Gardening Update (and a bit on the house)

I'm really enjoying my garden these days, especially as things begin bearing fruit. There is something very satisfying about preparing dinner with veggies from your own back yard. We made some simple boxes with untreated boards and filled them with a trailer load of fill dirt. Too bad we are moving now, because that was a lot of work! I haven't quite decided if/how I am going to transfer all of my plants, but I'll do my best to keep them alive and productive. Meanwhile, I'll be tending the garden as well as I can. I've started using some organic pesticides, such as sluggo and some insect killer, which seems to have helped. Although, some little bugs (aphids?) are still getting at my broccoli and brussel sprouts. The slugs are completely gone now, so that makes me really happy!

Out front is the main garden:

In the pots are two tomato plants and my herbs.

The first box has chard, purple onions, and green onions.

The second box has carrots, beets, and 4 cucumber plants.

To the side of those boxes are 3 pots of lettuce and 3 pots of spinach.

In the second row, I planted two broccoli plants and two cauliflower plants.

Next to that are two jalapenos, two green peppers, chard, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, and cabbage.

On the bottom row is another tomato plant.

And next to that is my corn, some of which has been eaten by critters, but is looking quite a bit healthier now.

And next to the corn, I planted cantaloupe, strawberries, and yet another tomato plant.

The back yard plants are doing really well, too:

Here is my corner area with zucchini, pumpkin, kale, and (more) beets.

Along the fence are my fava beans, which are now taller than the fence with a good crop of beans maturing on them.

Here are my snap peas, which are also quite a bit taller and making nice little peas for us to munch on.

And lastly, the green beans, which are about twice this size now!

As for the house, closing is set to happen on the 15th, barring any complications with the appraisal. Lots of work is getting done on the house this week and next, so things are moving along nicely. We've decided to wait on finishing the basement so we can save our money and avoid paying interest on that project. We will, however, be hiring someone to help us paint the interior, mostly because I am not going to have the time to do it with all the packing, unpacking, and caring for 3 kiddos. As soon as everything is painted and cleaned, I'll be posting more pics. I'm really excited about our first home!