Limp Lettuce and Sizeable Seymore: The Three Week Fall Update

Three weeks has passed since the seeds were sown for our fall garden of 2014.  This is also the second attempt at gardening. Period.  As expected, there were some successes as well as failures.  Let's take a look....

As you see above, the lettuces both did not fare well.  We left all the pots in the shade on the porch like before for easy access because of the frequent watering (you need to keep seeds constantly moist to germinate).  We think this was the death of the lettuce seeds because we have read they need a good amount of sun.  Also, the weather had been 80-90 everyday.  Lettuces tend to germinate more successfully in cool temperatures (60-70s).  We are starting some new seeds indoors to control for temperature variation so we will see if these yield better plants.

The beans and radishes were a hit!  So much that we started two more pots worth.  We also had to run to Restore for cheap trim scraps and build a bean tower (they were trying to latch onto the neighbor's nice fencing).  Stay tuned for a picture of someone dog sitting under the completed bean teepee.

Remember that cute little tomato plant from the summer garden?  It decided to turn into Seymore from Little Shop of Horrors.  It is so entangled with the cherry tomato plant beside it they cannot be unraveled without doing serious damage to both plants.

Any fall gardening flops?  Do you have a Seymore that needs taming?  Any tips for us?  

Happy Digging!

The Holsingers

The Fall Garden: A Budget-Friendly Endeavor

The first summer garden project was deemed a success and we are back with more!  In an effort to save a buck, we went aggressive and planned for an all seed garden plan.  This would include starting all plants from direct sow.  In lay terms, you put the seed in the pot and hope for the best.

Here was the plan:

All our supplies were obtained at Lexington Fayette Seed, a garden supply store.  This time around I hit the jackpot by getting a bunch of free gardening advice from the employees.  Try to go early morning if you can.  They are less busy and can spend more time hashing out your gardening problems.  For us, it was starving plants the first time around.  We were shooting for eco-friendly, but the truth was we needed stronger fertilizer.  Because we are pot planting, we cannot take nutrients from the ground soil.  This also means we don't necessarily have to worry about improving the soil quality because new soil is used with each planting.  We spent $45 for seeds, soil, fertilizer, and more pots.

After watching a bit of Genetic Roulette this week, there has been a lot of introspection on the role of organic seed and fertilizers.  If you are unaware about genetic modification, please spend some time educating yourself about this scary new trend which is infiltrating farming and our grocery produce.  While we are not practicing organic gardening at this point, we do plan to make a conscious effort on our next garden to practice these important methods.  At any time, you can find Mary around the house with her head in the Seed Savers Exchange Catalog.

Just look at the beauty.....

Off the high horse and onto the rest of the supplies....

We started by preparing the pots with rocks on the bottom.  Mary may have obtained these from a big pile of rocks at the end of an empty cul de sac in the rain frantically while also trying to not draw attention to herself.  This ensures adequate drainage and promotes good root health since they won't be sitting in sopping wet soil.  Mix in a bit of fertilizer with your potting mix if you are using potting soil that does not include fertilizer.  The kindly employee also said composted manure works well mixed in the bottom soil, so it does not come in contact with the seeds.  Most local stores will sell composted manure bagged like soil.  Not to be confused with that flaming bag of poo some conniving teenager just left on your front step.

For very small seeds, Cut a toilet paper roll in thirds to make sure watering the soil does not move the seeds around.  Some people like to throw their whole seed packet in and thin later.  It seems like a waste of seeds that will last for the next several years!  The toilet roll will compost itself.  We store our seeds in the fridge in a mason jar in a plastic bag in their original seed packets. Whew!

Of course we had to take the time to make adorable plant tags!  Would love to make some polymer clay tags in the future....stay tuned.

Stay tuned for the three week progress update.  What are you planting this fall?  Any thoughts on genetic modification (GMO)?

Happy Digging!

The Holsingers

Adventures in Summer Gardening

Hurray!  Our very first endeavor in vegetable gardening!  Of course, we have dabbled in the past...basil here....rosemary there.  This was the real deal.  We had to care for something consistently.  Oh lord, please let this be better than all our potted plant attempts (RIP White Bird of Paradise).

We started with the list.  This would be a small ordeal to avoid the potential massive waste of money.  The first trip was to our local Farmer's Market where we picked up the loot.  We bought 4 plants for $10.  We also went to the local seed shop to get four plastic pots and a whole bunch of soil for $25.  The amateurs would have to return for two tomato cages a couple days later mainly because our Pink Lady Tomatoes had an estimated height of NINE FEET TALL.  Oops.

1. Delirio Orange Peppers
2. Summer Sweet Peppers
3. Pink Lady Tomatoes
4. Sun Sugar Cherry Tomatoes

We planted everything around Mother's Day, which was a great decision because we ended up getting a very late frost which would have possibly been detrimental to our plants.  This was strictly by luck and absolutely no knowledge of plants.  Our first harvest would not come until July 4th weekend, which I hear is pretty typical for Kentucky.  Fast forward to August.

As Emeril would say, BAM!  If only everything were as easy as scrolling down for results.  Fortunately no tears were shed in the growing of these plants, but certainly a lot of learning occurred!  You will notice the addition of three herbs.

1. Cilantro
2. Basil
3. Parsley
4. Mint

Direct Sow Seeds

Basil started in individual empty yogurt containers then transplanted

The herb packets were a whirlwind decision at Walmart (yes, I know everything was local earlier in this journey).  We had the basil on hand from another season.  All were a direct sow right into their respective pots.  To keep the small seeds in place, I cut old toilet papers rolls in half and buried them most of the way into the soil.  They will decompose on their own.  Cost: about $10 with the addition of three more black plastic pots.  We also needed more soil.

