Silver Bells and Cockle Shells

I've written posts in the past about the goals that Ian and I have set this year and last year to eat more fresh, local vegetables. One of the things we wanted to try to do this year was plant a garden. Unfortunately, without a yard this is very difficult. Some might say impossible. Last year we tried to plant some things on the deck- they fared so-so.
So when our friends moved into a house with a really huge yard and mentioned they wanted to plant a garden we shamelessly invited ourselves to do it with them. The fact that they said yes speaks volumes about their gracious, kind natures. They really should have told us to take a hike, but they were incredibly Christlike in their decision to share. Also, I hope it's not incorrect to say that they probably wouldn't have planted it we hadn't harrassed them with our eagerness, or at least they wouldn't have planted it for awhile. I ordered some worms, bought some bins, and we made a vermicompost pile a couple months before planting. We also got all the seeds weeks before planting. And we called in a favor to get the soil tested. Yes, our kind-hearted friends probably figured it was better to let us in on it and rescue ourselves from all that energetic enthusiasm that was bound to waste away on a couple sad little pots on the patio.
We weren't sure what to expect- last garden attempt was back in our old place and it didn't do so well. I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that pests ravaged, shredded, and annihilated it, despite our efforts to use good compost and lots of insecticide.
After a week or two

But this time around we used more and better manure, plus the worm tea, and there's been a lot of rain this season. It's grown fast and we've been enjoying kale, chard and bok choy that has been incredibly delicious (and we actually know what to do with it thanks to the farm box we've been getting). It's fun to see the kids getting into it to- I nicknamed them 'the hose team' because they were so excited to bring the hose around to the garden to help water it with the 'worm tea' a few weeks ago.
the hose team in action-


Baby Bok Choy stage:
We planted it mid-February and were eating yummy baby bok choy just a few weeks later. The first night we cooked it the kids downed it by the handful, I kid you not. I just couldn't believe it. We'll see if we can keep it going. It's hard to find time to get over there, and our friends are busy too so it's hard to find time to have us ove so we'll see what happens, but in the meantime I'm pretty grateful we've been able to give our kids a garden experience here in the middle of the city from our yardless apartment. It's also been great to get to know our amazing friends the Mammens better.