Cold Crops Are In!

Last Sunday, it was very, very windy. BUT...it was warm and sunny. That's all we needed to stay outside all day long! When I say it was windy, know that I mean after weeding in the afternoon, I was literally removing dirt from my eyes and face and mulch from my hair. Still, it was worth it. The wind around here is no thing. It is a constant force of nature where we live! So after church and (what should've been) afternoon nap time, mom showed up with our plants. She brought cauliflower, brussel sprout and broccoli plants. Plus seeds for salad mix lettuce, spinach and squash. I may have missed something, but I think that was everything we planted. We also have asparagus plants but we're going to plant those in a raised bed, because they are perennials. We don't want to accidentally rototill them into the soil...an asparagus bed takes around three years to begin producing, so we want to protect those babies from ourselves.

The girls dug right in, using trowels from the $1 spot at Target. Just another reason I love that store! I'd planned to save them for their Easter baskets but these kids seriously wanted to help and they needed some tools! Last year's dinky plastic stuff just wasn't cutting it.

Hannah the napless got tired quickly and joined me on watering duty. Yes, she's wearing her pajamas and is barefoot. So what, right? That's a benefit of living out in the country...no nosy neighbors to pay attention to silly things like not getting dressed.

I wish this picture had captured it, but the wind was actually blowing the water, so I had to aim just to the side of the plant in order to hit it.

Last year was the first time we've grown these plants and they were fantastically easy to clean and freeze for the winter. I was so disappointed when the freezer stash was gone. So this year we tripled (or close to it) our plantings and hope to have a bountiful harvest.

And here's what we planted...we're off for another year of gardening!!

P.S. Mom planted right along with us, but she's not crazy about having her picture taken. I know I would've been in trouble if I posted a photo of her leaning over to plant something. And with my little buddy to carry, I didn't get many photo ops. Just know, she was here and helped out a bunch!