The first harvest

We ate our very first meal that included goodies from the garden!! I made a spinach salad, and it was DEEEEE-LICIOUS! And hopefully soon my salad will contain our very own spinach AND tomatoes AND carrots!

I haven't posted updated pics of the garden yet, but they are coming!

Little pleated pouch

The title really says it all. I made a great little pleated clutch/pouch for my best friends daughter. It was a new one for me, I got it from a great tutorial from the all mighty Craftster. It went together really well, although it was slightly larger then I expected. But it's definitely on my list of things for *me*! Now I just have to get around to starting that list...

Start of the new stash

So my youngest, Roan, has been going through an incredible growth spurt. Which also means he's growing out of his diapers. It's been awhile since I've been sewing diapers, but I broke out my old favorite pattern from Darling Diapers, and decided to use my new snap pliers and try a new style.

I haven't had a chance to try them on Roan yet, as I just finished sewing them up and he's sleeping (yay!), but I think they may have turned out a wee bit wonky. I think they're definitely too narrow through the crotch, I think I overdid the seam allowance. I tried a new casing method on one diaper, and I'm not sure I'm thrilled with it (I had to cut a hole in the fabric to fish out a rogue elastic!). One I did a sewn in quick dry soaker, and the other I got lazy and just did a lay in soaker. But all in all, they will definitely be functional, they're super soft (I love velour! I'm almost out, I have to decide if I'm going to order more...) and I love that I made them. I will try to remember to take an action shot of him wearing one if I can get him to stand still for a moment (not the easiest feat these days!).

Container garden Week 5 update

So it's been about five weeks since everything was planted (give or take a few days here and there). And today I realized there is are a couple lessons I have learned along the way. First off, when planting a vegetable with small seeds, such as carrots, do not take the 'easy' root and sprinkle them all in a small space. This is not the easy route, as later you must go back and thin. And let me tell you, this is a pain! I have been thinning and thinning and there's always more. I bet you I have thinned 2/3 of what was there, and they're still probably too close. Next time I will take the extra five minutes when planting and make more of an effort to plant fewer seeds better.

The other lesson I have learned is that soil is expensive. While it was a good investment for the containers in general (and hopefully with proper care I can get another year out of it), I have been topping up my potatoes a lot, and it just seems like a constant expense. More and more dirt. So with my potatoes I went from using a container mix/peat mix, to a 3in1 landscapers soil (compost, vermiculite and peat), and now I'm just using compost as it's cheap. So we'll see how it goes. I figure if they grow happily in containers of straw (which I might just try next year instead), I shouldn't be putting good money into expensive soils. They do get fertilized every week (along with everything else with a basic 20-20-20 feed), so hopefully it will be fine.

Again, I am very lucky that my families pantry is not dependent on this crop. If it doesn't work, Safeway always has potatoes. However, I would like to be able to depend on my own veggies down the road, and I would much rather be eating veggies I grew myself (no pesticides, no transportation pollution, tastes better and costs less). So this experiment will hopefully help to prepare me better in the future. One of the reasons I'm blogging so much about it, notes for next year!

Anyways, here is what the vegetables look like after five weeks. The weather this last week has been hot and lots of sun during the day, with several afternoon/evening showers. I think you can tell!

Starting with the tomatoes, looking good! There are flowers, new growth on all of them, they're sturdy and strong. Some aren't as tall as others, but again, maybe that's the variety, maybe they're slow, and maybe they just won't produce. We'll see!




The spinach is doing great. Some of the leaves are actually the right size to start eating. But they're aren't enough of them yet, so maybe in the next week or two harvesting will begin. The kids have been eating spinach salad lately, so fingers crossed they continue to like it!



The lettuce is still looking like lettuce. I think I'll thin them down a bit more, that might help them start to grow a little faster.



Zucchini is looking big and healthy. No more of those weird coloured leaves.



Here are those pesky carrots. I thinned them down quite a bit after taking this picture. Don't over seed carrots! But the leaves/stalks/stems whatever they're called are strong and fringey. And I know from pulling a few that the roots are also strong and growing!



Beets seem to be doing well. It's hard with the root veggies, I want to see what's happening under the dirt!



Peas - Batch 1

Doing great. I can easily see them from my kitchen window, it's starting to look like a garden out there!

/

Peas - Batch 2

These are also doing great. I almost can't tell them apart any more. I sowed an extra row in Batch 2, something I will do next time, Batch 1 could've used another row.



And again, here are my amazing potatoes! I cannot believe how well they are doing in their containers! Of course again I can only judge what's going on above the dirt, but I've had to keep topping up almost every couple days, they are seriously growing inches every day! And my potato bag is doing great. With the ability to keep unrolling the bag, who knows how high that one will get or what kind of harvest it will yield.



