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
This tutorial shows you how to make the best looking pool noodle lollipops out there. Don't mess with the dollar store noodles. I decided to add some Christmas tutorials for my decorations outside. I'm creating a candy background for some characters from the Nutcracker Ballet. My first task was making some candy. I decided on … Continue reading Big Beefy Pool Noodle Lollipop Decorations
There are still wonderful people out there! This is a YouTube channel I follow. The guy drives around his city and finds areas that need attention. He's cleaned up sidewalks for kids, to be able to walk home from the bus safely. He cleans up abandoned properties to bless the community and make it safer. … Continue reading A Man With A Great Heart
OK, I know that anyone who has made sourdough will argue with me that there is no "easy" sourdough. But trust me here for a minute, and let me demystify some things begginers struggle with. Sourdough can be easy, it just takes time. Picture of two starters. I usually have two going because I make … Continue reading Easy Sourdough bread
We still have a couple of weeks until we freeze for the year. Most of my plants are shutting down. A few completely tropical plants are starting to fruit. I will be repotting some of the smaller plants into a single pot and bringing others indoors as is. My son's lemon tree is about ready … Continue reading Happenings In The November Garden
So, I ordered some fruit bags, from Amazon, for my bananas. They are lined on one side with cotton to trap the ethelene gas (ethelene gas helps make fruit ripen quickly.) The cotton also helps with humidity and shades the fruit from the sun. They have holes in them, so the fruit can breathe. They … Continue reading Protecting The ‘Naners
I was out watering today and found these! YES! God bless short cycle bananas! The Kokopo is the 6' one on the left of the giant bananas. I love my bananas. Even the ones I haven't gotten fruit from. So pretty! Finally! After years of growing and tending these monsters I got some fruit! This … Continue reading Ba-Ba-Ba Bananas!
My whole yard is spiderwebs! This is 6 panels of beef netting. It's a lot of work to cut all the holes and make it look right. This year I backed off of our usual display. My son and I have been having medical issues since August. A few days ago, my husband tried to … Continue reading Spiderwebs
Happy Halloween! 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 supplies you'll need: 59 inch silver … Continue reading Silver Faceless Aliens
These are striped cushaw squash. These are a Texas staple. They are vine borer resistant and have a great flavor. These look like giant summer squash, but no. They are definitely winter squash. I had another large one that was super rotten. It's out in the yard. I'm going to let it plant itself for … Continue reading Today’s Harvest
I spend a lot on my garden. City water is the biggest thing I pay for, followed closely by plants. I could spend a heck of a lot more, but I'm a dumpster diver at heart. The other day I was coming home, from dropping my youngest at school, and I saw this sink in … Continue reading Trash To Treasure
Crazy Green Thumbs 