We are going to plant again?

Ahh.  Do we I want to plant a garden this year?  I have more going on than I thought I would for now and summer.  Do I want to do this.  No not really.  The time is just not there and I am going to be in my last trimester pregnant in the summer.  I can't see me caring at that point.  Plus it seems like it is cheaper to buy produce at the market than grow it anyways.  So why did I start some with my boys?

Because I was at my wits end.  I wanted them to help clean up the back yard and I while I was in the shed I saw all the stuff we needed (which will save money because it is all ready there).  With out thinking I said if you pick up we can plant seeds.  So they did a fair job and wanted to get planting.

We got the starter trays out and grabbed leftover seed packets of cilantro, oregano, lettuce, beans, and jalapenos.  Both big boys helped me put the seeds in rows and control the baby who were taking the seeds out of the rows.



But there were just to many hands.  Evan grabbed the camera and took pictures to help.



A lot of help.  We also have many pictures of feet, I will spare you.

Now I know this does not sound much like a garden.  Lets go back to the top where I said I am not really up for a big garden.  I have done it years before and I am not doing it this year.  I say now.

I have also done a large planter thing before and these type of seed are perfect for it.  Plus it is easier to care for.

I am looking forward to have it going again and the nice weather was great for sitting out starting the seeds in.



A small thing all I have to do is water, I can manage, I can enjoy.

Lets watch them grow!

Now that the ground was looking good I started planting the seeds in the ground.



They were so big for there pellets I am happy they will have room and deep dirt to grow in.



The peas and cucumber will have to be staked when they get bigger. I left room between them to either put cages or growing lines.



The peppers I planted hugging. I planted 2 rows of jalapenos and 1 row in the middle of sweet peppers.

Also planted is spinach, broccoli, and carrots. I can't wait for them to grow. I love garden fresh veggies. And the boys will love watching them grow.

Now we need to protect. We have so many rabbits in the area. But what they need more protecting is from Smiley. Who thinks the little green things in the dirt are fun to run over.

Preparing the soil

The seeds were getting too BIG for there starter pellets and needed to be transplanted outside.





I really needed to get the garden spot ready. This time was serious. I had to get it done and not just a small section. The seedlings could no longer live inside, they were falling over.

I grabbed my helpers and went outside.



We started pulling out weed and grass making our garden spot a bit bigger. Some of it was rather easy just cleaning out the weeds but cutting through the grass was a bit harder.




I would loosen the dirt and free the grass. Evan and Gregory would shake the dirt off and throw our chunks into a bucket.



We were working long and hard and boy was it hot outside.



Sweet smiley he spent as lot of the time spying on the neighbors!



But he also helped out when he wanted to.



He and Evan loosened up the dirt and got rid of many weed. They really did a good job preparing the soil.



I did not plant the seedlings in the ground yet. It just did not seem right. It is just such dry rocky dirt. What could we do to make it better for growing ?



I was wanting some sort of fertilizer that would make them grow and keep the ground healthy. I was thinking miracle grow. I asked Jay and the next day he went out and got bags of organic fertilizer. Remember we live out on farm country so guess what it was? Yup, he brought home bag after bag of poop. We poured it on top and he mixed it in.





The soil looked great. It was well fertilized and well tilled. Now I could plant the seeds.

The seeds are starting

Could I have a green thumb this year? Is that possible? Yes or no and I am leaning towards NO our seed we planted have started to sprout. To us it is exciting. It took no time for them to start to sprout.

By day 7 we had noticeable starts.



To big to leave the top on anymore.



They are growing so quick! The peas, cucumbers, and broccoli are really shooting up.

By day 10 everything had starts. The jalapenos and sweet peepers took the longest to come up. But they are doing well now.





With them growing so fast they need to be transplanted. But the ground is far from ready for them.



