This is the third part of a four part online course. It’s free and if you would like to know more go to the top of this page and click on the Gardening Basics tab. Or you can get the first and second parts of this course here: Beginning Gardener (part 1) and Beginning Gardener … Continue reading Beginning Gardener: Class 3-Walking You Through What You Need To Know
Learning to garden takes time. It's also helpful to have a seasoned gardener show you how to garden in your area. If you don't have someone on hand: you now have me! I may not live where you do (and it makes a huge difference if you are growing in a different area) but I … Continue reading Beginning Gardener: Class 2-Walking You Through What You Need To Know
Spring is on the way! It's time to brush up on your gardening skills and learn about new gardening ideas. This year I thought I'd get back to basics and start publishing pieces of my gardening advice from my page: Gardening Basics. For the novice gardener: read on and stay tuned! This is pretty much … Continue reading Beginner Gardener: Class 1 Walking You Through What You Need To Know
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
During the holiday season I reflect on the things I am grateful for. At the top of the list is my family, and more specifically: my two young sons. The following article is my love letter to my boys. I first published this in 2016 and I repost it every year. I still feel exactly … Continue reading A love letter to my boys
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
Crazy Green Thumbs 