Sunday, April 05, 2009

Gardening at 11 feet

I attempt gardening but, I am not a gardener. In my childhood I remember helping my parents in our gardens. Picking tomatoes, zucchinis, and peas. Gardening in New England is not for the novice gardener. See you can't plant things till May here- (even then it's still cold, hence the very short growing season). Like last year my purple peppers finally yielded 2 smallish peppers in mid-October! I will also attest to being a less than faithful gardener- oh how the summer months lure me away on vacations- resulting in my garden abandonment!

So the recommendation is to start your seeds indoors a few weeks ahead and then transfer then to the garden. I have tried this in the past but without a lot of success. Given my 1 yr old's propensity for climbing and my 3 yr old's propensity towards mischief I wracked my brain to find a suitable, sunny seed starting location for the required 4 weeks of baby plant growing.
I found the perfect spot--while I have always cursed the builder of this house for creating a great and spacious 2 story entry way (I would so prefer another bedroom upstairs). I have decided this floorplan must have been inspired to enable me to follow the "plant a garden": counsel- So here you can see my excellent, sunny warm seed starting location- 10+ feet in the air! I like to think of it as a "green roof" for my coat closet. Yes I have to climb a couple foot tall stool to get them down for watering- but at least they are safe from curious fingers and thriving- so much so that I had to transplant them form the peat pellet starters (those things are amazing!) to full peat pots.

I am actually thinking I should keep a small herb garden up there year round for cooking? I know, I know- it's all fun and games until smart mama falls of the stool showering the entryway in dirt, pots, and broken plants!
1.gardening at 11 feet 2. conference 3. pie plate licking baby

5 comments:

Trueman twins said...

Smart mama you're really thinkin' now. Great idea about the "safe house."

Marcy said...

Great idea!! Way to put the wasted space to work. Good luck! I love to garden and have also had a hard time since being in New England. My trials are more from mischievous squirrels (rather than children), acidic soil, and not enough sun. Thanks for sharing with us your success.

Unknown said...

Awesome!
My little starters are needing transplanting now, as well, although I'm still struggling to keep them out of reach of mischievious cats' paws...
I always think of the primary song "The Prophet said to plant a garden, so that's what we'll do..." when I think of gardening.
:)

Company EIGHT said...

What a great idea!! We have an entry and ledge just like that, and I've always wondered what I could put there. Now I know!!!

Swimmingmom said...

Oooh, that is a perfect spot for you: bright, sunny and very out of the way. Hope you don't have any one swinging from the chandelier trying to get them;-)