How does my garden grow?

With the sun shining (at least a little) here in the Portland area today, I'm inspired to get out & plant those poor little plants that have been sitting in a box in my garage for 2 weeks. OK, I have put them out for some sun when we've been lucky enough to have it. I'm so glad that I haven't put the little guys into my new raised bed Dave built me yet! Last weekend we had a HUGE freak hail storm, complete with 50 mile an hour winds, the hardest rain we've ever seen here...came at us horizontally, right into the back of the house. We even had a puddle INSIDE on the floor next to our French Door. Now I realize we need to work harder at the weatherizing! At least the little plants were hiding in the garage for the deluge!

But now it's time to get them into the ground! I usually plant a couple tomatoes, green beans & some basil. But with the economy the way it is and thinking maybe I can grow some more veggies to save on my grocery bill. And I LOVE how the veggies I grow in my own yard taste! This year I've got a few more tomato plants to plant and some seeds for carrots, radishes, lettuce and others I can't think of right now. I'll let you know how things go!

If you like fresh green beans, here's what I've been doing for about 3 years now. It's the perfect idea for those of you without in the ground garden space or maybe you have just a patio. I plant my green bean seeds (pole beans & not bush beans) in a large planter full of organic soil. Then I put a tomato cage in the planter. When the plants start to grow and can reach the first level of the tomato cage, I wrap them around the wires. Then the plants grow to cover the cage and the beans hang down all around it. It's an easy way to grow green beans. My daughter loves to go out & see if the beans are ready. She loves to pick them & eat them right on the spot!

If you're looking for gardening inspiration, check out Lola's Victory Garden! She's got a great give away going on right now!