And it has been such a rainy week I have not been able to get outside. Yesterday there were thunderstorms forcasted for the afternoon but the morning was sunny and warm. This might be my only chance. I grabbed my best helper



and my mother's day hat and headed outside. I don't believe I ever mentioned what the children got me for mothers day. Apparently they are enjoying gardening because they picked out themselves my gifts. Gregory picked out a watering can. He knew the old one was garbage but we had nothing else. Evan got flowers. Whenever I go to the store he reminds me to get flowers to put in the vase he made me. And my hat obsessed Smiley got me a new sun hat. I love it I love them all and they really picked them out on their own.



So into the dirt we dug. We started pulling out weeds and cleared a tiny section. But life pulled us away and that as all that got done. Hopefully soon I got to get these starts in the ground. It has to eventually stop raining.

The start of seeds

Because we think we are farmers...produce prices around here are very high...the boys needed something to do...we started vegetable seeds. Each year we grow some vegetables. We normally just buy starters or go with the volunteers but this year and a trip down the seed aisle we are going to try to make our own starters.



We all picked out a few of our favorites and a few very colorful ones. The boys are super excited. And it is so wonderful for them to grow and take care of there plants.

They soaked the pellets and with a little help inserted the seeds. All four worked on it. Well Faith watched and cried.



She wants to be held all the time.



We planted a little bit of everything from carrots to peppers to spinach. I know the wont all take but I can't wait to see what does. Then Evan happily watered the pellets.



We closed them up and took the seeds inside. Until they sprout you are supposed to keep them in a warm dark place. We put them next to a large window with the curtains drawn.



Now I have to clean up the garden where we will put them upon starts. At least I have a week or two to do this and the weather is supposed to be nice.

Lets see how green our thumb is this year.

It grew

The garden took us by such surprise. It worked, and we actually grew herbs, green beans, tomatoes, and more peppers than Adam Richman (man vs. food) could eat. In fact we were not able to eat a lot of it as it went to seed. But DH had a good time growing it.



We definitely will do it again next year.

A little water made it bigger

Oh how our garden has grown. I can't believe that it is growing! We are putting the time into it and definitely the money and it has took off. The kids don't care for it that much but my husband and I certainly get a kick out of staring at it.




You might think it is a lot like watching grass grow but we are simple. Every couple of days we check and see how big it has got and it truly is growing before our eyes. Sometimes it seems to get bigger even after we water it.



Don't those planets look yummy!

A green thumb...

I think not. Every year my husband and I try our thumb at gardening. Some years it has been vegetables and some years just plants. Either way they pretty much end up with the same ending conclusion... we are not meant to grow our own food. Each time I bring home a beautiful healthy plant my husband has the same words for it "sorry to know you will be living out the last of your days soon".

Why do we continually put ourselves through this laborious summer of watering, weeding, and worrying about our little plantings? Maybe for the joy of that 1 bloom or the tiny jalapeno the we grew. Many people garden for relaxation? How does that work? We do enjoy it but relaxing is not interchangeable here for us. We care about our little plants and worry about our bunny eating them.

With all the advertisements about upside down gardening we thought we would give that a shot this year. We purchased this upside down right side up planter with the highest of hopes. In fact we purchased 2! One for us and one for my mother, perfect for her city patio. DH researched and found out the best type of plants to grow together and the type of plants that would not grow to long upside down so we would not have food on the floor. We were excited. We ran to our favorite nursery where we bought 2 inch tomato plants. They had to be small to fit through the holes. We germinated some beans (great home school project) and then planted them in pots so they could grow a little bigger to stick through the holes too. Finally after 2 weeks of waiting for them to get big enough we were able to now plant our tomatoes and beans upside down. We covered them with soil and planted a few other vegetables up top right side up. This was such a long patient project that seemed to be producing to results we took the other planter back. I told my mother just buy what you need when you need it. You will be happier. But now over a month into it and after still many unplanned struggles we are seeing a little bit of growth as we too are still buying all are food at the market.





My husband also planted this line of peppers. All sorts hot, mild, long, colorful, worldly, and they all look the same. Little stubby stems with leaves. He planted 3 tomato plants at the end with little faith in our upside down ones.





We are trying yes, succeeding will see. Maybe by the end of summer we will actually have a home grown salad.

If Rodger does not get it first!