To Garden or Not to Garden

I've been toying with the idea of starting a garden. I LOVE fresh vegetables and fruit and I LOVE the idea of having them right outside my door for pennies on the dollar. Despite my apprehension about all the work that it will entail, I find something completely succinct about cooking dinner and having vegetables right there for the taking. However, I tend to have what most would call a Black Thumb. Basically my house is where plants go to die. Bamboo, a cactus, a spider plant, and a fern, these are just a few of the plants that I've owned and have now succumb to the big nursery in the sky. So, here's my dilemma.

To Plant:

• I love fresh vegetables and fruit.
• I want to teach my kids how to be responsible for their own livelihood and not to HAVE to depend on someone else to get their nutrients.
• I want my children to know what good, organic food tastes like.
• My father always had a garden and I can remember just going and picking a carrot, washing it off with the hose and eating right there for an afternoon snack. I want this for my kids too!
• I want to get all of my gardening cataclysm's out of the way before my kids can remember!
• It seems to be "en vogue" lately so there is a ton of really neat stuff available!
• Spending money on items that I know I could get for much cheaper makes me very angry.
• I would enjoy having a reason to go outside and spend time with my kids.
• It would be nice to start a compost pile and have less garbage!

Not to Plant

• It seems like A LOT of work.
• I'd have to pull weeds and get dirty with the spiders and other creepy crawlies!
• I'd have to build raised beds 'cause ain't no way am I eating anything out of the ground where I live! I live in the Saint Paul proper and I'm pretty sure our dirt glows green sometimes.
• We currently rent a house and I hate to put all the work and money into someone else's property - especially since I won't be able to take it with me!
• We have an abundance of wild life in our neighborhood. You know, stray cats, birds, squirrels, rabbits, and I swear I saw an opossum awhile ago. I don't want to create a shmorgus board for them! Therefore I would have to build friggin' Fort Knox just to keep them away and I'm not great with mason work.
• I probably wouldn't have time to do much of it during the week and therefore I would get frustrated with all the work for the weekends and then it would just get left...you can see what is now a vicious circle in my life!
• Would it just be worth my time and effort to go to the Farmers Market and pick up fresh vegetables for the week? Of course this opens up the whole debacle of waking up early enough to get there in time for all the good stuff. Me+waking early on a Saturday=Cranky Momma!

You can see I have quite the conundrum! Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Also, any good ideas on how to do a container garden that is portable (say when we finally scrounge up enough moolah for a down payment!)

Thanks for reading and Happy Spring!!