Newman News: August 2010

How does your garden grow?

Okay, so my name is not Mary, and I'm not "quite contrary"(usually), BUT I do have a garden. My mom, sister and I are growing a "community" garden to split the produce (and work) between our three families. We figured it would be a fun project to work on together, and considering I'm renting my house (can't plant a garden there) and have been wanting a garden, it works out perfectly for me. We are using a plot of land in my sister's backyard. We got started on it on Saturday and worked all afternoon. Thankfully it was very cloudy and even sprinkled and little bit. The temperature was also very nice. We tilled the ground and also mixed in some fertilizer and mulch. We borrowed my in-law's tiller and Craig did the work with it. After we did all that, we started to build up the furrows. We stopped before we were finished, and thankfully we did.

Yesterday morning, we continued getting the garden ready for planting. Our plan was to finish the furrows. Things never go as you plan. The day before, the ground was too wet, so the soil just ended up drying and creating rocks. So we knocked down our rock hard furrows and basically started over. We discovered the ground had been packed down badly from us stepping on it on Saturday. This would not work at all for planting seeds. We first sifted through by hand picked out the big clods of dirt. Then my sister and I got rakes and basically hand-tilled the ground. Oh my ouch. It was very hard. In fact, the head on my sister's rake came off. Between that and the beating down sun, we were so worn out! I thought I was going to pass out and die. But we had to keep going.

The next step was to rebuild the furrows. But thankfully our plans changed and we decided to do a square-foot garden set-up. It requires a bit of measuring and stringing string, but it was so much easier! Then we plotted out where we were going to plant the different kinds of seeds. It was about 1pm by this time (we started around 9:30 or 10:00)and Ella was getting bored (and getting into the seeds), hungry and tired, so I had to go after I had planted only two squares of radishes.It was probably good for me to have left then too. I knew I was sunburned, but when I got home, bathed Ella, fed the kids and put them down for naps, I didn't realize how badly. I got in the shower myself and then it hit me. I felt sick from too much sun. And, I then saw how badly I was burned.

As of now, I am a lobster. And I hurt. This morning I woke up with sore muscles and hurting skin. I am burned very badly on my face, ears, back of my neck, my chest (it looks like I'm wearing a red dickey), the back of my hands, arms, legs, and top of my feet. I would post pictures, but they just don't show how bad it really is. Let's just say it hurts just wearing clothes. I can't wear pants, and since my only shorts are dirty from yesterday, I must resort to wearing a pair of Craig's basketball shorts. And the neck of my shirt is touching me, but there's nothing I can do about that!

However, despite my suffering, I am very excited for the veggies to start growing! And the hard part is over with. I'll have to try to remember to take pictures once the seeds start sprouting.