Before I get into the post about our weekend project, I thought I'd acknowledge my April Goals. I totally didn't blog about them, but they otherwise went really well. Our bedroom is looking good, pictures were printed, money was saved, Suze Orman was read, the closet was purged. I still have not crafted with postcards, but I'm okay with that. Gerry and I slipped up twice on the going out, but no major damage was done. I'm glad April is over. I put in my notice at the restaurant, and my "last" night is May 15. I may still pick up shifts from time to time, but I'm stoked for a summer of free weekends.
Back to this post. When I saw The Friendly Fox's post about making a salad table, it spawned a streak of internet searches. The more I read, the more I wanted one. I'm so glad Gerry was 100% as enthusiastic about the project as I was. Earlier this spring, I lamented about having no outdoor space to start a garden. I've never gardened before, but have really wanted to take on the hobby. Making a salad table is the perfect solution for apartment renters without land of their own. We originally planned on putting it on our back balcony, but to allow it more sunlight, we've set it in a grassy area behind our building. I like that the option to move it later is still available to us.
To build the table, we used these instructions from the University of Maryland. They were really straightforward and easy to follow. Gerry was happy to have an excuse to buy a new power tool (a tablesaw). The supplies for everything were a little pricier than I thought they would be. I spent $85 at Home Depot including all the gardening supplies (not including the saw). We're hoping the table holds up for years to come though.
Despite a few tool malfunctions and some rebellious screws, building the table was fairly easy for us (and by us, I sort of mean Gerry). I can't say I had ever used a tablesaw before. Power tools intimidate me. I hope to gain more confidence with them as we do more projects. I'm glad I've got Gerry there to guide me. He is (mostly) good about being patient when teaching me new things, and I think this project was a really fun couples' activity. Although no project is complete without silly bickering, we both agreed this project was a lot of fun.
We planted spinach, lettuce, mesculin greens, radishes, kale, and broccoli. I think we may have missed the boat for broccoli/the box is too small, but we're gonna give it a shot anyway. When we were done planting, we felt kinda bummed... like we wanted to plant more! So I think we may just go back next weekend to buy some deeper pots to plant some other herbs and/or veggies.
Do you garden? Any tips for this novice? How do I make these baby seeds grow into big, yummy foods? Do you see the bowl of chives we found that were abandoned by an old neighbor? Isn't this table awesome??? We did a lot of high fiving afterward. I love it, and I can't wait to see it grow.
P.S. I know. My outfit is hot, and matches really well.
P.S. I know. My outfit is hot, and matches really well.
yes! go urban gardeners!! Its hard to tell in the photos but how deep is the salad table? We planted our garden up last week. Erin, you probably met her at my cousin Jessica's wedding long ago, had started a ton of seedlings but then moved and had no home for them so I gladly took over her 30 some plants. I have no idea how she got such lush healthy plants to grow from seeds. Michael and I had mixed outcomes last year starting from seeds. I'm getting involved in this community garden near by and am learning a lot of garden information which I'll pass your way as I go. Lots of sun and keeping them moist is only advice I can give. Oh, and I've found using a spray bottle to water at this stage helps the seeds not float around and get too drenched. I also have been misting my herbs with the spray bottle throughout the day and it seems to help them too. Hopefully you'll start to see little plants popping up shortly. I recently learned about thinning the plants as they pop up, I also learned I haven't been planting tomato plants as deep as they need to be.
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