Joyce's Garden Blog

Free Dog Food!

2009-11-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

I have been researching dehydrated "raw" dog food and it's really expensive, but then the store bought dog food is getting spendy too and my vet says none of them are ideal for the best nutrition. Sooo, after ordering a box @ $60, I read through the ingredients and thought, well, I can do that, or at least a decent replica from foods I already have on hand! I made up this big bowl of homemade stew in about 45 minutes and it didn't cost me anything! I should probably add supplemental dog vitamin to it, but otherwise I think this is pretty good attempt. I will bag up one cup portions and freeze them since there is a lot of food here for my two small dogs.

Ingredients: For the meat, I used one pound package of elk meat from our freezer. Of course, most folks would have to use alternate. Pan cooked it till pink was gone and scrambled in two eggs.

In a separate pan, I added to four cups of boiling water, 1.5 cups old fashion oats, 1/2 cup rice, partial packages of frozen carrots/peas and chopped spinach, tablespoon of honey, and one mashed overripe banana. When the meat/egg mixture was done, so was the grains/veggie mix (about twenty minutes). Mixed it all together along with 4000 mg of flaxseed oil, and viola! you see the finished product! I didn't add any herbs, the dogs don't need them and besides, I don't think they are suppose to have garlic? anyway.

Both my dogs were sitting by their respective bowls when I turned around, LOL

They had to wait for it to cool down but I think it was worth the wait.

I will keep the commercial dehydrated mix for when we travel I think. I may try dehydrating mine just to see if it works but I freezing will be easier and of course, quicker!

The original commercial dog food ingredients are: Turkey, Oats, Potatoes, Flax, Carrots, Cabbage, Alfalfa, Organic Kelp, Apples, Honey, Garlic, Rosemary.

Beauty of the hills on a November morning

2009-11-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday everyone!

We awoke to a sunny clear day so decided to head back to the woodcutting area and get another pick-up load for our wood stove. We are fortunate to live just a few miles from where our local loggers are cutting. Not only are they providing timber for new homes but a side benefit for us is that we are allowed to "salvage" cut timber that was rejected for timber sales.

I was so glad I brought my camera today as this gorgeous view was so worth sharing with you!

Somehow all the worries of daily living are left behind for a few short hours as we enjoy this day together, get some much needed exercise, and stash this wood away to supplement our electric furnace plus save a chunk of money on our heating bill. We appreciate it even more during those winter storms when we we lose power. Just a reminder that we all need to be self sufficient cause you never know when the power grid will go down.

Harvest bounty

2009-10-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

You know it's fall when you get to harvest apples! This is the first year my Fuji tree has produced fruits so even though it was only a dozen apples, I am thrilled!

home grown tobacco vs commercial cigarettes

2009-09-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

We gave some tobacco plants and leaves to a smoking friend. The tobacco leaves were only sun dried. He said that he and his brother rolled some into cigarettes and did a taste test between the home grown product and commercial cigarettes. They said that yes, the home tobacco tasted different but it was quite smokable. His brother even commented after trying both, that the commercial cigarette tasted "like chemicals". So there you have it, an unsolicited testimony in favor of the home grown product.

And no, this is not an actual picture of either brother, but a photo I found through google search.

First day of Fall

2009-09-28T19:09:00.001-07:00

Well, today it actually felt like Fall. We had a warm sunny weekend and good thing to since we put on a yard sale! Today, however, we are expecting rain and cooler temps and by the look of the dark clouds and the wind, I think the weatherman got it right. So since I was out doing some last minute harvesting, I plucked these radish seed pods off the Black Japapnese radish plant. Notice that I have labeled the envelope before putting the seeds in. That way I don't forget what is inside! A very good thing to do.

Candy and Fruit Flavored Cigarettes Now Illegal in United States; Step is First Under New Tobacco Law

2009-09-26T05:51:00.001-07:00

Candy and Fruit Flavored Cigarettes Now Illegal in United States; Step is First Under New Tobacco Law

Heck, I didn't even know there were flavored cigarettes outside of menthol. The "study" shows that most smokers started smoking when they are teenagers......Duh! Just another step closer to "Big Brother" state. Now I don't advocate smoking but I do object to bans on personal habits of legal products used by adults.

Shared via AddThis

The joys of Fall

2009-09-18T10:22:00.001-07:00

I know, many of you think that driving hours into the mountains to see the fall colors is the way to celebrate Fall, but for me, strolling out to my orchard with my dogs on a sunny warm Fall morning and snapping this pic of ripening grapes is just as beautiful and satisfying. This is the first year that these grape vines have produced so I am totally stoked!

Have a wonderful weekend, folks!

Fall is in the Air

2009-09-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Today is cool and cloudy so I planted my winter garden in my new raised bed. I popped in lettuces , mesclun mix, broccoli, bok choi, and swiss chard. With our fairly mild winters, I should be able to harvest clear up into November or until the dreaded slugs find them!

