by Bethany Gray | Jul 31, 2024 | Build It Up
Growing up we never had a garden so I kinda felt like I was “winging it” because I didn’t really have any gardening knowledge. I had no idea about fertilizer, soil types, or pest control.
Now I proudly look out at our 400 square feet of garden space and everything is green and healthy looking. Our yard isn’t flat, so that space is broken up into an in ground garden area, 2 raised beds, and 3 more garden “patches” for lack of a better term. My kids helped my mom and I plant almost everything and they are so excited now that it’s time to pick it all.
by Bethany Gray | Jul 30, 2024 | Build It Up
Our family has started this adventure as an opportunity for our oldest to grow his interest in and knowledge about gardening. The greatest thing is that we can do this together and learn together. He has really done a great job with caring for the garden, even the hard parts. We love having healthy food available and learning to be more self-sustaining with our food sources. It’s great to know where your food has come from! We have also been able to share and trade items with neighbors and friends which has extended our access to our favorite garden goodies since our foods are ripening at different times.
by Bethany Gray | Jul 29, 2024 | Build It Up, Newsroom
Just as Frankenstein was put together with many different parts, so was my garden. It was an everchanging project that evolved from one row of plants to now 10 rows of a variety of companion plants, a small corn field with a perimeter of pole beans and two sets of mounds for melons and squashes. There is a staging area for my tools and supplies and the garden is surrounded by some naturally grown flowering plants like clover and chicory to attract the pollinators. I have used mainly things on my farm like used stakes, old wooden produce boxes, tobacco sticks and some used landscape fabric to set up my garden. I did have to invest a little money in brand new landscape fabric, soaker hoses and organic pesticides to make gardening a little easier. In all, I have been very fortunate to keep my overhead costs down thanks to BIU and my knack for recycling and reusing resources to create my Frankengarden.
by Bethany Gray | Jul 29, 2024 | Build It Up
Gardening is incredibly important to me and my family. As a child, I loved having fruit trees in our house and have fond memories of picking fruits and flowers from my parents’ garden. I want to create similar memories for my kids. After moving to Tennessee last... by Bethany Gray | Jul 16, 2024 | Build It Up
The curiosity has extended with pest control–our oldest now prides himself on being able to identify ALL the stages of the bad bugs. He LOVED studying Adam’ Watson’s slides during a class. He’ll tell you all about the well known “garden bag guys,” but he was curious about a new caterpillar that was munching on our dill. We now have two swallowtail chrysalis that we are patiently waiting to see emerge. The dill was saved, and he has a fun science story to tell.
