Gardening Process

I know it's been awhile since I first blogged about getting our garden plot, but I finally have the attention span to write about it now.


Let me start off by giving a big shout out to my wonderful Aunt Joy!  I meant to tell you when I saw you on Monday that your email was so helpful, but it slipped my mind (and so did my manners apparently).  So big thanks to all your excellent advice about starting out.


So Todd and I went over to church, paid the $6, and got ourselves a 10x12 plot in the garden behind the church.  Then, the planning started.  I was so good about it.  If I have learned one thing in my process of learning how to cook, it's that if you follow the instructions very well, you should make something good.  So I did my research.  I made a list of the plants that would hopefully produce in time, picked the ones I wanted from that list, and figured out how far apart and how deep they were supposed to be.  I then mapped it all out and off to the garden center we went.


We went to Drummer's Garden Center and they had lots of things to choose from.  Unfortunately, most of the plants were either tomatoes or would take too long to grow.  So the only plants we got were a cucumber plant, 4 red bell pepper plants, and 4 jalepeno plants.  I then bought some seeds and our co-worker Lisa brought her big box of seeds for me to pick and choose from.  A quick stop at Target to get some gloves, a watering can, and some Miracle Grow, and we were ready to go.


Todd and I headed over to church on probably the windiest day of the year.  I think I got some sun, so that's good. Anyway, we used the church's shovels and trowels to dig one hole and displace that dirt.  Then, dig another hole, filling in the previous hole with the dirt we were currently digging.  It went pretty quick because Todd did it with me.  While digging, I went to grab something and then came back and cracked my knee so badly on a post sticking up.  I took my 30 seconds to take a few deep breaths, but didn't think anything of it until the next morning when I woke up in pain.  I looked at my knee and it was a nasty yellow and purple.  

So warning, gardening can be dangerous.


After digging and filling all the holes and then raking it all together, we started planting.  In total we have
1 Cucumber plant
4 Red Bell Pepper plants
4 Jalepeno plants
1 row of Green Beans
1 row of Lettuce
1/2 row of parsley
1/2 row of dill
1/2 row of snow pea pods
And a 1/2 row of something else I can remember now.  

jalepenos

Bell Peppers

Green Bean Sprouts

We got everything planted, watered them all with some Miracle Grow for veggies, and have been good about getting water to them everyday.  We also put up our markers so we know what's planted where.  I'm quite proud of how well organized it is.  And, it's been raining about every other day, so if we forget to water them, it's no biggie.


So overall, I think it's been a good experience.  And we've had our green beans sprout up, so we must be doing something right.  In our apartment next year, we have a wide windowsill that I may be able to put a few small pots on for some herbs or something.  We'll see.  Speaking of our apartment next year, here is a floor plan I think is correct from the photos we received from North Park.  The building is not where we thought, it's closer to campus, above the Covenant offices.  I'm feeling better about it, but initially I was not thrilled at the look of it.  It should be fine.  We're happy to have a roof over our heads.

Things to come:
I know I promised spanish rice, but all you have to do is google it.  The one I made stunk, so I'm not blogging it.
Pecan Chocolate Chip bars
Cheesy crackers (Thank you Corrie for making them first so I knew to bake them longer)

Kabobs are something Todd and I have been meaning to try.  Be on the look out.
Peppermint candies.  I'm trying them tomorrow.  Maybe I will be able to add candy to my repertoire (thank you spell check.)