Unplug Your Kids: Garden

I wasn't planning on doing the unplugged challenge this week since we've just returned from vacation (Tuesday night), and I'm still trying to get back into our routine. Then I saw that the theme is garden, and that's just so easy that I couldn't pass it up. We just did our normal thing, so I guess that's really cheating :)
Checking the garden this morning. Can you believe our squash plant? That's just 1 plant!
We picked 4 squash and one cucumber this morning. There are about 6 more squash that will be ready this afternoon or in the morning, and I forgot to check the bell pepper and banana pepper plants. We'll have to go work in the garden and check on the container garden on the deck when O wakes up from her nap.

Releasing Ladybugs

We released about 400 ladybugs onto our tomato plants tonight in the hopes that they will eat all of the aphids. We are crossing our fingers that this works because our tomato plants look great, but they are COVERED in aphids. I've sprayed them with soap and water, but it doesn't really seem to help. Thanks, Guh-guh, for sharing your ladybugs!

Picking Peaches

O was so excited that she got to help G & G pick their peaches today. We had to pick LOTS of them because the birds are starting to eat them. They aren't ripe yet, but we can't wait to eat yummy organic homegrown peaches!

Picking Tomatoes

O LOVES to pick the grape tomatoes. I had to remind her to pick only the red tomatoes, and she picks them if they are just slightly red. She also loves to water the plants with her "wawa can," which is actually a recycled plastic bottle that she and my mom decorated. Our tomato plants that are in the earthbox are now about 7 feet tall. They outgrown the tomato stakes, so they are leaning badly at the top. Hopefully, they won't fall over!

Working in the Garden

O and I worked in the garden this morning. She was excited to use her new gardening tools, so she was just "ike mama." I can't believe how much our squash, tomato, and pepper plants have grown this week!

Check Out Our Grape Tomato Plants!

We can't believe how tall our grape tomatoes plants have grown! I'm not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but these plants are taller than Elliott (and he's 5'11"). They are COVERED with green tomatoes that we can't wait to eat! They are planted in an earth box (thanks, G & G!), and they are about 2 feet taller than our traditionally planted tomatoes. We're definitely planting EVERYTHING in earth boxes next year! O loves to help pour the water in the earth box spout.


O and Ell love to bounce on the joggling board on our deck. I think this may be my new favorite picture of the 2 of them!

Picking Strawberries

O was thrilled to pick strawberries last night from our deck container garden. Grandaddy Harry helped her and showed her what to do. We are excited to have these yummy, organic strawberries that we've grown ourselves. O shared a few and gobbled up the rest! Thanks, Guh-guh!

Planting Seeds

After we finished making our terrarium, O and I planted seeds in our egg carton. We got the idea from here. Hopefully, we'll have some tiny basil and lavender sprouts in a few weeks!

O's Terrarium

1st we spooned the rocks into the bottom of the jar. Then we added a layer of ground charcoal. Next we added a layer of spaghum moss (sp).
The next step involves putting a layer of soil into the jar. We put to much! Oops!
O lost interest after we finished putting in the soil. She went to rearrange the herbs in our herb garden while I put the plants in the jar. Unfortunately, one of our plants was too tall :( She came back to help when it was time to water the plants. She was a little overenthusiastic, and the plants may die due to overwatering!
Here is our finished terrarium. O really liked putting the rocks, stick, and animals in the jar. Do you see the gorrilla hiding in the leaves and the lizard peeking out from under the log?

Terrarium Trays

I can't wait for O to wake up. We went shopping after storytime this morning and got everything we need to make a terrarium. I just finished setting up the trays, and we'll get to work after she wakes up from her nap. I'm very excited, and I think O will be excited, too.

Gardening with Guh-guh (aka Duggie)

My mom (Guh-guh, Duggie) keeps O on Thursdays and when we are lucky she stays for the day on Fridays. Today she's sewn O shirts for O and helps us with our container gardening on the deck. She brought 6 Rosemary plants that she and O planted. O loved watering the plants! I think she might be a little gardener! We can't wait until Guh-guh brings us the grape tomato plants she and Grandpa bought us for Easter (they kept them for a while, so we wouldn't accidentally kill them).