Here's hoping my green thumb holds out

I have learned over the years that I do not have a green thumb. I have killed every plant (and goldfish, but that's another matter) I have come into direct contact with over the years, so despite occasionally yearning for a yard teeming with flowers, I restrained myself. Poor plants. They don't deserve my unintentional wrath.

But a few weeks ago, Micah watched an episode of Peppa Pig on Sprout that struck a chord with him. In the show, Peppa goes to visit her grandfather, and he shows her how to plant strawberry seeds. "Poke a hole, put in a seed, cover it with earth, and water!" Micah actually memorized that line, though I didn't realize it until we ended up at Joann's for some random little things and somehow wandered into the spring aisle. Micah spotted a watering can and freaked the heck out. "I WANT TO HOLD IT, I WANT TO HOLD IT!" So I let him, and he promptly spouted the line from Peppa Pig while pantomiming the steps.

I thought the cuteness was going to kill me. So I promised we would plant some seeds that weekend.

Originally, I wanted to build a tall box garden, one that Micah could reach into easily while standing up, and I could weed without killing my back. Beautiful Pinterest pictures filled my mind.

Source: mnkyimages.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Source: sunset.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Source: instructables.com via Aimee on Pinterest

It looked so easy. So beautiful.

And apparently, SO EXPENSIVE. At least when I tried to do it. Sadly, I let go of my little plans and tried to find cheaper alternatives. And when I first walked into the dreaded WalMart, I found those big plastic tubs with lids you use for storing bedding and such. Inspiration struck. And for less than $50, I had my garden.

A few holes cut into the bottom, some rocks for drainage, a bunch of good soil and plant food, and six plants later...and I had this beauty. Well, maybe not beautiful. But functional! And best of all, Micah loved it.


Pre-planting, strawberries on the right, tomatoes on the left, just sitting on top.






All done, and cute.

I also made Micah's watering can out of an old (very well cleaned) laundry detergent bottle. Micah was very excited to water them himself, but he ran out of water about ten times so I finally gave him the hose. It resulted in a very soggy, muddy toddler. But it was a great end to a fun garden afternoon.