My peppers are looking strong and healthy. Growing well, even in their current spot where I'm not sure they're getting enough light.



My scarlett runner beans have completed exploded, you pretty much can't see the container underneath the leaves anymore. I can't wait until this gets bigger, I think it's going to be stunning!



Cosmos are doing great. I'm not sure I'll do flowers from seed again. I'm enjoying watching them grow, but I want some colour already!



And same with the sweetpeas. I'm very impatient with them.



And that's about it. Sunflowers and strawberries and everything else I haven't mentioned are all doing well, just nothing too different from last time.

And I will be back with something to talk about other then gardening soon. I'm trying to finish a few sewing projects in the moments of peace and quiet that aren't spent outside!

Container garden update

Things are coming along! Most stuff that was started from seed is on to it's second set of leaves. I thinned out the beets, carrots, spinach and lettuce. It was a sad process, I felt like I was being so wasteful! Here are mini seedlings that could grow into food, and I was picking them out. But I have to remember that doing so actually makes the remaining plants grow bigger and better. I will need to go back again I'm sure, but for now things look much neater, and the plants are already spreading into their new space. So, here's what's happening this week.

Tomatoes are doing pretty good. I have three really strong cherry type tomatoes, and one pretty good looking slicer. But I have one cherry that's looking a little stunted (it's a different variety, so maybe it's supposed to look like this?), and three slicers that are looking very stunted, but they're still green and look normal, just short, so I'm not throwing in the towel on those ones yet. It's been cold, frosty in the mornings and even snow. Maybe they just need some good heat to perk up. The herbs are doing okay. I've been using the cilantro, and it's yummy. It's growing quite fringy though, not as leafy as I'm used to, not sure if that's normal. I think it might be trying to bolt and I've been picking off the buds. And some of the stems are quite thick and woody. So we'll see. I bought a new basil, it looks much better then the last (lots of smaller stems, not just the three big ones like the last plant. Hopefully it grows quickly! And chives chives chives! They're looking great and we're enjoying them. We also have a few little patches that have come up around the yard. Every time we're out Ciaran has to pick a few to eat!



Spinach is looking good. I'll need to thin them more, but good for now. And the lettuce is great. Thinning really seemed to help, maybe I just like that they look more organized now, lol!




The zucchini's are growing quickly! I ended up cutting off those burnt looking leaves. I still couldn't figure out what it was, I'm sure it's just a little frost bite. I will probably have to thin these down too, but we'll see.



Carrots are looking like little carrots. These are hard to thin, they're so thin and there are so many! I've been using scissors as pulling them out often pulls out way too many. I don't want to wreck the roots of the ones I leave behind.



Peas all have tendrils and are growing fast. The second batch doesn't look that far behind the first!

First batch


Second batch


Beets are doing well. Second leaves are still coming in. Thinning makes them look so much nicer too.



And strawberries are great, tons of flowers, maybe we will see fruit this year!



And my pride and joy, my potatoes are kicking some ass! The containers and even the bag are doing great. They grew more then 6" and I have added dirt to mound them now. I really hope these work out!



And that mysterious plant that's growing in the side yard? I think it's a campanula. Fingers crossed, I love them!



I moved my peppers to finish off an unfinished edge of the garden. I hope they still get enough sun! That's lambs ear in with them, I went a little crazy at the Calgary Hort plant share and have a ton!



In the front, the flowers are doing great. The annuals I bought are bright and happy, and all the seeds are growing fast. It's great to see them every morning and see how they changed. I will have to thin out the sunflowers a little more, but for now I took out some and they look better.

Sweetpeas


Osteospermum



Cosmos


Snapdragons (I had to buy seedlings, not a single seed sprouted!)


Scarlett Runner Beans


Sunflowers and marigolds (the marigolds have sprouted, but they're still pretty tiny!)


Soon things will be so big that I can take group shots instead of peering into individual containers. Can't wait!

Nothing like a good scour

I have pretty much overhauled my cleaning practices in the last few years. Not only do I feel better about what I use, often it's easier, and almost always it's cheaper. I thought I'd share a few tips/tricks/recipes.

