Garden Notes (and, ummm, two more bunnies.)

I got the idea about posting garden notes from the blog Small Things.  I don't exactly know how to link, though.  The kids and I had a great morning planting super-size pumpkins.  I think I may have rhapsodized a bit already about Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy.  It's the best gardening with kids book ever--in it, there are different ideas for theme gardens--like a moonlit garden, a sunflower house, and a garden of giants.  Although I can't totally make any of them, the kids both thought growing the enormous pumpkins would be pretty fun, so that's what we did.  The seed packet said that the pumpkins could reach 300 pounds...not sure how we will manage that, but we will cross that bridge later.  I don't think they will be edible, but it will be fun.  Elsa wants to have one be a "milk-fed pumpkin."  (Remember from Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder?)  I am going to have to figure that one out...but I will work on it, maybe with Elsa.  Anyway, I dug the hills.  Last fall, I dumped a whole mess of half rotted compost and also just raked the leaves on David's section of the garden and so there were a huge amount of earthworms, which of course, both children were completely enamored by.  Elsa and I also have the same instinct in terms of soil amendment--we spend a lot of time mixing up the clay with compost and loosening it up.  Elsa planted one seed--clucking to it about how she was putting it into its nice, comfy bed so it could grow strong.  I really, really, really hope it works.

So, the garden is almost all planted.  I have 26 tomato plants I think...which, I am owning, is totally excessive.  I also bought a few watermelon starts--even though I seem to be completely unable to identify a ripe watermelon, and we have yet to enjoy a watermelon from our garden.  I planted some more lettuce in between them, so when our other little patch gets bitter, we will have new baby greens.  The peas are producing, despite the fact that I never did manage to adequately stake them.  It's fun for the kids to pick them.  It won't be a great harvest-I didn't get them in early enough, and I think the soil where they are is terribly acidic, owing to many, many acorns that fell there.    I also have Brussels sprouts growing-I have never grown those before, but should be fun, sweet potatoes, kale (of course), arugula (just for me to munch on in the garden-no one else cares for it, but it gives me a nice boost), summer squash and zucchini, butternut squashes, basil and other herbs, and more flowers than usual.  I still have to plant the beans--I am just going to do bush beans, and maybe plant some runner beans on David's teepee.  Elsa's garden is finally blooming, which makes her much more interested in it.  Perennial flowers are the way to go for small children's flower gardens. 

Oh, and we finally drove out to Burnsville to get one more angora bunny, and yes, you guessed it, returned back with two little white girl bunny sisters.  They aren't able to go in with Jerry yet (Jerry has to be fixed because I do not want bunny babies--I may have bitten off more than I can chew already, but I do have some limits), and I hated the thought of them being separated.  They are incredibly sweet and affectionate, much more used to being handled than Jerry.  They are English Angoras,so they have fuzzy little ears.  I am actually going to save a post about our whole adventure later.  With pictures even.  That's all.