According to Lew.

There's an old saying that goes: "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." Welp, for the past two gardening years, Lew has helped me with my garden from the very start to the very finish on our planting day. He has handed me my fish on a silver platter. THIS year, we decided that maybe it was time that we became big boys and girls and tried our hand at seeing if we remembered everything that he's taught us. We borrowed his tiller, I got a few last minute pointers on spacing and placement, and then in the span of about three hours, we got 'er done. This could possibly be our first clue that things may not turn out nearly as hunky dory as they did last year. Lew and I took an entire day to plant the garden, whereas the five of us...well...didn't.

Kevy tilled (and tore off sheer pins), Ransom fertilized (played with poison), Jesse watered (drowned the seeds), and Kaden planted and hoed (he actually really did plant and hoe). And I ran around like a crazy lady, racing against the setting sun, trying to get it all in the ground so that Lew could have his tiller back in the morning. It could be interesting.

We planted two types of potatoes, peas - both sugar snap and climbers, beets, carrots, basil, cilantro, three different types of lettuce, cukes, and four rows of corn. The majority is in. I still need to put in a row of beans, some zucchini, squash, and punkins, and my usual stash of tomatoes and peppers. This year, I have changed my motto from "go big or go home" to "Get 'er done...and maybe let's not put so much in that we can't even walk because it's such a jungle down there." So, the rows all have an extra foot between them causing me to lose a bit of planting space, but hopefully giving me a bit of sanity when the boys try to maneuver around everything when it all comes in all big and bushy... That is IF it all even comes in....And as I stepped back and looked at my handiwork, I once again realized that while I could never manage to sew a straight line OR even draw one for that matter...neither am I able to plant a straight row of anything either. It is what it is. (Another new motto of mine).

I am starting to learn what we use more of throughout the year now, what pickles and relishes we really love and what ones we don't so much, and what veggies as a family are real staples for us. I am not planting nearly as much squash because Kaden hates it. We will still have some, but maybe not so much that he has to eat it for every supper of his life throughout the winter! I still have yet to master my spaghetti sauce, and we love love LOVE homemade tomato soup, so I still want boatloads of tomatoes. I have a ton of zucchini relish left, so I probably won't make any this year. Instead, I want to try my hand at pickled beets. The boys specifically requested more carrots and peas, because those are the things that they like to go down and snack on during the day. And I love to share, so hopefully enough of everything will grow that we can give plenty to friends and family.

And did you know - so says Lew - that if at all possible you should rotate where you plant your things each year? Ideally, seven years should go by before you plant the same thing in your rows. Also, potatoes and tomatoes both can carry blight, so it's good if you don't plant those things where you planted them previously. And squash can carry some type of funky worm, so it's good to pull those plants up once they die rather than to just till them back into the ground. AND your seed is good for several years in a row, so if you have some left over from last year, it's still totally good to use. I knew none of these things.

So, there we have it. Most of the garden is in -- such as it is. Man may plant, but God gives the increase, right? It may just take a miracle for things to grow out there, but all kudos will go to Him if it does. Now we wait, and we pray, and we watch Him do what He does best....