Seedlings

Trying to successfully plant a garden in Utah is tantamount to trying to make money gambling on a horse race.

Utah tantalizes you in early to mid April with sunny days and otherwise lovely weather, tricking you into thinking, "Oh, surely planting my garden now is safe. It is April, after all, and the weather has been fine consistently for about a week."

So then you go to Home Depot and spend over $100 on flowers, plant them in your front yard, and revel in the beauty. You even turn on the sprinklers.

But then, Utah wins. It decides to snow again....and again...and again. At first it's just a light dusting a night, but then it decides to snow during the day as well, and your newly planted flowers are living in an ice bath.

Needless to say, we were fooled with the flowers. However, they are still alive (mostly), and I am happy to admit that I was NOT fooled with the fruits and vegetables. These I have started planting indoors, and they are still (mostly) thriving or waiting to thrive on our kitchen counter:

So far, I have planted broccoli, cherry tomatoes, cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon from seeds. In about a week, we will attempt to plant them in the garden (aren't the blossoming pear trees lovely?):

Expect many more posts on the gardening process, which is really the ultimate test at self-sufficiency. One can't really be truly self-sufficient if she can't grow at least some of her own food, right? (Also expect posts on canning pears and making pear baby food!)