How Does Your Garden Grow?

After the rec room remodel, we had some wood left over. I’ve been wanting to plant a garden, so this extra wood was just the thing I needed to build some raised beds and get a garden planted!

I asked around a little and the overall consensus was not to paint or treat the wood because I was going to be growing vegetables in it. That made it easy!  Just a few simple cuts and the use of a power drill, and we had two new garden beds!

The boys had fun helping me dump the compost and top soil into the beds. Can you believe it took 15 bags of compost and top soil to fill these babies up?! And they are only 3x5 feet big!

Then we started to plant. The bed on the left is Emmett’s garden, and Jack’s is on the right. They each planted some carrots, beets, green beans, onions, and lettuce. We did everything from seed, with the exception of some lettuce starters.

The boys could hardly wait for their seeds to grow. I think they expected them to sprout as soon as they put them in the ground, but this garden was a good lesson in patience. It really didn’t take that long for the first sprouts to emerge from the soil, and when they did—EXCITEMENT!!!

Each time it rains, the boys say that it is good for our gardens. And they have found many worms in our backyard that have been relocated to the gardens.

We planted our garden at the beginning of May, and here is what it looks like as of June 17:

Lots of growing happening in those two beds!  We’ve already begun enjoying the lettuce (well Tom and I have). The boys love to help me pick the lettuce, even though they refuse to eat it. :) We also have since planted snap peas in the ledge of the fence, and some basil, mint, and oregano in the pots nearby.  One of my favorite parts of the garden is the random vegetables sprinkled about in the surrounding area of the beds. They are evidence of the boys “planting” seeds all over!

Just behind the garden, I have a passion flower plant. This year I decided to use an old window (man, how I love old windows!) that my aunt had given me as a trellis for the passion flower. Don’t you just love how it is climbing up the window pane?

I have to say that planting a garden has been an extremely satisfying endeavor. The boys have loved taking care of it, and I love having fresh veggies right at our fingertips!