By this point, we had reached (or overreached) the point of fertilization.  After some research, it was decided Fish Emulsion was the way to go.  There are A TON of fertilizers out there.  Many of them are made with unnatural ingredients and do nothing to improve the quality of your soil.  Fish Emulsion is very cost effective because you only need a little and it does add nutrients to the soil.  WARNING: please prepare yourself for the foul-fish smell before use.  Also house your pets as they will try to roll in the puddles that you spilled all over the deck.  Don't worry, the smell dissipates after it dries.

Every learning experience is not without a few hiccups.  We had our fair share of difficulties along the way.  Many thanks to Gracie Hyland for her immense plant knowledge!  We certainly tapped that (her plant knowledge that is).  She also gave me a great resource for troubleshooting.

WARNING




IMPENDING GROSS PLANT PICTURES




ALSO BUGS




LAST CHANCE TO EXIT THIS PAGE

We are certainly not experts, in fact if you have read anything up to this point, you know that we know nothing about plants.  But with enough research, we believe the above pictures to be Blossom Rot.

Blossom Rot occurs with irregular watering.  Unfortunately, irregular watering is the most likely rookie mistake.  Water once daily, unless it rains. (That is straight from the guru herself, Gracie).

Do you see him?  He does blend right in which is why my face was about 6 inches from his face when I spotted him.  He is a Tomato Hornworm and thankfully that big spike is just to show off.  He loves to hang around at the top of tomato plants and munch to his hearts delight.  He will likely not do any serious damage to your plants, but he should be removed.  NOTE: He will cling to the branch with kung-fu like strength which will promptly snap off in your attempts to remove him.  He was safely relocated to the alley after this photo.

Our adventures in summer gardening was deemed a success!  We have had countless herbs and tomatoes, but the peppers have been succumbing to blossom rot (only one harvested and eaten at this point in time).

We would love to hear your experiences!  Successes? Failures?  Also, can you properly diagnose our plant problems?  Moving to the fall gardening adventures which will follow soon!

Happy Growing!

Mary and Carrie

Wreaths in July

I saw this adorable book page wreath tutorial on Pinterest a couple months ago and knew I would make it someday.  A while back I went temporarily insane and painted our bathroom a horrible shade of lime green.  I liked it for two days and then realized it was an awful color.  Finally, I got around to some home improvements and had leftover white paint from the stripe project in our bedroom.

Ok, prepare yourself for the green monster. Also, don't judge me for the color choice.

                             

Marching forward to the painting!  I used HGTV Home Interior Paint in ultra white.  I bought it at Sherwin Williams during one of their big sales, so the price was reasonable and it is a low VOC paint. 

 TIP: You can always by base white during a sale and have it tinted another day at no extra cost.

Coat #1

 Coat #2

After all this paint I needed some decorations!  I scored a wreath for $1 and a book for 50 cents at Restore.  

Project: Book Page Wreath

Cost: Under $5

Time: One to Two Days

Supplies

Wreath

Glue Gun 

Book

Paint (Black, Brown, Gold, whatever is on hand)

Small cut of ribbon and pins for hanging

Ironically, I picked The Seat of Power for a wreath that would end up in the bathroom.  I am officially adding this to the list of names for a toilet right along side the porcelain throne.  My apologies to the author as I did not read the book before tearing out all the pages.  

First came the prep, which involved stripping the wreath of all its decorations.  Then, I painted the edges of the book with gold paint and a little bit of black marker.  After the paint dries, rip out the pages.

You can apply the pages in three basic formations.  

1. Roll into a tube

2. Accordian style

3. Fold sides inward to meet in the middle, the fold over again so the edges meet together.

Once you have found your shape, apply glue to the inner folds and well as the desired side for application.  Start at the back of the wreath and go all the way around.  Once you have made a circle, flip the wreath over to begin on the front.

Repeat the same step, but for the next circle you will fold a small tab.

The third row will be in front of the second moving towards the inside of the wreath.  If your wreath is small, this row may be your inner most row and you are finished.  Mine was larger than the original tutorial, so I had four rows to complete.

The final row should meet your original row at the back of the wreath.

Much improved from the lime green!  Have you tried making your own wreaths?  Send me your links!

The Week of Handmade Gifts

I wanted to share some recents gifts for the family.

I saw these adorable polymer clay pots made by Say Yes.  I added some gold accents and gave them to my wonderful Mom for Mother's day.

Project Price: Under $20

Skill: Intermediate

Time Frame: 3 Days-1 Week

This was one of my first times working with polymer clay.  I have recently become fascinated with the stuff after seeing the array of crafts which can be crafted from it.  I have to admit there were some frustrated groins and the occasional expletive when working on this project.  Polymer clay is not as easily coaxed into a tiny house as it looks on Say Yes.  But, here are some tips:

-Cover your work surface in a light coating of cornstarch to prevent sticking.

-Knead by compression, but try to avoid folding the dough on itself...you will create unwanted air pockets.

-Knead until pliable, but a stiff pliability holds up to baking and cutting better.

-Each piece of the house should be at least 1/4inch in thickness to prevent wilting while baking.

-Support the house with aluminum foil to retain its shape during the baking process.

I had a rag doll when I was younger and I loved running my fingers through all the recycled fabric.  I was reminded of it over the winter when my brother-in-law's mom had a yarn angel displayed with her Christmas Decorations.  Finally I got around to trying a yarn doll out myself.

Project Price: Under $20

Skill: Beginner

Time Frame: 1 Day

I will get around to creating a tutorial for this little cutie I now call Dolly, who will be a gift for my 6 month old niece.  I came across t-shirt yarn at Michael's which had a glorious soft texture.  I remembered a tutorial for t-shirt yarn by CraftPassion if you wanted to go the extra mile for this project.

What gifts have you crafted recently? Send me links!