Vegetable Planters Update

 I can say that I am really struggling with the vegetable growing prospect of gardening. I think for next season I will need to begin germinating the seeds in October or November inside. I plan on setting up a few areas in the Gym/Craft Room with some grow lights and seed heating pads in October maybe November. We do go on vacation in late October and do not return until Mid-November, so I might have to wait until we return.

The first picture is of my pitiful tomato plant. This is a Bonnie Plant Cherry Tomato. It was blooming and doing so well until we got a slight cold snap on the 20th of June. I had checked the weather and it didn't look as if it was going to get that cold. I was wrong and so many of my vegetable plants suffered. I had also just bought a bunch of flowers to plant the coming weekend and many of those got frost bit. I was able to salvage pretty much all of the flower plants, but my tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants got the brunt of the cold snap.

My other tomato plant has some other plants that sprouted up these past couple of weeks. I have no idea what they are, but I will transplant them into a different container this weekend.

I had 4 cucumber plants that were really thriving in the greenhouse. Once I planted them in this 6 compartment plastic grow container, they went to crap except for one. I plan on transplanting it out of this container and into a felt grow bag instead. I think the plastic grow boxes are just too hot.

My sunflowers are thriving. Keith had built me a raised bed and I filled it with an assortment of sunflower seeds. I do have a small bean sprout in the front of the bed, but I don't think it will make it either. I had planted all my radishes that were pot bound in the front part of the bed too, but they did not survive. I am looking forward to all the sunflowers. There should be 15 different varieties, but we shall see what survives.

One thing I have to do better next year is spacing my seeds at an appropriate distance from one another. I can say that some of the plantings happened right as or right after I caught Covid. I was very low on energy and high on pain during this planting season for sure. I kinda threw all my carrot seeds into one grow bag. I have no idea how they will turn out if they will turn out at all. Lessons Learned!!

This next container is my throw it all into one container and sees if it grows. I know I have some marigolds, painted daisies, and some lettuce in it, but I have no idea what some of these items are that are growing. I won't know until they bloom. 

The next container is full of red peppers and jalapeno peppers. I am surprised anything sprouted in this container. We were moving it out from inside the house to the greenhouse and I had to step over a short dog fence. My leg got caught and I dropped my side of the container. We just scooped up what we could by hand and prayed. Peppers sprouted, but I have no idea which are which until they actually begin to produce.

My okra was transplanted into another one of those 6 compartment plastic growing containers. I think they are doing better than my cucumbers only because they are a little more shaded throughout the day. I plan on transplanting them into new containers this weekend as well. At least all of the plants have survived. Barely surviving though.

The next picture is of a bean sprout I tugged into the corner of the planter that my eggplants are in. I just plopped the seed in and did not even think it would sprout. Hopefully, it grows and can cover the fence behind the planter. We shall see.

Now my poor eggplants....They got so frost bit. One of the plants has a couple of healthy plants growing under it. I will move those into a different container and see how they do on their own.

Of all the plants I thought my eggplants and okra would be the stars. I sure hope I can revive them and they will produce something come harvest time.

I have learned some valuable lessons this season. I have never had a green thumb when it comes to vegetable gardening. I will do more seed starting this fall and hopefully, have some very healthy seedlings come planting season next year.

Pops of Color and Flowerbed Maintenance

 We had such a wet Spring that the weeds really thrived. The before picture of my corner flowerbed is not accurate. It is prior to me being sick and the rain coming in for 2 weeks straight. The flowerbed was 10 times worse by the time I could tackle it. It took 5 days to complete in total, but the end result is awesome. I still have a few spots I could weed, but I will use the weedeater and put down some roundup instead. My back cannot take much more hard-core gardening right now.

I had to replant my wildflower seeds under the trees. Pepper got into the beds and dug everything up this past fall. I now have a tall fence up that she cannot get through. This is what it looked like last year. Pepper was able to squeeze through the decorative fence and ended up digging up all the gorgeous wildflowers. They should bloom by next month so I am not too upset. 

