Garden update

Things are happening around the Schultz compound. We don't actually live on a compound, nor do I consider our yard a compound, but it's fun to say don't ya think? At this very moment Dan is burning piles of wood that we've had lying around since last summer when he tore down the kudzu and pruned the trees in our back yard. There is so much smoke I seriously think someone is going to call the fire department and we're going to be fined for burning in our yard. One of the pitfalls of living in the city.....you can't do things like burn your yard waste, even when it's in a steel drum. We're living life on the edge of the law. :o)

We're also not allowed to have chickens, but Dan and I have made the decision to get a few hens anyway. We have a spot in our side yard where no one would see them if we fenced the area off and they would have plenty of space to run around and lot's of grass and clover to eat. I guess the benefits of having chickens outweigh the possible prosecution we could face if we were caught with the cluck clucks. The chickens won't be happening until our garden is finished being set up and planted, when Dan has some time to make a coop for them. Which will be later this spring....maybe May. We are also going to skip the baby chicks this time around and go straight to egg laying hens. Less fuss, more edibles!

My seedlings are doing great! Everything except rosemary is up which isn't a surprise to me, rosemary is very, very pokey. Lot's of the seedlings already have their secondary leaves and it's time for me to thin the weaker seedling out. I always plant 2 seeds per pot to ensure that at least 1 plant comes up, but they grow a lot better when they aren't crowded so eventually 1 baby plant has to be yanked....it's for the greater good, but it always makes me sad especially when there isn't an obvious weaker plant.


Our dirt got delivered last week! What an exciting day. The delivery truck couldn't fit through the posts in our fence so we had them dump all 8 yards of dirt in our front yard! I'm sure our neighbors are loving us right now. lol We decided to go with 75% compost and 25% top soil....all of it was sifted and it's very clean. I can't wait to have all of my garden boxes finished and filled with our new dirt and for the growing to begin. Do you see Maddie back there behind the dirt? That's a LOT of dirt!!

My blueberry bushes arrived. the bed they are going in hasn't been built yet so I had to pot them for the time being. But, they have already started growing leaves!! When we first got them, they were seriously twigs with no leaves in them. Plants are amazing.

My broccoli, brussel sprouts and red leaf lettuce are growing beautifully! I really thought that my lettuce wasn't going to make it because I waited so long to get it into the ground, but they bounced back completely.....their leaves are turning a nice dark red and they are getting bigger. Both my broccoli and brussel sprout plants have grown up close to 4 inches in the 3 weeks since I planted them. No edibles yet on my brussels, but I already have 2 teeny tiny broccoli growing!! I can't wait to eat them. My lettuce seeds are sprouting too, but they don't even have their secondary leaves yet, so it's slow going. I can tell that I planted them way too close together so I will for sure have to thin them out....maybe today.

Do you see that little broccoli in the middle? :o)

Dan finished another garden box yesterday. He's getting much better and faster at getting them up! I guess it helps that he has a bunch of tools to make life easier. He bought a nail gun a few weeks ago and it was love at first sight. I have to say.....tools make his life easier, and it makes the job get done faster which means that I get more of my husbands time. Win win. Things are pluggin' along! Our yard is a mess right now, we have organic matter and tools everywhere and none of our projects have been completed, but you can see the beauty that will be. We're so close to being done with the big things and I'm so happy with how everything is turning out!

You can see our first garden box on the other side of the stairs