Our Garden 2011

Well we have decided to plant a garden. Last year we spent hours picking a garden of weeds so we figured if we have to pick something it might as well be something you can eat. (Last year I was on a no chemical kick, but who can blame me the people that owned this place had never ever put anything on it. That's 30 years of keeping the weeds under control. How could I just come and poison everything. Thus I spent hours picking massive weeds. Lets just say that I am still mostly chemical free. My Dad thinks I am crazy so when he came for a visit (when I wasn't here) he brought his spray backpack. So lets just say we are now a non-organic farm, he didn't spray my garden that is still safe.) That was last year.

So the motto for our garden this year is "Go big or go home". Most people suggested that we start small but no not us, we just kept planting and planting. We will see how we do. Planting the garden was a family event. It took most of a Saturday and then a night. We heard the rain coming so Ryan and I madly planted the rest. We planted it about a week before the long weekend of May. Except for the cucumbers (which by the way you can't take seeds across the border, when I went to Utah in June they searched my car and found the cucumber seeds in my purse and confiscated them, little did they know that they missed one package, those were planted when I came home.)

So our little garden is doing well. I would say that so far we are sort of on top of it (except the strawberry patch but the birds eat all of those so what is the point) Gardening here is actually a full time job and one that I love to do. The only problem is that when I spend to much time in the garden everything else becomes a disaster, so I have to find a balance. Maybe I should get a nanny, being in the garden is much easier than taking care of children. I am not lying when I say this but I actually love picking weeds. There is nothing better when the soil is the perfect wetness and the weeds just pop out. Ryan thinks I am crazy but it is so satisfying to get rid of them. I may change my tune when the summer is over but for now I love it.

We have eaten our first vegetables lettuce and chard, so far so good. Ryan even ate the salad just because we grew it. So Hopefully the rest of our garden will produce, because we have great expectations for it. We planted for the armies so something should work out. The kids love watching the vegetables grow or finding a pea that is ready. We are trying to have them weed but that is a battle. Reuben loves vegetables and is the most enthusiastic about the garden, he even will weed, the others it is more of a battle.

Caroline in her best form, watching us work, oh Sweet Caroline you will learn how to work even if you like it or not.

Ryan wasn't sure about Rosie's help. But she is as big as everyone else and she had to plant the seeds just like everyone else. (there are random things growing in random spots, we will blame that on Rose)

Margaret in her true "Margaret form" singing and dancing among the garden.

Ava is our great big helper, she is mostly excited about the corn and plans to have it for her birthday, I sure hope it works out because we have heard a lot about her birthday and the corn.
Ryan is totally on board with the garden this year. He is the best helper. He wasn't sure about all of the help he was getting though.

I love how enthusiastic Reuben is about things. The other day he ran in the house and was determined to make something out of rhubarb. (I haven't gotten around to use it yet) I was busy at the moment but he had to do it. So he cut all the rhubarb up and we made two pies. They turned out great but unfortunately Reuben discovered he did not like rhubarb. The same day he was also determined to eat the lettuce, so he picked the lettuce and we at a salad.
Here is our garden plot. We planted corn, carrots, peas, beans, potatoes, beets, romaine lettuce, mixed lettuce, chard, spinach and a row of gladiolas for my Grandma Christensen. In the bed behind we planted white and red onions. In the garden with the pine trees we planted, a variety of squash, pumpkins, zucchini, and cucumbers.