Garden Dreams

Well, as I said earlier in the week I am posting photos of we what are going to try to put in the garden. We got a new layer of snow last night and early this morning but it is melting off now. Unfortunately during the thaw one of our water pipes busted so I had to go shut off the water. Won't Papi be surprised when he gets home.

Still, trying to look on the bright side... we never did lose water during all these days of extreme cold. I don't think one day will kill us and it is inside by the water heater so he won't even have to crawl under the house to fix it.

Back to the garden, thawing means possibly tilling if we can get the tiller going this weekend. In the hopes that I get to start tilling this month, the Poo and I have gone through all of our sale seeds and decided how the main garden will go. Mind you the most expensive seed pack we have bought cost us 10 cents. most we got on sale at 20 packs for a dollar, some were 10 packs for a dollar. Pretty cheap groceries. The last 2 years we have watered with city water which can get a little costly. the first year we had no rain and it raised our water bill by 50 dollars a month for 4 months. This year we are going to try to get a submersible pump and holding tank and see if we can use our well, since we are lucky enough to have one that is 135 feet deep even though they hit water at 30 feet.

We will also have a melon garden that is separate from the vegetables that will include cantaloupe, watermelon, canary melon, pumpkins, and acorn squash.

We have our salad mix of veggies that will be in the raised bed I am working on and the main garden that will host all of our staple veggies such as tomatoes, squash, corn, green beans, peas, cabbage, and beans( pinto, black eyed, lima, etc..).

Hopefully we are not taking on too much, but we have done nearly this much with me working 12 hour shifts and Papi working 6 days a week. I think with me being home full time we will be able to accomplish this. It is going to be a lot of work and a lot of fun. The Poo takes great pride in her gardening abilities and loves nothing more than to wander through the garden picking veggies and eating them right there! What can be better than fresh tomatoes still warm from the sun? Not much if you ask my girl.

We will have different varieties of the same vegetables as we do every year, however this year we have found three different types of cabbage we will grow. Last years cabbage were HUGE. We could quarter on head and cook the quarter and still have leftovers. That's a big cabbage. As always, we are going to plant enough to be able to share with our dear friends. Nothing says I love you like baskets of fresh veggies or a call saying" Come pick what you want! "

We will update with photos as we get progress made.

Getting ready for spring!

Well, the spring fever bug is here! YAY!! Only it is 45 degrees outside:( The Poo and I have picked out our seeds for the garden this spring. She wanted green beans, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and squash. All good choices however we will need to acquire the broccoli seeds. We also chose cabbage,lettuce,spinach, bell peppers, beets, peas, black eyed peas, pinto beans, watermelon, cantaloupe, and maybe corn. We are even discussing a fall garden with pumpkins, potatoes and turnips.
Now we are just waiting for a warm day to start tilling the garden. I found out last year that due to the pain in my hands, it takes me one week to till half the garden. Then it takes Papa one Saturday afternoon to finish the rest and put in rows. This year we are going to try to till it twice before we plant and work in some organic matter and compost before we plant.
Papa likes the garden almost as much as us girls do. He used to tell me all the time that he is no farmer, however I think he may be changing his outlook. Last year my mom was sick and all of the watering fell to him. We had a small garden last year but he did a good job with it. The corn and the tomatoes both survived and even flourished. We talked it over this year and decided since I would be home more we would try a larger one than the previous two years.
After we get started I will post some photos of the garden area and the changes we are making. The Poo and I are on pins and needles for warmer days. And somehow I am sure there will be pictures of her gardening in a dress. After all, when you are a princess- warm days are made for dresses :)