The Garden Is Taking Shape

We worked soooooooo hard over the weekend on the garden! My husband sprinkled extra compost over the dirt and rototilled it AGAIN. The soil is so much better than it was before. He also rototilled the back of the yard, where our future pumpkin patch will be.

We have had a surprising and beautiful little patch of freesia pop up in the corner of the backyard. It is gorgeous, and the smell is incredible. As we've only lived in the house for about six months, we had no idea what it was when it first started coming up.

I then went over to a friend's house and cut down several pieces of bamboo, which we will use for our "string bean teepee" We will string five of them together and set them up so that a child (or two, or three) can actually sit inside. I have some awesome tri-colored beans to try on the poles--green, purple, and yellow!

I've scrubbed the stepping stones, which are now ready for painting. I actually painted them tonight, but don't have photos yet, as the drying stones are scattered all over the house since they cannot be exposed to moisture for 72 hours (and of course, it's raining outside). I painted the words sprout, grow, bloom, thrive, and flourish on each one.

I spent over 6 hours weeding the raspberry bushes. My forearms look like I was in a fight with a vicious cat. I then covered the ground around them in woodchips, which were donated by a friend.

Today Sven and I went out and started laying out the cement borders. Things are really taking shape! We only had enough time before the rain came to dig and place two of the five beds, so we still have more work to do. But it just feels great looking at it and seeing it come together.

And, finally, I've planted morning glory seeds along the majority of the fence perimeter. I read that in two months they can grow as much as ten feet! I'm hoping to have the wooden fence completely covered in beautiful vines and purple flowers. Now I just need to put up a system for the vines to grow up--I'm thinking small nails and fishing wire, so it won't be visible. Next weekend we'll finish placing the borders and get the teepee together, and then we can start planting the beds!

Planting Strawberry Seeds

Well, the instructions on the packet of strawberry seeds were intimidating, to say the very least, but I decided we would simply put them in dirt, keep them in our greenhouse indoors at night, and outside in the sun by day, and water them regularly. If they grow, great! If not, we'll buy plants at a nursery instead.

First, we filled the pots with dirt. Well, Josephine (well-dressed for the occasion) and I did. Iain opted out of the dirt-touching event.

Next we looked at how very teeny tiny the seeds were. Wow!

After planting them, Jo and Iain took turns watering their pots.

And here we have our newly planted strawberry seeds!

Worm Bin

Today I spent a little time plotting out the garden on paper, and then in the afternoon Josephine and I went and got more compost and . . . worms! Then it was time to make a home for the worms. First I had to plot out where all the holes would be.

Next I drilled the holes.


Then I shredded a bunch of newspaper and moistened it.


Then the yuckiest part . . . pouring in the food scraps and then mixing them all up within the newspaper.


Next, the worms!


Finally, I sprinkled some dirt from the garden over the top.


Then I left it out, lid off, in the light for a while to encourage the worms to burrow down deep and start eating away.

Prepping and Rototilling

Spring seems to have come upon us quickly and magically this year. New signs of life abound all around us now. First of all, our orange tree in the back yard has start putting out blossoms for its next crop. We don't know if it's just the right time, or if it is because a few weeks ago Village Harvest, a non-profit group of volunteers who harvest fruit for the hungry, came out and picked 100 pounds of fruit from our tree. I think the tree is relieved to have so much less fruit and is now focusing its energy on the next season.

The raspberry bushes in the back yard are transforming themselves from lifeless-looking stumps to leafy productive plants again.

The Japanese maple in the front yard is putting out tender little leaves from its bare-looking twigs.

The nasturtium seeds we planted in the front yard a couple weeks ago are now popping up out of the soil, sporting their cute little leaves.

And the bougainvillea, which really appeared to have not survived the frost, is showing signs of recovery.

Regarding our children's garden, the seedlings we planted last Monday are already popping up and looking very happy.

We have worked really hard this weekend and have made some major progress. Yes, we rototilled. But first, and most fun, we watered the ground to soften it up. Josephine, as you can see, thought this was quite an event.


Next, Sven tried out the rototiller. It amazingly transformed what looked like hard packed soil to an incredibly fertile looking bed.

Josephine and I then went through picking up the now-dislodged weeds and sprinkled the area with some leftover sand we had on hand, in order to give the heavy clay soil better drainage.

Then we scattered the compost we had. We felt that it was not nearly enough and that over the next week we would go and get more and rototill it in next weekend.

I've spent the last few weeks gathering the materials we will need when we lay out the garden. I got a few stepping stones from posting on Freecycle, and just this past week I got over forty cement garden borders . . . all free! Freecycle is amazing! Also amazing is the little peach tree my neighbor across the street donated. We'll have to find a very special spot of honor for it in our garden. Besides all the wonderful free stuff, I've bought a few things as well. I got a really cute little birdbath whose bottom actually serves as a strawberry pot. Of course, I had to buy some strawberry seeds as well. I also ordered an arched arbor for the entrance. On this we will be growing hanging gourds this year. Here is a picture of all the wonderful stuff waiting to go into the garden:

Over the next week, I hope to plot out the garden on paper so we will be ready to start placing things after next weekend's final rototilling. Such a lot of progress we've made!

Soil Testing

Today we tested the soil of our soon-to-be garden. By far the most exciting part was the digging. Both Josephine and Iain had their own shovels and took turns digging the hole. We needed to get about four inches deep for an accurate reading.

Next Jo and Iain filled the tube about a quarter full with dirt.

Next we opened up the little capsule and poured in the magical powder which would tell us the pH level of our soil.

We mixed the soil and powder with water and shook it up. Shaking the tube was second only to digging. What fun!

After the soil had a chance to settle, we could then see a distinctive color change in the water. We looked at it carefully, and then came to the conclusion that our soil had a pH balance of 8, a bit on the alkaline side. Our next step would be to find out what we would need to add to the soil to make it "baby bear" -- not too acid, not too alkaline, but JUST RIGHT!

Yesterday we picked up the rototiller. We are one step closer to the garden!

Tonight I went to an inspirational lecture titled, "Children and Nature Workshop: Awakening a Sense of Awe and Wonder." I left there with such a sense of peace and hope of things to come. I dream of young children relaxing, exploring, and learning in our garden-to-be.

Photo Tour

Here we start out in front of the house . . .

. . . and then walk up the front path . . .

. . . through the front door . . .

. . . and into the livingroom.

Next we go through to the diningroom, a.k.a the studio . . .

. . .and then out to the back yard. This is where our children's garden is going to be. This large square plot, over this spring, will be transformed into a garden with sunflowers, green beans growing on a bamboo teepee, herbs, sweet peas, and many different flowers.

Along the back of the yard, there is another undeveloped piece of land, long and narrow, that we will be using for our pumpkin patch.

The rest of the yard consists of a cement patio, an orange tree, and raspberry bushes, so once our garden is planted, things will be complete (though a garden, of course, is never finished, just constantly changing).

Planting Seeds

We have planted our first seeds! We had some miscellaneous packets from last year that we will try out first of all. It includes morning glory, marigolds, cosmos, forget-me-nots, parsley, and thyme.

Iain, the same child who wouldn't touch play dough unless it was with a popsicle stick, requested a popsicle stick when it was time to fill in the dirt. He dutifully carried over about a teaspoon at a time to fill up his pots.

Then it was time for planting the seeds. Both Josephine and Iain really enjoyed looking at all the various shapes, sizes, and colors of seeds as they planted them.

Their favorite step, by far, was watering the newly planted seeds.

The greenhouse is now full, and we must wait for nature to take its course . . .