It's Halloween time again! I'm trying something new this year! Silver Faceless Aliens! They are human height and shape and creep everyone out! I instantly had the idea after looking at this mask. So much fun! Like all of my projects: it's super cheap and has a big impact. I'm making four. Here are the … Continue reading Silver Faceless Aliens
I went to a fair that offered job advice, help with nutrition and health, free haircuts (by cosmetology students...that was interesting!), scalp massages and this: the microwavable rice sock. Oh, have I enjoyed making (and using) these! This is really a simple project and after being out in the yard raking, digging, weeding etc: I … Continue reading Solution For Sore Shoulders: Microwavable Rice Sock
I'm always looking for new ways to use my garden. After years of growing sweet potatoes I came across a recipe that called for the leaves. Sweet potato leaves are edible? Yes. Yes, they are.The sweet potatoes slips I got this year were supposed to be a bush variety. While they haven't thrown vines out … Continue reading The Greatest Green You’ve Never Eaten: Sweet Potato Leaves
One of my favorite plants to grow down here is hibiscus. It is truly a beautiful plant and the flowers are breathtaking. I am not the only one who appreciates hibiscus. We frequently have hummingbirds in the garden sipping hibiscus nectar. My favorite part about the plant though, is that it's edible. Hibiscus is high … Continue reading Ever Had Spiced Hibiscus Flower Tea?
I do a lot of research before I try new things. There are two ideas floating around right now that I really liked. One is Hugelkultur. The idea is basically a huge, permanent, water retaining, slow composting hill. This is a great site about it: http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/ Down here, anything that saves water is welcome. The … Continue reading Hugelkultur, Keyhole Gardens: Bridging Ideas
While we were in Colorado there was a trend to rip out anything that was growing and replace it with a gravel landscape. Every time I saw someone ripping out their grass to do this: I wanted to throttle them. Here is why: rock is not low maintenance. I understand those who don't garden are … Continue reading Please Don’t Rock Your Yard!
I usually grow my vining melons on a trellis. Trellising makes them easy to care for and the plants themselves are healthier. Getting melon vines off the ground keeps the powdery mildew under control and I can easily spray the leaves when the inevitable aphid explosion comes. Since I like to research things, and I'm … Continue reading Melon Trellising
In Texas we're in our miserable part of summer. Our heat index is fluctuating between 101 and 103 degrees Fahrenheit. It's nasty in the high heat part of the day. It's also still in the high 80s at midnight and later. It's too hot for a lot of things, (like tomatoes) so we're getting through … Continue reading Summer Fun In The Garden
Hidden uses of your spring garden!
I have seen this idea around for a while and it seemed easy enough to do. I decided I'd try building one and I finished it in an hour or so. This is what I think of them: it's a lot of work and not a good project for someone with a bad back.There are … Continue reading So, I Made A Potato Tower
Sweet potatoes, beet roots (These are chiogga beets. White, yellow or striped beets have a milder flavor than solid red beets), beet greens and spring onions This is my recipe for using up spring veggies before the heat of summer ends their season. I grew all the veggies except the sweet potatoes (which are not … Continue reading Moroccan Sweet Potato Fritters with Ras El Hanout Yogurt Sauce
This is a great time of year to plan and build raised beds. This is how I built my raised beds and I have given them no supplemental watering in the last two years of San Antonio heat. I've had bumper crops with almost no input outside of planting and occasional weeding! This has been … Continue reading Mother’s Day Raised Hugelkultur Bed!
Last night we had one of only a handful of freezes for the year. February is our spring down here in Southern Texas. It's time to put my corn in (we have two seasons for sweetcorn down here!) and I seeded the other bed with spring veggies about a week ago. One of my favorite … Continue reading Watering With Soaker Hoses
I love using milk jugs! My kids drink a lot of milk and we always have empty gallon milk containers. These are always useful in my garden! I use them to harden off transplants and in this blog entry: to keep tender plants (like tomatoes) outside, where they're warm and have plenty of light, while … Continue reading Quick Mini Greenhouses From Milk Jugs
This is an old recipe for me. I stumbled onto the base of this recipe back when my kids were infants and only my husband and I were eating "real food" for dinner, it was always a romantic table for two! I love healthy food and I love this recipe. I've adjusted it to feed … Continue reading Swiss Chard With Pasta And Feta
I love growing exotic fruit. With some of them: I'm totally flying blind until I get to taste the first harvest, which can take years, and if I don't like it I've wasted time and space on it. (I'm looking at you astringent persimmon: with the texture of snot and a taste like pumpkin after … Continue reading Growing Pomegranates
It's Halloween time again! I'm trying something new this year! Silver Faceless Aliens! They are human height and shape and creep everyone out! I instantly had the idea after looking at this mask. So much fun! Like all of my projects: it's super cheap and has a big impact. I'm making four. Here are the … Continue reading Silver Faceless Aliens
The things I grow in summer are things that I don't have to baby. Today our "feel like" temperature was 103 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not interested in doing manual labor in that sort of heat (Although, I did. I was out in that heat for about an hour and a half yesterday weeding and pulling … Continue reading Low Maintenance, Highly Productive, Annual, Summer Vegetables.
You can spend a lot on garden products like trellises: but you don't have to. Trellising vining plants improves air circulation by getting them off of the ground and letting them grow vertically. Most vining plants suffer from powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that can quickly defoliate and kill your plants. I … Continue reading Simple, Inexpensive Vine Support
This is a great time of year to plan and build raised beds. This is how I built my raised beds and I have given them no supplemental watering in the last two years of San Antonio heat. I've had bumper crops with almost no input outside of planting and occasional weeding! This has been … Continue reading Mother’s Day Raised Hugelkultur Bed!
Crazy Green Thumbs 
