Comparison of Georgia Home Garden 2.0 vs 1.0

Please visit and like my new facebook page Georgia Home Garden.

Things are still pretty busy for me these days as I have so many projects that I want to get done and only so much time.  Earlier this week I wanted to research how my yard looked at the new house from a historical perspective.  Google Earth is an awesome free program that allows you to get close up aerial shots of anywhere on Earth.  It has all sorts of bells and whistles and is really neat.

The images below are from February 2011, which coincidentally is when Georgia Home Garden 1.0 was being constructed.  In the image below you can see the pavers outlining the garden area and only three 4x8 beds. I must have still been working on the other three.  My lot was .20 of an acre, it was really a good size looking back on it.  Big enough yet very manageable.  The house was directly North facing which made for a South facing backyard, perfect for a garden.  Scroll down for the new garden.

This is an aerial shot of the new house and future home of Georgia Home Garden 2.0.  As you can see I am now on a corner lot.  The house is East facing, but I have two potential spots for a new garden.  The first area is on the North East side of the house.  This area gets a good deal of Sun and only gets shade from the house that grows larger toward the afternoons.  It is a good sized area for at least three 4x8 beds, maybe more.  This area of my yard is a train wreck right now and it is going to take a lot of work to get it ready, more on that in another post.  The second potential spot is this huge side yard to the left of my driveway that is South facing.  There is a ton of room to do whatever I want.  The only problem is this area isn't fenced and could present a problem.  Ideally I would like to bump that fence out to about 15 feet off the road and capture more area in my backyard.  This lot is double the size of my old lot at .40 of an acre.  That didn't sound like a lot to me until I had to cut the grass a few times with a walk behind mower.  Well that is all for now, there will be more posts in the future as I am working every day on landscaping projects, planting trees, getting garden area prepped, etc.  I hope to share some of these as  they progress.

Georgia Home Garden 1.0 Under Contract

Please visit and like my new facebook page Georgia Home Garden.

There are times in my life where I am just speechless. I have learned that many of the "coincidences" of life aren't really those at all, they are God speaking to me.  So we have had Georgia Home Garden 1.0 on the market for about two months, we have had several lookers and even two offers.  They were both low ball offers and in earnest we tried to work with the buyers but to no avail they all fell through.

I have been praying for guidance from God to guide me in knowing what to do and praying that our house will sell.  During this same time, we have not been going to church regularly like we normally do and I haven't been studying His word.  Of course I always had a good reason:  we are too busy right now, too tired, we will watch the service on TV, we will start back after we get settled, etc.

Well yesterday we went back after being away for a few weeks and people asked about our house in Sunday school and if we had any offers, offered prayer and support, etc.  So yesterday afternoon, I was thinking about how I have been neglecting my relationship with God and my blog and that is when I decided to post about my new house yesterday.

Today we got another offer on Georgia Home Garden 1.0 from someone that looked at the house yesterday.  It was a much better initial offer, we countered with some small changes, and we are officially under contract.  Our closing date is end of October if everything works out.

I thought about how I have been praying and hoping, yet while at the same time neglecting my relationship with God.  It is no coincidence that this all happened the day after my actions reflected my prayers.  Today, I felt God speaking to me, "Why were you so worried.  All you had to do is trust me and continue to actively have a relationship with me.  Why were you so stressed all those nights praying for this  when in the grand scheme of things doesn't even matter.  You have your health, your wife and kids, you have everything you need, and yet you worry about something like this?"

His words rang in my head loud and clear today.  Now I am not suggesting that just going to church is an instant ticket to getting your prayers answered, far from it.  However, in this particular situation in my life, this was clearly not a coincidence.  I am reminded of this scripture verse that I have heard frequently over the last few years.  I am also reminded that things don't happen on my timeline, but on His.  

Jeremiah 29 : 11-13
¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Saying Goodbye...So Long to my Georgia Home Garden

Please visit and like my new facebook page Georgia Home Garden.

I haven't posted much since mid July and I have been rather silent about what is going on in my life.  I thought about the last few months today and I am ready to share what is happening.  I have some good news and some bad news.

The bad news first...
I am saying goodbye to my Georgia Home Garden and my blog for a short while.  We have purchased a new house and that is what has been taking up my time.  My wife always joked that we would never move and that I would die in our house.  We have lived there since 2001, almost 12 years, and it is true that I have touched every square inch of it.  I have completely remodeled it,  and I know every nook and cranny of that little ranch.  Both of my children came home to that house and I that is where I discovered my passion for gardening.  I was 23 when I bought that house and now I am turning 35 in just a few short weeks.  It is absolutely amazing what you can accomplish and what can change in 12 years.  I never imagined that I would move anytime soon, but once the second baby came in April in combination with record low interest rates, I knew if I was ever going to move now was the time.  The funny thing is almost every single person that we told we were moving, the first thing they would say, "OH NO, What about your garden!?!"  I would just smile and say, "I know, I know."  It seems like right as we put the finishing touches on the house before the baby came, now we are leaving it.  That is life.

Now the good news...
While I am saying goodbye to my original Georgia Home Garden, I am proud to announce that there will be a Georgia Home Garden 2.0.  Our new house is wonderful, my yard is almost twice the size of my old house.  It is .40 of an acre, and it is a corner lot so I have lots of room.  The previous owner really took care of it and the landscaping is decent.  My mind is running wild with all the landscaping projects, trees to be planted, gardens to build, and on and on and on.  It will take me years to implement my vision for this new house.  I can't wait to start sharing this new chapter in my gardening life as it unfolds.

For the future...
We still own Georgia Home Garden 1.0, and we hope it will sell soon.  The garden is still there and I go by there most days to check on things and to pick whatever is ready.  I have tried to maintain it, but I only have so much time and it is looking rough these days.  I won't be posting frequently, but once we get the old house sold you better get ready because I have a lot of plans to blog about.  I know this post was long winded, but I wanted to share with my gardening bloggers. 

Zipper Cream Pea Harvest

Please visit and like my new facebook page Georgia Home Garden.

It has been a few weeks since my last post, and someone recently posted a comment asking about my zipper cream peas and where I got my seeds.  This prompted me to try and squeeze in a short post about my success with them this year.

I planted two varieties of field peas this year; pinkeye purple hulls and zipper cream peas.  The purple hulls were a complete bust, but the zipper creams produced very well.  I picked the last of them just yesterday and pulled all the vines.  The total haul was over 27 pounds for the year!  The taste of zipper creams are ok, not as good as white acres in my opinion.  However, what they lack in flavor, they make up for in size.  The peas are huge and it is easy to shell a quick batch for dinner.  Overall I am quite impressed with the output of this variety and will consider them again next year.

I didn't always take pictures after picking, but here are a few I did take.