2 Garden Beds + 11 plants + 0 Green Thumbs= A Vegetable Garden?

Along with the new house came two raised garden beds in the backyard that I was very excited about. You see, I've never been a gardener and always chuckled to myself a little bit each time someone would talk about their *love* of gardening. I thought to myself, how much joy can come from getting all soil covered and pulling weeds?

Boy, have I been wrong about this planting business! I have to admit, I still don't like the part about getting all covered in soil (I actually wear gloves), nor the part where you deal with dripping of sweat and swatting bugs from around your head on the hot afternoons after a long day of work. However, I'm already feeling quite a sense of satisfaction from just beginning to prepare the soil and the beds before planting my first attempt at a vegetable garden. I have grown tomatoes in planters before, but it doesn't feel nearly the same to me.

My first afternoon of weeding the beds* included finding out the "weeds" were actually oak tree saplings that had been deposited from the many acorns that cover our backyard! I felt kind of guilty knowing that they had persevered and were growing strong, only to be plucked from their early growth and thrown into a weed bucket. But hey, they weren't paying rent here and the only harvest they would yield would be MORE of the dreaded acorns!

*I soooo wish I had taken another picture since the first one in this post before weeding, because it was absolutely chock FULL of weeds! 

Anyway, I got over it and continued stripping the beds clean of debris. I was sad to find a swarm of small ants in both beds (probably from dry rot of the wooden boards used to construct the frames). And mind you, it was the ants that were small, not the quantity of them. Whaaaaa! Not off to a great start here. I thought I'd turn things around once I tilled the beds and was sure to uncover some worms that would help my cause. Hmmmm, both beds tilled and not a single earthworm...this isn't getting any better. Oh wait, there is a...worm? Well, after looking it up online, it's actually a wireworm, which isn't a worm at all, but instead a garden pest! Good grief, can't a newbie garden girl catch a break?

It looks like the soil isn't exactly what I had hoped, but I knew this whole garden business was going to be a work in progress. I have visited my local Agway more than once already and I have added some lobster compost into both beds (on their advice) to help the soil start moving in the right direction. We have our own kitchen scrap compost pile cooking as well, but it will be a while before it's ready to make it's way to the garden. And I've hung my "worms welcome" sign out for the locals so they might slither their way in over the next few weeks!

As for this year, I suspect that I'll learn a lot and I imagine that I'll end up with a *few* veggies at least! I have three books checked out of the local library already and I know a handful of master gardeners in my friend arsenal to turn to if when needed. I'm starting small with 3 tomato plants, 6 zucchini/squash plants and 2 pepper plants. I think I'll add some basil into the mix as well so I can whip up a caprese salad at a moments notice!

And if I fail miserably? Well... I can always go back to my tomato planters from the apartment days! Happy Harvesting Everyone!