I'm growing stuff. In the distance, just to the right of the chicken coop and behind the fenced in "stinging nettle garden (don't ask. I had the idea to expand the vegetable space so I'd have a cutting garden)" is the kitchen garden.
Let's move in a little closer, shall we?
Last year was my first attempt at a vegetable garden. I grew slugs, weeds, a few spotty potatoes, weeds, slugs, and the odd carrot or two. Oh, and about three sugar snap peas. This year I read books about gardening throughout the winter, and look! Real food. As you can see, I'm still rather excellent at growing weeds, too. I've been trying all kinds of organic slug control, and the slugs aren't as invasive this year.
The bonus of having the coop next to the garden (besides the excellent poop) is that I can just toss both the weeds and slugs over the fence to them. I still have a row or two that I have no clue what's growing (the kids did most of the planting), but Henry's potatoes are looking beautious, and he keeps them weed free, too. Olivia still has zero interest in the actual gardening, but she eats everything we grow. She'll be running around outside, pop into the garden, stuff some lettuce or a carrot or spinach in her mouth, and run back out. Grace is fascinated by the sugar snap peas the girls have growing in their little garden. She measures them every day. You can sort of see them climbing up the bamboo:
And everywhere you look are nasturtiums. I gave the kids all packets of nasturtium seeds and they put some in every pot and all throughout the garden. I'm so country, I think I'm going to go hitch up the team and go to Starbucks. Oh. Wait. Dang.
Let's move in a little closer, shall we?
Last year was my first attempt at a vegetable garden. I grew slugs, weeds, a few spotty potatoes, weeds, slugs, and the odd carrot or two. Oh, and about three sugar snap peas. This year I read books about gardening throughout the winter, and look! Real food. As you can see, I'm still rather excellent at growing weeds, too. I've been trying all kinds of organic slug control, and the slugs aren't as invasive this year.
The bonus of having the coop next to the garden (besides the excellent poop) is that I can just toss both the weeds and slugs over the fence to them. I still have a row or two that I have no clue what's growing (the kids did most of the planting), but Henry's potatoes are looking beautious, and he keeps them weed free, too. Olivia still has zero interest in the actual gardening, but she eats everything we grow. She'll be running around outside, pop into the garden, stuff some lettuce or a carrot or spinach in her mouth, and run back out. Grace is fascinated by the sugar snap peas the girls have growing in their little garden. She measures them every day. You can sort of see them climbing up the bamboo:
And everywhere you look are nasturtiums. I gave the kids all packets of nasturtium seeds and they put some in every pot and all throughout the garden. I'm so country, I think I'm going to go hitch up the team and go to Starbucks. Oh. Wait. Dang.
I'm just imagining us sitting by that fire thingy on those cushioned chairs sipping sumpin yummy, in just a couple of weeks!
ReplyDeleteI'm practicing right now!
ReplyDeleteI was reading from a book I found at the family cabin recently (probably published in the early '60s) that the best organic slug control is to dig a little trench around your garden, line it with something water proof, then fill it with beer. Apparently the slugs get so drunk they drown themselves...or maybe it had something to do with the yeast. Maybe I had a beer or 2 while reading those most important instructions.
ReplyDeletekan u groes cheezburgers?
ReplyDeleteLaura: roosterburgers.
ReplyDeleteMichelle: the beer thing is true. what's working best is a nice, thick layer of wood ash from the firepit all around the perimeter of the garden, combined with sick little children who love to feed fat slugs to the chickens.