The Spinach is Coming, The Spinach is Coming!

I do not consider myself a green-thumbed individual. I’m fairly certain that the last thing I grew from a seed was the bean plant starring in my 6th grade science fair project, and lets just say that was a long time ago and it wasn’t a great project! 

That being said, I was raised to have a deep appreciation for homegrown food because my father is one of the most green-thumbed individuals I know, especially when it comes to fruits and veggies! His vegetable garden has literally caused people to stop and take pictures in the past… I’m not even kidding.

So, a few weeks ago in an effort to take my local food campaign to its next logical step I got some pots, some dirt, and some seeds and said a little prayer that I had a bit of my dad’s gardening DNA in me after all. I chose spinach to start with because I have very little sun around my apartment and spinach is a cool weather crop. Also, it can be cooked, eaten raw, or frozen so it seemed like a versatile choice.

Very excited, I planted the seeds, found the sunniest spot I could find, read the seed packet, counted ten days forward and marked my calendar with the exciting event entitled “spinach germination”. Ten days came, ten days went, more days came, more days went. Every morning I checked the pots, made sure the soil was wet, but not too wet, made sure they were getting sunlight and explained to my coworkers why my high-heels were slightly dirty every day. However, every morning I was met with the same pot of boring old dirt that had greeted me the day before.

Finally, last week I decided to try to germinate some more seeds indoors and plant them once the roots had started. This worked, so I went outside to transplant my new seedling and low and behold I was met with four tiny little green sprouts! Part of me doesn’t want to admit how excited I was, but lets just say I there was a little dance involved! Today, there was even more little sprouts! Looks like I might have some dormant green thumb DNA after all!

There are so many people who have incredibly impressive vegetable gardens surrounding their apartments, homes, offices, or city streets. Obviously, growing your own food is as local as it gets and I hope that one day I will have a photo-worthy vegetable garden like my dad! For right now, however I’m happy gaining a little experience with my spinach plants and making a trip to the farmer’s market for everything else! What about you all, do you possess some valuable gardening DNA? Are you planning a vegetable garden this year?