Vegetable Garden 2010

 

On April 3rd, we went to Lowe's and told the employee named Melissa (who knew EVERYTHING) that we had 100 bucks and wanted to put together a vegetable garden. She took us to the wood section picked out this wood, cut it for us and gave it to us for half price because it was "seconds." Got home, found the perfect sunny spot for the box and built it.

Then she took us to the dirt, got us the cheapest top soil, taught us to mix it with bags of manure and humus, and told us that the store sells all soil bags for half price if the bag has a hole in it.  We got all the holey bags they had and went back every few days to get more until we felt we had enough. Here are my boys building the box for me.

Then an old man on a tractor came with a rotary tiller and churned up all the grass and dirt and fertilizer.  The camera was lost so no pics.  (Found it today in the depths of the couch).

I mapped out where each plant would go and why. Strawberries would go on the end so the kids wouldn't be trampling my other plants to get to the berries. Zukes would go in the corner so they could pour over and out the sides as well as the eggplant, cantaloupe, and (here is comes) watermelon. They will all be trained to grow outside of the box. If they don't conform, out they come. Tomatoes would go on the end as not to shade the rest of the smaller plants.  The herbs are all in individual pots along side the box.

            We bought/will buy the following plants:

• -broccoli
• -cauliflower
• -strawberries
• -cukes
• -zukes
• -tomatoes
• -onions

We bought seed packets

for the following:

• -peppers
• -peas
• -cantaloupe
• -watermelon
• -spinach
• -mesclun
• -bibb lettuce
• -carrots
• -eggplant

Herbs were all seeds:

• -parsley
• -sage
• -rosemary
• -thyme
• -cilantro
• -basil
• -chives
• -dill
• -mint
• -oregano

 

My basil is already growing.

I think this is chives.  Didn’t label it.  Don’t really know.  Who cares, though really?

This is how onion plants come.  Each of those bulbs only grows one onion. 

Then I had to put together a notebook of all the seed packets, notes, etc.  Here are reasons why:

1. I had a lot of extra seeds for next year and don’t want to lose them.
2. The packets have directions on the back which tell me how far apart to place everything and how to thin them out when they start to grow.
3. My neighbors gave me great tips.  Like after the peas grow and I harvest them, I just rip the whole plant out and replant a new seed and I can get two harvests out of it in one year.

 

This was today.  My boys with their friends on the swings.  See the garden in the back to the left?  They like to rap the swings around the top to make them short and high.  But then I have to pick them each up and put them on the swing AND push the little fartbutts, cause they can’t reach the ground to get started.  Pains in the neck.  I adore them.  Especially little red pants, there on the right.  Peanut face.