Making Progress….

I’ve got a large pile of dirt outside my kitchen window.

But, we are making progress on our new vegetable garden.  Today, we amended the existing soil with equal amounts of compost and aged steer manure.  Then added bone and blood meal, which are natural sources of phosphorus and nitrogen.

Here are pictures of what we did today.  (Not super exciting, but we are getting there).

(If you’re looking for some new tools for gardening click here).

Four of my favorite things….my husband, daughter, dogs Missy & Tobey and compost!

Sprinkling bone meal (Beware of dogs digging afterward – they love the smell of bone and blood meal).

Everyone joins into to mix the compost, manure, bone and blood meal with the existing soil.

Isn’t it interesting how fresh dirt attracts both dogs and little boys?

ur next step is to put up the sides and fence.  Then we will rake the soil smooth and get the irrigation ready.

I can’t wait to plant seeds!

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I must admit that I didn’t do much of the work today in the vegetable garden.  I was busy preparing dinner for Sunday night, which is my daughter Ruthie’s 14th birthday party.  I made my special ‘Baked Spaghetti’ with onions, garlic, tomato sauce, sausage, green peppers, herbs and of course – spaghetti.

I had to make 3 batches to feed everyone.  Our extended family is coming over along with Ruthie’s friend.

I kept the kitchen window open so that I could watch their progress while I was cooking.  I don’t keep a screen on my kitchen window since I have a hummingbird feeder in front of the window and I like to take pictures without the screen in the way.

I did get a visit today from a female Anna’s hummingbird.  She was 3 feet away from me while I stood at the kitchen sink.  I am so thankful that she didn’t fly in the house.

I made an Angel Food Heath Bar dessert for the first time.  I got it out of an Amish cook book that I saw when we visited Amish country in Indiana last year.  It has angel food cake, caramel, whip cream and heath bar in it.  The kids had fun watching me make homemade caramel.  I had fun tasting it 😉

I’m so excited for this 3-day weekend.

How about you?

What are you doing this weekend?

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."