Beginnings of a Garden

Well we finally got around to starting our garden! We had a beautiful weekend so Saturday we jumped on it by going to Sam's (I got a membership!) and buying a patio table and chairs. Very important step in the garden building process- you've got to have a place to relax and admire your work! We then went by Lowe's and purchased wood for the bed (see below). Then...

Ground breaking. Since we have a very shady yard, we picked the sunniest spot which also happens to be furthest from the house and next to the compost bin.

Beth loved playing in the dirt! This is probably the first time we've ever let her get this dirty, she loved it! Finley was a good boy and let her put dirt on his back, lol. He needed a bath by the time the day was done also!

Removing final bits of grass and measuring out the garden area. It's 12x6, really the best fit for the area considering the path of the sun throughout the day.

Installing the wood frame. The final garden will be a raised bed, 6 inches high. This will promote good drainage and hopefully help us keep weeds out. We will buy good dirt (ours is very sandy) from a local company that specializes in organic gardening mixes, compost, etc.
Since our compost isn't ready yet we'll have to buy that too.

An action shot. He thought this was the greatest hiding place in the world!

Finally, work's over for the day, time to grill and enjoy the new
patio furniture! It's wrought iron. Not sure when/if we'll get an umbrella-
our yard is pretty shady already!

The "pit"- this is where we hope to have Finley trained to go potty very soon. It was only leaves and dirt before, so we added the grass and are hoping it'll take root and live! We didn't get the whole thing filled but we plan to buy some sod or fill in the rest of the area
with grass from when we build the second garden. If he refuses to use this area, I think it'll be a cute little place for a playhouse one day!

Practicing for the upcoming Easter egg hunt. Big kids beware!

Scrubbing off all that dirt! Man was she filthy! She had such a good time though!

So at this point we have to fill in the bed with dirt and plant seeds/seedlings. We need to find a wheelbarrow to borrow since ours is a little on the flimsy side! We'll have to move dirt from the bed of Ryan's truck to the back of the yard, so hopefully we can find one to borrow or we'll have to buy one with a huge capacity. Hopefully we'll fill it with dirt next week and I'll be able to start the seeds soon after that. I have to figure out what to plant now, since our growing season starts much earlier than the rest of the US I only have a few things to pick from right now. I am already looking forward to picking and eating our fresh, homegrown vegetables!