Planning for a garden

I decided a few months ago that I wanted a garden this summer. I wanted to grow some vegetables at my own house. The past few summers I have grown a few things down in my Mom's garden. We had a record harvest of green beans last year! But tramping all the way down the street (two doors down) just seemed like such an effort. I want my OWN garden!

I thought this would be a great thing to incorporate into homeschooling. The boys could figure out things like area and perimeter as we make plans. They could learn all about germinating seeds and taking care of them. I bought a great book that we could read and learn together how to grow and cook our food. (Okay, my Mom bought it for us, but it was my idea.)

Grow It Cook It

They boys each picked out a recipe they wanted to cook and we went and bought the seeds.

There was a lot of thought about where to put it. We live in the Stanislaus National Forest and have no shortage of tall Ponderosa Pines, Sugar Pines and Cedar trees all around us. That means it can be tricky to find a location with enough sun. I finally settled on a patch of ground near our wood pile, behind the playset. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the snow to melt so that we could start digging!



This is the spot! April 13, 2010.

It snowed every week in April, so we would have to wait until May to actually build the garden. With poor clay soil and lots of animals that like to eat your plants, a raised bed and a fence were both a must. This makes things a little more complicating, and expensive, than just tilling up some soil and planting things.

There is a rule in Arnold: No planting until after Frog Jump, which happens the third weekend in May. There is likely going to be snow until then, so it is best to wait so that you do not freeze your little seedlings and have to start all over. With that rule in mind, plus the fact that we had no actual garden and there was snow on the ground, we decided to start some seedlings inside. So, on April 13th we set to work and planted the following seeds:

Tomatoes
Pumpkins
Marigolds
Peppers
Mint

Here they are, in a sunny spot by the window:


I hope this all works out!