A lot of our warm spring and summer days were spent out in the garden. We got Ada a shovel and rake, and everyday she spent time helping me weed, harvest, clean and even cook from the garden, while Ruby lay on a blanket close by. I gathered tons of recipes for using the different produce we grew, and feel I did a much better job this year of using what we grew. In order for us to remember for next season, we tried to document the process and growth along the way. Here is a taste of the process.
Memorial Day Weekend
Due to such a late Spring, we planted mostly all from starts, except for the corn patch and the carrots.
The Serious Gardener. As you can notice behind him, Bjørn tried “raised” beds (obviously without the wood framing). Made weeding a little weird, but it was successful in keeping Ada from walking all over the plants!
The planted garden
Closer view
The reason our garden turned out: Bjørn and Uncle Michael. They planted, watered and weeded. I highly recommend hiring them.
Planting the Front Garden Bed. Ada’s helping Daddy plant Basil.
Our perennial herb bed: rosemary, thyme, chives and sage somehow survive every winter.
Early July
Enjoying the view after a hard day of work ;)
We didn’t experience pests of the normal variety this year. But I am a little suspicious what a jealous neighboring gardener was trying to accomplish in burning so large of a brush pile in such close proximity to our garden!
Mid July
Uncle Michael built an official raised garden bed and did a second/late summer planting in Mid-July. This is a couple weeks after the planting: leeks, beets and couple of lettuce varieties.
Late July
Progress.
Gary, the Scarecrow who came to watch over the garden.
August Harvesting
Ada helping Mommy gather corn.
Harvesting is tough work.
October
Beginning of October, Bjørn rototilled most of the garden and planted rye as a cover crop. Since it was a pretty mild fall, we were able to still reap produce including pumpkins, butternut and hubbard squash, potatoes, leeks, and beets through November.
Well, actually Bjørn and I forgot until recently, that we still have some potatoes in the ground that we should probably dig up before the next gardening season starts ;)