Jenn's Gardening Spot

Edible front yard full of Melons, Squash and Pumpkins!

2011-09-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

As the years go by I run out of growing space. This year I have converted my front yard into an Edible Garden. I have also started buying native plants and have been tucking them here and there.

My front yard has full sun all day, it starts to shade at about 6pm. That's when I decided it would be a good place for all my melons, squash and pumpkins. I am also growing a few tomato plants, eggplant and some basil. We also tossed a few sunflower seeds to add some happiness! Sunflowers just make me smile.

This pumpkin will be an Emerald green when finished. Sadly, I don't know the name of this one. I didnt write it down or save the seed packet.

This is also that same Emerald pumpkin. Its growing in a different shape then the one above. Interesting to see them take different shapes.

This is a Blue Hubbard Squash. I received these seeds from my friend Daniel over at Your Small Kitchen Garden

This is also a Blue Hubbard just starting out. I have about 8 of these growing. I have never tried them, I am so excited to taste this one!

This is a basic Pumpkin. There about 6 of these so far, we will use these to carve for Halloween.

Sugar Pie Pumpkins! This will be my second year growing these. 1 pumpkin makes a pumpkin pie. They are so yummy. Looks like by the nice orange color I will be cutting one of these babies up soon. I cant wait for the first pumpkin pie of the season.

Charentais is the name of this melon. I have counted 5 of these so far. This one is also new for me this year. Have you ever tried this variety? Share with me how you like it! Can't wait to try it.

This is a mystery??? It is growing in the compost bin. I am going to let it do it's thing and see what it becomes.

This is also in the compost bin. Another mystery. Surprises are nice! I did have some seedlings that never sprouted and I tossed that soil in the compost. I guess they decided to sprout at their own pace. It will be neat to see what they grow into.

What Squashes, Melons and Pumpkins are you growing in your garden?

What are your favorites?

What Squash, Melons or pumpkins are you looking forward to most this year?

Happy Gardening!!!

Wordless Wednesday Sunflower Fun!

2011-08-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Mango Madness! My Mango Serrano Sauce!

2011-07-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

Mango's!!!

One of my favorite summertime fruits! Actually one of my favorite anytime fruits.

The Farmers market has loads of Mango's right now. I have been finding great prices. Last year I made Mango salsa and loved it. I wanted to try and make a hot sauce this year and I have. This Hot Sauce can also be a brushed on chicken and shrimp. My family and I will also be using it on fish tacos for a fresh and lighter flavor!

One of the things I love about this recipe is how easy it was to make. Not too many ingredients required.

Here is what you need!

3 Carrots (peeled and diced)

10 Serrano's (use less if you don't like heat)

6 cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)

4 cups of Mango's (about 5 depending on size)

1 tablespoon Kosher salt

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

In a saucepan, you want to start out with your chopped up Carrots, Serrano's and Garlic cloves and enough water to cover your ingredients. Bring to a rapid boil for 5 minutes. Turn your burner down and let the veggies simmer until carrots are tender.

Caution: Make sure you are in a well ventilated area when the peppers are boiling, it can small strong!

While your veggies are getting tender cut up your mango's! If your mango's are real juicy try to save as much of the juice as possible to add with your chopped mango's.

Once your veggie blend is tender add to your food processor. Blend the veggie until smooth.

Then add your mango's and blend until almost smooth. When mixture is still a bit chunky add the salt, apple cider vinegar and lemon. Then continue blending until completely smooth.

Poor into jars. I processed for about 15 minutes in a water bath! I love the sound of Ping!

This recipe makes about 2 quarts of sauce!

Do you love Mango's?

How do you use Mango's?

I would love to hear your ideas!

Happy Canning!!!

Disneyland fun and Flowers!

2011-07-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

Disneyland!

The happiest place on earth!!!

Even the ducks bring their family's for some fun!

Miss Kyla and I just recently spent a week in Southern California! We took this trip with 4 of her cousins and 2 aunts from Montana! It was an all girls week! It was a jam packed Disneyland vacation. We visited both parks. We spent a day in Disney California and the rest of our time in Disneyland! We had tons of fun!

Here we are with Mickey Mouse!

I of course couldn't help checking out all of the plants, flowers and trees they had growing! I took a few pics when I remembered, of some of what Disneyland has growing on in their parks!

I love the look of this tree! From what I understand it is called "The Family Jewel's Tree"

Lots of hanging containers throughout the park! Love these Petunias! See the castle in the background!

