are good.

Because in the act of growing things, you learn.

We planted our garden several weeks ago.

Mostly tomato plants–cherry, heirloom (those always freak Joseph out & he swears he won’t eat tomatoes that look like “that”), grape, & a few others. I think about 7 or 8 in total.

Also some herbs–cilantro, basil, & parsley–predictable stuff.

Cucumbers, squash, & a pea plant from Amalia’s preschool & a bean plant from Asher’s kindergarten class.

Oh, & swiss chard.

I wanted more greens, but the truth is, I’m scared to grow anything that might wilt in the hot Texan sun. And not being a native, I really have no idea what’s going to make it & what won’t. I figured if they sell the plants at Lowe’s it’s probably okay. They didn’t sell chard as plants, just seeds, but chard is known to be fairly heat resistant, & it’s a rather mild green (not like those mustard greens), so I went with it.

We planted our garden in rubber maid containers, with holes drilled in the bottom for the water to drain.

Since we’re renting & because there’s no space among the parched patches of quasi-grass, I didn’t think we’d be able to plant a garden. At least more than a pot or two.

Then I got some inspiration from Adina, & realized–seriously, how modern have I become when I think I can’t grow a garden because I don’t have half an acre of earth to plow my field? It doesn’t have to be huge, & it doesn’t have to be complicated.

The swiss chard only came in seeds. I say that, because I prefer starter plants purchased at the store, not seeds. I can’t explain why, but I just get very nervous at the thought of having that kind of responsibility -of having to bring up a plant from a seed.

{And it might have something to do with the fact that I tried starter plants a few years back in Utah & nothing grew. Obviously, I did something wrong.}

I planted the chard. I threw down something like 30 seeds in several different containers.  Overkill, but I wanted to cover my bases.

And then I waited.

The seed packet said 7 days. 7 days. On the seventh day, I peaked into my little boxes.

Nothing.

The 8th, then 9th, then 10th day rolled around. Still no hint of life underneath the soil.

How could it be that out of 30 seeds I planted, not one, ONE, would survive?

But I continued to water the soil where they lay. Couldn’t hurt.

2 weeks rolled by.

On the 15th day, I noticed these two, almost insignificant sprouts.

Tender & vibrant.