Outside Today

Autumn ADORES her sandbox. She would happily spend 24 hours a day in it if I would let her.

First of the Day Lilies to bloom.

A couple raised beds. I'm not sure why one of them is so much more productive than the other one. Since they're basically the same. I think the second one must just need more compost.

Frugal Gardening - Starting Seeds - Part 1

Disclaimer: I'm sure there are just as many ways of doing this as there are gardeners, but this is how I do it. I am by no means an expert, just someone who likes to garden. This is the process that works for me. For more information, I highly recommend you visit WinterSown. You can learn all about winter sowing as well as get free seeds to use in your own winter sowing efforts.

Supplies Needed:

• milk jugs (or cartons, or tall foam cups, or any other container you can re-use that will hold at least 3" of soil, plus plants)
• good quality potting soil (go ahead and buy the good stuff, you'll save enough everywhere else)
• heavy duty kitchen shears or a utility knife
• duct tape
• plant markers (optional) and a marker
• seeds
  

First I gather a lot of milk jugs and other containers. I don't like having these sit around all year, so I just ask friends and family to save them for me for about the month before I plant. I always end up with enough. Make sure these are SUPER CLEAN. I wash them out beforehand and then after cutting them to make sure they're really clean.


Start by cutting slits in the bottom of the container for drainage.


Then, pinch the corner of the jug that is opposite of the handle about halfway up the jug. Snip with your shears.


From the snipped point, cut around the jug, leaving the handle section intact.


Fill with at least three inches of good quality potting soil. Soil should be moist before you put it in the containers. Not dripping wet, but damp.


Next plant your seeds in the dirt according the the package directions. I plant a lot more than the package calls for, and then divide them when I transplant. But how you do this is really up to you.

Gardening Update - Part 5 - Finished...sort of

Had to snap a picture of one of the magnolia blossoms in the big tree out front. They're so gorgeous right now.

This is the big bed along the carport I put in two year ago. When I put it in there was a total of three canna plants. There are at least 60 now. Nothing has stopped this bed. I pretty much neglected it since putting it in since we have had drought watering restrictions, but it doesn't mind at all. Everything in it has thrived. Too much in fact, all the bulbs in here really need to be divided.

Roses are taller than the roof of the carport now.

Oregano has turned into a huge plant as well. No matter how much I use I can't keep up.

Gardening Update - Part 4 - New Plantings

These all look a little sad right now, as they're waiting to get established, but this is where the bulk of the work has been over the last few weeks. I've completely dug up these beds by hand and amended the soil and taken out all the old stuff and replanted. It has been incredibly hard intense work, but I'm hoping it will pay off by next year. We've already had butterlfies, bees, and a hummingbird visiting the new plantings. :-)

Gardening Update - Part 3

Autumn loves helping me plant, especially when it means she gets to play in the sprinkler in between. Her attention span only lasts a few minutes on any task, but she still loves playing in the dirt. Today we were adding mulch to the little beds I put in around the trees a couple years ago. We also planted some annuals in after mulching, but I don't think those made it into the pics.

Gardening Update - Veggies Part 2

This is the third raised bed I put in this year. This one obviously made of cinder blocks. Two more cages of tomatoes, more zucchini, more eggplant, a few sunflowers, a few carrots, LOTS of garlic, a big bunch of tarragon (thanks Michelle!)

There is also a large section of the garden not pictured that has blueberries and lots of random squash/pumpkins/vines growing.

Gardening Update - Veggies Part 1

It's been taking just about every moment of my time lately, so I thought I would add some updated pics.

Please ignore the weeds and stuff. I'm in the process of adding more boxes/newspaper/leaves to the areas between the beds to keep the grass and weeds down, so that's what all the messy stuff is that you see in the pics.

First, this is the strawberry/herb bed. LOTS of strawberries, but we have yet to get one to eat. The squirrels have gotten them all before us. See how big the rosemary has gotten? We use it frequently, but can't keep up. This was a baby plant three years ago.



The first raised bed I put in this year. Made out of old yard timbers we pulled from a neighbors' trash pile. Five types of heirloom tomatoes (started from free seed in stryrofoam cups using the winter sow method), Zucchini, a bunch of herbs, bell peppers, chard. The tomatoes are really getting big and I think just about all have baby tomatoes on them. The cages I use are 5 1/2 feet to 6 feet high and are homemade out of concrete reinforcing mesh.



Second raised bed I put in this year, also made from old yard timbers. four more cages of tomatoes, hot peppers (we used a lot), eggplant (a bunch), okra, a little baby basil. And a bag of grounds from Starbucks waiting to be added in. :-)

The other side of the same bed above. You can see some of the buckets I made into planters to hold overflow items. Mostly basil. Autumn also has a bucket with collards growing in it. The board across the bed is so I can get to the middle without stepping on stuff.

Getting there....

This has been one of my major projects lately. And I won't lie. It's been backbreaking. The monkey grass is nearly impossible to divide and all those little trees you see? Many of them had root systems three feet long! It was a lot bigger project than I was counting on, but it looks so much better, even without being planted yet.

After digging up all of it by hand, I added around four inches of composted wood shavings/manure over shredded paper and a little kitchen compost.

Before:


After:
The monkey grass looks a little raggedy here, but it will come back really fast and really full, like it always does.

Salsa Recipe (Courtesy of Michelle)

So...I gathered a few handfuls of fresh spinach, lettuce, and cilantro from the garden to go along with the quesadillas I was making for supper. There is something that just makes me happy about using fresh produce right from the garden! :-)

I also made some salsa using a recipe from my friend Michelle. I LOVE this salsa--something about the cilantro and lime makes it taste so fresh and summery. Instead of the tomatoes, chiles, and jalepeno, I used a can of Rotel (I have a ton of it from a Kroger deal a while back). I also added extra garlic and onion, because we really like both of those. :-)

Salsa

1 14 oz. can whole tomatoes

1 4oz can whole green chiles – diced ok if whole not available

1 clove garlic

½ jalepeno

juice of ½ lime

1 handful cilantro

salt to taste

1 teaspoon finely chopped white onion

Toss all ingredients (except onion) in blender. Pulse to desired consistency, and then add finely chopped onion. Serve with favorite tortilla chips