This {Organic} Italian Garden

Last year I shared some bits and pieces of our garden with you guys. This year, we are attempting to go all organic/nonGMO with our garden. We were even sure to buy non-treated wood for the base of our raised beds this year so there wouldn’t be any chemicals hanging out near our soil.

We got our seeds from SeedsNow. I definitely recommend them! Shipping was fast and they even sent us a free tomato starter pack as a bonus. Also, their prices are the same as  (if not cheaper than) the non-Organic seeds you see in stores. Most of my seeds were $0.99. So don’t think that you can’t go Organic because of price!

Through research I learned that when it comes to organic soil or fertilizer, don’t just assume that because it says “organic” it doesn’t have yucky stuff in it {this is a great article I found on what to look for in an organic soil}. If it has the “OMRI Listed” label then you are in luck! I found this particular bag at Walmart of all places and on the cheap at that! I’ve also seen OMRI listed soil/fertilizer at Home Depot.

Back in March, Will helped me plant my tiny little seeds!

After about a week, they had all sprouted! Just this week I finally re-potted most of the plants and put them outside to harden them off before they go in the ground. Here’s to hoping they make it!

All in all we are growing the flowers I showed you last week, marigolds to prevent pests, basil, cinnamon basil, oregano, fennel, rosemary, lavender, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, marjoram, and chocolate mint. 75% of it is all totally organic/nonGMO (the other couple we couldn’t find organic seeds for so we just bought regular. We will just be sure they aren’t planted in the same beds together).

We decided to stick to mostly herbs and a few tomatoes because organic produce at the Farmer’s Market is so cheap and accessible during the summer months and last year we way over produced the veggies that we did grow. Now, our challenge will be to keep the pests away without using a pesticide this year. Hopefully the marigolds will do their job and keep all those buggies far far away!

My very first flower bed {and a package full of sunshine!}

When Christopher and I started dating I told him that I didn’t want flowers because it makes me sad when they die. Plus they were expensive. Plus all my girlfriends made such a big deal out of them and I didn’t want to be like that. I have to tell you, though, that my viewpoint has changed a bit over the past 8.5 years. I love the little bit of sunshine that beautiful flowers can bring to your day even if for a short time. But I have been very reluctant to do much in way of planting flowers around our house. Mostly out of fear that I will be responsible for the death of lovely flowers. Last summer I had a small little raised bed with some wildflowers that I grew from seeds and I was so proud!

Last summer’s wildflowers growing by my kitchen window

But this year we decided to be brave. So we put in some landscaping border, used a lot of mulch, and planted some ACTUAL flowers!

Aren’t they lovely?! Gerbera daisies are my absolute favorite flowers! But I also really like Snapdragons! And as of this weekend I am loving the fuzzy look of the Habanera English Daisy! I am so proud of my little flower bed. Makes me smile every time I see it!

And speaking of things that make me smile… I got a sweet little package from one of my blogger besties, Amy! I was so excited to get it! The packaging alone was so cute! Plus the contents were pretty fabulous!

Lotion, spa soap, nail polish and a sweet card! Definitely made my day!

And for a final thing that makes me smile… all this gorgeous sunshine and warmer weather makes it so much easier for me to want to drink water and stay hydrated!

And a few lemons slices for an extra dose of Vitamin C!

This Italian GARDEN!

I’m not sure how I haven’t told you guys this, but we have a garden this year! Last year, I grew a couple of herbs in pretty pots and they grew really well! So we wanted to expand a bit this year.

Of course I still have my favorite three herbs! Basil, Oregano and Rosemary!! They are the best!

The garden! Strawberries in the two small boxes, tomatoes in one of the big ones and onions with green bell peppers in the other big box. Speaking of those planter boxes… my husband built them! He is so handy.

This was our very first strawberry!! We got SO excited when we saw it growing! It was perfect.

Green bell peppers!! We’ve harvested one already and have two more that are nearly ready to harvest!

And I’m growing flowers too!! Check out Oreo watching me from the kitchen window, haha! I got all ten kinds of excited when I saw my first flower bloom! The flower on the bottom right is actually one of several that are growing wild in our backyard. I’m not exactly sure what is is, but it sure is pretty!

I love having our little garden! I am looking forward to harvesting onions and tomatoes once they come in.  Next year we want to add spinach, garlic, and blueberries! It has been so much fun. It’s amazing how so much FOOD can grow from such a tiny little seed. God is awesome.