Gardening Planning

http://www.smartgardener.com/

Good news and Bad news... Good news, I found this great site to help planning my garden.. Bad news I got hit with this "Vertigo Virus" and am laying in bed. My mom was doing yoga at the gym last week and could not get up and had to go to the ER and they told her it was a Vertigo virus, the virus you get messes with your vertigo,anyways She got hit really bad from it and had to lay flat on her back for 5days.. now I have it but not as bad. Good news, this site even uses the company where I buy all my heirloom seeds so I can put the exact seed in the "garden" online.. Bad news I have 6 beds that are 6'x6' and one 6x3 ( Last year I only had 2, 6x6 beds) annnnd I am already out of room in my garden and I still have not put all my Plants in my "garden"!! Holy Sheet, what's a girl to dooo!?

Check it out if you need planning and you can start planing your fall garden too. I know that is crazy to think about a fall garden already but the early bird gets the worm.. or time is money.. or.. I think I need sleep..

Have fun Friends!

Going on in the Greenhouse

Things are growing in the Greenhouse from Radishes and lettuce to Amethyst Basil and so much more

Oh yeah, I have big plans for those succulents like a growing wall!

Planting Seeds Part 1

We started our some of our seeds! By now most of them are started.. I still have some to start today and some I have to wait to start for a few more weeks like the "Watermelon Jubilee" and the "Banana American Melon" because they grow so large so fast and do not like cramped spaces! I seem to have a problem.. more of a sickness you could call if you will. I. Can't. Stop. Buying. Seeds. Today I bought a pack of seeds while at Whole Foods "Radish Easter Egg" seeds and a Sweet Potato to start. My sister has these same Radish seeds and already started hers but I think they will all get sold at the Farmers Market that we are doing this summer! So I got some to keep for my greedy little self! Yesterday I bought some more "Sweet Peas" and "Cypress Vine" seeds for the Trellis. The day before that... I told you, I need help..

Anyways in the pictures above, you can see how we are getting ready! I have been saving all sorts of planting containers from take out, Costco boxes, egg cartons, I still bought two garden starter kits with the tops because I was worried I would mess it up. So I started with the kits to keep my confidence up and put my more treasured seeds in those. Both the girls are really into gardening with me they filled the trays with dirt, put the seeds in and watered them. I also showed them the difference in the seeds. They loved that, being able to hold the seeds in there little hands and feeling them. Lilly especially loved the sunflower seeds because they all looked so different. The seeds above are pumpkin, broccoli, morning glory, and nasturtium. Some of the seeds require soaking a few needed to be soaked and filed down on the sides like the pumpkins. Then we covered them lightly if you do not have a dome then saran wrap will do but make sure it is not to tight. You want the humidity but you also want air circulation so loosely cover and make sure the seeds still can get air to breath. We also made our favorite snack, frozen bananas with a little bit of  peanut butter and a tiny bit of coco.

Bits + Pieces

This is from two weeks ago... it has been spring brake so the whole neighborhood has been over everyday playing.. or at least it feels like the whole neighborhood so that's why I have not got it up till now! Anyways these are just a few pics from the week before spring brake. There is not a lot of pictures because my camera went MIA, but it is now found!

Lilly knitted a Hat!

Lilly knitted and finished her first hat!! This is it on Raleys Bitty Baby. I could not find "Dollie" Lilly's Bitty Baby, so when she she saw these pictures of it on Raleys baby doll she was ticked! Funny stuff. But it turned out awesome if you ask me especially for a 4year old!! It makes me so proud! 

The Leprechaun stopped by..

The Leprechaun has been busy! He makes a mess and throws gold coins all over the front yard, then leaves his bucket outside so Lilly can see it! If you eat a lot of Shamarock spinach then he comes!



Garden Seeds!

I spent alot of time looking at seeds trying to find the best that would work for us and that would excite Lilly. I have always been into gardening but when my daughters and I moved back to my parents after my divorce I was able to get really into it. We have a huge back yard and was able to set up the beds. Before that I would Container garden. Which ehhhh, somewhat worked but I think I tried growing plants that were not container friendly and year after year I would fail. Big time. Until last year when I had the space to garden! Last year I chalked it up to a trial and error year and I figured it was going to be that going in to it. A learning year. I learned a lot, like to stick a dish of water out for the squirrels when its hot so they do not eat every single tomato I grew all summer.. I am telling you big things are going to happen this summer.Big.