Vinegar. No cleaning caddy should be without vinegar. It is a marvelous agent. It makes things sparkle, it makes things fresh, it can even take the gunk off of disgusting shower heads. I keep a spray bottle of 50/50 water and vinegar. I use this on my counters, my stove, my sink/taps, my toilet tanks and rims, even my floor. And of course you can't mention vinegar without bringing up sparkling windows and mirrors! If it needs to be cleaned, chances are this will do the trick. Got something germy? Spray this on and let it sit awhile (10min? I spray down the highchair and just leave it to dry itself overnight). Then take a rag and wipe it away. I have been asked about the lingering vinegar smell. When it dries, the smell evaporates. Some with really sensitive noses might be able to detect it a while later, but really, would you rather be inhaling toxic chemicals instead? Overly fragenced with synthetic scents? I actually love the smell of vinegar, to me it smells clean. But a warning, this is powerful. Don't leave it too long on finished surfaces, it could eat the finish away!

Baking soda. Never be home without it. Seriously, this is magic. I keep a parmesean cheese sprinkler full of it beside my sink. You know when you're cooking and your kids distract you and before you know it your pot is full of burnt on gunk? Baking soda will make it like new again. I used to use the SOS pads, and hated that slime that got everywhere. It seemed to just make more blue mess. But now, I take my pot o'gunk, give it a rinse and swish in the sink to get as much out as I can. Here's the trick... make sure you pour out all the water. You want the pot wet, but no water still sitting in it. Sprinkle the baking soda over the bottom of the pot (it's cheap, don't be a scrooge with it). Take a rag (you will wreck a good dishcloth, so use one you don't care if it gets stained) and rinse it out under the tap and wring it out. You want a damp cloth, not wet. Now scrub. If there's too much water, it doesn't work as well. You want it fairly dry. And without too much effort, the burnt on gunk will be gone. This works for any kind of dishes issue. Sticky eggs stuck to your plate? Baking soda! Dried up cereal bits stuck to your bowl? Baking soda! And apparently you can get large sacks of it from feed stores that is non food grade (meaning don't cook with it) for much cheaper. And don't spend all your pennies on the pretty boxed kind. Go to the bulk section of the store and load up a baggie and store it in a tub at home. They charge you an arm and a leg for that little box.

Dishsoap. Yep, plain ole dishsoap. Whatever it is you use to wash your dishes by hand. Fill your sink 1/3 with hot soapy water. Wash your counters, your table, your floors. In the bathroom, fill your sink 1/3 with hot soapy water. Wash your counters, your floors. If it's good enough to clean the dishes that you will put your food on before eating, it's good enough to wipe down your counters at the end of the day. And don't go crazy on the squirting, a little really does go a long way. (remember the 'Reduce' part of the three 'Rs')

Scouring Powder. My favorite mix has a bit of a story. I've always used Comet to scour my toilet bowl and my tub. Years of buying that little round tube of chemicals. It works, no doubt about it. But anyone who has spent a few minutes scrubbing the ring out of their tub knows you feel a little funny afterwards. A little light headed, nose perhaps a little irritated, eyes a little watery. After my first son was born and was big enough to have baths in the big tub, I started to freak out. I always cleaned the tub before his bath, but then it was a huge production trying to rinse all that stuff away! I would rinse and rinse and rinse and still get that film left behind, and that smell! I knew I had to come up with a better solution, while still leaving me confident that everything was clean. Especially as I also used it in the toilet bowl, the toilet bowl that my son always seemed to manage to splash in the moment my attention was diverted (sometimes while scrubbing and rinsing the tub!). So here is what I came up with, and I love it. The cleaning/scrubbing/scouring power is as powerful as Comet, and it rinses away easily. I use this in my toilet bowl (sprinkle about 1/4c and let sit 5min, then scrub) and in my tub (again sprinkle 1/4c or so in the tub and scrub). I feel much better about using it, I feel much better WHILE using it, and I feel much better when my now two sons are in the bath (and now with my youngest, again splashing in the toilet bowl, ugh!).

1c baking soda (Another use!!)
1c salt
1c washing soda (found in the laundry aisle).

Really, just mix up equal parts and you're good to go. Cost wise I haven't done the exact math, but I think it's even cheaper then Comet.

Here is the link to what washing soda is on wikipedia, but any google search will give you a ton of info from a much more reliable source then some stay at home mom in Calgary writing a blog. Basically washing soda (sodium carbonate) is a sodium salt of carbonic acid (yeah, that makes it clearer). While there are some uses for it in different food processes, please treat this as a chemical, keep it away from the little ones!

And please please please don't waste your money on cleaning cloths. I honestly saw a bag of 'rags' for sale at Canadian Tire for $5 or something. Ridiculous!! Have a hubby who wears undershirts? Two L mens tshirts will stock you up on rags for years. Seriously, all you want is 100% cotton, cut up into squares in the size of your choice. Old ratty towels, the onesies your baby stained and grew out of. Flannel is awesome too, old pajamas, old sheets, old receiving blankets. All excellent potential cleaning rags. I keep some in each bathroom and use them for tons of things. Cleaning, makeup removal (instead of those cotton pads I was going through a bag a month), a quick nose wipe, whatever. I wash my bathroom floors by hand with soapy water and a rag, easy peasy. And don't be stingy! I go through several a day on non cleaning days. Keep lots and have them in easy reach. Wash them with your towels. Chuck them in a basket when clean, grab when needed.

