The Intention of My Blog


Welcome, my beloved readers!

In case you're wondering, it's not a typo up there for you see the definition of goodly is:

used as an adjective to describe something
1. of ample or good size, ex: a goodly amount.
2. of a fine appearance, ex: a goodly young man.
3. Archaic. of good quality, ex: a goodly gift.

I am a mother who home educates her children; I would be pleased if you'd look around. You never know if I might have something to your liking. I've blogged about different topics. I hope you enjoy your stay here. May God bless you with peace, a renewing of your mind, and rest as you read my posts.

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Thanks to all for your patience as I have been on the mend. I had double heart bypass surgery in February of 2013, and I needed to focus on my recovery, which has been in steady progress. Thanks for your kind consideration.


Thanks for visiting!



Sunday, April 17, 2011

Gardening Vegetables and Fruit

Bell pepper and tomato plants needed replanting.

We had a busy day.  I usually like to post as early as possible, but I wanted to blog about our garden which was not ready.  Days ago, my hubby had placed cinder blocks in the shape of a rectangle in the area that we had chosen.  We had even put some garden soil inside the rectangle yesterday.  We just needed a few bags of extra ingredients to finish it up.

Before: Garden soil was bought at Keller Material.

In the afternoon, we went to Home Depot to buy 3 bags of  cow manure, 2 large bags of Miracle Gro organic garden mix, and 1 large bag of cedar mulch.  I also thought to buy 3 pairs of neon green gardening gloves for the three older kids.  Kaelyn had small red gloves. The lonely plant is sage that lived on from last year's planting.  The plant survived freezing and hot temperatures!


Cow manure mixed in the garden soil.

Miracle Gro mixed in the soil.


The kids and hubby mixed in the cow manure and Miracle Gro.  They used rakes and shovels.  I asked them to put on their gloves.  (I don't like the idea of the kids touching manure with their bare hands.)  Then, it was time to plant the bell pepper and tomato plants.

I tapped those baby plants out of their small container.
I estimated where I wanted the plants.  They have to be about a foot apart.  I used empty pots to plot the locations.  I pushed the pots into the ground to "stencil" where the plants were to go.  The kids then dug the hole in those spots.

I placed each baby plant in the hole and the kids did the rest.

I turned the plants upside down and tapped hard at the bottom of the small containers to tease them out.  I placed each plant in the holes that the kids made.  The kids then buried the plant.  We've been through this before so they know to tamp down the soil.  After that, came the mulch.


Cedar mulch keeps the moisture from evaporating.

The kids, hubby, and I mulched the plants.  I asked the kids to first surround the plants.  We started with handfuls of mulch.  Hubby shoveled mulch into the garden bed.  Then, he dumped the remainder of the bag.  We finished by spreading the mulch with shovels and rakes.

After: Mulch surrounds the tomato and bell pepper plants.  
The last ingredient was the water.  Thirsty plants require water.  Water makes the tomatoes plump.  With mulch, you don't have to worry about the plants going too dry in the heat.  We need to mulch for the Texas heat.

Hubby watered the plants. 

  
We made sure to put our tools and gloves away.  It's important to teach the kids to put away the shovels and rakes.  It's not enough to teach them how to garden.  Little details like that can help to know where the tools are next time.  We will be using the tools again for another vegetable garden.   


Gloves go into a hanging shoe organizer.

I'm so proud of my kids and hubby.

Lastly, we had a little treat because the kids did such a good job.  I had bought some badminton gear.  We played until we got tuckered out.  Not even the darkness could dissuade us from playing.  We enjoyed our family time together.

Badminton gear--some I bought today, as a special treat.

Well, I hope you liked this blog entry.  I wanted to show how easy it is as a family to garden.  Gardening is good for your health because of the good foods you get out of it.  You exercise and get to shop in your own backyard.  Later, I hope to show how to tend and harvest the garden.

How about you, my dear readers?  Do you like gardening?  Are you gardening?  If so, what?    I would highly encourage those who haven't to start small.  Container gardening is possible for those with limited space.

God bless you all with His peace and wisdom, my beloveds.

This has been a Saturday Spreads entry.


2 comments:

  1. I love gardening. I tend to stick to the basics to cut down on the grocery bills. I plant tomatoes, peppers, squash,this year I will add kale as I use it in everything (literally, LOL), cucumbers, parsley, basil, oh.. so much more and I am drawing a blank on the rest. We will have so share our gardening stories this year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heidi,

    I, too, love gardening. I really would love to do it this year, but I think I have to pace myself with my heart bypass recovery. There is so much I'd like to do around the house, but I am limited. I must be patient.

    I hope you have a fun time gardening and think of me when you do it. I'll be urging you on, dear one.

    God bless,

    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete

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