gardening rambles and brambles

Last evening we got a bit more garden planted. We wanted to get as much as possible in before the rain today. After a quick dinner we got all bundled up again and went out. I put our daughter on back last night so that I could be a little more useful. She was Very cute all dressed up a in a pink fleece shirt and wool pants riding on my back. She even let me stay still enough to plant seeds. My husband made rows, and I planted another variety of spinach, another batch of kale, and another 50 foot row of (Little Marvel) peas and four shorter rows of (Early Sunglow) corn. I haven't had much luck with corn since we moved to this place, but I'm hoping for better luck this year. Last year I finally got two batches growing nicely, but the raccoons got more corn than we did. I'm planning three types of corn this year, planted in blocks of 3 or 4 relatively closely spaced rows (we normally space rows ~3 feet apart). We did not put in more potatoes last night because my husband wasn't up for more deep row digging.

Gardening with a 3-year old and a 7-month old isn't quite like it was before kids! I have to stay moving enough to keep baby happy in the carrier, and we're constantly trying to keep an eye on the tot. We really want the garden to be fun for him and to have him help, but he does get a little overzealous sometimes. He would rearrange all the row markers if we'd let him - not a big deal except that I'd really like to remember what variety of what I plant where this year, and we really do need to mark where we've already planted. And he wants to recover rows, ready or not. Last evening he had a great time heaving his hoe from over his shoulder and deep into the soil. Fun except we have to be careful to avoid being within range of flying child-sized hoes. It is hard for him to remember that the entire garden is not a big digging hole now. It is easier for him once we get the garden mulched and it is obvious where things are planted and where not to step/dig/jump/stomp/dance/fling/drop/and generally be a 3-year old. He does love the dirt!

Bedtime was a bit late due to gardening, and I finally took a tired (but happy) baby inside to get ready for bed while my husband and son finished covering the last of the corn. After bedtime for the kids I worked on a map of the garden - what I want to put where, and a list of seeds and plants to buy this weekend. I am hoping to get broccoli, onions, kohlrabi, sugar snap peas, and carrots in this weekend. And finish up the potatoes and maybe another batch of corn. I may loose some things from planting early, but our garden has been late the last few years and I'd really like to get it started early this year so we can start enjoying veggies as soon as possible. I will also go ahead and plant cosmos and bachelors button flowers.

After having always been around a garden that was meant to provide for the family year round, it's a bit of an adjustment to garden just for fresh. I feel rather disorganized about gardening since we have had children, but that's okay. As long as we get good things to eat and have fun doing it, that's what matters. My point of comparison is my parents, who for example, plant over 80 tomatoes plants some years and my mom saves and starts her own seed and labels everything. They can and freeze for us now that I don't have time. It's Wonderful, but a lot of work I know. Every day our son has frozen "Grandpa peas" for lunch. Although I miss gardening for year round food (and haven't quite mastered the knack of planting just enough for fresh), I am trying to just relax and enjoy the garden and have fun with it. So what if I have no idea what varieties of things I planted last year and what worked and what didn't. And it's really okay if I can't find my leftover seeds or the cosmos seeds I collected last fall. Seeds are cheap, I'll get more and lose the leftovers again before next year. I Love growing things, and I Love sharing with others. If we have more than we need of some things I'll just give it away (my parents get first dibs though since sometimes something flourish at our house and not at theirs). Last summer when I nine months pregnant and had way too many tomatoes I took a large box to the chiropractor. I took beans and broccoli to "birth circle" and cucumbers to work. I love it when other people enjoy our veggies, too. So, if you're in the area in a few months, come see what we've got extra of. ;)

Oh, enough rambling about gardening. The other order of business today is to show you how cute my daughter is with a barrette in her hair. Awwwww. Isn't she sweet. Can't wait till she has more hair.


And, here's my son with a barrette in his hair. He's sweet, too. ;)


And the last order of business for today is the announcement that my husband, WanderingDad, has started his own blog!! Yay for him!