This is the year that we FINALLY started our first garden! I couldn’t think of a better project for us to tackle during this pandemic since we are mostly confined to our house. I had no idea having a garden would be SUCH a learning experience. I’ve learned a lot and my kids have learned a lot. It’s a whole new world of trial and error, constant research, and constant adjustments. There is a TON of information on the internet on starting a square foot garden.
We chose to do a square foot garden because it is less intrusive to our backyard and you can plant a variety of vegetables and plants together within a small area.
Our Garden Bed
There were so many cool garden designs available. There were the simple 4 x 8 garden beds made using cedar, or wood planks. There were designs with built-in irrigation’s systems made from PVC pipes. There were even designs that included fencing to keep out rodents and small animals. Trust me, I fell in love with all of these cool, practical raised bed designs, but all of my carefully laid plans evaporated when our local Home Depot and Lowes didn’t even have the kind of wood we needed. Plus, with all the hustle and bustle of trying to navigate the long lines and social distancing measures, I didn’t want to keep having to come back and forth to the stores. So, we decided on a simple design that didn’t involve any hammer and nails or worrying over durable wood that wouldn’t start to break down over time. We settled on using concrete cinder blocks. These cinder blocks were a little heavy to transport, but all we had to do is arrange them into a rectangular shape and we were set. Plus, they were also much more affordable than wood. We purchased 11 cinder blocks to make area garden bed for only $31.
We lined the bottom of our garden bed with newspaper and then wet the newspaper in order to suffocate the grass underneath. Then we used eight bags of soil and 4 bags of compost to fill up our bed. Once, we filled our garden with soil, we needed to segment our garden into squares. At first we used the slats from plastic blinds and garden stakes, but it was unsightly so instead we went with twine that we wrapped around our stakes. We were able to push them down into the holes of our concrete blocks to secure them. It worked out nicely and was way more visually appealing.
Our Vegetables
Early on we’d decided that we wanted to go through the entire life cycle or growth process for a plant. I thought that once we built our raised garden bed, we would be immediately ready to start sewing seeds into our garden until I read the back of the seed packets we’d purchased and did more research. That is when I discovered that many of the seeds we’d purchased had to be started indoors and then transplanted into the garden. I researched plants that grow well together, plants that were good to repel harmful insects to plants, and reviewed pre-made square foot garden diagrams. But by the time I was finished trying to keep track of all the different plans, guides, etc. I became overwhelmed and just chose things I thought we’d like to eat. I decided on zucchini, tomatoes, watermelon, kale, cauliflower, mustard greens, and cucumbers. I also tried to plant sage, dill, basil, and marigolds, but I’ll get back to them later.
Our Seedlings
Growing seedlings indoors was a learning process all its own and honestly, we still don’t have the process completely down. I can tell you that you really start to understand that plants are living things when you have to go through the process of trying to sprout seedlings. Seedlings are delicate and need a lot of love and attention. We sat on pins and needles observing our seedlings day by day checking for signs of growth, worrying if they will sprout and if they will be able to withstand the transition to the garden in four to six weeks.
Growing seedlings indoors is hard y’all or maybe it would’ve been easier if I had understood a few key things before we started. Unfortunately, it felt as though we were always a step behind, trying to play catch up on what we needed to know. For example, I didn’t discover seed mats (heating pads to keep seeds at a good germination temperature) were helpful. Also, I didn’t realize that if your grow lights need to be pretty close (only 8 inches away) to your seedlings in order to not have “leggy seedlings”. Leggy seedlings occur because they are trying to reach toward the light which is too far away. Also, plants like other living things need both light and darkness. We kept the growth lights on them for 16 hours and turned them off for eight hours. Additionally, you should place a fan close by on order to strengthen the stems of the seedlings or run your hands over them a few times a day. I guess this simulates the wind outside which the seedlings will have to withstand once they are transplanted.
Once we got a decent setup with our grow lights and fans, I then discovered that seedlings need fertilizer! Why did I initially think fertilizer was optional? We settled on using fish fertilizer because it was organic and I was pretty confident in how to apply it without endangering my seedlings. I was not prepared for the stench! I failed to wear gloves the first time I used it and my hands stank like fish for at least three days!
Transplanting Our Seedlings
Finally, we made it to the five week mark and we were ready to transplant our seedlings. Unfortunately, all the herbs we placed in peat pellets failed to thrive even after reseeding them. I just gave up and decided to try again next season with those.
When we transplanted our seedlings, we had to be very careful in removing the peat container from around our seedlings because the roots of the seedlings had grown into the container sides. After four to six weeks, we basically were able to transplant watermelon, tomato, and zucchini seedlings. We used paint sticks and permanent marker to label our squares with what we’ve plants. We’ve had to water our garden twice per day since I’ve read that raised gardens may need more water because they dry out quicker. I purchased additional seeds that could be direct sowed into the soil, and finally we had our first square foot garden together!
Great Resources
Along the way we discovered some great resources that really helped us in research and tools. Below are some of our fave resources:
This awesome app allows you to record what plants you’ve planted and milestones such as when you applied fertilizer, when the plants will be ready to harvest. etc. It also has videos and helpful information on gardening..
Attainable Sustainable website
This website is chocked full of great information on gardening. I subscribed and found myself reading on this website a lot!
Epic Gardening
This is an awesome, informative Youtube channel. Kevin Espiritu not only provides great information on how to garden, but also scientific explanations on why gardeners choose certain gardening methods over others.
CaliKim 29 Garden & Home DIY
This is yet another awesome Youtube channel I watched a lot for gardening tips!
What We've Gained
We’ve gained so much from having a garden already! It’s been a great routine for my son however, because he diligently makes sure the garden is watered every day. He has really taken to our garden. Each morning once he wakes up, he rushes outside to inspect our plants for signs of growth, weeds, unhealthy leaves that need to be pruned, etc.
My kids are having to work together and problem solve in a practical way. The garden is a project that they can each play a part without limitations due to their age differences. It gets them out in the sun and sparks their interest in learning more about plant life. I’ve been so inspired by the level of consistent interest shown by my littles that we will be studying botany using Apologia’s curriculum.
As for my older girls, putting together a garden has made valuable connections to them understanding things like food deserts, global resources, and poverty. They are participating in 4-H Global Opportunities, a program that educates them on global poverty, diversity, and how to address poverty issues in urban areas. They can better understand why community gardens and urban gardening is essential to changing the access certain impoverished areas have to fresh fruits and vegetables.
I see why Jesus used farming illustrations so often in his parables. A gardener or farmer has to have a measure of faith when he decides to plant crops. He isn’t sure if all of his hard, careful work will produce a harvest, but he continues on nonetheless. He has hope even in spite of setbacks and even though he can’t always see what’s happening beneath the soil.
Gardening reminds me a lot of homeschooling as well. We carefully, patiently nurture our children sowing seeds of virtue, knowledge, skills, and character. We don’t always know if what we’re doing is being internalized or if what we’re doing is working in the hearts and minds of our children, but we continue in hope. We have faith not only in what we’re doing, but also in God, who is the one who gives the increase. We nurture our kids in hope, that in spite of our many failures and shortcomings that one day, our hopes will be realized. We hope to see a harvest of all we’ve tried to instill in our kids come to fruition as they become adults and enter society as productive citizens.
