Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Transplanting

Maybe a bit early, I don't know, but Jacob and I transplanted some broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage outside yesterday. They are pretty tiny too, so maybe I ought to put some milk jugs over them if they haven't been eaten already.
Jacob sure does like helping me in the garden A LOT! It is really hard to keep him away and he is also all boy so it is really hard for him to be gentle and delicate with the plants, big or small!
But he sure does love it! He is very excited because his peas are coming up pretty good....despite something digging around in my garden and pooping in it!
Just thought I would add an updated photo of my little man! Growing like a wild flower! I  prefer not to think of him as a weed...I don't like weeds! Grrrr!
Dh is getting ready to mow for the first time this season today! And then he is gonna put down some grass seed in our bare spots and hopefully they don't get washed away!
And this is how some of the seedlings are going...some need bigger pots. Not enough time in my day!


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Teaching my kids to get their hands dirty!

I am one of THOSE mothers...you know, the ones that never let their kids get dirty! Ha, except when I am trying to teach them to garden. Odd huh? I just don't like big messes, and like to keep things looking new. Well, it was not as easy as you may think, trying to get my kids to get their hands in the dirt. They kept wanting to wash their hands. And I couldn't even get Daisy to use her hands, she was set on using a spoon! But we still got the job done!
The seedlings are doing quite well, so we had to transplant some of them into a bit larger pots. 1. just so we could use the cell packs for more seeds, and 2. because some of the seedlings were getting quite big for the little packs.

We have several more weeks to wait to plant them outside, so I hope they do well. But I know I am gonna need more lights already. These are gonna fill up my plant stand before long.
We also planted some bulbs in some pots...we wanted to get them growing well before putting them in the yard so daddy didn't mow them down, depending on where we decide to put them.

For seeds today, we planted some more Veggie  Tales seeds, Rutger Tomatoes. Don't know anything about these, so we will see how they turn out. We also planted some more Prudens Purple Tomatoes for our neighbor lady. She wanted some Heirloom tomatoes and I told her I would start her some seedlings. We often offer her some of our fresh produce, she never turns down free food! And it feels nice to be helpful!

Oh and yesterday, Jacob and I planted some more Peas, some Lettuce, Spinach, carrots and Chard out in the garden beds. Some of the Lincoln peas have already begun to peak out of the dirt that we planted a few days ago!
And we have a new addition to the neighbors house...a Dalmation named Sarge. He is quite the cute little puppy, but puppy he is! He tore up one of my insect covers that I layed over one of my beds! Not so happy about that, so we will have to come up with a solution. For now I put a piece of board up against the fence to keep his little paws OUT! We'll probably get some chicken wire and hope that we don't get in trouble for breaking home owner rules!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

First seedlings

Last week the kids had a playdate and we planted seeds. These are the first seedlings of the year. Mammoth Sunflower, Black Beauty Zucchini, and Sugar Baby Watermelon. I love the feeling you get when you see those first seedlings come up! New life! New season! New start!
So far I have two trays set up with seeds in 19 cell packs. I have planted the Habanero, Serrano, Bell Peppers, Sugar pumpkin, Harvest Pumpkin, Better Boy and Prudens Purple tomatoes, Juliet Hybrid Grape Tomatoes, Red Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchinis, Basil, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage and more. All this in my new indoor mini green house! And I still have room for more! I am excited to keep the cats OUT of my seedlings! Last year they ate my whole first set of seedlings! Grrrr!

We are definitely ready for spring. Next nice day we have we might get out and plant some other seeds directly in the garden if we aren't too late for some of them. We have already planted Lincoln Peas and some bunching onions and yellow onions. But I only have one bed prepared so far. The other ones need a nice spring cleaning and a bit more compost to top them off.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Signs of Spring!

The Daffodils are beginning to peak out of the ground and a few crocus flowers are randomly popping up around the yard. Beautiful signs of spring!
A few days ago, we invited our friends over for a play date and we planted seeds! I love that companies put these Sesame Street and Veggie Tales seed packets together! It really adds to the kids enjoyment and interest in planting a garden. They love it! They keep asking me if the seeds are coming up yet! Cute. My only problem is, once we get stuff planted it is difficult to keep them OUT of the garden when they just need to leave it alone and let it grow!
We had a Beautiful weekend to get out in the yard and do a little clean up. The kids enjoyed helping! They are mushing the leaves down!


And here is what has been taking up most of my time lately!

He is growing fast and big! He now about 17 lbs! 26 1/2 inches. And such a cutie!