Mr. McCuistion and I kicked off our first garden about a month ago with a few friends over to help us plant. Since then, it’s been a real joy to experience everything a garden has to teach us. So far, nothing has been terribly difficult as long as we pay attention to the garden on a regular basis. The hardest part was most definitely the ground preparation and everything that lead up to the planting. I give Mr. McCuistion and our good friend Mr. Nick Carter all the credit on that. The fun part is watching things grow, and learning how to protect our little green friends.

The first real challenge after I learned to distinguish the difference between a weed and an actual growing plant looks like were the pigeons that wanted to eat the new sprouts that were just budding out of the ground, and I believe one of those beasts got our very first strawberry that was ripening. We resolved that by buying a net that I now have to remove once a week to maintain the garden.

Almost immediately after we wrestled with winged beasts, I began noticing dozens and dozens of mushrooms popping up all over the garden. I expected weeds, but this? I tried picking them all, but they sprung up again over the next two days. I called the nursery, however, and they advised me not to panic. Pushing them right into the ground and watering the garden a little less for awhile will cut down on mushrooms, and they will not hurt the veggies. Another garden problem solved!