Check it out! We planted a garden this weekend! It includes green beans, peas, bell peppers, potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, and onions. We are for sure getting some tomato plants later! It is hard to imagine the quantity that can come from these little bags of seeds!
Although it has been about 10 years since there has been a garden at my parents' house, we had one for years when I was growing up. It was usually located in part of the "pasture". This plot is usually planted as a very small field with whatever crop is in the rotation. The pasture hasn't been used as a pasture since my dad's childhood but it still retains the "fertility" that results from being filled with manure for years. It is also bordered by a creek. It is usually a soggy, weed filled mess regardless of what is planted there. For a few years we planted a pumpkin patch there, which was really fun for us and every other kid in town because we gave them away for free.
This photo of the pumpkin patch was taken in the mid 1990's sometime. That is my brother and one of his friends in the picture.
The garden was situated in various places in the pasture along with a patch of sweet corn. It was usually a pretty large garden and we planted alot of cucumbers and dill for pickle making. Even now, after almost 20 years, the smell of dill still makes my mouth water. Even the dill weed in the little container on my spice rack fascinates me. We also had alot of zucchini. My sister and I used to sell oversized (and past the point of being edible) zucchini to my grandparents' elderly neighbor, Helen, for twenty-five cents each. She really could put on a show! I'm sure she disposed of them as soon as we were gone!
This all sounds very idyllic and charming but in reality our gardens were always on the verge of disaster. The weeds really were uncontrollable. We weren't just dealing with dandelions and infiltrating grass. We were attempting to control mustard, marsh elders, and other weeds that farmers spend thousands of dollars and hours of time trying to suppress. Also, our naughty Golden Retriever, Penny, loved to go into the corn and pull full grown stalks out by the roots and run around the yard with them. She was always doing something wierd. And, of course, there were rabbits and deer always looking for a snack. However, we usually ended up with at least some bounty due to the fact that it was growing in an old pasture! How could it not flourish? If it weren't for the weeds those vegetables probably would have been mutants.
Now, back to the present. . .
There is our freshly tilled plot! The area as it was was kind of an odd shape so Justin made it square. That white material around the outside is grass seed.
There it is all finished! We have a sprinkler system! (The brand name on the box in the garage is called "Rain Bird")! It has been really dry around here for the last few weeks and there was even a fire conditions warning last weekend but it actually started raining this evening so hopefully the grass will start to flourish!
The poor lonley tulip in the front opened so now we know it is yellow! A few in the back yard opened also and it looks like they are yellow and red.
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