A peek into the garden...

Oh friends, our garden is off to such a growing start and I feel like I haven't documented a thing about it!  Brett and I just keep looking at each other in amazement and wonder at how FAST time is going this spring.  It seems like there are opportunities to do something, whether it be at home or activities outside of the home, right and left.  So much so that we're learning to stick to our core values as a family and when it's ok to say no.  Our garden is definitely a big YES for us.  It matters to us that we show our children where food comes from and that we can grow it ourselves.  It is so much healthier and cheaper pulling/picking our own produce each night than raiding the Wal-Mart section.  (which there's nothing wrong with if you're not a gardener! I want to be careful with my words here)

Our gardening, as far as planting and building the garden, takes place in the evenings or on the weekends.  Brett doubled the size of our garden this year because we ate all the canned and preserved food UP by the fall!  So we're hoping to be able to can a lot more food this year and maybe stretch it into the winter.  We'll see.  

I've been asked a lot what we planted.  My short answer is everything,  just about anything you can imagine!  I'm probably most excited to see if the sweet potatoes turn out.  They are one of my top favorite foods, ever.  We eat them multiple times a week (I almost never buy white potatoes).   

As far as garden upkeep, we do try to keep it weeded some but not as much as we'd like.  You just can't do it all, all the time!  I usually pick what we're going to eat for the night before I prep dinner.  I wash everything real well in the sink first.  One of the best parts of our garden is that the girls know the entire process, from seed to plant, to dinner!  They love eating the food out of the garden.  Anna Ruth especially is so, so proud when she gets to help plant, pick, or water! 

Of course Betsy Grace thought she'd get a sample of the dirt in the garden a time or two.  I didn't stop her and let her figure this one out herself.  Which she did quickly.  As they say "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt".  I'll amen to that. 

Ooopsy-daisy!  She leaned over a bit too far this time, lol.

One of the best things ever we planted last year were tomatoes.  We ate them every way possible and canned a bunch.  We bought tomato plants, instead of seeds this year. Please, oh please grow strong tomatoes!  I'm counting on you.

We also splurged for this fancy nozzle for the hose which I'm wishing we would have done last year!  It is fantastic and really speeds up the watering process.  Plus it looks lovely and beautiful when you water.  And that counts for something, right? 

Speaking of lovely and beautiful, check out our dinner one night! Garden lettuce, radish, and green onion combined with store-bought artichokes, peppers, olives, and roasted chickpeas.  Topped with our family favorite, balsamic vinegar of course!  Drool-worthy. 

And considering I just ate chocolate graham crackers and two squares of dark chocolate as if it were my last meal, I'd say it's a good thing we have salads like these to balance our treats. :) 

{Any gardening questions? Send them my way and I'll have Brett answer in another post! }