in a rectangular planter I bought at Dollar Tree.  I plan to transplant these to the herb/flower garden.  I saved a corner of the planter for cilantro seeds, which I plan to buy today.  We need to get another walkway stone, and I want to get one bag of potting soil to enrich the front garden soil.  And I'll look for tulips and daffodils on clearance to keep Neil's tulip company.

I also have some more seeds to plant in the vegetable garden.  I got some pea seeds so that I can eat the raw pods and some acorn squash for soup this fall.  I've also got more summer squash, zucchini, and lettuce seeds that I can plant.  If I get up early tomorrow, I may try to get the rest of the veggies planted before it gets too hot outside.

So far I've probably spent about $25 on seeds and growing kits and another $20 on a shovel, other gardening implements, and a pair of gardening gloves.  $25 for the walkway and probably another $20 on another stone, some tulips and some good soil.  It would be a moderately expensive hobby if it were just something to keep me busy. (Golfing would be way more expensive.)  But we could easily save $100 this summer on produce if even half of what I've planted is usable.  Zucchini and herbs are crazy expensive, and I eat a lot of them in the summer.  And next year all we'll need are some seeds.  I think it's a good investment.