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
Here we go again! It's time for my Halloween tutorials! I'm always working on our Halloween display. This year I decided I needed jellyfish! I love spooky stuff but the creepy, gory, sicko type stuff just doesn't light my fire. However, glowing awesome jellyfish sounded way too cool to pass up! I got this idea … Continue reading Glowing Jellyfish: Outdoor Halloween
Both of my grandmother's had cast iron collections. These were things they either purchased in Kansas or are my family's heirlooms. My mom's family on a road trip to Washington DC. My granny on my mom's side married a jerk, (to say it mildly) after my grandpa died. He made her get rid of her … Continue reading How I Restored My Antique Iron: Two Methods
I am currently featured on one of Raintree Nursery's videos on YouTube. Laura and Raintree's Ambassadors have some excellent tips. You can see it here: https://youtu.be/qtfuw9u1_f8 For anyone interested in the hugelkulter bed I use in the video (my information starts at these three times 8:58, 20:26, 24:38 and are pretty quick) the instructions... and … Continue reading Hugelkulter High Density Fruit Tree Bed (Or Heather’s Humor Odyssey)
Hugelkultur The most expensive part of my garden is the city water that we're on. Our city water is piped in. The aquifer that our land is over does not have good water. We're near an air force base, started in the 1930's and I wonder if over the years, that aquifer has been polluted … Continue reading Watering In High Heat
I live in the South. Where I am: summer ends up getting really hot (above 100° Fahrenheit) with little to no rain for months at a time. In summer we get moisture that blows in from the Gulf of Mexico and that humidity (without rain) is a real problem. There are weeks where we don't … Continue reading Show Stopping, Southern Shrubs
One of my family's favorite summer foods are often called either "quick" or "refrigerator" pickles. These make the crunchiest pickles because they aren't cooked. I grow Armenian cucumbers, which are actually melons. They taste like cucumbers and they don't get bitter in our high heat like actual cucumbers do. So, I always have fresh additions … Continue reading Quick/Refrigerator Pickles
Summer is officially bearing down on us down here in South Texas. Boy, is it hot! If you garden: you sure don't want to do it in the middle of the day when it's over 100°F! However, all the things down here that I choose to plant will usually sail through the heat as long … Continue reading Summer Sun And The Fruits Of My Labor
This is the most reflective paint I've ever seen! I'm at it again! My mom came to visit me and it's been crazy! We cut down two trees with a chainsaw. It was the above ground growth on an incense bush and a pomegranate, that died back during our horrible freeze. My 20 year old … Continue reading Fine Paints of Europe: Dutch Door Kit
I have about a quarter acre of land. When we first moved in it was just grass, a gravel play area and one small oak tree. Fast forward eleven years and my yard is fully planted. There are fruit trees and bushes, flowers and habitat for birds etc. I grow almost all of my vegetables … Continue reading Achieving The Best Use Of Solar Energy In The Garden.
I just pulled 40 ears of corn out of one of my raised beds. There's still another 20 or so still ripening. I love late May! Nonastringent Persimmon I started working on my perennial food forest about eleven years ago. Gardening is my hobby, not my job, so those eleven years took time I might … Continue reading Food Forest
Cardboard and paper trash is a gardener's treasure! This is a Hugelkulter/Keyhole cross, garden bed. I have grown in beds of this design for close to 10 years and I love them! I can grow an endless amount of things in these beds. This is a banana in the background and okra up front. Overwintered … Continue reading Building The Perfect Raised Beds
It's summer and that means high temperatures and no rain for my part of Texas. Everything dries out. My hugelkulter beds still retain moisture but I do need to add water a couple of times a week to get peak health from my vegetables. One of my favorite ways to water my big hugelkulter beds … Continue reading Watering With Soaker Hoses
Four years ago today I finished this project and wrote this post on how to paint kitchen cabinets. I have to say that they are still one of the best home improvement projects I've done. Not simple. Not easy. But very worthwhile. The finish is just as nice as the day I rehung the cabinet … Continue reading I Painted My Kitchen Cabinets And I Love Them!
This Easter we went to our family's low country shrimp boil in San Antonio. I love the food every year! This year though, was a bit different. I discovered last year that I can't eat wheat. I've developed an allergy to it, and it's pretty serious. The wheat sensitivity, is way back from climbing up … Continue reading Best Damn Rainbow Fruit Skewers And Dip Out There!
I've got a seat saved for you! Come see what I'm doing in the garden! Right now I am finishing up the main chores I have left until our summer is in full swing. Our days are sure cool this year. It's not officially summer weather for us, for sure. It's very weird to be … Continue reading Pre-summer Checklist
My totals from 2021 back to when I started. I have been writing my blog crazygreenthumbs.com for 10 years now. I have had some great experiences with it, and at this point, in April 2023, I'm at a total of approximately 338,000 views. I have been published in a monthly magazine, I have an e-book … Continue reading How to Write A Successful Blog
"Soooo, what have you been up to, you crazy little gardener?" Well. Actually, I've been very, very busy. Busy, busy, busy. Mainly, because I don't know how not to be. I fill my free time with projects and experiments. Once I get these ideas for new projects, I get a bee in my bonnet until … Continue reading Hugelkulter High Density Fruit Tree Bed (Or Heather’s Humor Odyssey)
I got a call the other day from a neighbor. "I have seven bricks, do you want them?" "Yes! Yes, I do!" I have plans for bricks, and free ones are the best kind! These plans were sparked by regularly spending hours on Pinterest (Can't sleep? It's Pinterest time!) and randomly remembering a few pins … Continue reading Painting Pavers To Look Like Books
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!
Crazy Green Thumbs 