Happy Friday!

So excited that it is almost the weekend! This has been a long week and I am definitely worn out. But I am so excited because tomorrow my parents are coming to visit! Which is a treat because they were just here a few weekends ago to help us put a floor in our attic. And now they are coming back to help us start our first garden. 

I've wanted to plant a garden for a couple of years now, but it has kind of scared me. I've been unsure of where to put it, how big to make it, where to even begin. My parents have had a garden since I can remember so I'm so glad that they are coming down to share their expertise with us and make it happen.

We decided to put the garden next to our patio right behind our house. Perviously there were some very large, ugly, overgrown green bushes there. I don't even know what kind they were. But last weekend Derek cut them out. This weekend he will have to take the stumps out, which is always a fun job. Poor thing also has to work all Saturday morning because soccer games start tomorrow and he has to be there while they are going on. So, after a morning of working soccer games, my wonderful husband gets to come home and dig up stumps. We have no idea how long this will take or how big they are underground. Hopefully I'll get some good pics of the work in progress. This alone could take up our entire Saturday - especially since we can't get started til the afternoon.

Also, on a side note about digging up the bushes, I didn't realize that you needed to do the call before you dig thing when you are digging up something that is already there. But apparently you do. I called them today but they said it could take up to 2 business days for someone to come out and mark the utilities. I had them put an ASAP on my request, and luckily I have already heard from all the utilities except 1 and they should be out there today. So hopefully the final utility group will make its way out to our house today and not next week.

Next, we'll have to go rent a tiller and till up all the dirt and get it ready for planting. I have no idea what all this will entail. I'm sure we'll want to mix some manure or good dirt or something in there so make the ground more nutrient rich, but I know nothing about all that. That's why my parents are coming down. After we get it tilled up, we will hopefully be planting some fruits and veggies.

Here are some helpful things that I have found. I found this chart from this blog about gardening. The day of our average last spring frost in Lexington is April 15. So there are a few things that it is too late to plant, but I should be able to plant cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, squash and tomatoes. And, thanks to the weatherchannel.com I shouldn't have to worry about any frosts, because tonight is the last night that it is looking like we will have to worry about frost. The 10 day forecast goes out to April 18, which is past the average last frost day, so assuming that the averages work in my favor, we should be in good shape.

I also want to grow strawberries and blueberries, but I think its too late to plant strawberries, so I will just grow those in a container. Also, apparently they shouldn't be planted where tomatoes and peppers have been grown recently, so I'm not sure if I can put them in the same garden but just on the opposite side or if I should just avoid planting strawberries in the garden all together. I'm going to put the blueberry bushes right by the house becaues apparently they can get kind of tall. I guess I need to buy all these plants too. But hopefully after this weekend we will have a nice little garden going. Sorry this post was long with no pictures, but I'll take lots this weekend and show you how it all turned out.