"$2 Bell Peppers...I don't think so!"

From the time I met Paul, I have heard stories from his family of his garden. Paul began growing his own garden in his family's backyard at 7 years of age. I asked him today and he said that he first got interested in gardening after growing a potato in a cup in kindergarten. He used to go to Gadsden every summer to visit his great aunt and uncle and to help them with their garden. He would go for a week at the beginning of summer to help with planting, and then return for a week at the end of the summer for the harvest. So at a very young age, Paul and his dad would rent a tiller and create a garden in his backyard. He even made his own compost pile to fertilize all of his vegetables. And from what I hear, he grew quite a bit of vegetables from cherry tomatoes and squash to turnips and kholrabi(not even sure what that is). He was also very protective of his garden and didn't like for people to pick his produce without asking him.

So, as we began looking for a house, a nice yard was a must for him so that he could begin gardening again. Going to Publix and seeing bell peppers selling for $2.00 a piece made him livid--he decided it was time to go old school. For the past few weeks, he has been planning out his garden in our future backyard. He ordered all of our seeds last week, and we planted them today in little trays to get them going until we move in. Here are a few photos--we planted tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, okra, several kinds of peppers, and melon. We are also going to grow turnips, spinach, lettuce, lima beans and pole beans. I'll keep you posted on how it grows and remember to ask before you pick!