What I am growing from Seed for my gardens:
Tomato-Costoluto Genovese-h
Tomato- Indigo Rose
Pumpkins-Rouge Vif D'Etampes-h
Gourd-Luffa-h
Squash- Zucchini
Squash- Table Queen Acorn-h
Melon- Banana American Melon-h
Watermelon- Jubilee-h
Soybeans- Butterbean
Peas- Sugar Ann Snap Pea-h
Carrots- Danvers Half Long-h
Carrots- Little Finger-h
EggPlant- Listada De Gandia-h
Swiss Chard Rainbow-h
Cauliflower- Purple of Sicily-h
Broccoli- Romanesco-h
Lettuce Black Seeded Simpson
Lettuce- Bibb, Buttercrunch
Lettuce-New Red Fire
Onion- Bunching Evergreen
Onion- Candy
Parsley
Chives
Basil- Lemon-h
Basil- Sweet
Dill
Garlic bulbs
Morning Glory-  Grandpa Ott's -h
Morning Glory- Crimson Ramblers-h
Morning Glory- Yohjiro Mix
Poppy- Oriental Scarlet -h
Poppy- Shirley Double Mix
Love-In-The-Mist-h
Sunflower- American Giant
Sunflower- Mammoth
Sunflower- Teddy Bear Draf
Sunflower- Summer Evening Mix
Larkspur-Kaleidoscope Mix
Zinnia- Purple and pink
Foxglove
Aster
Sweet Pea- Winter Navy Blue
Sweet Pea- Bijou Mix
Marigold- Snowdrift
Marigold - Pot, Pacific Beauty Blend
Bachelor Button
Nasturtium
Pansies
Hyssopus
Bee Balm
Anise Hyssop

The small "h" to the left means Heirloom.

All of the Veggies I am growing except maybe three are Heirloom!  I love the older hard to find varieties and the pureness of the seed. NO GMO. End. Of. Story. In another post I will go into this.
I am also going to grow Mushrooms, Sweet Potatoes. I need to go get my sweet potatoes and divide them and my mushroom kit is in the mail.

Also I am going to plant Blueberry and Raspberry bushes. Those do not come in the mail for a couple of weeks. Today I bought some Strawberry roots 10 "Allstar" a June bearing, and 10 "Quinault" a everbearing kind.

The Luffa will be killer if all goes as planed, and I will be able to give home grown luffa sponges away!

This is not even mentioning the stuff I am going to get Steal from her Greenhouse from my Sister and that I still am going to buy.

Plants that I will buy:
Green Peppers for my mom, I can eat any kind of pepper so I will only buy one or so not worth the effort to grow from seed.
Oregano
Thyme
Marjoram
Lavender-Buy seed, My plants from last year are still kicking also
Stevia
Chamomile
Rosemary
BBQ Rosemary
The sunflowers I am going to have a Sunflower fort so the girls and I can take a blanket in and sit in the sunflowers and read in the summer! All the Morning Glory's are for a Tunnel I am going to make with chicken wire and then grow Morning Glory's covering them. The snap peas I am going to make a tee-pee with... I think.. I was like, Whoa, that's a Rad idea but ehhh how many veggie/flower forts do I need in one backyard... until Lilly saw me looking at a picture of one and fist pumped and then asked if she could pick them off while in the tee-pee and eat them...crap... If my kid is excited about veggies then I will do anything..So I might be building a snap pea tee-pee.

*I want to have a "Berry Patch" with the berries.
*A edible flower garden for Lilly
*A Humming Bird Garden (maybe next to the Morning Glory tunnel so we can hide in it and watch them)
*A bee/Butterfly garden
*Of course next to the playhouse we will have a Fairy Garden and its coming back bigger and badder
*The Sunflower Fort
*The Morning Glory Tunnel
*Snap pea tee-pee

I am super pumped about starting my seeds and working in my gardens! But I am really mad about this winter!! I had HUGE plans, huge I tell you to Tap the maple tree in the backyard! But for the sap to flow right, the daytime temperatures has to rise above freezing 32 degrees and the nighttime temperatures have to fall below freezing. The increase in temperature makes pressure in the tree to generating the sap flow. The prim time to tap a tree is February and march and normally this would not be a problem but since it is supposed to be 80 tomorrow and has been off and on in the 60's Its not happening for me this year. *tear* I guess there is always next year..

Leprechaun House

I made this leprechaun house for Lilly and Raley... well mostly Lilly since she is really into leprechauns right now. It sits on our kitchen table on top of a cake stand. I didn't really know what I was going to do with it but I love making Glitter houses they remind me of my beloved Putz Houses! Anyways, We have been into trying to trap this leprechaun and we set the house out to try and "trap" him with it... annnd that's were my idea ended ... but then Lilly and I got to talking and thought maybe he would like to come live in it for a bit! So at night and during the day I have done different things. One night he got into the Veggie Straws and took some to eat into his house and made a mess outside of it. Another night he found some yellow fabric and sequins on it and dragged into his house to make a bed. He has also turned the cake stand upside down and and set the house on it sideways with the blanket over it. He has done lots of other things threw out the house to make mischief!

I will have a new St.Patrick's day post every day sometimes maybe two a day until St.Paddy's Day!

Amethyst Basil anyone?!

Above is Amethyst Basil Seedlings growing in the Greenhouse

Pretty Rad, right?!!