tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18174607381698344912024-10-06T23:28:15.496-04:00A gardener discusses gardening with children, raised bed gardening, self-watering container gardening, flowers and vegetables, and composting in the southeastern US. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-33861321111426995872014-03-31T16:32:00.001-04:002014-03-31T16:32:24.146-04:00

Last night, I freaked out, thinking that my worm bin could be a part of our mouse problem, and wrote a post called The Worm Bin Must Go.  I was extremely upset to come back from vacation and find that a new family of mice had moved in while we were away and our cat and dog were being boarded.  I didn't even sleep in my bed--I slept downstairs on the couch, since the mice are upstairs.&

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-82956487463415899322014-03-31T03:35:00.000-04:002014-03-31T20:10:36.403-04:00

EDITED:  I wrote this when I was very upset, and after going to bed, I had a different point of view.  Still, I am leaving it up just to show that even a compost enthusiast can get creeped out  by keeping worms inside the house. We've been out of town for a week (and the pets have been boarded for 9 days), and we returned to a disturbing discovery: mice. Late in 2013, we had a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-77350196859480547012014-03-19T23:09:00.000-04:002014-03-19T23:09:25.867-04:00

I am so happy--I got everything planted that I wanted to get planted today.  (I'm not going to have time for the next week or so.)  Last spring, I was traveling and missed the early spring.  This year, I'm really hoping to make a delicious salad for Easter.  Not only that, but I harvested a wheelbarrow full of beautiful compost that I really needed to spread on half of one

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-23258184919127796092014-03-16T17:32:00.001-04:002014-03-16T17:37:13.187-04:00

On  Friday, I went to the local garden center and bought spinach and, yes, my favorite, arugula.  I also bought some beets on a whim.  I've grown beets from seed before in the fall.  It warms up here so fast, I thought they might do better if I got plants, so that they could mature before it got too hot. Time to get the garden started after a winter that was colder and wetter

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-68062960091092219902013-06-09T00:39:00.003-04:002013-06-09T00:39:45.771-04:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been a whole year since I got my worm bin, the Worm Factory 360.  I am just now getting ready to harvest my first tray.  I meant to do it quite some time ago but didn't get around to it.  I have four trays in use now.  When I examined them today, the bottom one was seemingly empty of worms and is completely made up of castings, except for some very

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-83665234612607628872013-05-25T13:57:00.003-04:002013-05-25T13:57:49.908-04:00

A few years ago, I bought a dwarf orange tree for $10 at Lowe's to keep in a container on my back porch and bring inside during the winter.  Container plants can be a challenge in the summer because it gets so hot here, and we usually have a spell without rain, AND my biggest problem with gardening is not watering enough.  So, each year it struggles during our hot spells in the summer

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-56666116723652534842013-05-24T23:18:00.001-04:002013-05-24T23:18:13.468-04:00

Today, an order I had placed with the Burpee catalog came.  I got 2 more tomato plants and a pepper plant.  All were varieties I couldn't find enough of at my local garden store, but then, of course, after I had ordered them, I discovered the garden store had gotten more plants in stock, including one of the tomato plants I had wanted, as well as the pepper plant (poblano).  In

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-73033218530686232322013-05-22T13:09:00.000-04:002013-05-22T13:09:15.823-04:00

Well, I have not blogged in some time because I have not been gardening for some time.  But I got started back again last weekend.  One thing I had to admit is that with homeschooling and all of my other activities, I didn't have time for as large of a garden as I had.  I also wanted my beds pushed together, so that there weren't spaces between them to worry about.  I had

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-61640230857117575402012-10-29T20:11:00.000-04:002012-10-29T20:11:02.528-04:00

I haven't updated this blog in a while because not much has been going on garden-wise.  I'm still getting peppers, I've got some lettuce planted, and that is all.  I will try again next year and hope that I can find a better balance between homeschooling, gardening, and everything else I want/need to do.  I did finally order my garlic today.  So far, garlic has been one of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-30771933287427127462012-08-08T10:57:00.002-04:002012-08-08T10:57:38.398-04:00

So, I got busy with summer, planning our homeschool year and taking the kids to camps and the pool, and I just  didn't water my garden.  Now my tomatoes are dead.  I feel like an idiot.  I still have hope for my peppers and tomatillos, and I've harvested tons of basil that has made delicious pesto and herb rubs.  My other herbs aren't doing so well since my sweet husband

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-47860088663931446842012-07-15T23:18:00.003-04:002012-07-15T23:18:32.864-04:00

It's been about six weeks since the purchase of my Worm Factory.  There's not really too much to say about it.  I shred up cardboard, crush up eggs, put in vegetable/fruit scraps and coffee grounds, and the worms eat them.  The cardboard is so absorbent that I haven't had any drainage at all into the reservoir.  I prefer using cardboard to shredded paper because of that. 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-56214686455910054662012-07-15T23:10:00.002-04:002012-07-15T23:10:55.574-04:00

Well, after my first batch of tomatoes turned into a disaster (I blanched them for 5 minutes instead of 30 seconds--got them confused with green beans!), I have successfully frozen several baggies full.  With the bigger tomatoes (beafsteak and roma), I blanch them for 30 seconds, plunge them in ice water for 30 seconds, peel them, dice them, scooping out seeds but not worrying too much

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-8034077407494933032012-07-01T11:15:00.004-04:002012-07-01T11:15:59.581-04:00

