Really, I enjoy gardening because I like playing in the dirt! |
My plant hoarding has manifested itself in a few different ways. Primarily, it has meant that I don't want to get rid of any plants, even seedlings -- especially ones that I have grown from seed myself. This means that "thinning out" seedlings is extremely difficult for me. The only exception has been lettuce; I thoroughly enjoyed thinning out my lettuces last year and eating the baby greens! But baby seedlings that aren't so edible, are sad to pull. Any "volunteers" that I get randomly growing in my garden (e.g. pumpkins) tend to be left where they are and allowed to grow.
What do I DO with my leftover seedlings? They're like my babies, and it feels so wrong to let them die... |
I have an extremely hard time parting with my tomato seedlings. I planted two whole packets (one packet of Brandywine seeds and one packet of grape tomato seeds), to be sure that I had some actually grow (see my previous years' failures). Since I actually did my seed starting properly this year, just about all of the seeds germinated, leaving me with far more tomato plants than I need or know what to do with. Over the past few months as my tomato seedlings have grown, I've tried to select the best looking ones to transplant into larger pots, etc. I did a couple of rounds of this and ended up with several tiers of tomato plants. I ended up planting in my garden all but the lowest tier plants (the ones that never made it out of their peat pots!). Let me correct that statement. I planted tier 1 and tier 2 plants in the garden. I couldn't quite part with the tier 3 plants, even though I had no room for them, so I planted them outside my garden, between my stone pathway and my garden fence (so I could use the fence posts as stakes!). And...shhh...I hid one baby tomato plant in with my perennial flowers! Does it sound like I have a problem to you?
Carrots and potatoes popping up everywhere! Not sure quite what to do with them... |
This is what my perennial garden looked like our first spring in the house |
Here's what it looks like so far this year -- three years later. |
And another view, so you can actually see some of the flowers! |
My plant hoarding means I have had some overcrowding issues, both with vegetables and flowers. I know this is bad. I am not quite sure how to break my bad habit, but admitting you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery, right? This is my confession.
ABOUTME
Hi there! My name is Dana and I live in West Michigan with my husband, Tom and our dog Copernicus. I created this space as a place to share the things I learn along this journey I call life. I work in marketing and I'm a sort of Jane of All Trades, interested in all things nature, gardening, cooking, exploring and learning new things. This blog is a conglomeration of my interests, hobbies, life and life lessons. Thanks for stopping by!