The Princess and the Pea (and the tomatos, peppers, carrots....)

This week (on the farmstead), my girly girls have decided that fashion and farming can go together. They have taught me that one should not feel obligated to wear denimn, flannel, and plain old cotton while working the fields. On this farmstead, there are pink leotards, flowing nightgowns, flowered hairbows, and shoes that sparkle in the sunlight.

Notice that my girl has two left feet?

That pretty much sums up how I feel about my gardening knowledge. When it comes to growing things, I have "two left feet." The other day, my parents visited, and I proudly took them on a tour of the farmstead. My dad immediately asked why I didn't "mount" my potatoes.

I smiled and said, "Dad, I am most definitely not the kind of girl to mount her potatoes," to which he shook his head and replied, "Mound...I said mound your potatoes!" Ha! Who knew you had to mound your potatoes? Obviously not this "farmer."

But we did get our tomatoes tied up... (is it tomato or tomatoe?)

And my Kater decided to work her magic in the garden by kissing her hand and rubbing some "love" on each plant. And so, while I did not "mount" my potatoes, Kate has spread a little love around!

In more important farming news, we had our first harvest this week...five, perfectly red strawberries (which were even more delicious than the ones we picked on the real farmstead two weeks ago), our broccoli seeds have sprouted, we have a few bean plants coming up, and thanks to the Farrmer Mom's post last week, I now know the difference between onion and carrot sprouts! I may be a gardening expert before the end of the summer!

On a sour note...I am a little upset that (despite my menacing looks, loud clapping, and crazy bird chasing), the Robins are still eating my sunflower plants. My husband just found some netting, which I'm hoping will save the last six plants. If not, I may just move my bed out there and stand watch all night until the little plantlings can fend for themselves!

I know I sound sarcastic, but I am truly excited about this gardening experiment! I love it! If you don't have a garden, it's not too late. Seriously, just get yourself a little pot, plop a tomato or pepper plant in there, give it a little love (no mounting necessary), water frequently, and call yourself a farmer. You'll feel so proud and your kids will LOVE it!
And at the end of the summer, we can all dress in our finest farming attire and take a bow!

Don't forget to check out all the fun gardening posts this week on the Inadvertent Farmer's KinderGarden post!