The Garden

Last year I got very tired of mowing our lawn; it takes over an hour and a half if you edge and mow. I decided to dig up a big chunk of the back yard and expand our garden so I could plant more berries and install more planter boxes. Right as I was about to start the digging I got depressed at the thought of how much work  it was going to cost (all the digging would be done by hand and I would have to haul off at least one dump trailer of top soil)  at that moment I changed my plan and ended up just adding another three feet to the garden area so that I could surround the garden with Berries and flowers.  While doing the addition I took the time to add concrete curbing all around and put up trellises to support the blackberries, raspberries, and grapes.

Gardening has been a fun relaxing hobby.  It seems that during the warm months I don't even have any real desire to do wood working. I would rather spend the time in the garden.  This year we tried planting a few things that I have not tried before (radishes and turnips). I think I will plant the radishes again but not the turnips; At the moment I am contemplating tearing them all out and throwing them away.  Growing up Dad always planted a big garden, but he had a ton of room so he could leave plenty of space between the rows. Here, since my garden is small, I have to plant things close together. If I place several rows of the same plant right next to each other, it helps with weeding. They grow so closely together that it blocks out the light.  I also water everything with soaker hoses, so only the plants get watered.  By mid June there are hardly any weeds (except morning glory) to be pulled.

Right now the corn is nearly ready, we continue to go out and glean on the carrots, and Anna is trying to can the green beans.  Sammy searches for strawberries and raspberries each day. I tried to grow varieties of onions, carrots, and potatoes that will store well. I built a cellar last fall which kept last years potatoes all winter long. Most of this year's potato plants came from last year's harvest.   I do hope this year the tomatoes ripen before the first frost and that the potatoes get bigger than golf balls. I guess the biggest change this year in the garden from last year is the fact that I started to add flowers like my brother did to attract more pollinators and good bugs.