Thursday, June 2, 2011

Veggie Craziness

     WOW, I' can't believe that I haven't written something in the past two weeks.  I have tons of pics to show what I've been up to and lots of ideas to write down.  But somehow, I just couldn't find the time.  School is ending, the weather is beautiful, and I keep finding myself outside playing with the kids.  Priorities! Just kidding. . .  Andrew, Chloe, and Lily are number ONE on my priority list.
     So where do I start?  Ahhhh, the garden!  Last year, Andrew & Chloe joined 4-H.  I was in 4-H as a kid and loved every moment.  I got the kids excited about joining and one of our projects was going to be a family garden.  We were novices, so it was no surprise when things went a little crazy in the garden.  Apparently, you don't need to plant the entire container of zucchini, pumpkins, and cucumbers.  Especially right next to each other.  I had NO idea that those little things could grow and spread like that. 
Andrew & Chloe's 2011 Veggie Garden

     We had put a small nylon fence around the garden to keep the bunnies and squirrels out.  Well those veggie vines actually pushed down the fence and started spreading!  By the end of the summer the pumpkins were practically crawling up our slide.  And the zucchini. . .  well that was way out of control!  Other than the problem with spreading veggies, we got a ton of food.  The kids (and I) loved watching it grow.  We would go out and pick our own salad from our very own garden.  Talk about ownership!  I really think that creating a family garden instills a lot of self satisfaction, learning, and family time.
     So this spring, a family garden was again on our list.  We made a few changes.  Instead of long rows, we make shorter rows.  Instead of using the entire container of squash and pumpkins, we limited it!  We also decided not to grow cucumbers because I'm the only one who likes them.  And our neighbors will only take so much of our leftover veggies!
Their favorite part was using the mallet to hammer in the markers!

     The kids and I dug up the grass and weed clumps from last year's garden site.  A neighbor came over and tilled it up, and then we got started.  I would make a straight line with the hoe and the kids would put in the seeds.  Then they got to hammer in the markers.  This year, I decided to tie a string from marker to marker.  I'm hoping that this will help us when it comes time to weed.  I have a hard time knowing what our little veggies look like when they first sprout!  I'm pretty sure that we pulled our carrots last year, thinking they were weeds.  Those were the ONLY veggies that didn't grow!
Now that I'm looking closely, we might have overdone
the garden AGAIN!  oops
     I used some leftover bamboo rods (came with our Clematis flowers) with the peas.  That way the peas have something to cling to when they grow up.  I also created a makeshift fence with twine and sticks, to help keep the zucchini and pumpkins from suffocating the other veggies.  I made sure that my tall veggies were on one side, so as to not block the sun from the shorter veggies.  The kids and I talked about where we should plant each veggie.  Hopefully, we mapped things out good and the garden will flourish.  Only time will tell!
     Here is a list of this year's garden:  Red Onions, Sweet Corn, Roma Tomatoes, Carrot, Jalapeno Peppers, Green Onions, Spinach, Rainbow Swiss Chard (not quite sure what this is, but the kids really liked the picture on the package!) , Peas, Lumina Pumpkins, Celery, and Eggplant. 
     My Mom was over the other day and she said "WOW Kelly, you've got a lot going on in your garden."  Ooops, I guess we got a little crazy AGAIN!  We'll see how it all turns out.  There are so many veggies out there, that Lily can eat due to her PKU.  So I wanted the other 2 kids to be able to experience them also.  Andrew and Chloe aren't real excited about veggies and fruit, so I thought that if they help grow them, maybe that would change!  We'll see. 
     We also have a Raspberry bush!  We planted it last year, but it takes awhile for it to bear (bare?) fruit.  SO maybe this will be the year.  I'm hoping to get a strawberry patch for next year.  Strawberries remind me of my Grandma and Grandpa.  They always had a huge patch that us grandkids would sneak into and eat!  Just thinking about those days, brings a smile to my face. 
I miss you Grandpa!
The veggies are already starting. . . all the rain and sun
has been good for our garden.


1 comment :

  1. Wow! Awesome project....I can't keep a house plant alive....so I'm thinking a garden is a bit out of my reach. A few of our friends have small gardens this year though and it has been fun to watch the pictures of their plants.

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