January 6, 2010

It's easy being green... or so we hope!

I love to have projects. Matt know this. Sometimes he laments over the fact that I love projects, and often have many of them going at the same time... and often many of them are, or remain, unfinished.

I didn't want 2010 to be any different, so I am venturing on a new endeavor - partially to be environmentally conscious and partly because I just want a vegetable garden. So here we go.

First, recycling bin units that you buy at the store were $80-100, so I figured I could just buy some tubs and build a rack for them for under $20. (rack to come, after I start using the TABLE SAW Matt got me for Christmas! Yes ladies and gentlemen, it IS for me.)

Second, I started a compost pile probably 6 months ago. It's not huge, and it's not very beautiful, but I feel much better knowing that half the stuff I was going to throw away anyway (mostly Heidi's banana peels) is not going in the trash, but is instead decomposing in my yard. Mmmm.

Third, that compost should be used for something, and I've always wanted one, so I'm creating a vegetable garden. (Jenn has offered to help, right Jenn?) I've planted some herb seeds indoors for the winter so we can have a jump start on replanting them outside in the Spring. Where else to put them but over the "garden tub" in our bathroom. It's the only place I could find that is baby-proof, dog-proof, warm enough, and near a window. Maybe that's what garden tubs were made for... ?

The current garden outdoors isn't much (see photo) but we'll start preparing it in late February or so, so it will be ready for planting in March after our last freeze. I hope to keep a journal of our successes (or failures) on this blog, in case any of our oregano, basil, parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, radishes, zucchini and squash actually decide to grow into something we can eat.
More to come! And here's to starting a project and finishing it. We hope!