Homegrown

Homegrown: grown or produced at home or in a particular local area (source, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homegrown)

If this pregnancy has brought anything, it's a need for FRESH produce!  The venture for that has been really difficult here in the Del Rio/Brackettville area, so we opted for the next best thing...homegrown. 

Scrap/y has never had a green thumb, as a matter of fact, anything associated with the yard is not her forte.  Yeti's got alot of gardening under his belt.  When Scrap/y decided (all by herself) last year that she would start a garden, Yeti was, of course, quick to help out.  The idea of planting a seed, nursing it to growth, transplanting it to the ground and watching it blossom into edible food was simply awesome.  It tasted delicious too!  We had zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, snap peas and celery.  There were definitely some learning points that we jotted down for next time. 

Progression of the Alaska garden build

The garden at it's peak.

Learning point:  growing carrots...those are the only ones we got that year!

This year's garden is much different than last year's.  For starters, we are in a different state...one that doesn't get much rain and pretty much stays hot.  The soil isn't necessarily "primed" for gardening, so it needs alot more help.  And the bugs are awful!  So, food, friendly bug killers were also needed this time around.  We decided that the size of the garden also needed to shrink.  Our last one grew way too much for a two person family...well three if you count the fact that Remy wound up eating fresh too.  (He never got into the garden though.)

Living on the fort also posed issues because of the wild turkey, deer, rabbits and any other wildlife that we haven't seen yet.  All of that meant that we had to somehow protect the garden.  So, we took one of Remy's old kennels that we had in Alaska (5 ft wide, 10 ft long and 6 ft tall) and decided that would be the confines of the garden.  Yeti agreed that once Scrap/y got to the point where she couldn't tend to the garden, because of the other project we are growing, he would take over.  We planted lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli, zucchini, snap peas, celery and carrots.  Everything has sprouted and is looking really good.  Here's a peek of the garden so far.

From seedling to flowering...all in two months!

Scrap/y put the seedlings in starter planters in mid Feb, fast forward to late Apr, and we are so amazed at how the plants look!  The countdown is on to see when the first zucchini will make its appearance!