Instructions to a four year old/Lesson learned

I have several herbs planted throughout my yard.

Under my fig tree, I have some peppermint, spearmint, and some dill. (Three very hearty herbs that could take over an entire planter area.)

Okay, so today we were working under the fig tree and this is a small conversation Brycen and I had,

B: "Ooooooh! I found a worm! I'm gonna squish it!"

M: "Sweetheart, worms are really good for the soil. Maybe you you should put it on the dill plant instead."

B: "Oh. Okay mom, I will."

Two minutes pass, I look over to check on him, and he is still trying to balance the worm on a small limb of the dill plant. He was literally trying to put in ON the plant.

M: "Oh, Brycen, when I said to put it "On" the ploant, I meant to put in on the dirt under the plant. This way it can aerate the soil under the dill plant."

B: "Oh. Okay, I think that would be easier mom."

Lesson learned--I need to be more careful/specific with instructions I give to my little ones. Sometimes, they do EXACTLY what I tell them to.

Figs, herbs, and tomatoes

I am just thrilled that it is May, and I still have things growing in my yard! My figs are coming along great. I think they will be ready in another three to four weeks.
This is Oregano. I am trying my hand at growing some of my own herbs. I am growing some Rosemary, Parsley, Basil, and Oregano. So far they are all growing well. I am a little concerned that my basil will be eaten by bugs before I get any of it. I think I may start trying to put a little organic pesticide on it. We'll see if that helps.
Lastly, my tomatoes are still alive! I even have some little fruits growing. I have five Roma tomato plants as well as about fifteen other plants (three or four different varieties). I am hoping they all survive this summer. . . then I can try my hand at bottling tomatoes (my dream!).

If anyone has any sort of advice with gardening, please, do share!

Strawberry Starts

This is part of my strawberry patch. It is too long to take a picture, unless I tried to take a panoramic picture. One of my friends moved away in January and she left me some beautiful strawberry plants. I transplanted them mid-January, and they have been doing wonderfully! I have always felt that I have a black thumb, but this year I think it is developing a green tinge to it. Hooray!
These two pictures uploaded in the wrong order. Before my friend moved she told me about little "shoots" a strawberry will send out to start a new plant. My plants are starting to send out lots of these little shoots. When you find one, you are supposed to bury it in the ground (I think it should look about like the above picture).
The "shoots"/starts look like this. I will wait until this plant is a little larger before planting it. (Maybe another week or so). Can you see my strawberries growing in the background?! I am very excited to have lots of little light green berries. I think I will have a nice little crop in another month or so. I'll try and remember to show y'all how they look when they are ready.

Seedlings

My goodness time flies. I need to try harder to find time to post more often, I have been really busy as of late. About a month ago I took my kids to a nursing home to plant some seed starts with some "grandmas and grandpas". I think everyone had fun. I only snapped a couple of pictures toward the end. I didn't get any of my kids, because I had already cleaned the mud off of them. These two darling ladies were most obliging to pose for me to take a picture.
She planted some Black-Eye Susan flowers.
And she planted some Columbine flowers. We also planted lots of bell peppers and tomato plants. The flowers are still really small starts, but my peppers and tomatoes are 4-6 inches now. I am hoping to have some beautiful flowers for the residents to come see on a van ride, as well as a little produce to share with them. We'll see if I have any luck this year. . . . It is almost time to plant the tomatoes and peppers.

Our first meeting at the Community Garden

Well, we had our first community garden meeting today. I think everything went well.
My dad tilled up the whole half acre lot for us. It was awesome! He also gave both my boys a long tractor ride. (My camera was put away by then.)
My kids also got a few wheelbarrow rides from one of their grandmas. Yes, I know, my children are very spoiled. They are just really cute and really easy to love. There is no hope for grandparents.
After taking all the pictures a volunteer stopped me to snap a picture with my sis. Isn't she wonderful. (Both my sister and the thoughtful volunteer. Now I can remember this experience.)
If you want to see a picture of our final work, check out the garden website.

Community Garden

A few citizens of my home town are trying to start a community garden...and I get to help. I have put together a basic blog and an email address. I am excited for the opportunity to learn more about gardening. I don't know if many people really read my blog, other than a few fabulous family members....

Any who, if anyone is interested in helping with the community garden (and you live in Hurricane), check out this site.

http://hurricanecommunitygarden.blogspot.com/


You can find out when our first official meeting to start planting/working is. :)