FROM SEEDS TO SALAD BOWL

I have to tell you that there is nothing like the feeling of stepping outside your door and picking your own fresh salad. It's so rewarding to see those tiny little seeds, in just a matter of a few weeks, fill your bowl with fresh yummy greens.

And it doesn't even have to be outside your door! If you don't have outside space, but you have a sunny window, you can plant herbs and lettuce!

The joy of planting an edible garden has many rewards:

• You know where your food is coming from, sans chemicals. 
• It's so easy that you are naturally going to eat more greens -- better for your health
• You save a ton of money. 
• No plastic!!!
• Communing with Mother Nature nourishes your soul. 

I use to be as guilty as the next girl for running into the market on the way home and grabbing a pre-bagged salad or lettuce mix. But once our family started to do out best to avoid plastic, food shopping took on a whole new set of issues! I couldn't believe how much we were actually buying that involved plastic and so much of it was produce. Now when I see people taking those plastic produce bags to fill up I cringe. SO MUCH WASTE! Just throw it in your cart or in your recyclable bag, you're going to wash it anyway right!?!

Planting our own salad garden turned out to be pretty easy. You can find seeds at your local garden store, places with garden centers like Home Depot, or online which gives you tons of options. And they are cheap! We bought a packet of mixed Kale seeds for $2 that yielded so much kale we were able to share with neighbors! We planted them in trays, I should point out that the trays were left over from old garden plant purchases and they are plastic, so we will just keep re-using them forever. A bag of all-purpose garden soil, water and sun is all you need! When the seeds sprout and look healthy, transfer them to your garden or to clay pots, watch them grow and you will magically have seeds to salad bowl. Enjoy!

- Julie

               Counting seeds. A tedious, yet therapeutic task. 

     Clearing out the old, to make room for the new! All of this will be fed to our composter. (Click here to read about how to start your own composting bin!)