Garden Dreams

Despite all the car craziness this spring break, I did manage to accomplish my one big goal: 

THE BACKYARD. 

While it's still cloudy and rainy outside, I knew that if we didn't get the sod in now or start the garden beds, it likely wouldn't happen.

I knew putting in sod ourselves would be a lot of work...but I just didn't realize how heavy and obnoxious a roll of soggy wet sod would be! It didn't help that it was cold and rainy either.Thankfully, halfway through I was sent to get the rental car and Dan managed to put in the rest while I was gone. (He's amazing!)

I think Lily loves the grass the most. Unfortunately, she's loves it a little too much and has been caught digging holes. She's in big trouble if she gets caught again...

I've become slightly obsessed with gardening lately. I knew that I wanted to garden, but I've really gotten into it. So I researched  a little (okay...a lot!), then Dan and I went to home depot and we got lumber to build raised gardening beds. Of course, Dan did all the hard work (like I said...really amazing!). :) Eddie and Leila helped a little (okay...not at all.)

Romaine up front, buttercrunch and red leaf in the back.

Saturday after we bought our Jeep (<3) I rushed to Home Depot to pick up soil, compost, manure, etc, and filled up one of the beds. Somewhere along the way, I had already managed to buy a couple of veggie transplants and seeds too.

Walla walla onions in the front, sugar snap peas in the back.

In the back middle, the lettuce mixes, arugula and spinach are  planted. Front right: radishes and carrots.

It's looking a little sad and pathetic now...it was drizzling rain the whole time I was out there and I stayed out until about 8pm, when it got too dark to see what I was doing. Although the conditions were not that great, I knew that if I didn't get this stuff in, I would likely not have time for a long while. So it was worth it! :)

So far, I have planted:

• 3-4 Buttercrunch lettuce starts
• 4 Red Leaf lettuce starts
• 8 Romaine lettuce starts
• a sprinkling of arugula lettuce seeds
• a sprinkling of lettuce salad mix seeds
• a sprinkling of spinach seeds
• 4-8 Sugar Snap Peas starts
• 4 walla walla onion transplants
• 10-15 walla walla onion sets (+ nearly 35-40 others in a pot)
• sprinkling of radish seeds
• sprinkling of carrot seeds

I just can't wait! I think I might be too eager. It's gonna be rough if all this doesn't work out...the weather is looking pretty nasty the next few week too. :(

I'm a little nervous about the lettuce transplants...they aren't looking so great because I was sort of rough with them in the cold, rainy dark. Ooops...we'll see. 

In a week or two, when the lettuce starts to sprout up (hopefully!!!), I'll plant some more seeds so that I have lettuce throughout most of the early summer. I plan to sprinkle seeds a week or two after that as well. Then I'll thin them out and we'll have some baby salad greens to enjoy! I'm planning on trying to do this with the carrots too - baby carrots! Can't wait.

I've got a lot more planned for early spring: cauliflower, beets, more carrots, prob. more lettuce, maybe sweet potatoes, maybe regular potatoes (if I have room and can figure out how to grow them!), beans, and green onions.

Late spring/summer we want to grow: tomatoes (roma, cheery), squash (like zucchinni!), peppers, lots of basil, a few other herbs, maybe cucumbers, maybe some melon...I've got a little while to figure it out.