It took a lot of back-breaking work to get the bed cleared of all weeds and especially dandelions!! My hands are still cramping from pulling weeds for so many days straight. This was not the only bed that had to be cleaned up. All my front beds required it as well as around my greenhouse and back patio.

I added a little fairy circle flowerbed towards the front and then planted along the back fence some sunflower seeds. I cannot wait until everything is up and blooming!!

Speaking of blooming and pops of color, I am loving all the different varieties of petunias and dianthus I have planted in planters around the house. The top picture of the collage below is a wild rose bush that sprouted up along the back fence. It finally bloomed this year. It is in a precarious spot though. It is right behind the grill and smoker patio blocks. But so far it is still thriving.

For the corner spot in my front flowerbed, I added some of the cattle fencing we had left over and the rest of the white hanging planters as a cute corner attraction. The ivy was left over from a planter I had on the front porch last year. My creeping myrtle has gotten so large this year that was completely ignoring it the first part of the season!!

I also used some of the leftover cattle fencings as a brace for my tall dianthus. The smaller dianthus came back this year. I had them planted in this planter as a last-minute pop of color choice last season. I cannot believe they came back in this planter and the planter next to the garage.

We did a refresh to the rocks in the front flower beds. I did not get a picture of the peonies in bloom. But the wildflowers are coming back so strong each year. I actually need to thin them out a little. My plan this October is to plant a bunch of tulips in the front flower bed with my gladiolus. I will also plant some under the large front window. There is actually a small flower bed under it that is blocked by the peonies. I figured I will at least be able to enjoy them when I am on my front porch.

I am looking forward to my gladiolus this year. I moved the decorative fence from the corner bed to in front of my gladiolus bed as a bracing instead of using white stakes with string this year.

The sideyard gate entry was destroyed by Pepper when she would run back and forth watching the cowboys rodeo across the street. We have worked so hard to fill it in and make it level again. We had some old bricks from the front flowerbeds that were busted and miss shapen. We threw them down in the huge trench she had made and began slowly filling it with topsoil, sand, and pebbles. We now have a level entry with some of the sod we found on the interstate. I also made some corner flowerbeds to add some color and attract a few more pollinators. I love how it turned out. The barrels I ordered from Home Depot.  I did not realize how large they actually were until I got them in. Luckily, we had done a nice shopping haul at Lowe's and Home Depot the week prior and I had found a bunch of clearance items to fill them up with. I also have a couple of hydrangea plants planted in the corner next to the house along with a lantana plant. I am hoping this corner flowerbed becomes full of large hydrangea blooms!!

So that is a full update on my flower beds. I will try and get some pics of my pitiful vegetable planters and get an update posted this week as well. Now that majority of the hard work is done, I now can sit back and enjoy all our hard work!!

Fence and Sod Project for Side Yard

 Covid really put me behind this Spring. I did not completely get all my weeding done until this past weekend. Yes, I spent the majority of my 4th of July vacation cleaning flowerbeds and planting up new beds.

During our Covid sickness, Keith decided to make a fence that blocks the dogs from one side of the yard. This is the side of the yard where I have my vegetable planters. We used leftover wood from the cat cage we had up in one of the rooms inside. Now that the cats are gone and with Jessica, we decided to upcycle all the wood. We also used cattle fencing instead of dog fencing. It makes the fence steadier and more eye-appealing.

We had some strips of the cattle fencing that we made into a cute archway. I then purchased some really adorable hanging planters off of Amazon and filled them with some really cute flowers. Next year we might work more towards a full vine that engulfs the arch, but this year we went more simple.

We added a couple of window box planters as well and Keith set up the sprinkling system to easily water the planters. It really cuts down on watering time with the way he has it all set up. He also installed some sun shades that go over the patio. It has made a huge difference this year so far.