So, I screwed up freezing my tomatoes.  I blanched them for 5 minutes instead of 30 seconds before bagging them and putting them in the freezer.  I am rather annoyed about it.  I think what I will do is try and remember that batch is too well cooked and just add them at the end of a stew rather than the beginning.  Sigh. 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-15170299503907196442012-06-29T00:02:00.000-04:002012-06-29T00:02:04.606-04:00

I continue to like my Worm Factory.  After 3 weeks, I have had no problems with it.  Like everything else I do, I have been totally unscientific about it.  On most days, I add a small amount of vegetable scraps or coffee grounds, but I don't measure it out.  Every few days, I've been added damp shredded cardboard from cereal or K-cup boxes (tearing it up is therapeutic). 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-68957771278238298832012-06-11T22:27:00.000-04:002012-06-11T22:27:09.939-04:00

Yes, I broke a branch off of one of my tomato plants today.  I was very sad.  It was one of my tasty 4th of July tomatoes, and it had a number of delicious looking green tomatoes on them.  As the saying goes, when life hands you a broken tomato branch with green tomatoes on it, cook them.  My husband broiled them, and we had them as a side dish to our hotdogs.  I made up

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-49188346718223663202012-06-08T15:19:00.002-04:002012-06-08T15:19:40.907-04:00

I bought two Tomato Short and Sweet plants from my local garden center back in the early spring/late winter in order to jumpstart the tomato season.  I put them in an Earthbox, and they grew pretty well at first.  I kept them inside on cold nights and wheeled them back outside for warm days and nights.  I got my first tomatoes in early May.  They were not great.  They

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-69398810426010914282012-06-08T15:10:00.004-04:002012-06-08T15:10:59.597-04:00

I set up my Worm Factory on Monday.  My worms arrived by mail on Tuesday, very healthy and in great condition, from a place called Uncle Jim's Worm Farm, and they seem to be living very happily in their new home.  As I kept homemade worm bins before, I feel fairly confident that I know what I'm doing in terms of maintaining the bin.  So, far I have only given them some tiny bits of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-42224466497831821962012-06-03T16:58:00.001-04:002012-06-03T16:58:23.880-04:00

If the weather is yucky, and you can't garden, or you can't garden for another reason (like it's midnight), why not play a gardening video game?  A few months ago, I really enjoyed playing Gardenscapes with my kids.  It is not really a gardening game, in that you don't do a lot of plant growing or anything like that, but you get to "decorate" your garden as a reward for finding hidden

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-16349796014328928182012-06-02T12:54:00.004-04:002012-06-02T12:54:52.546-04:00

A couple of times this year, I've whipped up some stuffed cherry tomatoes.  I'll post a link to a couple of recipes, but one quick variation is this:  Mix goat cheese with basil, salt, and pepper, as much as you think you'll need for the amount of tomatoes that you want to make.  Spoon out the top and a little of the insides of each cherry tomato.  Put the goat cheese inside.&

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-59609194623974870242012-06-02T12:49:00.002-04:002012-06-02T12:49:46.870-04:00

Well, it's been a good month.  Not a whole lot to harvest.  It got too hot for the radishes to taste good, but we still had tons of tasty salad greens.  Mostly, just waiting on vegetables to mature.  I did get many tomatoes off our little cherry plants that I kept in an Earthbox.  They were good, but not as good as the indeterminate varieties I grow in my beds. 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-19346446724124627612012-06-01T16:02:00.001-04:002012-06-01T16:02:40.117-04:00

I love composting.  I'm a lazy composter, however, and mostly buy have my compost delivered.  I don't make nearly enough compost to supply my entire garden.  And it's very slow to actually become compost since I don't turn it much or really do much of anything other than put our kitchen scraps and garden waste in their, combined with shredded paper and cardboard.  Before we

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-21184143600957085102012-05-26T19:13:00.001-04:002012-05-26T19:13:23.129-04:00

When I first started gardening, I was obsessed with starting everything from seed, just for the thrill of it, to watch a tiny seedling emerge from a tiny seed and grow into a huge plant and produce fruit.  Then I realized that as fascinating as seed starting is, depending on the kind of plant, it can be very time consuming, annoying, and can end in failure.  And if it does end in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-70697331576533840982012-05-22T23:18:00.002-04:002012-05-22T23:19:07.032-04:00

I harvested a cup each of parsley, basil, and cilantro, and blended it up with oils, salt and pepper, and dried herbs to make a delicious herb rub..  I use the recipe from George Stella's book Eating Stella Style.  I doubled the recipe and divided it into 4 small plastic containers, labeled them, and put them in the freezer.  The herb rub is delicious, especially on chicken.&nbsp

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-46977405756846179842012-05-17T18:02:00.004-04:002012-05-17T18:03:20.855-04:00

I remember how beautiful and rare I thought honeysuckle was, when I was a girl growing up in West Texas.  When I moved to Virginia, it was one the plants I knew, and I wanted some in my yard.  However, I had trouble finding any to buy.  I also learned that here in Virginia, as well as many other parts of the country, it's not exactly something people seek out.  Rather,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817460738169834491.post-54956821169163826882012-05-15T14:29:00.001-04:002012-05-15T14:30:20.614-04:00

We've had a wonderful garden/shelling pea crop this year.  I have them growing up against my tomato cages.  In previous years we've just snacked on the peans outside.  I told my younger son that they were "pea candy."  When he was 2 and 3, he just loved picking them and eating the little peas.  He still does, and this year he's even better at picking out the ones that are

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0