My love for gardening was discovered when Joe and I bought our first house together and we decided to start a small garden. Joe grew up with his parents and grandpa in the garden every summer and canning all their goodies to enjoy later that winter. Gardening was a regular thing for him but for me it was a brand new world. So that first summer in 2011 we decided to try our hands at it. Joe and I knew nothing. We learned mostly from his parents and lots of research. I still feel like I am constantly needing to learn more on how I can grow a successful garden. But every year gets easier and easier…and the size of the garden gets bigger and bigger!

After that first summer and enjoying all the fruits of our labor (pun totally intended ha!), I fell madly in love! There is just something about growing and nurturing plants, and harvesting delicious fruits and veggies that is so gratifying to me. I truly enjoy producing fresh, organic foods for my family that will last the whole year all from MY OWN hard work and efforts. I know this love stems from my grandmother who also loves to garden. She loved it so much that she had 3 large gardens around town and forced my mom and her siblings to work in them. My mom did NOT enjoy it and so as an adult she decided to never grow her own. So when Joe and I first started I was completely wet behind the ears. After years of trial and error we have developed our own system to our garden and the results are great! We’ve even instilled this love into Liella who is usually the first one out in the garden when it’s time to work.

We planted everything in the ground on May 13th this year and it’s already taking off and growing so well!

Our favorite things to grow:
*Tomatoes
*Onions
*Potatoes
*Carrots
*Asparagus
*Sweet Corn
*Green Peppers
*Jalapenos
*Broccoli
*Cucumbers
*Green Beans
*Acorn Squash

New Additions This Year
*Radishes
*Strawberries (In a hanging planter. I’ll be sure to share about this in a
later post.)
*Watermelons
*Pumpkins

Future Goals
*More fruit bushes and trees

What We Struggle To Grow Successfully
*Garlic (One day I will master this! Haha!)

This year is the first year that we implemented a small greenhouse, that Joe built in high school, to start growing seeds earlier. This was somewhat of a fail because we didn’t start until early April and I know we needed to start much sooner. Although we did have a hand full of plants that took off and was successful, most of them did not make it because of one busy, really warm weekend and I wasn’t able to get out to the greenhouse to water.

Yes, gardening is a lot of work! Sometimes too much. In fact, last summer I opted to sit out on the garden because with 2 fresh new babies I knew I would not have the time to work in it. Gardens require lots of weeding and harvesting. We even assembled a small watering system for dry spells. You have to keep your eye on it at all times if you want to produce successfully. But once we figured out a system that worked for us it became something that I look forward to doing. And if you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life!

Now I am no professional, by any means, just strictly an enjoyable hobby, but over time I have developed my own spaghetti sauce, salsa and tomato sauce recipe. All based on the tastes and flavors that we love. When we start our canning process this year I’ll be sure to share the recipes with you. 🙂

Much Love,
Carissa