Confessions of a Lazy Gardener
It’s been a busy year and I have not had the privilege of spending much time in the garden. And yet it is truly an embarrassment of riches when you consider how little I do.
Welcome to Los Angeles. You toss something into the soil and it grows.
We have automatic sprinklers and we have a gardener who comes and mows the grass and pulls weeds. So, yeah, I don’t do anything.
But just think what my garden would look like if I spent more time out there. I would have a ton more vegetables, fruit, and flowers.
For example.. here’s my avocado tree.
I bought it a few years ago. It should probably be giving fruit by now, but I’m too lazy to give it compost and fertilizer. OK, not lazy. Busy. Really, really busy. But still — isn’t this sad?
Same problem with our lemon and lime trees:
Yeah, I know, citrus is not in season right now but none of our trees produced much this year. I know they need more compost and fertilizer. I just need to get out there and do it!
We are Spoiled in Southern California
The things I have planted just keep coming back — it’s so easy to grow things here in Southern California.
Just look at my lettuce — I planted this last year, forgot about it and it came back up again!
And strawberries:
And my celery plants are insane! They grow like weeds:
As do the calla lillies — aren’t they gorgeous?
Click here to view my whole set of photos on Flickr.
Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project
I am super excited about getting back into gardening this season. I just received a box of seed packets from Seeds of Change. Real Food Media is partnering with Seeds of Change this year to help build awareness of organic gardening online.
The Seeds of Change organic seed company just gave away over 100 million seeds, to inspire home gardeners across America. Seeds of Change has chosen the Real Food Media Blog Network to help create a buzz about home gardening this year. Ten of our top featured bloggers were each given 25 packets of seeds (or more for those bloggers with large homesteads).
Watch the Video — Getting Started is Easy!
Check out this cute little home video made by Kimberly Hartke.
Kimberly blogs at Hartke is Online! She also serves as Publicist for the Weston A. Price Foundation. And she’s our Sales Director at Real Food Media. She was responsible for putting together the project plan for Real Food Media’s collaboration with Seeds of Change.
I like the video because it shows you how EASY it is to get started planting a garden from seed.
I know it seems scary if you’ve never done it before, but doesn’t Kimberly make it look easy and fun?
Turning Over a New Leaf
I am excited to get back in the garden. This Seeds of Change promotion is just what I need to get me back outside and digging in the dirt.
Not only is it a fun hobby, but it’s good exercise and you can get plenty of vitamin D! Plus it’s a fun thing to do with kids. My 4-year-old, Kate (shown in the top photo) loves gardening!
Now that you’ve seen my “before” pics, I can’t wait to see what I end up with a few months from now.
My Garden Goals
Here are the things I definitely plan to plant:
Heirloom tomatoes — a few different varieties
More herbs — I have thyme, mint and rosemary. I will plant basil (pesto!), oregano, and dill (for dill pickles)
Purslane — I love it in salads
And I want to get my lemon, lime and avocado trees producing again. I plan to buy a bunch of manure and compost, and some fish emulsion.
Oh, and I need to buy a new compost bin. I have this one:
I got it pretty cheap and it works fine, but I’m just too lazy to turn it with a shovel. So it’s not producing like it should (even though we add lots of kitchen scraps and lawn cuttings to it every week). I plan to get one of those composts you can turn just by turning a handle. That I can do!
Join Us and Start an Organic Garden!
So what do you say guys? Will you join me in starting a garden this year?
If you already have a garden, will you post about it online to help spread the word and get more people excited? Or, if you don’t blog, will you post on Facebook or Twitter?
It’s one thing just to do gardening (and that’s great) but why not blog about it or share on social media? That way we can get MORE people inspired and get them into organic gardening, too!
I will have posts over the coming months about how I do it for you newbies out there. How I compost, how I plant, how I water — and remember, I’m LAZY! So I can teach you some neat tricks to save time and effort.
How to Participate
It’s easy to get started gardening. All you’ve got to do is decide on some plants you want to grow, get some seeds or seedlings, get your soil ready and start planting!
Here’s how you can participate online and share with others:
Join us on Facebook to share our gardening progress. Here’s how to participate:
1. Snap some photos of your garden.
2. Like Seeds of Change on Facebook. Click here: https://www.facebook.com/seedsofchange
3. When you have some photos of your garden, post them to the Seeds of Change Facebook wall. Make sure you include (1) a caption and (2) this link https://bit.ly/seedsofchangevirtualgarden so they know you are submitting the photo to the Virtual Garden.
Once you link to your photo on their wall, they will post them in their Virtual Garden album.
I’m going to go post mine to the Virtual Garden right now!
1. Follow Seeds of Change on Twitter: @seedsofchange
2. Tweet about the campaign, and encourage your followers to join in the fun! Please use the special hash tag, #sowingmillions.
3. Join us for a monthly Tweetchat to talk about organic gardening and share your progress. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @cheeseslave and I’ll announce the next one.
Save on Seeds
Visit my resources page to buy seeds. Seeds of Change is offering FREE shipping on orders over $30 through May 30th. Just use code FREESHIPPING at checkout.
Share Your Comments
Please comment below and share your ideas, goals, and questions. And let us know if you are starting a garden this year (or continuing your current garden). I hope you’ll join us in our effort to spread the word about organic gardening online!
Disclosure: I wrote this post while participating in the Sowing Millions Project by Real Food Media on behalf of Seeds of Change. I received product and exclusive content to facilitate my post. My thoughts and opinions are my own and not of those of Real Food Media or Seeds of Change.