Good practice

Well we've had a few frosts now so we decided it was time to reap what we've sown...sewn?!...sown...

The beans didn't make it, so we had to just pull them up =(

The carrots didn't do too bad. They were really pretty actually.

and not a bad size either. At leas they looked like carrots!

The boys had fun pulling them up

Our little supply of carrots

Gary totally loved them!

Even our picky eater ate a few. There's just something about eating something you grew.

This is now what our Garden is. A big "dirt box"

We feel like we got some good practice out of our little starter garden and are anxious for spring when we can start over and be more successful!!

They're really coming up!

Greg and Isaac thinned out the carrots

The beans are taking off! I can't believe how fast they're growing!

It's exciting to see the progress .... at least it is to us!

Exciting!!!

Look what we found this morning!!

They sure are taking off!

Beans

Carrots

Which we're obviously going to thin a bit

It's so exciting to see them sprout and take off so fast. It seems that every time we go out to check on them they are noticeably bigger! The boys have been amazing at leaving them alone and only digging in the dirt that next to the garden. They love to help water every day and love to go check on it every morning!

When We're Helping

The boys decided to help daddy dig out some more grass yesterday

First Isaac gave it a shot

All he got was dirt...but he got something!

Then Gary wanted a turn

He decided Daddy's shovel was a little big.

They were out with that shovel for almost an hour! It was very cute, and very amusing to watch them try and use a shovel that was twice their size.

Getting Going

So we dug up our grass for a garden...

The boys got a little anxious to plant seeds so we decided what can it hurt?!

Greg helping Gary make a dirt castle

Have I mentioned the boys LOVE having some dirt to dig in?!

Gary helping to get the grass up

3 rows to start with.

from left to right, 2 rows Carrots, 1 row bush beans

We'll plant more next spring

Bush Beans

The boys had so much fun putting the seeds into the dirt

I helped them space the seeds out

Bush Beans

Covering them with dirt

Watering is important

and after lots of watering...

They sprout!

Beans

Carrots

Left to right, Beans, 2 rows carrots.

The boys are very good about watering their garden and are excited to see the plants coming up!

Greg and I have had so much fun teaching the boys about how plants live and what it takes to keep them alive! They are out there every day (at least 3-4 times) checking on the plants and making sure their garden is still alive! It's fun to watch their excitement and fascination with the whole "growing a garden" experience!!

Ground Breaking

Greg and I have always wanted a garden.

It's something we've wanted to do since we got our house. We've thought about it, sort of planned it, talked about it, dreamed about it, and now we're doing it!

We broke ground today (Despite Greg's hesitation to dig up his nice green grass)

The boys are excited to help in the garden! We let them help us decide what to plant and they helped Greg dig out some of the area today.

The ground breaking!  Here we go!

The grass was a little harder to dig up than we thought. Greg has developed some seriously strong roots in our grass!!

 The first chunk of Grass

The boys helpin out

The boarder is the first to be dug out

We found a worm .... it was exciting

Boarder all dug out.

After we had come inside Gary went back out to continue the chore of digging the grass up.

The boys are loving being able to dig in the backyard.

Our starter garden will be 12x15 feet and we're starting with corn, carrots, strawberries and pumpkins.

We decided to break ground now because the ground is softer, where in the spring it would be harder.

Plus it's a visual that it's actually happening which for us is very exciting!

So here we go. We are planting a garden!!!