My 1st SFG - 2012

Those are cute videos, thanks!

Today we got another small box put together and set up, as well as the trellises we will use for the vines. The trellises are not straight or square, but they're there and attached and that's the main thing.




My tomatoes are currently holding down the weed cloth behind the boxes to try to kill the weeds in the flower garden before we plant. I won't be able to put boxes in there until I get my veggie garden expanded to what can feed my family year-round. The tomatoes will move before we get rain, not that we get much of that these days. This drought is a killer!

Almost all our crops are sprouting now! I can't believe how quickly it's coming up; it's been 8-9 days since we planted, depending upon the box you're looking at. My older son is getting very excited every time he finds another sprout, and gets upset when I tell him he found a weed & can't keep it. Maybe this effort to convince him to try new things will work!

Tomorrow we'll start our Nantes seeds for carrot week, and plant the heirloom Seminole Pumpkins we got from Goosegirl today. (Thanks again Goosegirl!)

I wish I could share these extra sprouts with people, but after putting a message out on Facebook to all my local friends, I haven't had a single bite! I hate to let my poor babies get wasted. How long should I wait before the extras get snipped?

Well, that's enough of an update tonight...

Looking great! Those are what my trellises look like that I will be planting the Seminole Pumpkins next to - but I think my trellises are just a bit shorter! Mine are only 5' tall because I have to be able to reach the top of them.

Vertically Challenged GG

givvmistamps wrote:mschaef, you have experience in pulling your sons deeper into the gardening. I love that your 5y/o is so upset that he doesn't have the boxes out this year! How adorable! I would like to hear how you've kept them interested through the "boring" parts...My sons have attention deficits, one due to ADHD and the other due to Autism, and they have drifted off to play pretty quickly after they've checked out the day's progress. They are looking forward to planting their carrots tomorrow. We're going to talk about whether each wants to try for weirdest looking carrot or whatever and my physicist husband will hopefully be able to come up with ideas to make their wishes come true if something unusual is called for. I know that'll appeal to them more than just planting a square and hopefully it'll hold their interest long enough to get their own planting done.

Let see how do I keep my son interested...well first off I let him chose what we grew. Than I made him in charge of taking care of his plants. He seems to love the fact that it was his plants. He would water his squares everyday after dinner and check to see how they were growing. He would also whenever anyone came to our house would immediatly ask if they wanted to see his garden and his plants.

One thing that I have thought about doing is letting him do a journal about his garden. Like a photography journal since he can't write very well yet. Also I want to point out that his attention didn't last long maybe about 5-10 mins a day. Just long enough for him to check and water his plants. Sense you mentioned that your kids like to give you flowers have them chose some flowers that they want to give you and have them plant them. I think that they would love seeing them grow and then being about to give you fresh flowers would mean the world to them.

Thats all I have right now, but if I think of more things that I do sub consciously I let you know. Hope this helps!

Thanks mschaef! That's a start. I did have them help me choose flowers they'd like to grow...but it was last year, when I thought I'd be getting started and life threw a wrench in those plans. So, we'll start them this year and I'll remind them that these are flowers THEY picked. My older son also selected a giant sunflower, and I'm hoping that'll make a nice background to all the other flowers we'll be planting as they're known to get up to 12' tall!

Hmmm, I wonder how well the naked weed cloth laying over the bed has done in killing the weeds in the flower beds...maybe we can plant tomorrow! Now that most of our veggies have sprouted it would be nice to have another place they can start going to as they wait expectantly for things to happen out there.

Goosegirl wrote:Looking great! Those are what my trellises look like that I will be planting the Seminole Pumpkins next to - but I think my trellises are just a bit shorter! Mine are only 5' tall because I have to be able to reach the top of them.

Vertically Challenged GG

Goosegirl, for future reference, the pumpkins will go in the 1'x4' box in the middle; we'll do two squares of the CT Field, and 2 squares of the Seminoles. I pointed out to my physicist/mathematician husband (he has degrees in and teaches both subjects, mind) that while the trellises are 6' from the ground, they're really only giving the plants 5-1/2' to grow upward after you take into account the 6" of soil. He hadn't even thought of that! While you may be Vertically Challenged, a nice plastic 1' high step-stool would take care of your problem nicely so you could add that extra foot to your trellis. It sure helps my 5y/o reach the kitchen sink and counters!

Can't wait to see that Pumpkin trellis all green and covered with vines!

givvmistamps wrote:

Goosegirl wrote:Looking great! Those are what my trellises look like that I will be planting the Seminole Pumpkins next to - but I think my trellises are just a bit shorter! Mine are only 5' tall because I have to be able to reach the top of them.

Vertically Challenged GG

..... While you may be Vertically Challenged, a nice plastic 1' high step-stool would take care of your problem nicely so you could add that extra foot to your trellis. It sure helps my 5y/o reach the kitchen sink and counters!

I do have a wooden stool/small bench (scavenged from the local land fill!) that I use in the garden when necessary, but along with the Vertical Challenge I generally seem to be..., how shall we say this..., um, clumsy?! 6'3" Hubby helps out with vertical assignments whenever possible to avoid ER visits and casts!

So far, everything that has needed more than my 5' of trellis I have just looped around and let it trail down again or sideways. Foliage can get a little thick, but it keeps things within my reach and me out of walking boots!

GG

PS - I actually am very coordinated, however, I have 2 speeds (dead-run and dead) and when I am at dead-run I just expect everything to get out of my way, and large immovable objects or sharp blades tend to not cooperate.....

Goosegirl wrote:Can't wait to see that Pumpkin trellis all green and covered with vines!

givvmistamps wrote:

Goosegirl wrote:Looking great! Those are what my trellises look like that I will be planting the Seminole Pumpkins next to - but I think my trellises are just a bit shorter! Mine are only 5' tall because I have to be able to reach the top of them.

Vertically Challenged GG

..... While you may be Vertically Challenged, a nice plastic 1' high step-stool would take care of your problem nicely so you could add that extra foot to your trellis. It sure helps my 5y/o reach the kitchen sink and counters!

I do have a wooden stool/small bench (scavenged from the local land fill!) that I use in the garden when necessary, but along with the Vertical Challenge I generally seem to be..., how shall we say this..., um, clumsy?! 6'3" Hubby helps out with vertical assignments whenever possible to avoid ER visits and casts!

So far, everything that has needed more than my 5' of trellis I have just looped around and let it trail down again or sideways. Foliage can get a little thick, but it keeps things within my reach and me out of walking boots!

GG

PS - I actually am very coordinated, however, I have 2 speeds (dead-run and dead) and when I am at dead-run I just expect everything to get out of my way, and large immovable objects or sharp blades tend to not cooperate.....

I can't wait to see it covered with greenery and little pumpkins!

Hmmm, clumsy huh? I can relate...which is why I don't like to get up on a ladder. I'm currently sporting a bruise on my shin that I got walking into something that I knew was there...it's been over a month since the incident, and the thing is still purple & green. It HAS faded, but... ...I'll probably replace it before it's gone.

You make me very grateful that I'm 5'7"! I can easily reach the tops of these trellises; I had to help set them up.

Michelle...massage the bruise and it will go away faster. It's pooled blood...increase the circulation in the area!

I'll try that now that I can touch it. It was too painful to touch for quite a while, though, so I put Tiger Balm on it.