It Started with Tulips

The first time I really got excited about gardening was in September this year. I had planted some tulip bulbs in August - that's 2 months later than recommended. And yet just one month later the little darlings started poking their pointy heads through the earth. My facebook status on 6th September read: " Mandy has 15 tulips (and counting) poking their little heads up in her garden." I was completely enraptured and for weeks the first thing I did every morning was visit my tulips. By mid October we had a wonderful bed of 39 beautiful blooming tulips.

Watching the progression from planting, breaking through the soil to full bloom was really fun and has fueled my gardening passion. Now my gardening interests have moved to something a little more useful i.e. food production. Outside we tomatoes, beans, capsicum, chillies, carrots, broccoli, snow peas and spring onions on the go. We are still prepping the areas to plant corn, potatoes, lettuce and who knows what else.

But the thing that has me really excited today is my kitchen windowsill herbs. The photo you see is the basil energetically appearing through the (bit-too-lumpy) potting mix yesterday. An overnight transformation! And each time I checked on them through the day yesterday I
could see new little fellows emerging. This morning the new development is a hint of a greet shoot in the coriander pot. So exciting!

Inspired by an article in a Burke's Backyard mag that I borrowed from the local library, the plan is to have a constant supply of fresh baby herbs ready for use. The article described the use of fresh baby herbs, rather than waiting for the plant to grow to maturity. This way it is only 2-3 weeks (depending on the plant) from sowing to reaping. Tasty, fun and does not require much patience at all :)