Gardening 101 with the Lucero's

Some of you may know that Isaac worked for Texas A&M Agrilife and acquired some knowledge about gardening. So this year, we decided to plant our own garden. I am so excited! I have so many fond memories of my grandparents' garden. We lived far away from them, but if we went to visit during harvest time, we would set up a little table and sell cucumbers and other garden produce with our cousins. I remember picking the peas out of the snaps. (I probably was not a good helper at harvesting considering I would eat the veggies as I picked them.) When we were not visiting during harvest time, we could always count on a big box of sweet corn and cucumbers arriving in the mail. Oh, we treasured that corn! Homegrown food just tastes so good and I hope to create that tradition in my own family.

Well, since I have never "planted" a garden I am learning a few things from my husband Isaac. Let me just tell you upfront. THIS TAKES TIME. And, it is a workout!

First, we rented a tiller from Home Depot and Isaac "tore it up!" We actually ended up renting the tiller twice because the ground was so hard we didn't get very deep the first time. We soaked the area and then tilled again once it dried. So a piece of advice: water the area days before you till so you only have to do it once. 

Isaac then shoveled the dirt to form these rows. (It sounds like I'm doing nothing. Hey, I'm the assistant so I, you know, hand him the shovel and the tape measure, bring him a drink, that kind of thing)



Wait, I forgot, I was helping! I was gathering...wait for it... horse manure. That's right. Finally, we have a use for that crap! Ha ha. Don't worry, I am laughing out loud right now at my own joke. I love puns!



We threw the manure in with dirt to use it as fertilizer. Don't worry, it wasn't the fresh stuff. I guess fresh poop is so potent it could kill your plants so you have to wait till it is dry and has broken down more.

Here are our beautiful rows! 

 And here is the crew. Here we have farmer Joe on your left and farmer Jane on the right.

                     

And baby Wyatt. Wyatt was a great observer, though he seemed to focus more on my water bottle than anything else. Don't you just love how the strap on his hat accentuates his double chin?! Ha ha.

And here is the finished product! (As in finished planting)

Another view of our little garden

I will add more to this post as our little garden (hopefully) grows. We planted corn, tomatoes, poblano peppers, jalapeno peppers (the Mucho Nacho variety, love that name!), bell peppers, squash, zucchini  watermelon, and cantaloupe. So if all goes well, I might be setting up a little table and selling my produce just like I did at grandma's!