I am a very novice gardener. The past two years I have had two 3x3 square foot gardens. I loved every part of it. It feels great to have your hands sifting through good dirt on a warm day. I love the smiles on my young girls faces when they find a BIG worm. I love their love for dirt. I love watching the miracle of the first little seedlings ripping through the surface and opening up to bask in the sun. I love the feeling inside when we pick the first of the harvest and my girls thank God for the sun and the rain. I love that their young spirits recognize God as the author of life and good gifts and the garden is a very tangible way of them seeing that. This year we are expanding our garden into a small regular garden about 8 x 15. We plan on growing summer squash, tomatoes, green peppers, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, shallots, romaine lettuce, spinach, and red potatoes. If all goes well with the weather we hope to plant sometime this weekend. Any other novice gardeners out there?
14 comments:
We plant something different every year in one of our little flower beds.
Last year, it was sunflowers for the seeds, the year before, tomatoes.
I'm not very good at it; I usually have the black thumb when it comes to houseplants and such, so the hubby does most of the planting.
Two years ago my wife and I planted a huge garden in our pasture. But the chickens dug it up, the raccoons and possums came out of the woods at night and gobbled it, the hogs tore down the electric fence and rooted everything up. The bugs pretty much got what was left. We are thinking about trying again this spring, though.
We planted a garden every year for a while, but haven't for the last few years. I miss it. I know what you mean about the joy of seeing those seeds sprout, then finally bringing the produce in. I was always amazed that we could have a dinner from our own back yard.
Ours was little, too. About 12x12.
Good luck, sounds like you'll have a good one!
the stuff looks yummy!..wheres the chocolate though?..lol
brooke -- aren't hubbies great?!!! HEE HEE
hermit -- sounds like you need to balance your gardening with a little hunting. Better luck this year!
pinky -- go back to gardening. It's just too fun and rewarding to see those plants break through the soil and grow!
angel -- come on out this summer and I promise you dark chocolate to follow the vegetables.
zucchini dipped in chocolate, huh?!
Mom had a very large garden and it was like an oasis in the back of the yard, Frank Family. We had grape vines with which she made stuffed grape leaves, too. Some of the best moments of my childhood were walking around after her while she puttered. She'd go there to have a break from her five little girls, and made no qualms of telling us so!!
Great fun was finding a HUMONGOUS gourd that escaped our searching eyes.
What a lovely lesson and example you're setting for your girls. God bless you and everything you grow.
Among gardeners...I am a stranger in a strange land....
WE LOVE GARDENING!
i have some handy hints for you - when you cut your hair or shave, save the clippings and dig them in around your broccoli, brussel sprouts and lettuce soil - it keeps the cutworm moths AND deer away from your plants - another handy hint is to buy those two for a dollar jars of cayenne pepper and sprinkle them about once a week around the entire perimeter of your garden - NO animal wants to get a snootful of that!
also, be sure to prune-prune-prune your tomatoes for a higher yield - when they're loaded with blooms, take a flatnosed shovel with the backside of the shovel directly against the bottom of the plant - push your spade down to sever half the root system - i know this sounds drastic, but believe me - once the plant THINKS it's not doing its job - it will produce like crazy - my f-i-l is an expert gardener and has grown tomatoes he's had to climb up a six foot ladder to harvest.
we're partial to pepper farming.
Thanks for the ideas Nanc!!! I'm definitely going to try the cayenne pepper idea for sure. An tips for huge crops of green beans and peas? I'd like to freeze a lot of fresh beans and peas to have next winter.
start your peas now - they will not grow well when it gets hot - not much will bother them - if you want to save on ground space, go buy a cattle panel (16x4) and make an arch over your garden where your peas, green beans and any vining plants (cukes, squash, etc.)are, affixing it to the ground on either side with sturdy tent stakes - this creates an arch for them to cling to and grow OFF the ground so you may pick from the sides and overhead - this is a great way to grow things - then the copperheads have nothing to lay in the midst of - snakes LOVE hiding out in the greenery if it's on the ground.
plant dill and marigolds about your tomato plants and it discourages tomato hornworms.
And yes Daniel is a stranger to the world of gardening! LOL ;0)
Hello there Karin!!! It's good to see you out and about.
Start seeds out in half egg shells, then when you plant the seedlings, gently crush the shell and plant it too. Extra calcium...plastic 55 gal. drums, either with the top off and holes drilled in the bottom(great for potatoes) or sliced lengthwise and put up on a frame helps save your back. And reduces weeds...
tmw
love love love gardening!
Snowing today so it'll be a while yet.
Have fun!
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