HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Recently Maggie has been learning about greenhouses, soil types, and horticulture in her AG class.  Bringing this knowledge home she asked if she could make a garden.  Of course being the responsible parents that we are, we told her to have at it.  I will readily admit that I have a black thumb.  I can’t grow anything.  I can remember when we were dating; Robert made an amazing garden, so I’m hoping she takes after her daddy when it comes to her gardening skills.  We shall soon see.

When Maggie was talking about what she wanted to grow, she never mentioned corn.  John Robert loves corn, and he wanted to grow corn.  So, when we got Maggie her seeds, I got John Robert some corn.  Of course this worked out well for Maggie; she got some strong arms to help her in her gardening ventures, and believe me when she chose the old hog pen, she needed some strong arms.

The kiddos chose the old hog pen for their garden.  We haven’t had any hogs in it since last August, so we figured the Florida sand that we live in here on the ridge had a lot of quality nutrients left in it.  This is where Maggie was more than happy to have John Robert along for the ride.  The weeds in the old pen were thick, almost waist high in some spots.  Without any instructions or input from us, the big kiddos got to work.  Well, I think Maggie and John Robert got to work, Ethan did what he does best: supervises!

The pen in the beginning.  See how high the weeds are!

John Robert weeding and working diligently!

The cows loved the weeds the kiddos threw over the fence!

After a full afternoon of work, the kiddos little garden was planted and ready to go.  Not only did they plot the area, they organized where each item was to be planted, and they weeded everything on their own.  There was no input from Robert or I in any of it.  Their garden was done in a day because of their own initiative and hard work, and to me, that’s what matters the most.

Taking a small break. 

Time to start planting!

Maggie planted bell peppers, green beans, onions, and lettuce.

At the top of Maggie's plot of veggies, John Robert planted his corn.

The end of a hard Saturday.  

 I am beyond thrilled about this garden.  Not because I want the veggies to grow, because I do.  Not because I want my kiddos to enjoy the fruits of their labor, because I do.  Not because I’ve always wanted a garden, because I have in spite of my personal black thumb.  No, I am beyond thrilled about this because my kiddos did this all of their own initiative.  This garden is 100% their pet project.  They took it upon themselves to plan, work together, and execute their plans.  If nothing in the garden grows, my kiddos are amazingly successful in my eyes because they worked together.

As my big kiddos get older I want them to have a lasting friendship.  I want them to enjoy spending time with each other, not because we are forcing them but because they legitimately enjoy each other.  This garden is a huge blessing to me because it is the columniation of my dream for my kiddos.  Not only are they siblings, they are becoming great friends!

So, Maggie and John Robert, how does your garden grow?  With lots of teamwork, hard work, a little bit of luck, and most of all a lot of love and friendship.