Anyways, I hope this might make your chores a little easier, cleaner (for your health and environment!) and saves you some pennies!

Another mini greenhouse idea

My mom often says she's not creative, however I strongly disagree. She had the great idea for these mini greenhouses, and she had another great idea that I've just had the chance to try out.

Although it's June, Calgary has had a number of nights with frost lately. We even had snow the other day. All my plants are happily thriving in their containers, oblivious to the fact their end could be anytime. I've been running out with blankets at night to tuck them in, but in the mornings I've had to run out to uncover them even though it's still chilly as I think they need the light. And with a son who has just recently given up the last of the pull-ups at night, I need all the extra blankets in the house!

So following the lead of my mom (who made the setup several weeks ago for her plants), I headed out to my closest Walmart, and for under $2 each, got several shower curtain liners. I placed these over the containers, and either tucked them under the container, or used rocks to hold them down, etc, and voila! Instant little greenhouses! And on the chilly days (seriously, what is with our weather?), the plants stay cozy while they still get the light.

Next year I think I will try using a set of open shelves I have, attaching the curtains and building an actual standing greenhouse for my little seedlings. I doubt the liners will last for more then one season, but I've heard many of those little greenhouses you buy don't last much longer either. So it will be worth trying!

These have worked exceptionally well over my tomato and pea cages. It's easy to tuck them in tight, or to leave the sides open for ventilation.

What's growing today!

Today is June 4th, and things have been growing and changing a lot since last week, even with our nights of frost. Here's a little (okay, a big) peek into what's growing in my garden today.

The tomato corner! My tomatoes are mostly doing awesome. So far the cherry type tomatoes are doing much better than the slicing tomatoes. For cherries I have Patio, Sweet 100 and Champion. My slicers are Early Girl. I think the Early Girl's got a little frost bite a few weeks ago, they're still growing, but much slower then the others. Also my herbs are here. I think it's safe to say my basil is officially done. The chives are doing great though, and my cilantro is looking good. I will be getting more basil plants, I'm bound and determined not to have to buy the ridiculously overpriced little packages of fresh basil from the grocery store.

Cherry tomatoes, from L to R - patio, champion and sweet 100



Early Girl




I've had to move some of the containers around on the other side to make it easier to cover them up (they've forecasted the possibility of SNOW this weekend, yargh!!!).

The zucchini's are in the back in the trough, then lettuce in the small blue container and spinach in the small black containers.



My zucchini's have some funny coloured leaves. Not all of the leaves, just some. Not sure if it got a little too cold for them? Any zucchini experts out there want to hazard a guess?



My carrots are doing great! I really must figure out how to thin them down.



My first batch of peas are growing big and strong. I had to take the cages out to cover them, but will be putting it back as soon as it warms up at night a little.



My second batch of peas are also doing awesome. Hopefully we'll have some awesome pea grazing sessions this summer!



My beets are happy and growing. Again I'm sure I need to thin them, there are so many!



My strawberries have lots of flowers. Hopefully that means there will be lots of fruit!



My potatoes are looking great! Even the ones in the bag. Of course I can't see what's under the dirt, and I've never actually been able to eat a potato I've grown myself, so fingers crossed! When they hit about 6" high I'll top up the mounds again and repeat until the buckets are full and/or it's harvest time.



And I've added some pepper plants. Four sweet peppers and one salsa pepper. I only planted them a few days ago, but they're still looking healthy!



That's it for the veggies. My flowers containers are mostly all looking great. Sweetpeas are a few inches high, the cosmos containers are alive and thriving, sunflowers and marigolds are coming up quickly and my scarlett runner beans sprung up with a vengeance. However, I don't think I have a single snapdragon coming up yet. I seeded May 14th, so I'm thinking maybe they're a dud. If there's nothing by Monday I'll just plant some seedlings. I won't bore you with individual pictures, but you can see the growth in one week from a group photo.



And here is the mystery perrenial in the side yard. Have no idea if it's a weed, but I'm watering it occastionally, so I hope it's nothing too terrible (my kids don't go in that area so I'm not too worried). Emily is there for size perception.



So hopefully we'll get through this chilly weekend without any losses, I'll replace a few things next week, and then it's low maitenance and just waiting for the bounty!