Green Garden

So I started a small veggie garden in my backyard two summers ago, but sadly it died off because my silly dogs wouldn't stay out of it. Last summer I had a newborn and didn't want to spread myself to thin. BUT this summer its my new project. I saw this cool little greenhouse that can be used indoors a little while before Christmas, and I fell in love with it. It's nothing specatacular, just a metal frame with shelves and a clear plastic cover, but it works like magic. I planted green beans in it, and within 5 days they were already almost 8' high.

Since then, I went out and picked up some starter flats and some dirt, and some new seeds from the organic store in my town. I also have been saving seeds from fruits and veggies for the past little while as well. I pulled the seeds out of a squash that I used to make Nolan's baby food, I saved the seeds from some grapes that I bought, along with strawberries and pomegranates. I'm most excited about the pomegranates, they're actually growing really well! I know that there is no way that I can plant them in the ground, they will surely die in the winter months, but I plan to keep to tree in a large pot on my back deck.

A little off topic there, but back to the garden. I have a decent size space in my yard that I'm going to rip up and then fill with goodies to eat with my family. I plan on starting off most of my plants at home in my greenhouse and then move them into the garden when they are ready. I figure that this will save me a decent amount of money, as I will be buying only some of the seeds, some will be preserved from fruits and veggies that I will buy between now and then, and even the seeds that I do have to buy will be a minimal cost compared to what it would cost to buy a live plant in planting season.

When you add up the savings from that stand point, I figure that I will save around $100 on the plants themselves, and then the money that I would be able to save on our weekly produce, the savings would be totally worth the amount of work required for my garden.

Not only keeping the savings in mind, I also like the idea of knowing where my food comes from. I want to know what is on/in the food that I'm giving to my family, and I believe that growing as many different things in my garden will be a great way to accomplish that.