From Dirt to Hydro

2009-09-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well, my expired aerogarden pods did not do well so today I bought our "fall veggies" in starter packs and decided to utilize my Power Grower for some nice fresh salad greens. I carefully rinsed off as much of the soil as possible and then placed these plants into 3 inch net pots and stabilized them with hydrodon rocks. They are now getting some nutrient rich solution through the ring. I hope to see these plants really take off and fill up the whole unit! How cool is that?
Rest of the plants will be planted out into our garden space later on this weekend. Looking forward to some fresh lettuce, spinach, Bok Choy, Swiss chard, and mesclan mix. Considering the prices of "fresh" produce in the store, these should turn out to be a good investment for fall and early winter eating. Here in the Pacific Northwest, our winters are fairly mild up till late November, so should be enjoying these for quite a while.

Tobacco leaves from home grown plant

2009-09-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

I pluck these two bottom leaves from my monster Common Smoking Tobacco in my greenhouse. The leaves are 39 inches in length!

We harvested potatoes, tomatoes, and onions from our garden today in advance of the rain predicted later on this week.

Soon we will be harvesting honey from our bees, hmmmmmm, my family members love to take a jar home with them whenever they visit. Makes a great little gift at Christmas time too!

Our honey mead looks like it is done "bubbling" so it's time to bottle.

Getting ready for Fall

2009-08-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

This little digger squirrel discovered our bag of filberts and was busy all morning stuffing his cheeks full of nuts to haul off for storage! Too cute. He could carry six nuts at a time in his cheeks!

2009-08-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION VIRTUAL SEEDS CUSTOMERS!

Virtual Seeds owner, Joyce Moore was interviewed and mentioned in a Associated Press article that has generated a lot of interest in home grown tobacco growing. I have been contacted by a TV reporter in St. Louis, MO who is looking to visit and interview any customer who lives within 75 miles of St Louis and is growing tobacco plants from seeds sold by VS. Of course, I don't give out customer info, but if you read this and are interested in a possible interview, just drop me a line @ owner@virtualseeds.com and let me know. I will gladly act as the "go-between" and hook you up! Could be your ten minutes of fame!

Power Grower hydroponic project updated

2009-08-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

I love this Power Grower unit! It's compact (15 inches wide) and totally self contained. It holds 2.5 gallons of nutrient solution that I have on a timer. The timer turns on the air pump for 15 minutes which pumps the solution up into the ring and passively falls down through the hydroton completely saturating the entire unit, and turns off for 45 minutes so that these herb seed pods are feed hourly and kept moist. The timer and the seed pods are not part of the Power Grower package but everything else is included: air pump, tubing, hydoton, and two containers, one for the solution and the growing container. The pods you see here are actually expired aerogarden herb pods I had so I thought I would pop them in and see what happened. You can see the tiny basil plant that has sprouted below. How fun!

tobacco plants update July 31-09

2009-07-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here I am sitting in front of my Common Smoking Tobacco plant in my greenhouse. It's huge! I have another pic showing the latest measurement of a leaf that is 37 inches long. I think the plants have pretty much quite growing and are turning to reproduction, ie: flowering and seeding, so don't expect any more height. The bottom leaves are indeed turning yellowing and expected at this stage of the growing cycle.

My Indian tobacco plant is chock full of very fat seed capsules and the bumblebees continued to visit what flowers are left.

Playing with a new hydroponic set-up

2009-07-24T19:39:00.001-07:00

One of the great benefits of being a business owner, is that I get to try out new products, or at least, new to me. Hydroponics is just so "dog gone expensive" and frankly has interested me for years, but I just couldn't afford the luxury of going there! Then a couple of years ago, I hooked up with my friend Lorelie, and we decided to go in on an internet venture with hydroponic supplies. So, I've been learning, and learning, and learning. I started out with an Aerogarden unit. OK, this was easy and pretty much foolproof! Then last year I put up a Sun System lighting set-up and a free flood and drain tray with grow bags that Lorelie had received as a demo. It was OK, but there were some problems. I did learn about HD and HPS lighting.

So this year I decided to try out the Power Grower Eco unit. Nice! Totally self contained and everything is included from the air pump to the hydroton in a 15x15 inch unit. I have some expired Aerogarden seed kits, so dropped in some gourmet seed pods into the hydroton. With the nutrient solution constantly dripping down, the pods are staying constantly damp but not in standing water. Not much different in my mind than when they are in aerogarden unit and that water drips down over the pods too! Since it's summertime, I don't need artificial lighting, so the unit is out on my covered front deck and should do fine. If the seeds are still viable, I should start seeing baby plants in just a few days! If not, well, I'm not out of any "seed" money, LOL

2009-07-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well, Red, what do you think? As you can see, the plant next to it is totally healthy and so are the ones on the other side of it.

I await your consel.

2009-07-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

This photo is of the Common Smoking Tobacco plant in my greenhouse. It is the largest plant we have going on! This leaf is 30 inches long and the plant is now about four feet tall. Very green and lush.

The plants in the garden plot are the smallest. Probably not the most fertile soil and not getting watered regularly. Still, the Indian Tobacco plant is flowering in the garden as well as the one on the porch in container.

