The Garden Project: Priceless

Our almost accidental 4′ by 8′ foot backyard garden is now an almost endless source of everything: education, entertainment, nutrition…  The kids are still so excited about it! They poke around in there every day to see what’s growing, and this week, they were thrilled to discover a huge zucchini growing amongst what I had thought were ornamental gourds (I obviously got the labels mixed up). We’ve had handfuls of peas and green beans for weeks, and now the beets, colorful carrots, and chili peppers are coming in. I planted the tomatoes all too close together, and it’s a tangled jungle, stems heavy with clusters of baby cherry and heirloom tomatoes.

Babygirl has finally tried the peas, and with prodding, she’ll eat one or two. It’s Babyboy who really goes to town with the bounty. He still shells the peas and chops the green beans, but now instead of letting him make any imaginative (read: really gross) concoction, we only let him make edible arrangements. Like, a sauté with olive oil, sea salt, lemon… Last night he insisted on another ingredient, so I let him add a splash of white wine. Hubby and I then sprinkled the “gourmet soup” over our grilled romaine, roasted  zucchini and carrot salad.

We do have critters. They ate all our baby sunflowers right off the bat, and I almost went Caddyshack on them: I went online and ordered a scary plastic owl, reflective tape, wire fencing and stakes. But, other than put up the owl (another endless source of entertainment) I haven’t had any time to figure the rest out. While the tape, fence and stakes have sat in the box, a chipmunk has burrowed under one of the rows of peas. I pointed it out to the kids, and though they roundly scolded the little interloper, they also enjoy watching him skitter between the bird feeders and the garden. Babyboy talks to him. I figure, we have enough peas.

The Garden Project: 

Mail order cedar wood raised garden kit: $130.00

Fifteen bags of dirt and four bags of compost: $100.00

A gazillion seed packets: $50.00

Four seedling starter kits: $40.00

Bamboo stakes and fans: like $20.00 maybe

Scary plastic owl: embarrassingly, $15.00

Fencing and supplies: I lost track…

The enjoyment for our whole family…

Priceless.