So I think I'm gonna start a little garden this year.

I've been reading and hounding my gardener friends for details lately, and I think I'm going to start a few little gardens this spring, hopefully turn out some herbs, peppers, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and pumpkins this year.  I've generally had a pretty green thumb, but haven't really ever successfully tried food plants.

So far, I've started some seeds in a little flat (indoors, because for some reason it's decided to be snowy in Houston this year).  We've bought some seeds and are planning to start some pumpkin seeds in time to harvest for jack-o-lanterns, too.

Since we're having wacky snow possibilities and hard freezing right now, the seeds are indoors on their starter flat, with a heating pad below the water reservoir.  Because I'm a goofball.

Surprisingly enough, the cats have completely not even bothered to check it out, other than snuggling next to the heating pad now and again.  It's in their favorite warm window spot... and unbeknownst to them, there are catnip seeds in there!!!

I'm also encouraging the family to help save stuff that we can repurpose for gardening use.  Tonight we had little ice creams (the single-serving containers-- not the pint ones), and I rinsed them and set them aside for seed starting.  The little tiny containers are a good way for me to handle portion control when it comes to eating ice cream!

Over the winter holidays I built a worktable and hutch for use outside, because in the past I think it's annoyed my lovely husband when I bring the good old potting soil into the kitchen and go to work with my flowers.  He's a little cleaner than I am, but I'm no complainer.  It's kind of fantastic to have a guy around who really cleans up!  Now I can be as messy and dirty as I like in my very own little backyard : )  Please note the fancy worklight I installed for after the sun goes down.

There's a shelf along the bottom to add stability and store stuff.

I've even started collecting organic trashy stuff for composting!  We'll see how all this goes.  I figure if the composting fails miserably, hey, I'll just throw it away in the actual trash.  If it works, then WHEE!  Fantastic free fertilizer for my little planties.

If you'd like to research some easy gardening, please check into Square Foot Gardening.  It can be done in a backyard or on an apartment balcony, you just need containers, sunlight, and water.

There are a zillion websites that will help you decide what and when to plant, but the cutest by far is Sprout Robot.  It'll even e-mail you when it's time to start planting new stuff!

Here are some books I bought/inherited that I've found helpful.  You can also find them at the library-- ours has a whole section on local gardening.  The Square Foot Gardening book is grrrrreat!

Here goes nothin'.  I'm looking forward to trying all of this out!  While I'm not sure it'll actually "save" money as opposed to buying veggies at the grocery store, I do think it'll be pretty satisfying, and give me some reason to spend more time outdoors kind of communing with nature... plus I'm one of those nurturers, and we definitely don't need anymore animals.  We'll see how good of a seed mommy I can be...lol.