Gardening with a Black Thumb: Lettuce and Herb Container Gardening

Reader Contribution by Eileen Troemel
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Residing in rural Wisconsin, by day Eileen Troemel work as a clerical worker and part-time student. At night she spends her time writing. Raised on a farm, she has a love for nature and is inspired by the beauty and power she finds there. Nature and her just don’t get along though as she has the blackest of black thumbs.

I’ve been talking about container gardening and herb gardening for almost a year. I love fresh produce but struggle with physical limitations that prevent me from doing traditional gardening. (Oh yeah, and there is the whole black thumb thing.) If I do container gardening, will it be like trying to keep a house plant alive? Will I kill the plants rather than help them to grow? 

My daughter, who is ever helpful, found a few things that will help with the container gardening–we hope. She was in a dollar store and purchased an herb garden mix, salad mix and, for my flower obsession, butterfly and hummingbird mixes. She thought the hummingbird and butterfly mixes could be put in containers, but we discovered on reading further that these were annuals and perennials.  We will have to find a place to plant these flowers in our yard (not a hardship).

The salad and herb garden mixes came with their own containers. I’m not sure how it will work with the hole in the bottom. That is supposed to be for easy watering but doesn’t that mean that you have to have a tray to put under them? Well, I think it does. The directions aren’t clear.  

There are seven or eight directions on how to plant these seeds. We have been having unusually warm weather, and I’m on vacation for a week. Therefore, I’m going to attempt to make these things grow.

Since my daughter got them at the dollar store, she spent only $16 on the four things. If these don’t work, I’m going to blame it on the quality of the product and try to wiggle out of blaming my black thumb. I know there are people out there who are going to KNOW it is my black thumb but hey–a girl has to have some delusions right? 

Here goes my first attempt at container gardening….

  • Published on Apr 9, 2012
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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