Our Garden (sigh...)

What a struggle our garden has been. I want one so bad!! I really feel like we need to do one. They are healthy, thrifty, good work for the kids, and it's a skill I really want to improve. We started our plants indoors 2 months ago. Then we had to work on a garden spot. My original clever idea (3 years ago) was to make it go along the back 3 feet of the yard, so it didn't seem like such a big chunk out of the middle play area. Well, our fence shades it, and our garden didn't do so well in 2009. In 2010, we just didn't get to it in time, so this year, I have been determined to MAKE it WORK!! Well, it's been HARD. Ty's so busy with his work, calling, and new dental building, so finally I took matters into my own hands. When he went out of town to a dental conference, I got the round-up out, and killed a nice large chunk of grass up next to our house. Ty was QUITE surprised (and maybe not so happy about it...). I borrowed our neighbor's roto-tiller and the plan was to just till in the dead sod for compost/mulch stuff. Yeah--that didn't work so well. Soooo, we had to take out all the sod. UG. Double ug. It is heavy, dirty work. It took Ty and I 4 hours to get 1/3 of it done. We seriously had dirt in every crevice of our bodies!! Then it took another whole Saturday with Ty, me, Marissa, and Chandler working to finish the other 2/3. So, finally our dirt was ready. We made some rows and put in red potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, and beans. (BTW--I also have spinach, peas, lettuce, and garlic mixed in my flower bed land-scaping in the front yard. We'll see how that idea goes...). The stuff we did from seed is doing fine. All my 2 month old starts are struggling though. All 4 of my cucumbers died. My pumpkins and squashes are half-dead from being wind-whipped, and are now each under milk jugs. My tomatoes and peppers are still in our kitchen--can't wait to get them outta there, if the weather would just cooperate!!

Is this garden going to be worth it???!!!??? Oh, I HOPE SO!

Lastly, here's a big THANKS to my honey for supporting his crazy, stubborn wife. I seriously couldn't have done it without him. Oh, the projects I get him wound up into. But I really, seriously appreciate his help. Thanks hon!!