The Garden is Alive!

It took the majority of the day today, but Craig (and his mom) finished creating his starter garden in the backyard. Although it is currently small in the number of actual plants that are planted, there is much room to grow and the ideas are endless!

Who's in charge of this project?

Craig  = Age 4

Melissa (Craig's Mom) = Age 32

Just how was it created? I know that you are thinking you would love a step-by-step explination, so rather than keep you wondering here is what we did today :)

• Yesterday, Craig's Dad had sprayed the area of the soon-to-be garden with weed killer to kill off the majority of grass and weeds in the area.
• Then this morning Craig and Mom made a trip to Lowes to buy the supplies that were going to be needed: Miracle Grow Topsoil for Vegetables and Flowers, Galvanized metal fencing, Fencing posts, basic garden tools, wire cutters, and of course starter vegetable plants. (We already had the railroad ties that we used for the boarders of our raised beds.)
• Using a hoe and a shovel we cleaned off all the grasses and weeds from two 8' long and 3.5' wide strips (getting as much of the root systems as possible). 
• Then we placed the railroad ties along the sides of our now cleaned off strips of ground. After the ties were placed the strips now are 8' long and 2.5' wide for the actual growing space. 
• Next we filled the newly formed beds with the Miracle Grow Topsoil for Vegetables and Flowers.
• Digging the holes was next on the to-do list and Craig is a Master Hole Digger! 
• After the holes were dug, Craig gently took the plants from their pots and placed them into the holes he dug, covered up roots, and filled in the rest of the hole with the soil. 
• Then we gave the plants a good long drink with the water hose, although Craig got as much water or himself as he did the plants!

Row on the left hand side is Iceberg lettuce & on the right
starting at the top: Basil (x2), Mint (x2), Geek Oregano (x2)

• The fencing was next. Since we created the garden in a corner of our yard where the house and the porch meet, 2 sides of the garden were already "fenced". So we placed a post at the corner of the house and the porch and then one more to complete our square shape. We also placed another post about 4' from the outside corner post along the fence line to create an entrance to our garden.
• We then formed the fence around the posts and created a make-shift gate from a section of extra of fencing. 

The gate to our garden is hard to see, but there is a section
of fencing that opens toward you between the two posts
on the front side of the fence. 

Voila, Farmer Craig's Garden Was Born!!!!

So why the fencing?
Since Craig's garden is in the backyard, you may be wondering why we fenced it in. The answer is simple: Dogs. We have 2 large dogs that make it their mission to explore every thing in the yard, and if they were to get into the plants there is a good chance they would tear the beds up.

So what's next?
Since we left so much open space: an area up against the house, between the front bed and fence, and also the section between the two beds. Hopefully we will add some more fall/winter plants this season to at least the middle section, however if we don't, we absolutely will this spring to make room for tomatoes!

We do not have any plans to plant in the area that extends from the gate to the corner of the house. We have decided to leave it this way so that when we need to get in and out of the garden we will not be walking all over and dragging things through the growing plants. There is always the option to plant a small strip along the left side of the fence, that would keep the majority of the walkway open, however at the moment we are not thinking this is something we will do.

The current size of the overall garden is a good size for Craig to take care of as we both begin learning how to care for and grow vegetables. We have quite a bit of fencing that is left over (since we had to buy a roll of 50'), so should we want to expand the overall size of the garden in the future, we have the ability.