We got very lucky this past week. We were heading home from Home Depot with a heavy load of pebble rocks to add as flooring to my greenhouse and freshen up the flowerbeds. We were going extra slow on the interstate due to the heavy load when we came across a lot of contractor sod on the side of the interstate. We pulled over and scavenged as much as we could. What a huge difference it makes compared to the previous pictures just having some great-looking grass down. We had that area heavily seeded and some of the grass was sprouting, but why wait when you can have it now and for free!!

I am loving my back patio this year so much. I sit out in the morning drinking a cup of coffee and enjoying the bees and butterflies. I am not sure if I will have any vegetables this season. We had a cold snap and I did not tent my planters. Hopefully, something produces. I do have some lettuce, so that is something.

Spring might actually show up!!

 Our weather has been so scattered-brained lately. Over the Memorial Day weekend, we had rain and snow. Very cold morning temps. I had to pull out the heater once again. I am praying this was the last of the cold fronts.

On a crappier note, Keith and I caught Covid. Of course, it was Keith who brought it home to me, but nonetheless, we both were down for the count simultaneously. I am back at work, but I probably won't stay the entire day. I am very fuzzy-brained right now. It wasn't the worst sickness I have ever had, but it was still unpleasant.

As for my seedlings, I have still been able to keep most of the cucumbers alive. All of my okra is still thriving. I have an eggplant that is now growing and I believe a tomato plant. I still have not divided up the radishes. I did plant a bunch of dill, chives, and basil seeds right before getting sick. They have not germinated just yet. Also, the lemon seeds that I planted about a month ago are sprouting. I might have a lemon tree one day.

I am hoping this past cold snap does not wreck my apple tree. We are loaded down with blossoms and I really want a load of apples this year.

Well, I should actually try and tackle some of the paperwork on my desk. 

Cold Front and Trying to Keep my Seedlings Alive

 So we have a horrible cold snap happening. I just looked out my office window, and it is snowing!!

With little sun today, I am afraid that my greenhouse will not heat up enough throughout the day to generate good heat for overnight. The temps will be in the 20s. I have a ceramic electric heater that we used under our camper this winter to keep the pipes warm and the ground from freezing too much. I think I will be running an extension cord out to the greenhouse and running the small ceramic heater tonight.

We have an extension cord that has our patio string lights attached to it and I will just unplug the string lights and plug in my heater instead. It isn't like we will be hanging out on the patio tonight!!

I was able to get my electric heater in place before the temps dropped too much. The greenhouse was nice and toasty the next morning even though it was frosty and around 20 degrees outside.

The sun came out later that morning and warmed everything up. I still had to use the heater all weekend. I even need it again tonight, but I think after tonight I won't need it anymore.

We worked on cleaning up the backyard more and Keith set up a sun sail for us to use throughout the summer. It is easy to put up and takedown. The winds can get pretty hefty some days, so we will only put it up when we are outside.

I have a few more flower beds to clean in the backyard and then I move on to the front yard flower beds. They are not half as bad as the backyard ones. I think by mid-week I can sow some sunflower, shasta daisy, and wildflower seeds around the back patio and in the far corner flower bed. I am looking forward to morning coffee surrounded by a meadow of wildflowers!!

Crochet Clothing: How hard is it really?

 Although I have not picked up a crochet hook in nearly 2 years, I am interested in making a couple of tunic sweaters. Therefore, I have been perusing my typical multi-media platform: Pinterest. As a result, I have pinned quite a few free and purchasable patterns.

I believe the most significant thing about crocheting a sweater is going to be the correct type of yarn. I have been reading up on bamboo yarn and cotton/bamboo blend yarn as a great medium to use to get that desired draping effect.

I did start a crochet tank top back in June of 2016, but the yarn I was using ended up being discontinued, and I have yet to find a replacement that will match and drape as well as the yarn I was using. I really would love to be able to complete that project, but until I can find a yarn that will match, I don't see it happening.

