Confessions of a Beginning Gardener…

Ok, I have a confession. Remember when I planted that cute little container garden over Memorial Day? I planted 3 bell pepper plants, two basil plants, two parsley plants, rainbow carrots and broccoli. Well, everything has absolutely TAKEN OFF! It’s very exciting, except for one thing: I didn’t exactly follow the directions when planting the broccoli and carrots, which I started from seeds. The directions stated that I should plant one seed every 10-12 inches. I decided that if I followed those directions, I would only plant like 3-4 seeds, which would mean I waste the 60 others in the packet and what happens if some of the seeds are duds? So, I went ahead and happily sprinkled my seeds every half inch or so in my little 1/4 deep troughs. Perfect! Right? No? Oops.

Here’s what the garden looked like Day One:

Garden Day 1!

And here it is this morning, Day 54:

My Garden! Day 54.

L-R: Bell Peppers, Rainbow Carrots, Broccoli (herbs in back)

So what do you all think I should do? Do I NEED to do anything? Gus thinks I need to pull some of the broccoli plants (on the right hand side) so they have more space to grow. I, however, am very proud of my little broccoli/carrot forest and I can’t help equating pulling one of the plants to condemning it to death. The bell peppers and herbs are growing nicely (homegrown basil is delicious, btw), but I’m not sure if I should be seeing broccoli heads yet or not.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

PS. I am aware of the aphid problem, and am currently in the process of battling it with soapy water! Thanks Google!