How Does Your Garden Grow- Food Garden

Everything is green and the days are getting longer.  And although that creates a bit of havoc on bedtime, it is so nice to feel the warm sun on our faces as we play outside or to open the windows and let the breezes and fresh air into a house that now seems closed up for too long.

We built our garden bed on Saturday and planted on Sunday.  Our backyard consists of clay and rocks, so a raised garden bed is definitely the better choice.  We put it all together using 4x4x6’s and 6 inch wood screws.  Then Arnie proceeded to move 5 yards of dirt into the garden, while I raked it through and evened it out.  The boys played in the dirt- digging in it, moving it, crawling all over it.  We had a wonderfully exhausting day outside.  Sunday we planted.  We managed to get quite a bit in a 12x12 space.  We planted 3 kinds of tomatoes, squash, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, green beans, beets, jalapeños and green peppers along with basil and oregano.  The beets, green beans and cantaloupe we are starting from seed, while the rest are organic transplants from a local nursery.

Hayden is thrilled with it.  His face lights up when he talks about our vegetables, as if the plants are his friends.  And since we’ve been reading Peter Rabbit, he of course talks about how Asia might have to keep the bunnies away so they don’t steal our vegetables.  Yesterday he asked if our seeds had come up yet.  I wish I’d planted something that sprouted a bit sooner so he would be rewarded earlier, but everything is 10-21 days, so he will have to wait.  We had a much smaller garden in Memphis, but he was too young to really take part in it.  This year it will be wonderful to watch him make the connection between the earth and our food.  I, like Hayden, do hope our visiting bunny friends from last year don’t take too much a liking to our garden.

Spring has sprung and while I’m very behind in my house cleaning, it has been wonderful to just let go and spend time outside with the boys.  This Saturday will be a different story, as I’m planning to try out some freezer cooking.  I plan to cook or put together 14 meals for the freezer.  It’s a bit intimidating, but the benefits if it works will be completely worth it.

The rest of the week will be filled with coloring eggs, making an Easter tree and focusing on why we celebrate the holiday.

Happy Spring!

So again, I’ve been a bad blogger and haven’t written in quite a while.  In fact, I didn’t blog on my baby’s first birthday and all other manner of occasions.  I tried a work from home job for about six weeks that took up all my computer time, in fact it took up every moment of free time that I had.  But also, we’ve been spending lots and lots of time outside.

Yesterday was the first day of Spring!  While its been wonderfully warm here for several weeks, its now official, the vernal equinox was yesterday.  We have been enjoying so much time outside, playing every afternoon until its time to come in and cook dinner and then reluctantly dragging ourselves in.

I’ve tried several times to take a book and bask in the sun reading, but Mason is much too active to let me read more than a few lines at a time.  We played in leaves yet to be raked up from fall and its even been warm enough that the boys have played in the water table.  Occasionally I wonder how hot the summer is going to be if the spring is already this warm, but then I decide to worry about it later and just enjoy the sunshine and occasional rainstorm.  We’ve seen lots of wasps though.  Does anyone know a natural way to get rid of wasps?  They’re buzzing all around the house and yard and I’m a bit nervous about the boys getting stung.

I have hopes of getting the raised garden beds up this weekend, so planting can start soon.  I’m excited to have a garden this year; I missed not digging my fingers into the soil last year.  I’ll have to figure out a way to keep the bunnies out though... and Mason. 

I hope wherever you are that Spring is shinning down on you.

Happy Spring!

Ready, Set, Play!

So I kept us inside this morning, mainly out of pure laziness rather than having a particular reason to do so.  And now, rest time is ending and the thunder is rolling in, making for an afternoon inside as well.  I’m finding it very hard to get us outside lately.  I know it’s good for us.  I know Hayden does so much better when he gets outdoors, moves, explores the backyard and breathes the fresh air.  But I find it difficult to go outside when its so hot and when there is so much that I have to do inside, you know… clean, cook, do laundry, etc.  Not to mention our backyard right now is simply a mess of weeds, not fun to play or relax on.  And since we moved into the house a few months ago we don’t yet have a garden to keep me busy while outside (I’m partially grateful for this because I really do have tons of stuff to do inside plus a 5 month old that would definitely hinder my already limited weeding abilities. J )  But we truly need the time outside.

I thought this article was interesting and only proves that our lifestyle is pulling us indoors instead of opening up the world of outside play.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Kids-Go-Out-and-Play-30451.shtml

I also have a book on hold at the library called Last Child in the Woods.  The summary says, “Last Child in the Woods is the first book to bring together a new and growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults.  Louv offers practical solutions and simple ways to heal the broken bond—and many are right in our own backyard.”

I’m really looking forward to reading it and hopefully finding ways to encourage all of us to be out of doors much more than we are now.  I’ll certainly update as I read it and let you know what we come up with and my thoughts on the book.