Time to Get the Garden Tilled!

We got out today and tilled the garden, and boy are we all pooped. I was so glad I'd put a roast in the crock pot this morning because meat & potatoes definitely hit the spot after a long day of working outside. (How did the old-timers used to do it?!)

We knew we wanted to till up a large portion of our side yard, and we knew it was compressed from being used as a drive-way and we knew we had a lot of rocks. So at least none of this was a surprise, but it was still a lot of work. So much so that we are not really done yet, but we did at least get the peas in the ground today.

Here are pictures of what we got accomplished:

My 12-year-old son got to try the tiller for the first time today! He did well!

The boys picking rocks while the Hubby tilled...

Taking my turn on the tiller... (my oldest is in the background looking for branches to cut from the edge of the pond for the pea trellises)

Pooped! Taking a break to admire my new Bogs. (More about these great boots in another blog!)

One of many wheel barrows we filled with rocks...

So thankful to have a hard-working and helpful Hubby...

Got this play yard at the consignment store last week - it is going to be great for the Spring & Summer ~ it will give our littlest one a safe place to be while we work in the garden!

Will the rocks never end?!?!

All the mystery items we found while tilling (the pile actually grew after this picture)...

My tee-pee style trellises for my sugar snap peas... (Not sure how to get the picture to rotate...)

My Hubby teaching my oldest how to tie a "trucker's hitch" knot...

The tent-style trellis my oldest designed and built for my shelling peas that I'll can or freeze.

Putting on the finishing touches... (You can see my failed chicken run on the right there ~ I'll be blogging about that fiasco next!)

So, all-in-all, it was a productive day, but we still have a lot of tilling to do on the edge of the pond and I need to get my garlic and onion starters in the ground soon. So happy to be started on our giant garden, though. I think we must have tilled at least 60 square yards, which is huge compared to that one little raised bed box you see above that we did last year. Here's to hoping for lots of successful crops to help us along on our adventurous goal of sustainable living!