I used to think I was cursed with a black thumb. Every plant I've ever had always died. As a matter of fact, the more I doted on them, the faster they would die. Some well-intentioned friends and family would give me easy to care plants - guaranteed to cure my black thumb - to no avail. However, something strange happened when I moved in to my home... house warming plants started to flourish, which inspired me to take on growing a vegetable/herb garden.
I didn't really know what kind of work I'm in for. I already had visions of a Martha Stewart-esque garden with neatly organized/sectioned plants of all variety, with minimal effort. However, I realized there's all sorts of stuff you gotta do before reaping the benefits of homegrown veggies. Most of my research tells me that it's "easy," but easy to me, means going out to my yard and throw seeds in to the yard in a "Jack and the Beanstalk" manner.
Anyway, the first thing we did is prep my garden, which requires removing existing plants already residing in my chosen site. Last weekend, my husband and I loosened the soil, and found a tangle of roots and bulbs. Apparently, the previous home owner was a fierce gardener, complete with a compost pile (which sounds exotic to me at the moment). When we dug out a seemingly weak plant, we'd find a complex and well developed root system that ran across our lawn - like pulling underground cable wires.
