Ahhh, chamomile!

I was at Whole Foods yesterday and to my surprise, I was handed a big bunch of free organic herbs, compliments of Kenter Canyon Farms - they sell local, organic lettuces and herbs and their "spicy" lettuce mix is always in my fridge.  In my lovely bouquet was rosemary, chamomile, and lemongrass, AMAZING.  The chamomile alone was so delightful, I couldn't wait to bring it home and make a pot of tea.  Now, I am determined to add German chamomile to my growing mini-garden, the tiny-daisy like flowers are so sweet, they just make me smile.  I read that adding chamomile to your compost adds absorption of calcium and spraying the tea on to propagation flats can prevent them from damping off.
If you find yourself with fresh chamomile flowers, just pinch off about a dozen or so flowers per cup of  almost boiling water and steep for just a few minutes.  No other word to describe it, other than utterly delightful.

Bad Kitty!

Well, that didn't take long...  After 2 short days, Tony the Cat, found his "new" litter box, aka my tomato plants.  I can only image what a big pot of loose, fresh soil means to a cat, so I was half-way expecting this to happen - yuck!  Anyway, I think I have come up with a solution, (only time will tell), but I laid out some jute across the wine barrel, and I have a feeling this will make for a good deterrent.  God forbid the cats actually use the litter box!  I'll let you know if this works...

GROW!

I am so excited!  After talking and talking (and talking and talking), about it, I finally DID it!  My minuscule garden has taken off - the objective, other than the obvious, (delicious, home-grown vegetables), is to prove to my husband that I can keep a garden alive and thriving and once that is proven, I will then earn my right to a real, proper full-sized, mega garden.  For now, I am as happy as a blue jay with my start.  A pair of organic heirloom tomatoes,(black zebra and juane flamme), two types of organic basil, and one sweet little strawberry plant.  I'm planning to buy more herbs and perhaps an artichoke plant, but I am simply thrilled to get my hands dirty and sit and watch my little plantings GROW!