I'm so ready for spring to get here.

On Monday morning, I (along with many others in the DC area) woke up to find snow on the ground. My first thoughts were "Really!?!?! Isn't it supposed to be spring! I am on spring break for Pete's sake!" Now, I know there have been plenty of people who have accused a certain poor groundhog of lying and deceiving the entire US.  But let's recognize that  weathermen and politicians have probably done worst than Phil in terms errant predictions.

The side yard where my vegetable garden will be.

While I was not able to do much towards planting or working on my vegetable garden on Monday, I luckily had worked on it over the weekend.

Before anything can be planted into the ground, I have to clear out stuff that is already there. Lucky for me, my dad has offered to help me up root these bushes once I've trimmed them down to a manageable size.

So... STEP 1: Clear out side yard: In progress.

Another thing that I needed to do is start some seeds so that after the last frost comes through, I'll be able plant out some seedlings and get a head start on growing plants.

Grow light set up

Lettuce seedlings!

The plants that are on my indoor starting list include lettuce, tomatoes, pepers, basil, and marigolds. I started some of those seeds this past weekend as well. While I was not expecting any seedlings until this Friday (after about 7 days), I had a happy surprise from my lettuce pot.

So, gardening goal is under way! More updates to come :-)

Ready to garden?

I'm armed with seeds, seed starting mix, starting pots, grow lights, and a couple "how to garden" books. The last frost is supposedly going to end in about a month, so this is the perfect time start some seeds indoors.

The outside still needs work, I have to clear a few bushes and prep the area where I will put the raised beds. I'll start that this weekend. :-)

If you want to know what I have to grow, I've got seeds for corn, tomatoes (two varieties), green beans, acorn squash, butternut squash, basil, and zucchini. I'll start the tomatoes, zucchini, and basil indoors. The winter squashes will start closer to when the beds will be ready, and I'll sow the beans and corn directly.

Hooray for getting closer to starting another goal for 2013!!