Dig In!
I had already loved the idea of a garden. Growing up our family had no serious attempts at them, and I don’t remember eating anything out of “our garden”. My Grandpa grew tomatoes and as a child I wasn’t much interested in them. I regret that now of course as I try to grow food and he isn’t around anymore to ask questions. My uncle has a 100 acre farm which is largely planted with beans, but they had a family garden too. The BEST potatoes I’ve ever had were from there. My aunt would steam them and then just salt and pepper… they were SO good! I do talk to him every now and again for advise.
My husband and I had talked about putting a garden in. My husband knew where he wanted it and he drew up some plans. It wasn’t until a cancelled spring break trip that we ended up putting it in. My husband purchased all the lumber and constructed it. Then he purchased the dirt, had it delivered and we all filled it in. We did try to remove the grass first… it was tedious and we decided it wasn’t worth it.
My husband also brilliantly installed a water line from the spicket and we put a timer on it so it automatically waters the garden. This was March in Houston so we started with plants rather than seeds. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, but I didn’t think it could be that hard. We planted everything. Herbs, tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, zucchini and on and on. It was so fun watching everything grow. I was filled with anticipation awaiting the fruits of our labor. I’d go and check everyday searching for some change… some proof that it was all working. Nothing appeared to be dying so I had to be satisfied by that. Eventually the fruit was setting on the plants. I would guess when things looked ready to be harvested. Everything was pretty small… I waited too long on the broccoli crowns and they flowered… oops. The lettuce didn’t seem worth the time to pick it. It wasn’t enough to make a salad- haha. The tomatoes did well as did the carrots my daughter wanted to plant. We never thinned them out so we had some funny surprises when we dug them up.
All in all the harvest wasn’t very bountiful, but we really enjoyed it. I learned from my mistakes, made changes and settled in to plant our first fall garden.
