The Garden Project - Part 1

Although it may be a long time before Mommy 2.0 ever goes completely green, it looks like 2012 is the year that our family makes a stab at creating a renewable food source, right here in our own backyard (literally!)

I have envied those of my friends whose Facebook photos in the midst of the summer heat, show their kids' freckled faces amidst the verdant backdrop of their summer vegetable garden, picking and eating their homegrown beans and peas. I have longed for quiet moments in the garden with my girls, as they discover the excitement of seeing a new shoot, or the glorious victory of plucking a finally ripe tomato off the vine.

But to be honest, the only time my thumb has ever looked green, is when I have spent more than a few minutes trying to scrub green marker/fingerpaint/or the occasional green-colored candy off of my rug/walls/various body parts of my children.

Plus, in the back of my mind, I know that having a fruitful garden is a Buttload.Of.Work!

I think Sweet Hubby has always been right there along with me; plus, he has the added "I'm-a-chef-so-I-am-supposed-to-grow-and-harvest-fresh-food-for-my-family" kinda thing going on.

This year, despite the odds against us (lack of time, lack of energy, lack of knowledge), we decided to go for it. With a little bit of self-motiviation (and A LOT of enthusiasm from Little Diva), we stopped planning to make a garden, and actually made one.

Since Little Diva, and by extension, The Baby (who, by the way, isn't really much of a baby anymore - but that is a post of a different day), really motivated the process, the Garden is dedicated to them. Though we hope for some decent crops, it is really more of an experiential project for the whole family.

Here is a glimpse of the experience so far . . .

Because of the local wildlife population, namely groundhogs and rabbits, we opted for the Raised Bed style garden.
The wood for the bed is cedar.

Getting to use the gigantic drill from 1975 was just a bonus!

So it is pretty level - a good start!

This was the original frame plan - 8'Lx4'Wx6"deep. We decided it need to be 6" deeper, just to help keep those pests out.

We got lots of help from Little Diva, who was really into the whole construction concept.

With the sides complete to a height of 12", we picked just the right sunny spot in the yard.

Oops, we spotted a little gap, that Sweet Hubby was kind enough to fix, because that kind of thing would just drive me crazy.

We tacked a weed cloth, and a stainless steel hardware cloth (aka chicken wire) to the bottom to keep both the weeds and the groundhogs from poking their ugly little heads up.

We decided on a local company to deliver the soil. It is a Screened Topsoil with Mushroom Soil added.
We also plan on amending the soil with some good organic fertilizer from the bunny cage.

Having the wheelbarrow bust on the first soil run impeded our progress a little, but Sweet Hubby powered on.

This is one very proud dirtgirl and she refers to every thing we are planning to grow as "hers". Her peas, her beans, her tomatoes.
We will see how her tune changes when it comes time to weed the place.

I recruited her to help me measure and mark off the bed in 12" increments.

She happens to be really into using the tape measure, and it ties right into what they are learning about Math in school right now, so I felt very gratified by her participation.

So here we go, ready to start planting! We are loosely incorporating some the "Square Foot Gardening" concept into the project, so I felt that neatly a measured and marked grid would help. The duct tape was not the most aesthetic choice, but it is more of a temporary guide to help us know where to plant everything.

Our first crop of shelling peas and snow peas has been planted and the rest will wait for a few more weeks until slightly more reliable warm temperatures come around.

Anyone have tips or anecdotes to share about your own family gardening experiences?

The Fitted Sheet

I am a little obsessed with perfectly folding the fitted sheet. For me, it is the Holy Grail of Domesticity. There is something so satisfying about tucking that tightly folded little parcel of success into a neat stack on the shelf of an otherwise horrifying linen closet. I don't get it right that often.

How does one properly fold a fitted sheet? Google it, and you will get a bunch of different "expert" opinions on the topic. It seems like every domestic guru out there knows exactly how to do it, and will happily sell you a glossy magazine for $5.95 so you can do it too!

But no matter how well I follow the instructions, I can never do it the same way twice. Sometimes I end up with a jumble of corners and bunches and just stuff the thing into the back corner until however many months pass and I am motivated to change the sheets again. Other times, it looks like I have channelled my inner Martha and could get that sheet right back into its original package. I like days like that, and I will proudly run my hand over the smooth bundle several times before putting it away. I will admire it from every angle. Maybe even show it to Sweet Hubby so he knows that my time spent at home involves more than bon-bons and the soaps. <snicker snicker>

Like so many things, folding the fitted sheet takes practice. You try to do it the same way every time, but you can't always remember exactly what you did last time that worked so well. Other times, you are rushed, and can't take the time it needs. Maybe you were not taught how do it growing up, so you had to figure it out on your own.

And don't you know, you may spend a lot of time trying to get it right yourself, but then along comes someone else, who doesn't place the same importance on the perfectly folded fitted sheet, and will just shove their wadded mess into your organized pile.

You can take one look at that totally together mommy at the playground, and just know that her sheets are perfectly folded. She did it right before baking homemade chocolate chip cookies, and still had time afterwards to jump on a conference call to change the world. You wonder - does fold her own sheets? How did she learn to do it so well? Why. Is. It. So. Freakin'. Hard. For. Me?

Hmph! Maybe she just buys new sheets every time.

Sometimes, if I know I didn't do my best, I will go back and refold that sheet until it looks a little better.  I feel slightly bad for giving up on it so soon. Sometimes I listen to the experts, and sometimes I just do my own thing. I do what feels right.

When I climb into a freshly-made bed, I realize, no matter how the sheet was folded, it feels soft and smooth against my skin, and it is something that makes me happy. It is a fun challenge to make it perfect, but sometimes you just have to shut the linen closet door and try again later.

What is your domestic Holy Grail?