Sunday, July 17, 2011

From The Garden

This is the second year we've planted a backyard garden.  There are several reasons we do this. First, growing your own produce can save money.  It's much cheaper to spend a couple of bucks on a packet of seeds or a pre started plant and grow your own than it is to buy from the grocery store. Second,  the produce is obviously fresher and tastes much better. And third,  it's actually fun and rewarding to plant things yourself and watch them grow.

My kids are young but they get so excited at garden time. They're allowed to choose one thing that's 'theirs' and they get a say in whatever else we plant. After all, they're going to be eating it. My oldest child chose blueberry bushes this year while my middle child picked a peck of pickled peppers. Ok, they're not pickled,  but he did choose peppers.  They also picked out peas, due in large part to the seed packet having a favorite character on the front. They also get to help plant but of course their favorite part is the harvesting.

We also planted zucchini, cucumbers, various tomatoes, canteloupe, yellow squash, mint and a few strawberries. Our zucchini and cucumbers are thriving. The tomato vines are heavy with fruit and our canteloupes are looking gorgeous. The blueberries did well and the peppers are a success.  Unfortunately, the rabbits got our strawberries,  bugs got the yellow squash and only one pea actually sprouted. So, it's hit or miss sometimes.  But the thriving plants more than make up for the loss of the others.

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