This year we decided to try gardening again.
Two years ago we were so enthusiastic about having our own little plot of land with fresh veggies.
We were so diligent about planning, right down to how far apart each vegetable should be. We had a diagram drawn out on the computer. Yeah, we are that prepared (um nerdy). We bought our organic seeds, spent hours digging out our 4'x6' plot (I think that was the size) spread out organic soil, tilled it all in, planted our rows, watered and excitedly awaited an abundant amount of fruit, or veggies rather, from our labor.
WELL, we live in Georgia and here in these parts our ground is not rich fertile soil, it's clay. Hard, red, dense clay. So needless to say, the amount of dirt we poured into the clay was not enough.
We were both newbies at gardening, so we really learned a lot by all the mistakes we made.
One very important one- use containers or raised beds in our yard.
So it took us a couple of years to try again, really because I was pregnant last summer and did not have time or energy to think about gardening.
This time around to save some money, we used containers we had already, along with some beautiful ones that Jonah built out of scrap wood we found for free! So armed with our seeds, a few small plants we picked up and some armloads of dirt we started again.
So far we are seeing growth- but we'll keep watering and watching these little green plants to see if they will yield produce.
The benefits of growing our own- taste will be so much fresher, healthier than veggies I found shipped in at the supermarket, and hopefully we can have some left over to can (would love to try that this summer!), freeze, and share scrumptious meals with others.
I would love to add that another benefit is that it will save us money but I am kind of waiting to see if we get some produce this time!
The experience has been great with Oliver alongside us. He is learning about gardening at such a young age and already knows the name of everything (and where they are located). It will be so much fun to pick our own food when the time comes!
And now that I am in gardening mode, I am also starting a compost bin for us. I found a great article about composting
here as well as
here.
I was encouraged by how easy it seems to be. We'll see how easy it is when I follow through. I started our buckets of green and brown scraps today, the next step is to pick up a bin for our pile. I'll have to update when I have enough to start filling our bin. Hopefully we'll get some rich soil from it all.
And then I'll let Jonah add it to our garden. Just kidding. Although the thought of worms and lovely little bugs and smells does kind of make me turn my nose up- but I'm tough...I'll get through it.
