Till up that garden!
I won’t lie, I didn’t till it. Mainly because my father won’t let me use his super fancyRotatiller, insisting that it sticks and only he, the king of the garden can handle it! Reality, he is afraid his baby will hurt herself on the big bad machine. But I must tip my hat to my Dad for doing it for me, he is amazing in his own quiet way. I laugh at my kids standing at the fence watching Pappa “mix up that dirt real good”
Tilling can take a couple rounds to get your garden under control, pending on the amount of weeds that have grown, and the amount of moisture in the soil. Reminder: the dryer the better when it comes to tilling or you’ll spend half your time digging mud and clogged dirt out of it. If you have large weeds you may use round up if you wish (make sure it is NOT extended life, lasts months, etc…….. you don’t want to eat it, do you?)
At my homestead, we also dug a trench to set our fence down in to minimize the amount of critters getting under it. Now all that’s left to do is get the fence down in it. With me being on 1st, and my husband on 2nd. I foresee a baby monitor on our hips and flashlights in our hands trying to get that thing in at 11:00 pm. On the bright side, we won’t have to worry about getting burnt by the moon.
Stay on Budget!
Since we are almost done getting the garden itself together, it’s time to shop! I love going to our local greenhouses and Farmers Market.
I do tend to get carried away when I walk in and there are so many beautiful flowers and tons of veggies and herbs to choose from. I will stay on budget, but it never hurts to just glance and dream. Take a list with you so you don’t forget things. For example, as I am writing this I realized I forgot summer squash. Guess the kids and I will just have to suffer and go back tomorrow. (hehehe really I didn’t do it on purpose) Hence where having a list is handy. I had a list, but it lost importance when my son wanted to try to go in the employee only section.
Flats of plants were $12.38 (12 4 packs of plants) and the few seeds I bought were only $1.14 (my green beans and my pea pods) If I had more room I’d really save and start all of my plants from seeds in mid April. I just don’t have a space to put tons of little seedlings that were safe from little fingers….I can just see the dirt covering my tiny living room floor.
Extras here and there
If you are just starting your garden, it’s a good idea to grab some garden soil to help feed your plants and help them thrive. There are many different kinds out there, but I stick with Organic Miracle Grow (it’s amazing how one extra word can make things more expensive) I try to stay organic as often as I can, I would say my kids and I lead a 70/30 organic lifestyle. But I’m not the kind of person to say “you should only have organic because it has XYZ and is blah blah blah.” I grew up not eating organic, and I’m alive and well. It really doesn’t taste different to me, but I’m sure it does to others. I’ve just become much more aware of what I put in my body and how I feed my kids. (as Mallery calls me, a “crunchy” mamma) It’s amazing how much food these days has Genetically modified organisms in it. I prefer our food to just be……well, food.
Make sure you buy garden soil, not potting soil. Unless of course you are going to plant flowers in pots, then by all means buy away!. You also can grab plant nutrients like quick start or kinds that simply attach on to your hose. While you are out shopping, think of anything else you might need for you. hose attachment to water your plants, watering can, Sun screen, bug spray, hat, gloves, etc. Keep your total number in mind when it comes time to start canning and freezing your produce. If the garden is successful you will be amazed how far this can go!
I am so excited to get out and start planting everything! I love getting down in the dirt and playing with my kids while teaching them at the same time. For any of you homeschooling families out there, think of all the possibilities of lessons in the garden! Not to mention the lessons while you can your produce later down the road. Alas! It calls for rain tomorrow!!! Here’s to hoping my garden is in the ground before Memorial weekend it over!!!!
TOTAL SPENT (So Far)
- Tomato cages $ 17.78
- plants and seeds $14.53
- Garden Soil $39.54
- Hose nozzle $.3.99
- Kids Garden Set $3.00 (I just couldn’t resist, they need tools too!)
- Off Bug Srpay $5.64
- Back Yard Fogger $4.87
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