After all the digging and seeding and planting and weeding and watering and weeding and fencing and weeding, it sure is nice to see some fruits of my labor. That’s right, I got some actual vegetables growing in my garden. And last night, I ATE one!

To be truthful, this little cherry tomato was slightly green, but it tasted oh SOOOO good, just because I nurtured it!

I can’t wait for more!

Now it’s been two weeks since I planted my seeds in my indoor light box, and I am pretty darn impressed with me! Check out these sprouts!

This is a close-up look at a cucumber sprout, it blows my mind how much progress these sprouts make in a day. Look at how these tiny little guys can carry a load of dirt with them as they push out of the ground. I am mystified!

I am still waiting for the green peppers to sprout, but they are supposed to be on a bit longer schedule. Importantly, we have jalepeño sprouts, which will keep my hubby happy. The outdoor garden is prepped for transplanting, so some of these plants may be moving outside tomorrow. I’ve already planted some carrots and lettuce outside, and I refilled the bird feeder with some small hope that it will distract the birds and squirrels from my garden. Ha!

Looking forward to hearing your gardening stories here or on Twitter!

ALSO SEE: How will my garden grow? • Germination!

I’m happy to report that after one week, we have germination of both cucumber and tomato seeds!

The tomatoes are sure to be carried away by my squirrel friends if I plant them all outside, but my husband has suggested that we try growing them indoor all summer. If this experiment continues to work well, I may try growing them both indoors and out.

I’ll keep you posted!

ALSO SEE: How will my garden grow?

I’ve skipped growing vegetables for a couple of years for no good reason *lazy* and last year I got some rather loud complaints that our fresh jalapeños were missing. Many of the tomatoes and cucumbers went missing even in the years I maintained a garden, thanks to the squirrels. But the jalapeños are safe from the woodland critters, because our Northern Virginia critters apparently do not like the spicy food we do.

So, here I go again. We need jalapeños! I found a great book at a holiday book sale this year — The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book by Barbara Ellis — and I’ve been reading it through all our snowstorms to keep me thinking spring. In addition, I’ve been catching up on a great TV show, Weeds, which inspired me to get started on seedlings with an indoor light box.

The photo is of my indoor seedling starter setup. I’m starting cherry tomatoes, jalapeños, peppers and cucumbers in the light box. More to come when I move the seedlings outside after the frost. I invested about $15 in seeds from Whole Foods and $3 in some topsoil, which I mixed with some leftover soil I had in the pots you see here. The frame is an old aquarium, which is providing both the primary light and the timer, not to mention protection from my cats during the day. Wish me luck!

Are you planting this spring?

“It’s our duty as parents to take you to places like this, because when you’re grown up and you’re a garbage truck driver, you won’t be able to afford to do these things.”

That’s what the mother behind me was telling her son as we were waiting in line for the tour of the Mount Vernon mansion. Her husband had been reading a Mt. Vernon guidebook to the family of four for the previous ten minutes. The pre-teen kids were rolling their eyes, but were laughing.

Mt. Vernon, the plantation home of George Washington, is in remarkably good shape. There are still original pieces of furniture there that our first president used. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association has preserved the plantation the way it was about 200 years ago, so you can see the mansion, slave quarters, gardens and farm from 1799.

1. You will need a full day to visit Mount Vernon. They have a nice food court and a full-service restaurant on site to make your day more comfortable.
2. Before you go, check the Calendar of Events on the website to see if there is a special event you can take advantage of while you’re there.
3. Start your visit at their new orientation center, then proceed to the tour of the mansion. During the summer, lines can be long to get into the mansion, but the tour isn’t long.
4. Use your time waiting for the mansion tour to study the map. After the tour of the mansion, it’s up to you to decide what parts of the plantation you’d like to see, and it’s a bit spread out.
5. There is LOTS of green space for kids with energy to run around, and the Mt. Vernon staff is pretty liberal about letting kids run. Enjoy.
6. There are some fabulous views of the Potomac from the back of the mansion, a wonderful place for photos.

There are a couple of cruise lines that will take you there by boat, a trip which adds to the fun. We took the Potomac Riverboat Company from the Torpedo Factory dock in Old Town Alexandria. The open-air boat has plenty of seating, an air-conditioned level and a snack bar. Yes, there were even rest rooms on board. A tour guide provided a narration of sights along the river that corresponded with our visit of Mt.Vernon. The boat left Alexandria at 10:15 a.m. and returned at 5:30 p.m. Once you get to the dock at Mt. Vernon, you can either walk up the hill or take a shuttle bus. I recommend taking the bus, regardless of your energy level, since this will drop you off at the new orientation center, and you’ll be able to see a great little film that’s been put together about George Washington, and experience Mt. Vernon in the ‘right’ order.

Keep in mind that Mount Vernon is privately owned, and there is a reasonable admission fee.

This is guilt-free luxury! A wood-burning hot tub you can enjoy with your family and friends, chemical free.

It’s light enough that two people can move it around, you can put it on top of your car and take it camping with you. It fills up with a garden hose, and warms up with the use of a nifty coil off the side, where you burn wood, and water runs through pipes.

In my mind, every yard needs one, large or small. Why not? The manufacturers of Dutchtub suggest using the leftover gray water (that means dirty water with no chemicals) for your garden, an excellent green idea, rather than trying to maintain the mini chem lab many hot tubs require.