Spring is Popping up all over!!!!
“Walking on sunshine…..whoa whoa….and don’t it feel good!”
(Yep…I was rock climbing here!)
I love that song. I love the way that the warm weather makes me feel. And this time of year, I get to work on one of my favorite hobbies……
my garden.
I originally started a garden as a way of saving money. However, I didn’t realize how much I needed a hobby like this…something relaxing that I could work and see the fruits of my labor.
Yeah…I’m one of “those” people. Totally obsessed with my garden!
(This was last year’s squash and lettuce bed)
I’m not a great gardener but I do love the joy I feel when you harvest your first vegetable of the season. There is something awesome about growing the stuff that you eat.
I am so excited to share with you all the veggies that we have growing in our box gardens this year! And I also wanted to share with you that from this past summer and fall, I was able to create my own organic compost to use this year. I have been keeping the vegetable and fruit clippings in a compose bin that I created using an old trash can. I had the hubs drill a few holes along the sides and bottom of the trash can so that the water would seep out. I added my old hay and pumpkins from the fall; grass clippings, coffee grounds, egg shells, and newspaper shreds. I periodically went out, maybe 5 times total, and turned the pile over with a garden spade. I also had the kiddos help me find a few worms to toss in and help me with the composting.
It was awesome to throw all that compost in my garden beds and prepare that trash can to start all over for next summer!
The picture above shows all of our green and red pepper plants surrounded by some marigolds to keep some pests away.
This bed houses my tomato plants. Two cherry tomato plants and one plum tomato plant. I added a basil plant to the center of the box garden, as I read that it makes your tomatoes sweeter. I have room in this box for 2-3 more plants on the left. I just haven’t figure out what I want to add. I am thinking about possibly adding some yellow summer squash that I couldn’t get earlier or some beans. I forget the name of those red flowers but they suppositely attract butterflies to your garden.
This box contains all my plants that will eventually grow up a trellis. I am growing cucumbers, zucchini, and the girls added two watermelon plants. I have also added oregano to the center of this box, as I heard that it keeps pests away from cucumbers. As they grow, I will continue to help them grow up the trellis.
Last year we planted four strawberry plants, We were told that they would most likely not produce last year but should do well this year. Well…those four plants took over the box that I planted them in and are doing very well. We have been presently surprised by these little gems!
Can you see all those fun little spurts of red? All I know is that the children have been begging every morning to go out and “eat” out of the strawberry patch. haha
This was our first “tasting” of our strawberries.
A couple of days ago, I was able to pick a few strawberries for breakfast.
This has been such an awesome experience for the kids.
Next year, they want to try blueberries!!!
Each year we also like to add a “splash” of color to our front landscaping.
We do not have much of a yard in the front of our house, and it also doesn’t get much sun, so finding plants and flowers that produce color and don’t require full sun as been difficult.
Here are some of our fun flowers/plants for this year:
Each year we try to add a few perennials and annuals to see what looks best. It’s still an ongoing process. The hubs is ready to pull in a landscaper but I managed to wrangle another year with that job under my belt..haha.
Come back and to check my future posts to see how our garden is doing!
Pray for a good harvest!
I promised the kids that if we had a good surplus of veggies that I would allow them to set up a vegetable stand. These little entrepreneurs are willing to water them everyday for me..haha.
Money talks….
God Bless,
Tammi