This is as far as I have gotten on my Ventura Swing Tank Top. I had to stop because I ran out of that denim blue, and Cascade Yarns does not make the Sateen one anymore. The cool thing about this yarn is that it is acrylic. Yet, it has been discontinued, and every time I have tried to find a yarn that is compatible, the feel just does not compare. I might pull it back out and again look to see how much of the yarn I actually have. Maybe a bamboo yarn will match the texture and drape of the Sateen.

I believe the first crochet top I want to begin is this really cute summertime one made by HookedoPatterns on Etsy. This is made with 100% Cotton DK weight yarn. I think it will be a pretty simple pattern, but again, it is all about the right yarn. The pattern is also free on Hooked on Patterns blog at https://hookedonpatterns.com/crochet-blog/free-summer-top-crochet-pattern-aviva

We have a very cold snap happening in our neck of the woods. I have to mitigate some heat issues in my greenhouse after work today. 

Hope all have a great weekend. I have a lot on my list-to-dos and will be very busy over the weekend.

Life Update!!

 We are now in 2022, and lord, things have changed in my own life and in society and around the world. I completed my Bachelor of Business Administration in late April last year. I began my Master's program in June of last year. Unfortunately, I got really sick in November and could not get back into the groove of taking classes any longer. So I am currently unenrolled in my Master's program. I thought I would feel guilty and regret this decision, but I am actually feeling great about it.

I have not started back to crocheting on any basis. I have collected more yarn, of course but just haven't committed to a project. 

I am currently moving into the vegetable garden project. I have never grown any type of vegetable in my whole existence. I have watched my mom grow beautiful vegetable gardens as a kid and helped her maintain them. But I have not actually attempted to grow vegetables by myself. 

I am trying to learn more about my area for growing vegetables. Due to the long winters and short warm months, we have a very short growing window. I purchased a small portable greenhouse and did begin some seeds inside the early part of March. I can say that attempt failed, and I have a significant learning curve to conquer.

Disregard the dead plant in my greenhouse. It was a plant that was on my back porch from the previous year. I tried to keep the geranium thriving throughout winter, but I could not. We had a few old bricks from our front yard flower beds that I had removed and replaced with a different border. They make for a lovely rustic floor, plus also help retain heat from the day sun to counteract our cold nights. The area next to the greenhouse against the dog fence will end up being my raised container garden once the seedlings are ready to transplant. We still have to build a fence in order to keep the dogs out. 

This is a pic of where I got my bricks from. There were quite a bit of those bricks around all the front yard flower beds. I love the way the beds look now.

This Mother's Day, I worked on planting a lot of seeds and placing them in my greenhouse. I have a few seeds sprouting. The ones that are really flourishing are the radishes that my daughter planted. She pretty much dumped the whole package of seeds into one container. I will have to divide very soon so I can actually have great radishes this harvest season.

I also am working on learning how to regrow produce scraps. I had a lot of organic celery that I bought at the grocery store for my daily celery juicing regiment. I started them off in small mason jars filled with water. I just recently transplanted them into their own container. We shall see how it turns out.

I am also turning my daughter's old cat cage into a vegetable cage for herbs and shade-loving vegetable plants such as lettuces. I am still working on comprising an herb collection. Trying to figure out which ones I will utilize the most so I am not wasting any plants. The wooden slats are from an old flower trellis we had made years ago from an old futon bed frame. The trellis has finally become worthless and too unstable, so we tore it down and I created another shelf inside the cage. It has been working out great when I place my tray of planted lettuce seeds on it during the day to absorb morning sunlight and enjoy the shade during the day.

For now, we are chugging along. We have a lot of projects around the old homestead to complete this season as well as remodeling the inside of our 5th wheel camper. Our future plans are to become full-time RVers, so I am going to enjoy the gardens as much as I can these next couple of years.