My Thumb Looks A Little Green

Although my mom, grandfather and uncle all have a nice green thumb, I've always thought mine was a lovely shade of brown. That is, until very recently. H had the brilliant idea to (have our contractor) build me a vegetable garden. I excitedly went along with it, secretly praying I wouldn't regret it. In the early spring I spent countless hours doing seed starters in the house and caring for them. But I was so busy that I didn't tend to them as often as I should have and not everything survived. What did survive, I planted in my new garden. Sadly, most of that died. Almost everything planted way too late in the season. But, a few things have flourished!

To date, I have one pumpkin growing and many more potential ones just waiting to be pollinated, three butternut squash, one bunch of Swiss chard, one basil plant and six pepper bushes. Believe it or not, I still have plenty that died and one bed that's completely empty. But, as I set my expectations very low this year, I am thrilled.

My pumpkin patch - it's gotten so big and this is all from ONE seed!

The one pumpkin growing in that huge patch.

Another view of my lonely little pumpkin.

Some potential pumpkins. These are female flowers - you can tell by the small ball (that's where the pumpkin would grow) directly underneath the flower.

My pepper plants (in the front).

The basil.

Swiss chard.

Butternut squash - bad angle, sorry!

These pictures were all taken last weekend and things have actually progressed nicely since then. The pumpkin has gotten bigger and two peppers are now growing on one plant. I snipped some basil this afternoon for our pizza tonight (it was excellent) and I've cut the chard to eat at some point soon. To be honest, I haven't taken too much care with any of these. With the exception of the occasional organic fertilizer and some weeding, I've pretty much left them alone. But, I'm still going to take credit for them. I can see that green thumb getting brighter and brighter every day.