Yard Work

This weekend was rich with something new for us...yard work. Out of the 8 places we've lived, this is the first with our own yard, and it's a big one! We've already made a few of our own additions, including a compost bin and bat house inherited from our neighbors. Rusty mowed for the first time yesterday and today we finally finished setting up our Square Foot Gardening beds. (Thanks again, Randy!).

This required a trip to the local nursery to make our Mel's Mix...a mixture of peat, vermiculite, and compost, which we mixed on a tarp, wet, and filled the beds with. It'll be a couple of weeks before the seedlings make their permanent move, but there are a few things that can go right in. This evening I planted 2 varieties of carrots, and tomorrow I'll be adding corn and peas. We also snagged some great containers at the nursery dumpster (Mom will be proud :), so the tomatoes and ground cherries will be going in those. My indoor seedlings are being "hardened off", which basically means gradually getting them used to being outside, so they don't die from shock when they're moved to their new home. It was pretty horrifying watching them sway in the wind yesterday when I first put them out. I told Rusty this must be what it's like to send your kids off to kindergarten. :)

I have a lot of anxiety about all of this gardening. It seems like so much work and planning for something that can so easily go awry, but I guess that all I can do is my best and then I'll just have to have a little faith.