Earth Day success.... well sort of!

So I was really determined to plant a tree yesterday, a Weeping Cherry to be exact... however, the person who was supposed to deliver it to me flaked on me!! So it looks like I will be planting it next weekend instead, but at least it will be getting done... eventually. 
I did however plant my spring veggies... 

                                                         ...broccoli, cauliflower, peas, spinach and red leaf lettuce. There is nothing more rewarding and environmentally responsible than growing your own veggies.  My garden is organic (no chemicals to pollute or bodies or our aquifers), and no burning fossil fuels to transport vegetables that have been grown halfway around the world.  Now don't get me wrong, I do buy veggies at the store when I have to, but the spring/summer is a great time to decrease your reliance on store bought veggies and grow some fresh ones in your own garden.  The taste of fresh produce is incomprable to anything you'll find at the store and there is nothing like the feeling of going out to your backyard, and harvesting dinner. Another bonus, if you're fortunate enough to have a large enough garden, is that you can share your harvest with friends, family and local shelters who will be glad to get some fresh donated produce. Over the summer I grow zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, green beans, beets, and possibly some other things. We also have our own strawberry patch and blueberry bush which my daughter loves to go and pick fresh berries off of.  Last year we decided to try asparagus which is a perennial and to our surprise, this year we have little asparagus shoots growing... soo cool!!!

So even if you don't have a lot of room in your yard, even a small plot of land can grow some wonderful, fresh, organic produce.  Make sure you pick a sunny spot, because veggies love sunshine. You'll want to make sure you water often enough that they don't get dried out and wither, but not too much that the roots rot.  If you're going to plant a garden, a rain barrel would be a great idea to go along with it. I'm planning on putting one in this year, which I will blog about another time.