Our Family Embarks on a Garden

So, I've have never had a green thumb. Far from it. I took Horticulture with Mr. Sonnichsen back in 7th grade at good ol' Orville Wright Jr. High, but I couldn't really get anything to grow in my row. Or at least not that I remember.

So, when I heard that Gordon Wells Jr. was going to be teaching a home gardening class this year in our Stake, my ears perked up. I thought - hey - I'll attend and see what I can pick up. The 6 week course was great, and I learned quite a bit in that time. And now it's the start of April, and it's time to begin the Spring Garden.

At this point I'm still not as prepared as I'd like to be. I bought almost everything I need and cleared out the garden area. The Halls across the way let me borrow their rototiller and it worked like a charm! The ground is very soft and loamy, which is great. Now, I just need to put some fertilizer in and rototill it over again.





Brother Wells states that I can just take 3 cups of 16-16-8 fertilizer and 1 cup of ironite and mix it together, and then sprinkle it all over the plot of land and rototill that in. I will be trying this. I also tried getting some elemental Sulfur from Highland Gardens, but they did not sell it. They said to go to IFA to get it, so I'll see if I can do that this weekend.

BTW - with the size of the sacks of fertilizer they gave me, that stuff is going to last FOREVER.

Anyway, as I was at Highland Gardens, they took me past some apple trees, and showed me a grafted Granny Smith, Fuji, and Golden Delicious apple tree. I was thoroughly impressed and thought about grabbing it to replace the dead one in the front yard (so sad...I know...but I had no idea how to spray). I'll be tearing that tree out and figuring out what to do with the spot in the yard. However, Laurie reminded me that fruit trees in the front yard decrease the home's value (people seem to dislike all that messy fruit falling on the sidewalk and driveway), so I found a spot in the backyard that I think will do very nicely. It's got good drainage, good sunlight, and will serve our neighbors well too, as I put it right by our common fence. Of course, I may not see much in the way of fruit this year, but I was glad to learn to plant a tree for the first time.



I also started some seeds today - Peas (Little Marvel), Spinach (Bloomsdale Longstanding), Swiss Chard (Lucullus), and Lettuce (Parris Island Cos). I have them sitting upstairs in a South-facing window.



Wish me luck! Hopefully these babies will take!