My Garden

This year I planted my first garden and I can't tell you how I wish I would have started sooner!  There is so much joy that comes from picking fresh veggies from the garden and using them in our meals!

And to think I almost didn't do it!  My good friend Kristen who has a massive garden offered to help me start and I couldn't have done it without her.  She showed up with plants, seeds, mulch, extra shovels, and her two boys to help dig and entertain Caden :)  Talk about a wonderful friend!

This is what the area looked like before we got started:

Our neighbors were in the process of getting a new fence put in, so the grassy area up there is actually their yard.  

And here it is after we worked the dirt and planted the baby plants and seeds! 

And here it is today :) It's my baby, I'm out there twice a day checking on things, spraying bugs, pulling off bad veggies, and harvesting good ones!  I knew I would want to grow everything organic, so I only use organic bug spray, and slug bait. 

It's been fun and frustrating learning about all the bugs that can attack your garden!  I kept finding little holes in our peppers: 

And I couldn't figure out what in the world was getting it.  The rest of the pepper was fine!  Just little holes.  Then one day I cut one open and found the culprit... a slug!  YUCK!!  So Kristen advised snail and slug bait.  Works like a charm.  Speaking of, I need to reapply before those suckers start coming back... *mental note.  

I also had some big fat green caterpillars in there eating my tomato leaves!  But since I pulled them out, I haven't had an issue with caterpillars since.  My biggest issue now, is squash bugs, and vine borers.  

I've had to rip out a number of zucchini plants, and all my yellow squash!  Vine borers are little larvae from a type of moth that lays her eggs inside the vine and when they hatch they eat their way out and pretty much kill your whole plant.  Squash bugs look like stink bugs to me.  They lay their eggs on the leaves and feed on the leaves, and the squash.  They are aweful little guys!!  They are the main reason I'm in the garden twice a day.  Constantly looking for the eggs and smashing bugs I find.  

I think I've gotten them under control now.  If I see them, I just kill em.  It was just maddening at first! The bad plants were ripped out, and luckily the pumpkin seeds I planted were actually zucchini plants so I had an abundance of zucchini and it was ok to lose a few plants.  Yeah isn't that crazy? The pumpkin seeds were really zucchini seeds.. so bummed! 

Here's what I've got growing now: 

Zucchini

Cucumbers 

Green beans 

 Eggplant

 Big slicing Tomatoes

 Roma Tomatoes

 Marigold tomatoes (they are like cherry tomatoes)

 Peppers

And this side is where my yellow squash plants were that I had to rip out: 

Sad :( But I'm hoping I still have time left to re-plant summer squash, or pumpkins.  I just need to get on it!

This is what my fridge looks like right now with our veggies, and the veggies from our share.  

The tomatoes are all ripening now and I'm overwhelmed with them! Trying to find a pressure canner soon so I can try to can some!  

Last but not least here's a picture of my little garden helper :) 

I love gardening and am already trying to figure out what to plant for the winter :) 

Do you have a garden? What's your favorite thing to plant?