Garden Twenty Sixteen

Last year when we bought the house, we knew we’d have a garden in the backyard. We even knew where it would be before they poured the foundation—the garage side of the house. Once spring arrived, it was time to get going. We bought four garden beds, one for each kiddo (Vaile shares hers with Brian; Saige shares hers with me). They were super easy to assemble… Laine put two together.

It had been a beautiful, sunny week so I watched the sunlight each afternoon to see which area on the side of the house got the best sunlight. After a few days, we decided to put them against the house instead of against the fence (which was where I hoped they could go). When we moved all four over to the house side, they were barely going to fit with spacing between them. I wanted them to start at the edge of the house and end before the garage service door. Brian suggested connecting them… great idea. And since we connected them, that left three extra sides which allowed us to make a fifth garden bed.

Next up was soil, plants, and seeds. We calculated how many cubic feet of soil we needed. Lowe’s had a great deal. Then we went to Flower World to buy some starter plants. They were out of strawberries so we stopped at the kiddos’ school farm, Keep It Simple Farms, and picked up some strawberry plants. Brian’s dad had sent us seed packets. We were ready to start the garden.

What we planted, by garden bed:

Vaile & Dad: zucchini, summer squash, beefsteak tomatoes, onions.

Saige & Mom: strawberries and broccoli.

Laine: super fantastic tomatoes, carrots, corn.

Blaise: peas, zucchini, summer squash, corn.

Family: pumpkin seeds, so we’ll have some for Halloween; cucumber seeds.

Not much is happening yet. The starter plants have perked up and there is one strawberry flower. We’re eagerly awaiting little sprouts. In the meantime, we water in the morning and evening unless it’s rained.