The two Havana species are looking very healthy and green (container grown) while the common smoking plant leaves are showing some type of stress and the leaf tips are turning yellow and curling. This is the only plant showing this tendency.

The container plants get watered every day and also fertilized regularly.

Indian Rustica Tobacco Plant

2009-07-14T08:18:00.001-07:00

This Indian Tobacco plant is blooming like crazy!

The description states that the flower are yellow but as you can

see, they are more of a pale lime green. Very pretty, actually.

First Tobacco Flower!

2009-07-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

July 8th-09- Indian Tobacco Plant

Tobacco plants update

2009-07-08T07:53:00.001-07:00

Here it is July and we have had maybe two weeks of decent hot weather for these sub tropical plants! This plant here is in my greenhouse where it is obviously the warmest and it is now 35 inches tall and the leaves are huge! I measured the one in the front and it is 25 inches long from base to tip! Not to mention it hasn't been feasted on like the plants on the porch.

Secondly, the porch plants are doing OK with the Indian tobacco plant already starting to flower and the Common Smoking tobacco still the largest plant.

I will comment that the Indian tobacco has showned the most vigor from being eaten down to a nub by slugs to making a comeback and catching up in size to the other plants and now trying to flower! Of course if you are growing for tobacco leaf production, then you need to remove the flowers heads as they appear, but we are growing them more as an ornamental so the flower buds will get to stay. I figure they will probably open this weekend when we are promised warmer weather! So look for pics cause they will be coming!

Topiary update

2009-06-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Last year I planted my Corgi topiary and showed it off with my darling dog, Toby standing next to it. I affectionately call it a "Tobiary". Well, I overwintered it in my greenhouse and the white bacopa bloomed all winter!
Now the Tobiary has been moved to the open deck of my home for the summer and is looking magnificent! The bacopa is still blooming (a year later) and has grown so long, that it completely encircles the front of the statue! A real show stopper for visitors!
Remember, this is a soiless container so I feed it liquid fertilizer at least once a week. The topiary is actually "standing" on a plastic bin lid that is lipped and is kept full of water, so the statue doesn't dry out. Very important for this project.

Lite beer vs dark stout beer!!!

2009-06-21T10:16:00.001-07:00

What's beer got to do with these plants? Everything! As you can see our garden slugs having been eating on my nicotinana (Tobacco) plants so I've been fighting back with small cups of beer.

I have found that the dark stout beer works great (got four last night in one pot) and the lighter beer didn't get any!

Brands used were Colt 45 malt liquor and Hamms regular.

Plant shown here our Common Smoking Tobacco and it's growing nicely. We see new growth every day.

Fertilize your plants organically

2009-06-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

I try to garden as organically as possible so this year I am using guano products from Sunleaves. Pictured here is the seabird guano which is high in nitrogen and phosphate which is really giving my plants a growing boost! The guano is in pellet form and frankly smells totally nasty!

I use it in a couple of ways. I mixed in a small amount of the pellets when I first planted my container plants in the spring with the theory that they would break down over time with watering. All the plants look happy and healthy.

Then I also add a tablespoon or so of pellets to my big watering can and fill it with water. Leave overnight so the pellets fall apart. Even when the pellets fall apart, the guano is still heavier than water, so I just give a quick stir before watering. This is what I am feeding the tobacco plants with.

The Peruvian Seabird Guano comes in a box with three other guanos for a diverse selection of all natural fertilizers. Here is the breakdown:

1) Peruvian Seabird Guano: 10-10-2

2) Mexican Bat Guano: 10-2-1

3) Indonesian Bat Guano: 0.5-12-2

4) Jamacian Bat Guano: 1-10-0.2

If interested in this product, just let me know as I am a distributor as well as a user!

tobacco plants update and more

2009-06-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I posted on this blog so thought I would bring you up to speed! The demo tobacco plants in containers are finally taking off and getting some height! I've been battling slugs like crazy with containers of cheap beer and it works! I am sure the store clerk didn't quite believe me when I bought chips and beer and told him that the chips were for me and the beer for the slugs! LOL

We are still having typical Pacific Northwest weather with lots of clouds and mild temps, so the plants are well so far. I am sure my friends in the deep south have much more advanced plants, but we are having fun growing these guys! The tallest plants in the white container is Common Smoking tobacco and can reach heights of six feet! Well, maybe not tall for us considering our location and they are being contained in planters, but we do have a few plants out in our regular garden area but they are not a big as these. Course, these plants get watered and fertilized more.

Speaking of fertilizer, I am using bird guano pellets, but that's another posting!

June's Flowers

2009-06-03T11:34:00.001-07:00

Click on the picture to see this collage of blooming plants in full size and detail!

Here in the PNW we have rhoadies blooming, a Martha Washington geranium starting to bloom, wegelia with their bright pink trumpet shaped flowers against a dark purple leaves, a riot of yellow with day lilies, japanese iris, red geum which remind me of carnations, bleeding heart plant with snow of summer flowers below it, and a container planting with miniature multi-colored roses and fragrant alyssum.

Now to get some serious weeding done and kick back with a chilled glass of wine later and admire my work and the beauty of nature!

Happy gardening everyone!