First lettuce and strawberries!

We were able to have our first salad from our garden this week! It rocked! Korey and Eli were also able to pick about four strawberries from the smart pot and scarfed them down. The kids are having so much fun helping with the garden this year. They love to help me water and pick/cut the produce. I have been totally revamping my front flower garden too, so I will be posting pictures soon. I've probably transplanted 50-100 flowers from my mom's amazing flower garden. The broccoli is headed out and a first cutting will be happening soon!

Late Spring planting

We have completely finished our vegetable garden! The late Spring plants are in! We planted regular tomatoes, cherry and small tomatoes, a couple spicy peppers, a sweet pepper, and strawberries. The lettuce, spinach, and potatoes are all up and growing, and the broccoli is looking good! Eli was excited to plant his strawberries in a smart pot and put netting over them. It's a great feeling to have it done and get to focus on the flowers! My mom already gave me some transplants from her amazing garden to add to our front yard! She is going to bring down a load of transplants to help me fill in all the areas that need work. We'll probably do a lot of Shasta Daisies in the front and whatever else she has in abundance!

Sprouting

My daily watering has paid off...both the lettuce and spinach are up and the broccoli looks great! Spring has been amazing so far. The hyacinths are blooming and the daffodils are on the verge. The weather has been beautiful and we've spent tons of time out doing yard work and enjoying God's creation!

Early Spring planting...DONE!

My goal for my early garden planting is usually around St. Patrick's Day. This year our only chance to plant was a little earlier than usual. We had a beautiful sunny day and took advantage of it! Eli helped Brandon till the soil...then Brandon and I snuck out to plant the garden while both kids were napping. We planted two different types of red potatoes (around 40 plants), one early and one mid harvest. We also planted twelve broccoli plants, a variety that gives one large head and then tons of side shoots the rest of the summer. Lastly, we planted a row of spinach and a row of a mixed lettuce seeds. Now, I just have to keep watering daily until I see sprouts.

Urban Garden Plan

I have limited space for gardening, so I have to make the most of it! This year I will be adding more smart pots to my collection for Eli's garden, so he can have his own space and we can cram in more produce. Smart pots are wonderful for container gardening. They have many benefits over regular containers and are light and easy to work with. Eli had great success with his strawberries in one last year. Check them out at http://www.smartpots.com/. I really like that I get to focus on half of the garden in the early Spring and then the other half in the late Spring (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) I purposely plant vegetables that Eli loves and can easily pick and eat raw off of the plant. Throughout the summer, he continuously picks tomatoes, broccoli, and strawberries and gets to snack on them! I'm adding some spinach this year for salads and for Cora, since organic is so expensive and regular is terribly full of pesticides. I'm very excited to try more container gardening this year! We'll see how it goes! My plan for the next two weeks is:

1. Till the soil, rake it flat, and have it ready for planting

2. Buy 12 broccoli plants, spinach seeds, two different kinds of red potato starters, and strawberries whenever available.

3. Set the potatoes out for a week in a warm sunny place, so they will start sprouting.

4. A couple days before planting, cut the potatoes into pieces (each piece containing an eye or two) and set them out on plates to "heal over" to prevent rotting.

5. Plant everything! Most veggies and fruits have instructions on spacing and depth, which is always helpful.

6. Water every day until established or tiny plants appear. Then, water when needed.

Gardening Dummy

Anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I love gardening. My mom is soon to be considered a "master gardener" and I was raised watching her poor blood, sweat, and tears into her beautiful flower gardens and vegetable gardens. She has learned from years of trial and error and has the most beautiful garden I've ever seen. That love has been passed down to me. Both my husband and I love to be outside, love flowers, and love growing veggies. Needless to say, we spend a lot of time gardening (as much as is allowed with two young kids). Our first house had a large backyard, so we were able to have plenty of room for flowers and a large full sun vegetable garden. Our new house is double the size, but has a very small backyard and front yard (which were both entirely flower gardens when we bought it) leaving no room for vegetables. My solution to this issue is a few small patches of dirt in the alley...yes the alley. It is very shaded in spots, but it is the only option for us. The first year we moved here I did a trial run on different types of vegetables to see what we would be able to grow with such a small amount of sun. Some things flourished (tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes, different types of peppers, strawberries) and others weren't successful or produced such small amounts that they weren't worth growing (carrots, beets, eggplant, cucumbers, okra). For me, gardening is about expirimentation and figuring out what works for me. I am no expert! I know nothing about soil; we live in amazing river bottom soil so I haven't had to do much in that department. I am learning more every year and am having fun getting my kids involved!