Deck Garden Update

About a month ago I shared the start of our deck garden, so today I thought it was time for a little update on the progress. For all the details, you can get up to date here. Other than having a small little herb garden in pots during the summer, this is my first time attempting to grow some veggies and so far things seem to be going ok. To be honest, it's going better than I thought and I'm quite enjoying the whole process. 

Just to quickly recap, here's what we're growing:

• Cilantro
• Basil
• Thyme
• Dill
• Chives (from seed)
• Peas (from seed)
• Beans (from seed)
• Tomatos
• Lettuce

We started by repotting the herbs, tomatoes, and lettuce and then planting the seeds for the other veggies. I simply grabbed containers from the dollar store, found a couple for free at a yard sale, and used a couple that I already had. Here's what we started with:

And here's a look at where we are today:

Everything seems to be growing great so far. Perhaps I cheated a bit by buying some of the plants already started, but hey, everything is still living! That's a win in my book. For a little while it seemed as if the dill and tomato plants were dying. The dill still doesn't look the greatest, but it's hanging on. The tomato plants seem to be doing alright at the moment and since I cut off some of the ill looking leaves they seem to be doing better. I'm not sure if that was a faux pas or not (the info I found seemed to be conflicting) but, I went for it and, like I said, they seem to be doing better. I probably planted too many in one pot (I have 2 in one pot and 4 in another larger pot), so I may still try to transfer some of them; although, I'm wondering if it's a bit late to do that now?

I'm still waiting on the chives to sprout, but to be fair I planted them later than everything else. I will say, I was so excited when the peas and beans started to come up!

I'm a bit disappointed that not as many beans came up as what I planted. I only have four plants that sprouted and I think I planted eight. I might plant some more in the next week and that way we may at least get two crops.

If you're wondering what we decided to plant in the planter that was left by the previous homeowners (see it here)...nothing. We'll see, if I have the energy to dig all the dirt out and get some fresh soil, there could be some more veggies added. But for that to happen I'll have to do it soon!

I'm already really enjoying having this little garden right on our deck! We've been grabbing herbs for cooking and we've even enjoyed some lettuce (which seems to grow back pretty quickly, by the way). I'll also say that E has loved helping with the whole thing. She helps with the watering and whenever I'm picking herbs or doing any trimming etc. she's always right there checking things out and wanting to get her hands dirty. I do have to watch her though as she occasionally wants to pick the leaves off the plants and dig in the dirt. But overall she's done great! I think she'll really be excited when the tomatoes, peas, and beans come.

I'll share more of the garden progress later this summer, so stay tuned. Have you planted any veggies & herbs this year?