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!
Instructions on use. We're coming up on the last few weeks to get beneficial nematodes in before the summer heat. I buy nematodes every year. Sometimes I add them in fall, sometimes in spring. But no matter which season you choose, heat is your enemy. Full list of target insects and the variety of nematodes … Continue reading Don’t Wait To Get Rid Of Soil Borne Insects.
If you are my age (in my 50's), you might remember the music at the bottom of this post. It's music we don't hear anymore. But in the past: I always heard it at grandma's. I remember eating cereal in the morning at grandma's house. The radio would be on, first came the farm report: … Continue reading In The Garden
In the spring trees and bushes send out new growth. If you have grafted plants (a lot of fruit trees are like this. The roots belong to a different plant than the top. The top has the fruit you want.) In the spring: trees send out growth below graft unions. Roots prefer themselves, to what … Continue reading Watch Your Grafted Plants
Soil has been added to my vegetable beds. The bananas have been fertilized. Bird baths have been scrubbed. I added water crystals to the beds this year because the bags of composted manure have a ton of sand in them and water runs right out of the beds, without something to absorb it. Pvc marking … Continue reading Finishing The Vegetable Beds
How big my bananas got last year Last year I decided to try something new. I did not cut the bananas to the ground like I usually do. This has created some new experiences. I cut them lower but not at ground level. These look shorter than they are because there's straw stuffed everywhere. You … Continue reading Naners In The Spring
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 were not … Continue reading Moroccan Sweet Potato Fritters with Ras El Hanout Yogurt Sauce
At it again. My dough ball has never looked better. I have fun with this, and nothing tastes better than fresh bread! I have recently been following this lovely lady's instructions: https://youtu.be/Br9ezqYPyic?si=YgA9pLhA-NV1gqCI I'm definitely not this soft spoken, but I do enjoy her dough folding and shaping instructions. Meet you out in the garden with … Continue reading Sourdough Sighting
Winter is a wonderful time to read up on gardening literature. When your garden is fast asleep, it is the perfect time to make preparations for next year. Whether you are new to gardening or an old hand: this is the yearly time for reflection. What has worked for you? What have you struggled with? … Continue reading Winter: Garden Planning
So, I try out things I find online that are super affordable. Sometimes I'm happy, (like with clothes from temu... if you adjust for American sized women. A large is a 3x on there) and sometimes I'm super disappointed, (like with sale sparkly shoes from Betsey Johnson, that kill my feet.) I look up certain … Continue reading Would I Do It Again?
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 was my best year so far in the eleven years I've been blogging. I did well because I started posting daily. Usually I have a huge spike around Halloween because of my tutorials, but the aggregate site that caused all of the yearly spikes has fallen away as the main driver of views on … Continue reading How to Write A Successful Blog
I have a lot of tropical plants that wouldn't make it if I left them outside during our few freezes. I have all kinds of one year old plants in this single, twenty inch pot. (BTW I got this pot, and many more, in the trash my neighbors put out. Don't pass up free pots! … Continue reading Overwintering Plants Indoors/Year End Wrap Up
I love getting down to completely, unprocessed ingredients. The more whole foods, and the fewer the ingredients: the better. So when I heard about a very basic, flour-free: egg, nut and seed based bread: I wanted to try it! Sliced after baking It just looks delicious, and it didn't disappoint! I wondered what the texture … Continue reading Stone Age Bread
Colorado Christmas. My mom and my husband's family are in Colorado. Mom's cabin is Christmas-y all year long, but it's especially enjoyable during the holiday season. Fire in the fireplace. Relaxing on the sofa. The big pond is frozen. Ducks and chickens lay through winter with fresh greens and vegetables. Mackerel sky means that the … Continue reading A Perfect Christmas
Putting the banana bed to sleep for the winter. Leaf stalk falling. This electric pole saw was too small to get into the main trunk. The pole filled with water from the plant as it was sawing and the banana fibers completely clogged up the chain. Tried our new battery powered extension chainsaw and it … Continue reading Bye Bye Bananas.
My grandmother used to make cinnamon pickles out of watermelon rind. It was a dessert she proudly put on our plates. They were delicious and in memory of her, I now make them yearly for my extended family and my kids. Last year I also tried a vanilla pickle which was pretty gross. I'm not … Continue reading Just In Time For Christmas: Modern Cinnamon Pickles And Lemon Candy Pickles!
So now that we're past the #!$@:! Frigging pool noodle lollipops, I have some relaxing projects to round out a candy themed Christmas display. First are the super simple candy cane straws. You can make canes with a bunch of PVC elbows but I think those look way more like a PVC pipe creation rather … Continue reading Candy Cane Straws and Ice Cream Sundae Outdoor Decorations
Crazy Green Thumbs 