I have somehow managed to NOT plant a garden in the almost 12 years I've been married. I've thought about it many times but it always sounded like too much work. Jason has wanted to do it and attempted to do it but he really needed me on board to make it work! :) He finally got me on board this year and we planted our first garden. (So, I guess I've accomplished something since the new baby after all!). We read the Square Foot Gardening book and tried to follow that method for the most part. We kept it small with two 4x2 boxes. I didn't want to burn out by over-doing it my first year. Jason is in the process of building one more deeper box for carrots and potatoes (the only vegetables my kids will actually eat!). So far, it has been exciting to watch the plants grow. After reading all of the things that can go wrong (bugs, birds, disease, etc.), I thought I should take a few pictures now in case things don't work out later!
Squash, Cucumbers, Onions, Peppers, Beets, and Tomatoes
Cantaloupe, Strawberries, and Petunias (just for fun)
I got so excited about gardening that I decided to re-haul one of the beds in the front yard. Some of my bushes had already died and I didn't like the plants that were left so I decided to do it over. How hard could it be to dig up a few old plants and put in a few new ones? Well...it is VERY hard when you have about a million rocks per square foot!!! Thankfully, Jason did most of the digging. He and a neighbor worked for a really long time to get this beastly rock out:
Tanner is just in the picture to show the size of the rock.
We planted rose bushes and hostas and now I'm just hoping they don't die in the rocky soil that is more clay than soil. Look at all the rocks that are left around the plants:
Rocks, Rocks, and more rocks
Will it grow?
I need to haul those rocks away and add mulch but I'm not feeling nearly as excited about it all as I was in the beginning. In retrospect, I should have just brought in massive loads of soil so I didn't have to dig at all, but I didn't think of that until we were done. I guess I will do that next year if these plants die.
I've learned from this that I like growing things in pots and boxes but when it comes to gardening in the actual ground--count me out!
I love your square foot gardens! If you have any questions for those hostas just give us a call :) We have about six that come back bigger each year. Not on my part,though. I might have to read that square foot garden book...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the garden. I wish I had a place to grow some tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you finally got around to planting a garden. Hopefully you will want to continue it every year and even expand a little (by the way that strawberry plant could take over the whole box if you don't cut the suckers).
ReplyDeleteThat is one huge rock! We have a lot of sand, clay and rocks, but I don't think I have come across one that big. Adding organic matter (mulch) and fertilizer can do wonders for your flower bed.
I did square foot gardening in Pittsburgh. Only I did mine on a hill and found out afterward how hard it would be to build a retaining wall...lugging the bricks down to the garden, leveling it off, THEN building my boxes. As you said, it's a learning experience! If you ever want to build a trellis, I know how to make a really good one!
ReplyDeleteI know that Sasha developed a love of peppers after eating the fresh ones from our garden. She always got confused when the store-bought peppers didn't taste as good as the ones from our garden. So maybe eating fresh veggies will appeal to your kids, too!
Yay! When I come back to VA you can help me build some garden boxes! I love all of the fresh ingredients we are using while living in Peru that I never really used in the US. It would be nice to have them in my backyard! Jason is an amazing dad! We loved our sandbox when we lived in Utah. I guess between all of the houses there will always be something to do! Did I tell you we got a trampoline? As for the WW - it's not going so well. I have reread The Green Smoothie girl book and program and I'm pretty sure the only way I'm going to lose weight for good is a total change of lifestyle - total change!
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks awesome. Has your cantaloupe taken over the entire box yet? Ours has gone nuts! We have only 3 plants in 1 box and it's spilling over! You will have so much fun growing and learning things this year! I can't wait to hear about how everything goes- and maybe get some new ideas for next year from you!
ReplyDeleteAlso- your parenting post was a good reality check for me with the new baby on the way. I think I honestly haven't thought really hard about what it's going to be like to have a newborn. I have complete baby amnesia, but we are still excited and counting down the weeks!