Flowers Flowering and Fruits Fruiting!

The garden is thriving, flourishing, and exploding with life. There are flowers flowering and fruits fruiting. The watermelons are starting to infiltrate enemy mound territory, and the sunflowers look like giant pillars, holding up the sky. I’m amazed I haven’t killed everything yet. I’m not sure if I just got lucky, or if I have more of a green thumb than I thought. I’m sorry to say, that after the attack of the monster rabbit three of our bean plants did not make it. But the rest of the garden is growing too fast for me to keep up with. Seems like yesterday, we were making mounds and sighting the first sprouts, and now here we are with beautiful blooming marigolds and little green watermelons, just like that. It’s crazy. All I have to do is keep watering and keep weeding and we should have some vegetables and fruits in no time at all.



Until next time…

Steven

Intruder!

Georgia's Leftovers

The new fence

Caught in the act!

This week, the evil bunny, Georgia, attacked the garden like it was her own 24-hour salad bar! Today, our mission was to fortify the perimeter. The first question was: Does chicken wire work on rabbits??? Well, we decided "chicken" or "rabbit" didn't matter, just that our big fat critter definitely couldn't make it through a 2-inch opening. Wooden stakes and a staple gun rounded out the construction requirements. There, a completely bunny-proof garden. If THIS doesn't work, we're going to try our own security system - trip wires and bells.

Til next time...Steven

A whole garden of sprouts

Since the first day we saw sprouts, we've been checking on it every day to see how big they get. At first, there was only a couple of sprouts. But now, there's a whole garden of little sprouts. We made the mistake of not labeling them when we planted them, so now we're trying to guess what they are. Some plants make themselves apparent what they are, like kale and the bean plant. But others, we're still trying to figure out. But soon enough once they start growing flowers, fruits, and vegtables we'll know what they are.

Till next time...Steven.

Sprouts!!!!!!

For the past couple of days I've been watering and keeping up with the weeds. Today, during out watering and weeding, we found sprouts! We have one sprout of marigold, and two sprouts of tomatoes! Who else out there is seeing the first sprouts in their garden?

Till next time...Steven

Finishing Touches

Today, we finally finished setting up the garden. Mom got a whole bunch of newspapers so we could finish the newspaper weed barrier. Now that we've got everything set up, all we have to do is wait. And and as mom knows best, I'm not very patient. But according to the growth charts, we should be seeing some marigold sprouts by Wednesday or Thursday. But until, then I'm just watching out for weeds and make sure everything is watered well.

Til next time...Steven

Getting Started - My First Gardening Experience

Mom brought me a surprise home last week. She brought me a bag full of different types of seeds, including flowers, vegetables, and herbs. She told me she'd like to plant a garden this year, and I got really excited! I think it will be really fun! On Sunday, we tilled up the ground and made a barrier with old broken limbs that we found in the woods. Mom said it would be more natural, plus they were free. It was really hot and sunny by then, so we decided to move on to some potting work in the shade. We planted herbs in individual pots. We planted oregano, cilantro, dill, and lots of others. I also helped her clean out her planters and add new annuals for a splash of color in the front yard.

Today, I was excited to get started on planting and started bugging Mom as soon as I walked in the door from school. Dad said growing in dirt mounds grows stronger plants, so that's what we did. I used a hoe to make the dirt into mounds. We added potting soil to the top to give more nutrients and to help hold in the moisture. Instead of using black mesh weed barrier, we used wet newspapers. The newspapers are better because they are "natural" and will eventually disintegrate into the ground. We chose which plants to put where by their spacing needs and by how much sun they needed. We planted sunflowers, tomatoes, carrots, squash, kale, cucumbers, and watermelon. We also planted Marigold seeds around the edges because they act as a natural bug repellant. The bugs think they stink.

I think this garden is a good thing for my family to do together. I am really hoping that our work pays off and that I can see lots of cool things grow. I'm glad we might have real fresh food that we grew in our own backyard. I'm interested to see if they will taste different than the ones we buy from the store. I'm going to use this blog to keep track of our progress and let you know what happens. I hope you will read about our garden adventure and tell me if you have any tips or experiences of your own to share.

Til next time... Steven