"Going to the Tops"...a gardner's enemy

So, I don't pretend to be a real gardener.  Mostly because it's been 107 for the last month here and NOT ONLY is it too hot to water my garden every day, but it's too darn hot to grow anything either.  PLUS, our city put a 2 day "landscaping" watering rule now since we're in this drought mess and I want to be at least a little compliant with that.  But not really.

Anyway, I gave up on my garden and I'm not really that sad.  Well, I am sad cause I was so excited for my garden.  I'm pretty passionate about my family eating "good food", meaning food that won't sit in my cupboard for months on end and not rot.  If it doesn't "rot" when it's not frozen, then it's not real food.  So yes, that means no hamburger helper.  My garden was a manifestation of that, I think.

I pulled my carrots the other night because a) I've been randomly pulling carrots this summer to check them (I'm an antsy person) and b) It was my last hope of getting anything other than 3 tomatoes all summer.

Here is what they looked like after I pulled them. 

Beautiful, right?  Wow, those carrots are gonna big, juicy orange suckers.  I just know it.  Or...Not.  Here is what the bottom looks like:

Tiny little slivers of carrot that don't even warrant picking.  Ugh.  They don't even taste good either.  This is what my mom calls "going all to the top."  Where the tops are lush, green and beautiful but the actual "vegetable" is small and sickly looking.  Here is a textbook case of that.  I think maybe I'll try new seeds next year.  Maybe that would help.

Garden Tomatoes

I got tomatoes.  Not many, but I got some.  To be exact, I've got three and I shared one with my brother-in-law.  They're little and VERY rustic looking.  Just like I like it.

My dad told me I had to make bacon and tomato sandwiches with my first tomatoes.  They were heavenly and perfect.  I add avocado to mine and it definite improves it.  Who can guess which tomato is from the garden and which is from Kroger?

Gardening sure is a pain in the ass right now because it's a million degrees in Texas, but these tomatoes sure make it worth it. 

The best thing I ever...grew

Okay, so I didn't grow ALL of this, but I did grow the basil...right out of my garden.  I know, I know...basil is the easiest thing to grow ever...but I don't claim to be Ina Garten.  I wish. Who doesn't wish they had the foresight to add coffee to every chocolate recipe they make? 

Alright, back to the task at hand.  First of all, fresh basil clipped straight from the ground is WAY more potent.  And way more rustic.  See?

No pretty, single leaves in a plastic container here, folks.  I wish you could smell it.

When I went to Europe a few years ago, I had the best Caprese salad EVER at a small cafe on the streets of Venice.  (I know, I know...sounds pretentious, but it's the truth) This salad, seriously, was the best thing I've ever eaten.  It was so good, that I took a picture and have it framed on a wall above my dining room table.  Don't believe me? Fine.  Here's the proof...

The basil was muddled and I think steeped in olive oil and sans balsamic vinegar...but oh man, it was so delicious.  Being 5 months pregnant and in Italian food heaven might have been a factor, but regardless, I STILL dream about that salad. 

So, here is my take on the classic. Get some tomatoes.  (These came from the store, the tomatoes in my garden are still green)

Clip some basil.

Open a beer.  Wait... what?

Grab some fresh mozzarella cheese and assemble the salad as so...

Super delicious, and perfect for summer.  Add some avocado and prepare to have your mind BLOWN!  

It grows...

I have a garden. I HAVE A GARDEN!!  See?!?!? It went from this... The Beginning to...THIS!

All of those plants in the middle, were started from seeds.  I have TWO green bell peppers already growing and I've already had to cut all the cilantro and share with everyone at work.  I really hope those tomatoes come up.  That's what I am really waiting for.  Green peppers...eh...what I want are the tomatoes! 

I've kind of fallen off the bandwagon with eating "only food that is living".  That means we only eat food that shouldn't be able to stay on my shelf for 6 months and still be edible.  It has to be a plant, animal or grain that actually grows and isn't genetically modified or so laden with preservatives that the ingredient list is 2 paragraphs long.   That was my motto for so long and I guess in the midst of having a job, running a house and having a toddler...somehow...eating velveeta cheese and crappy rice-a-roni side dishes made it's way into our dinners.  I strongly feel that eating preservative-laden foods day in and day out is why many people get so many diseases and try my best to keep those to a minimum for me and my family.

But sometimes...you just need a little velveeta cheese on top of your steamed broccoli, right?  And JC and I may have eaten McDonalds after Mia went to bed last night.  I may have had a chocolate shake and two cheeseburgers.  Oh well...tomorrow is another day.

How to Live like a Toddler.

Learning how to cook. (Or stirring Kix Cereal and then dumping it out all over the floor.  twice.)

Planting a garden. (Or pulling out all of the signs that designate which plant is which.)

Having a nutritious snack. (Or smearing pudding in every crevice of her body and high chair.)

Sleeping in a nice, safe, comfortable bed. (Or falling asleep in the car seat and being totally content there.)

Vegetable Garden 2011

We did it! We did it!  And it wasn't even that hard, really.  My very first vegetable garden.  *sigh*  It makes me so happy.  I can remember my mom FORCING me to work in ours when I was younger and I hated it.  I seriously hated it.  But now, I haven't been this excited about a few plants, seeds and dirt since I don't know when!

My mom, Mia and I visited the Farmer's Market in downtown Dallas on Saturday and picked up some plants (as well as some fabulous Mexican food, gelato, butter cake and other things) to put in the garden.  Well, the plants went in the garden, the rest just went in our tummies.  You get the point.  Anyway, the biggest win of the day is getting Mia to do this.  Fabulous!

Yesterday, I got up early and bought lots of dirt for the garden at Home Depot.  Here's what I got.  While I'd like to say I got it because it was organic and fancy and everything but mostly I got it because it was on sale and NOT $15 a bag.  I once heard that you don't have to spend lots of money on the dirt as long as you add plant food.  So, that's what I did.

So, we got my little 4x6 garden box ready to go...

Just a little garden in the city.  Makes me so happy.  Okay, so next step...add the dirt.

 Then let Mia play in it for awhile.

After that, then we added the plant food and spread it around. The kind we used was a quarter cup of food per 5 square inches.

Then we arranged our plants in the position we wanted them.  This was the part that made me the most excited because I could visualize what it would look like.

Here is what we planted:

3 strawberry plants, 2 tomato plants, 1 basil plant, 1 chive plant, 1 cilantro plant, 1 green pepper plant, 1 row of carrot seeds, 1 row of green bean seeds, 1 row of sugar snap pea seeds, 1 row of lavender seeds and marigolds all around.  The marigolds are a natural way to keep the bunnies from digging in your garden.  My mama taught me that one.  You could also use blood meal.  But the thought of that made me want to throw up so I chose pretty flowers in place of blood.  Wasn't a hard choice to make.

Next step, plant the plants and bury the seeds.

Next, step back and admire your square foot garden. 

Oh, and water it of course.  That is important too.

I HAVE A GARDEN!  Cross your fingers and toes that the blazing hot Texas sun doesn't eat it up this summer and I don't forget to water it.