New Year, New Garden

Hey y'all,

2019 has decided that Spring arrives in February. Thus, we have gotten slightly ahead of the gardening game this year, but only slightly -- no planting except for the bulbs because I'm still afraid we'll see some colder nights yet.

However, 2019 will see a more grandiose garden here at Cedar Creek compared to last year's last-minute Mother's Day extravaganza. In 2018 we moved rather unexpectedly to CC and found ourselves working on the interior of the house during the planting season. Not that I've ever had a green thumb; but come May, we noticed many a clearance plant at the local nurseries and we spent roughly $40 all told and did some light "landscaping" as well as planting our first small vegetable garden that consisted of two kinds of peppers, pumpkins and melons, and some tomatoes. We also had numerous things in pots that I continued to kill throughout the summer. An experimental garden, if you will.

After realizing that we were finally in a more permanent home, I spent this past winter periodically obsessing behind closed doors over the Cedar Creek Veggie Garden 2.0. I was for real this time. I read several books and articles; browsed seeds upon seeds and finally ordered some; and I even whipped out the new calendar and proceeded to map out our 2019 gardening journey over the next 12 months. Seriously. I wrote down exactly when we would be constructing the beds, preparing the soils, starting which seeds indoors when, hardening plants, transplanting plants, planting seeds in the actual garden, harvesting -- if you do it in the garden, I wrote it down on the calendar for the appropriate time. Including fall planting and harvest, as well as the planting of some fruit trees and berry bushes I dream of incorporating into our landscape. Ahhhhh! I live for the growing season!

This picture is depicting what the brick lining the front bed DID look like.
Then I stacked it to make it a taller and actual bed. 

Finished and planted.

I am not a "gardening gloves" kinda gal. There is almost nothing I enjoy more than burying my hands in a good pile of dirt; and as you can see from the pictures, the apples don't fall far from the tree!
We are attempting a new method this year: square foot gardening. I've only heard good things about it. I'm extremely excited to reap the benefits of growing into a disciplined gardener! Especially that which is getting my kids outside and involved in the growing of their own food.
Last summer, one of Katie's favorite things to do each morning was to check the garden for any harvest. She absolutely loved picking peppers and tomatoes with me! I'm really excited to see her older and more able to help with other tasks this year, as well watching Mason get to dig his hands into the soil for the first time.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: the first bed. 

That's no grumpy gardener!

We were able to churn up one bed before naptime.

What about you? Do you garden each year? Have you ever gardened before and just don't anymore? Is it something you've always wanted to do? What sort of plants would you have in your dream food garden?

Extra-muddy. Time for baths.

Three generations. He'll be helping soon enough...

Worn out after a long weekend playing in the dirt.