There were so many different container gardens throughout the park, this was one of my favorites!

Even my lil one took some time to smell the flowers!

Disney California had a lot of California native plants. I love all the different plants showcased through out the park.

More native plants and blooms!

Here is one of the archways in Critter Country!

I love the pots they created in Pooh's Corner. The orange pots look like the bottoms of carrots. I didn't realize how much sun was in this picture. But they are growing carrots in these pots, so they look like huge carrots!

We also met a Storm-trooper in our Disney adventure!

Also R2D2 on the ride Star Tours! We are big Star Wars fans.

Here we are on the Little Mermaid Ride!

We were even captured by the monster Sully from Monsters Inc.

We had a great trip!

What trips have you taken this summer?

Welcome to my garden!

2011-07-07T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have not posted much about my garden. I thought I would share a few pictures of how things are growing!

The above picture is the welcome sign made on a piece of old barn wood. I used old springs to spell Welcome. A fun recycling project.

These are my Costalvo heirloom tomato's! My four plants are loaded. Cant wait to try them.

These Tomato's are Black Krim! My favorite! My plants are pretty loaded with these babies too. I make marinara and pizza sauce with these. Soon they will turn almost a burgundy color.

This here is what I call my Tomato jungle! I have 12 plants in here. Giant Smooth, Costalvo and German Green with a pepper plant in the right hand corner.

In this garden bed I have Green beans in the back growing on a trellis. Peppers on the sides and Cucumbers in the middle. My Cucumbers are just getting started.

These are the beans in the garden bed with the Peppers and Cucumbers. I made this trellis from the wire mesh of a bed frame.

Basil, yum! One of my favorite herbs. Lots of Basil throughout my garden.

This is my Squash area. Some Tomato's to the right and Tomitillo's on the left. The walking steps are made by my kids.

A better view of the Tomitillo's. My bean trellis's. I just planted Christmas Lima beans. Can't wait to see how the trellis works out. Also made from recycled bed frames.

My Strawberry bed. Not many Strawberry's yet! I did start these plants from seed. Mixed in I have Garlic and Chard. The Chard is starting to look old. I will probably pull it soon and toss it in the compost.

This is my experimental flower bed. I planted Love Lies Bleeding, Sunflowers, Sweet William and a bunch of other flowers. Just tossed in the seeds. Exciting to see what will pop up!

Last but not least, this was my edible/flower garden. Tomato's, Chard, Fennyl, Nasturtiums, Oriental Poppy's, and Zinnias should be popping out soon.

Well there it is, most of my garden. I will post pictures of my edible front yard soon!

Whats growing in your garden?

Happy Gardening!!!

July Seed Grow! Marigolds are not in my future!

2011-07-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

Wow... Another month has passed already!

It is that time again to do another Seed Grow post!

I am loving the Garden Babies lettuce! I love the small heads of lettuce it produces. One head of garden babies is enough for a one person salad.

Although as the summer gets hotter, they are starting to bolt! I have moved them to a shady spot under the Fig tree!

My Cameo Basil is finally starting to have more leaves. They are still really small and I planted the Basil with some

Zinnias.

As for my Summer splash Marigolds, they are no more. I am not really sure what happened. I have started more in a couple containers. Placing them in different areas of my yard! I hope it works out better for me this time! I tend to have more difficulties growing flowers! I had a good start. When we came back from camping the whole container was empty! I suppose something ate them and they really enjoyed them!

How is your Seed Grow project going?

What are you having better success with?

I am participating the Seed Grow project! Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds!

Recycling in the garden! Plastic Make it Possible and a Recycling contest!

2011-06-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Do you Recycle?

Are you a garden recycle enthusiast?

When it comes to gardening "being green" is not only about producing beautiful flowers, vegetables and shrubs. It's about being conscious about the products and tools we use around our home and garden space. Recycled plastics can be used for so many things such as, decking, verticle gardens, garden containers and even bird houses. Great ways of giving used products a new, second life!

Picture from google pictures

Recycling Plastics to re-use in your garden is a good idea! I love to recycle items and make them work for me! Plastics are to valuable to waste! There are many ways to reuse and recycle plastics in the garden and we can help close the "recycling loop" by purchasing products made from recycled plastics!

I love creating trellis's, planters and cloches from things I find around the house or even in junk piles on the side of the road.

Recently, I turned the dresser part of a captain's bed into raised garden beds. I have also used dresser drawers as planter box's and even milk crates for growing potato's. I use 2-liter soda bottles as cloches and devices for watering plants. The possibilities are endless when it comes to recycling in the garden.

