garden update

Year two, month three of "gardening" and it's still a big success.  At least in the way I define gardening success :)  We have a small yield, lots of opportunities for the children to get involved, and minimal maintenance! 

Our 1x2 (ish) meter plot produced a bumper crop of cilantro and little cabbage which was all eaten or given away.  Our cherry tomatoes are growing strong, producing lots of flowers but no tomato evidence yet, though they should show up soon. 

Matt also talked to our next door neighbors (two single guys who do aircraft maintenance at the nearby airport) and asked them if we could use their courtyard area.  They work long shifts and we rarely see them, and they certainly seem to have zero interest in using their courtyard.   And their courtyard looks like a jungle which makes it doubly appealing to Isaac.

A month or two ago Matt helped hack down part of the "jungle" growth and made three little garden plots for the kids to plant whatever they wanted.  Isaac's gardening is primarily a continuous working over of the soil.  He has a few wispy carrot tops which have managed to survive all his digging, and the dirt is nice and loose :) 

Lydia totally ignores her plot. 

And Julianna's is really doing well.  Mainly because she waters occasionally and doesn't dig out what she previously planted (like her brother does).  She also made a nice little wall with rocks and stones she collected.  All that green is carrot tops and I think it's entirely possible she has some real carrots growing underneath :)