Guess Who Built a Garden?

Okay okay... I can't take much credit for this whole garden thing because it totally wasn't my idea.  This is Cassity's baby but I helped, so I get to claim a part of it.  At least the corner with the green beans because I'll totally eat those. :)

So here's how it all happened.

A friend in our ward told Cassity she had a 4x4 garden box that she wasn't using, and did Cass want to use it?  Of course!  So it's like she's "renting" the space, only it's free.  This is how we spent the majority of our Saturday over Memorial Day weekend, and Cass had it all planned out.  She purchased seeds ahead of time, and that day we took a trip to Smith's and Lowes to get transfer plants, compost, soil, and twine.

I always think it's funny when I accompany Cassity to Lowes because I feel like a child.  It reminds me of when us kids used to go to Home Depot with my dad-- such a manly store!  Seems like the men always love to observe every little hammer and nail and wander way too slow up each aisle.  But I like those memories I have with my dad.  And I like the smell of wood!  Cassity did a good job walking fast and getting right down to business, and I was delighted there was a live popcorn machine there to keep me busy and content. :)

So we began the big project around 1:00pm and got started on the little garden box, located on the side of our friend's driveway.

Step 1:  Shovel out the rocks until you have just dirt and ground cover.  Harder than it looks!!

Step 2:  Add a mixture of compost and gardening soil.  I liked this part!  I felt like I was working on a farm because it smelled like cow manure.  I got to do the job with the mini pitchfork of mixing it all together.

Beautiful!

Step 3:  Measure the box into 16 squares and pin down the twine in the appropriate places.  This created little mini garden plots for each individual vegetable.

I laughed at Cass for buying the "dazzling pink" twine from Lowes. Haha.  She would.  :)

Step 4:  Plant the vegetables!  The transfer plants were fun and easy.  However, some of the seeds said "pre-soak" on the package and we had no idea for how long.  So we let various seeds sit in tiny bowls of water while we prepped the soil.  I guess we'll see if they actually grow or not.

We planted peppers, carrots, beans, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes, swiss chard, and a lettuce.

Step 5:  Water the little baby vegetables and feel proud of yourselves!!!

TOTAL PROJECT TIME:  4 hours... not bad! :)

So now Cassity has a new little pet-- the garden-- and she makes sure to water it every day and check up on it.  We should give it a name!  Our friends joked about us getting little garden trinkets and statues to dress it up.  Perhaps Cass can throw a gnome in there. :)  

This is a new thing for me.  Growing up, we always had tomatoes and strawberries and probably other things growing, but I've never been much of a "fresh garden produce" kind of person.  Now I wish I would have paid more attention, and I admire my parents for working so hard to plant our family gardens. :) 

Stay tuned for little garden updates!