Gardening, gardening, gardening...

We had a gardening class at church today. 8:00 am is too early for anyone to function, but with lots of coffee and a strong will I met everyone at the Salt House to learn. Pepper Ashford, M.D. taught the class. He has beautiful raised beds in his lawn, which we went to after the class and that's where all the pictures came from. He taught us simple steps:

1. Find a place to garden
-Where does the sun rise and set? Any obstruction?
2. What kind of garden?
-Veggies? Fruits? Flowers? etc.
3. What kind of Soil?
-Clay soil? Sandy soil?
4. Do you have the right tools?
-rake, hoe, shovel, trowel, gloves, hose pipe, etc.
5. What are you going to grow?
6. Prepare the soil. Based on what you are going to grow you can figure out whether you need more calcium in your soil or more potassium or phosphorus. There are parts of your garden that need a low pH and parts that need a high pH. Tomatoes, being acidic, don't need soil to have a high pH. Stuff like that...I don't quite remember everything he said.
7. Till the soil, add your compost, fertilizer, sand, and till the soil.
8. Plant your seeds in rows, measuring for plant growth.
9. Weed plants regularly, inspect plants regularly. Deal with pests and bugs.
10. Harvest. Pick, freeze, can, etc, etc...


O.k. so maybe I forgot a lot already and maybe I remember some things wrong. It was so informative! But mostly, Dr. Pepper kept telling me to calm down (this was not a college course with a test at the end). It's a hobby that truly allows you to COMMUNE with the Living God in His fullness. I truly believe that Pepper knows what He is talking about, and I really want to commune with God in this way.

Father, please bless my thumb. Make it green. Amen!