Get Your Garden On

Did you have a good weekend?  I hope so!  We grilled for dinner both Friday and Saturday night, Landon played in his little "play pool" for the first time, and I was able to can chicken, beans, and raspberry jam!  This week I will post a little bit on self-reliance.  So to start off...

...do you have a garden?

We planted a small one this year.  I love seeing the tomatoes forming on the plants, and I have already snipped off some fresh cilantro and basil to cook with.  This weekend we used them both on homemade grilled pizzas! 

Next year I have plans to make a much bigger one!  I can't wait to harvest some tomatoes, it will be a seriously fresh and delicious homemade salsa paired with the freshly snipped cilantro.

Instead of planting straight from seeds, we bought some small plants that were already started at Home Depot.  They were just a little more expensive (but not much) than buying the seeds, and it was much more exciting to see quicker growth and progress with our plants.

Our planted garden...

Growing up ranching and farming has it's perks...Brett installed this small drip-line system in the garden in a matter of minutes!

See the drip-line watering...

The hose hooks into a spot, and then we turn it on for a while and it does all the work.  So nice to not have to hunch over the garden box in this hellish heat we call "summer".  

We have our compost pile right next to it (I know, not the prettiest picture!).  We throw our scraps and older produce (that we don't give to the chickens) in the pile.  After a lot breaks down, Brett will combine it well into the soil and we will periodically add more into our garden soil.  It is wonderful!  The bushes on the other side of the compost pile grow like crazy because of it!

What have you planted before?  Have you ever done a garden that was exclusively herbs?  I'd love to try that too!

P.S. If you are interested, here is a link on perks to having a drip line system, and a tutorial on how to make one for yourself!  You could also go to your local home improvement store, and I am sure they could get you going in the right direction!