Dueling Gardens Part 1

The veggies from our gardens are making their appearances slowly, but surely. Yes, I said gardenS. We have more than one, not because of our large plot of land (I wish), but because the hubby and I could not agree on a garden location.  He wanted the left side of the yard, where we had it (unsuccessfully) last year because...I don't really remember why.  Bad, I know. I swear I was listening to his argument points.  I wanted the right side of the yard because it gets more sun, and I wanted to cover an overgrown flower garden . Two stubborn wanna be gardeners = two dueling gardens.
WARNING: If you are an avid weeder, these pictures might be disturbing.

 On one side of the yard is...

 

THE HUBBY'S GARDEN

 The crops he has harvested so far have been green beans (which we have enjoyed for several meals), peas (which the kids have been snacking on, as only about 7 pods total have made their appearance), lettuce (enough for several salads and still going strong), and his pride and joy so far- his potatoes.

Today he dug up about 20 pounds!!!

Here is Sophie who I found on the table throwing the potatoes.

There are many crops he is anxiously awaiting.

Like the Jerusalem Artichokes.
We are going to have tons. The Jerusalem Artichoke is not an artichoke at all, but a potato like tuber.  I have never tried it (or even seen it before) and from what I have researched (the video on this link makes them look so appetizing), it's are an acquired taste.  Since these are harvested in the fall I will have plenty of time to look for tasty recipes (if such exist).       

And there's his corn.

He came home from work almost a month ago all excited because someone told him if his corn was doing well, it would be a foot tall and his was!!!! And still is!!! The corn growing on the farms down the road is at least 8 feet tall right now (and probably loaded with GMOs and pesticides). Maybe his will have a growth spurt. Or maybe this is just a short variety. Or maybe this what a corn plant looks like with no added chemicals.

On the other end of his garden, I don't really know what's going on.

He is a firm believer that as long as the plants are watered, they will grow. He is NOT a weeder. What has been weeded, I have done. I didn't touch this area because I couldn't tell the difference between plants and weeds!  In there somewhere is cabbage, cauliflower. broccoli, more potatoes, and pumpkins or gourds. All of these plants are still working on producing their bounty, if there will be any at all. To be fair, we did plant both gardens late in the season, as there was still a lot of frosty nights.

He wants me to point out his awesome composting container.

He found it on ebay for $75 delivered. It works for us. Keeps the animals out and the smells in. :)

And that is the hubby's garden.  Stay tuned to be introduced to mine. :)

Herb Garden In Progress

In my neck of the woods, March brought us record rainfall. It rained and it RAINED!! Now April has brought us record warm temperatures. Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the 80's! Craziness. I packed up the winter hats and snow pants today really hoping that we don't get hit once more with snow. This is New England, it is still April, and it really could still snow.

According to the Farmers Almanac, it is not safe to plant here until May 9th, the date that the Almanac estimates we will be free of the danger of frost. This date is over a month away and I am itching to start planting NOW!!!!! But, until then, the kiddos and I have been outside every day getting the gardens ready. The first one we tackled was the herb garden. I wish I had pictures of the before. It was in ROUGH shape.

Now, I have to say,  this herb garden has been a long term project.  When the hubby and I bought the house almost 5 years ago, the herb garden was a lovely fish pond. A pond that did not hold water and was the biggest pain in my neck. So the fish pond got filled in, and the herb garden was started. At this time I worked full time and gardening and my job in retail did not work well together.  The next spring/summer I was preggers with Logan. I made a lot of progress at the beginning of the season, but once I couldn't bend over to weed, the garden went wild. Gardening and being huge with baby did not work well together either. And the spring/summer after that, Logan was a baby, which also did not mesh with the gardening. And the next 2 years, repeat with being preggers and again with having a baby to tend to.

Now, with no job, no pregnancy, and no baby, this is the year I plan on getting all the gardens in order- the herb garden, the veggie garden, and the various flower gardens. This might be wishfull thinking, but with Logan and Sophie (and the hubby who excels at heavy lifting and digging up monster Hostas) as my eager assistants, I am hoping that we can do it!

So, with out further ado, here is the herb garden, minus the plants.

I removed 9 monster Hostas from around the edge- remnants of the past life as a fish pond.

I made 4 "benches" out of rocks, one for each member of the family. I want to make plaster decorative stones to put in front of each bench. I want the kiddos to have their own spot to plant near their bench. I can't wait until May 9th!!!!