Paul and I have done a garden the past two summers we have been married, and we planned to do one this summer as well. Last year we gardened at the SUU community garden plots. Our plan was to garden there this year again, but thanks to our amazing friends Ada and Dion Monk, we get to garden at a much bigger place. Ada has a coworker with a huge, unused back yard. We were told we could garden there as long as we promised it would look nice. He just wants his backyard to look decent. The plot size that we get to use this year is about 6 times bigger than the plots we had last year. But its not going to be a walk in the park getting this place ready to plant!
The first time we looked at the garden spot I seriously thought that they were joking. I didn't see how this could be a garden spot. It was just a huge space full of nasty crab grass and weeds and everything. But we decided that it was a free place to garden, (we would have had to pay $60 for our plots at SUU), and we could put some work into it without dying.
Step one was to find a tiller. We borrowed a tiller from one of my fabulous co workers Jen and Matt Van Blaircom. They were so amazing to let us borrow their NEW tiller.
Step two was to actually till the garden. Paul, my best friend Lisa Walters, and I spent about 6 hours tilling on a Saturday the 11th of May. Paul tilled lightly over the weeds and Lisa and I would take a rake and rake them into piles to be hauled off. About 3 hours later we got the first tilling done. That was just a light layer to loosen up the weeds, so as to not till them under. Paul did a second round of tilling to actually start mixing up the dirt. This round was a little quicker and we got it done in half the time. All the while Lisa and I are still finding lots of weeds and roots that we are trying to rake out of the soil. Once the second round was tilled, we stopped for a lunch break. Jimmy Johns was great food and fast service! Then we went back for round three. This got the last little bit of everything all churned in and smoothed out. The change was a night and day difference from when we started to when we finished. After that long day, we were tired and sore and sunburned so we decided to take a break for a week or so.
Step three required us to get mulch into the garden. The soil isn't exactly amazing. So these plants are going to need some nutrients from an outside source. Luckily, Cedar City is only 15 minutes away from 2 different landfills that both sell mulch. One land fill was out for a few weeks. But no fear the other landfill had plenty. Problem was that on Thursday may 16th at 2:00 PM was the only time someone would be there to operate the machinery. Paul had work, I had work, there was no way we could get there in time. Some how my charm must have convinced someone to stay at work a little longer because the amazing landfill guy said that we would make sure someone was there for me to get my mulch. What a great guy! I couldn't get off work in time, but Paul could, so he left work a little early to help us out. Paul didn't just get mulch. He also hauled off a truckload full of weeds to the dump. I can't believe he loaded a whole truck full of weeds by himself. You would think it wouldn't be too hard, but Paul had to carry them through a one car garage (it opens at both ends) with a car sitting inside of it. I can't believe he was able to get everything through and around and loaded. He is a superstar. After we got the mulch, we had to unload it. I will tell you what, it was a huge pain in the butt. Same car still in the garage, trying to unload a truckload of mulch a wheelbarrowful at a time. If we could get the truck closer it wouldn't have been bad, but we had to haul it from the front yard, through the garage, and to the backyard. Such a pain. But I guess it was worth all the inhaled dust and dirty faces afterward.
Step four was to till the mulch in. Matt and Jen let us borrow their tiller again on saturday the 18th of May. Paul spent a couple hours tilling while I was working on a girls camp certification camp. He did a way good job too. When we came back later that day it looked amazing.
Step five is to plant the garden. We planted squash, zucchini, and cantaloupe seeds on Saturday. On Monday, May 20th we planted the rest of our seeds. We have corn, lettuce, onions, beans, and cucumbers all planted. For the cucumbers and beans we set up a trellis for them to climb. The last step to planting is to put the tomato and pepper starts in. It has been a little chilly at nights so we figure we will wait one more week. The pictures from start to now show huge differences! I can't wait to see how are garden continues to grow!
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