Back home in Michigan my mom helped me get Carol's vegetable garden started. Most of the plants we bought needed to be replanted so luckily I was at home where I had all the tools, soil, and pots needed to get the project done.
When picking out the plants for the garden, I may have gotten a little carried away but I don't regret it a bit. I left the store with a cucumber plant, 3 tomato plants, 2 pepper plants, leaf lettuce, oregano, mint, and some Italian basil.
The process for each plant was similar with just a couple small adjustments to help each one grow individually. The cucumber needed something to climb so I re-potted it into something bigger and borrowed and lattice-like thing from my mom. Careful as I tried to be, I injured my poor plant several times in the process, snapping 3 separate leaves off. Given the few leaves it had left I thought the poor plant looked dismal, but my mom says he'll be just fine.
When replanting the rest of Carol's Veggies, if there was no drainage in the pot, I used rocks in the bottom to create a place for water to collect without drowning the roots. I used some mulch at times as filler for the bigger pots but skipped it on the small ones. I pulled each plant from it's temporary pot and then broke up the roots to prepare it for the new soil. My mom explained to me that this wakes the roots up and will help them grow into the new soil.
Once finished potting the veggies, I watered them heavily to welcome them to their new homes. Other than my clumsy breaking of half my cucumber plant's limbs, it all went smoothly.
Since my family lives in Nature Central, my mom also had extra strawberries and chives she offered us to take in the garden. She thought her strawberry plants had died a couple years back and just threw them into the compost pile. This year they have been growing strong and seem to be on path to producing fruit. Nearby the strawberries, my mom threw a couple small chive plants and they spread like wild flower. Though I already had some back in Chicago, there were so many chives I just grabbed some more because why not?
The clump of strawberries I reclaimed from the compost heap.
When chives are allowed to grow without being harvested they grow purple flowers. Who knew? Not me.
My small chive clump.
Back home in Michigan my mom helped me get Carol's vegetable garden started. Most of the plants we bought needed to be replanted so luckily I was at home where I had all the tools, soil, and pots needed to get the project done.
When picking out the plants for the garden, I may have gotten a little carried away but I don't regret it a bit. I left the store with a cucumber plant, 3 tomato plants, 2 pepper plants, leaf lettuce, oregano, mint, and some Italian basil. 
The process for each plant was similar with just a couple small adjustments to help each one grow individually. The cucumber needed something to climb so I re-potted it into something bigger and borrowed and lattice-like thing from my mom. Careful as I tried to be, I injured my poor plant several times in the process, snapping 3 separate leaves off. Given the few leaves it had left I thought the poor plant looked dismal, but my mom says he'll be just fine.
When replanting the rest of Carol's Veggies, if there was no drainage in the pot, I used rocks in the bottom to create a place for water to collect without drowning the roots. I used some mulch at times as filler for the bigger pots but skipped it on the small ones. I pulled each plant from it's temporary pot and then broke up the roots to prepare it for the new soil. My mom explained to me that this wakes the roots up and will help them grow into the new soil.
Once finished potting the veggies, I watered them heavily to welcome them to their new homes. Other than my clumsy breaking of half my cucumber plant's limbs, it all went smoothly.
Since my family lives in Nature Central, my mom also had extra strawberries and chives she offered us to take in the garden. She thought her strawberry plants had died a couple years back and just threw them into the compost pile. This year they have been growing strong and seem to be on path to producing fruit. Nearby the strawberries, my mom threw a couple small chive plants and they spread like wild flower. Though I already had some back in Chicago, there were so many chives I just grabbed some more because why not?
The clump of strawberries I reclaimed from the compost heap. 
When chives are allowed to grow without being harvested they grow purple flowers. Who knew? Not me. 
My small chive clump.