A couple months ago I started following an Initiative called Plastic Make it Possible.

Plastics Make it Possible®, an initiative sponsored by the plastics industries of the American Chemistry Council, highlights the many ways plastics inspire innovations that improve our lives, solve big problems and help us design a safer, more promising future.

As I am always looking for company's that are trying to make a difference for our planet! This Initiative is a perfect match for me!

Did you know plastics play a role in building a sustainable future by helping conserve resources for energy? One of the things I learned from their website. This website is jam packed with information for a newbie recycler to an experienced recycler! There are so many wonderful resources for learning on their website!

Here comes the fun part! A CONTEST!

Plastic Make it Possible and I have teamed up to see how creative you all can be with recycling plastic items in your garden! We want to see how creative you can be when it comes to turning recycled projects into amazing garden products. This is going to be so FUN!

Picture from google pictures

Here are the contest rules:

Submit pictures of your recycled Plastic project/ Recycled project to me at 4bratz2luv@gmail.com If you have written a blog post about your project, send me the link so I can link it with your picture! Also send me simple directions of your project to be featured with your photo! Contest ends on the last day of June 2011 and winners will be announced July 1, 2011

I will also be making some of the projects you submit for fun and to incorporate in to my own garden!

10 winners will be chosen for the most creative ideas and best use of recycling plastics in the garden!

What you will win, A free T-shirt! A shirt made from Recycled Plastic, pretty cool!

The T-shirt says, Don't be Trashy....Recycle!

Also their will be a grand prize winner!

The prize will remain a secret until the winners are announced! Trust me the prize will be amazing!

I hope you will check out Plastic Make it Possible they are a wonderful resource for recycling!

You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook

I hope you will join in on some of the fun and submit your pictures on re-using plastics in your garden!

Good Luck!

Picture from google pictures

Happy Recycling Friends!!!

Turning Fruit into Candy! A guest post By Daniel Gasteiger of Yes,You Can! And Freeze and Dry it, Too.

2011-06-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today you are in for a real treat!

I have a guest post by the Fabulous Daniel Gasteiger! He is my canning partner in crime! Check out the wonderful candy he is sharing with us today! Made from cantaloupe of all things! Are you salivating yet.

Do check out Daniel's wonderful blogs! He shares so much of his passions for food and gardening.

Enjoy!

Candy from Fruit!

by Daniel Gasteiger

I was flattered when Jenn invited me to write a guest post for her two-year bloggaversary. Jenn and I met on Twitter during the high canning season. We were both canning jams, jellies, pickles, tomatoes, relishes… honestly, I can’t say who was canning what but our daily greeting went something like, “What are you canning today?”

Jenn suggested I write something about preserving food appropriate for beginners. Of course I thought about canning, but Jenn can teach you all about canning. I thought we could talk about making candy instead!

Preserving with Sugar

Sugar doesn’t spoil. Moisture may cause it to degrade, but if you keep it dry, sugar can last several hundred or thousands of years. You can use this quality of sugar to preserve other foods. Add a bunch of sugar to fruit juice and you get syrup which might keep at room temperature for years. Add a bunch of sugar to fruit, and you get candy which also might keep for years, but no one knows for sure because it’s so yummy.

There are many recipes for candying fruit. Here’s the approach I teach in Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry it, Too.

Cantaloupe Candies

Start with one-to-two cups of perfectly-ripe cantaloupe cut into 1-inch cubes.

In a small, deep pot, heat a cup of water with a cup of sugar until the mixture boils.

Add cantaloupe cubes so that all fit submerged in the liquid; if you could fit in more than you prepared, feel free to cut up a few extras and add them.

When the mixture boils, adjust the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. I rest the bottom of a strainer on the fruit to keep it submerged while it cooks.

Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool to room temperature—possibly two or three hours.

Remove the fruit from the syrup in the pot, add a cup of sugar, and heat the pot until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils.

Add the fruit, and when the mixture boils again, adjust the heat to a summer and cook for 20 minutes.

Cool the mixture to room temperature.

Remove the fruit from the syrup—you may need to heat the pot a bit to get the fruit free from the mixture.

Repeat the cooking cycle a last time: add a cup of sugar, heat to dissolve, add the fruit, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the fruit to a cooling rack (make sure there’s something under the rack to catch drips).

When the candies cool, roll them in granulated sugar and wrap them in waxed paper.

To make a harder candy, dehydrate the finished pieces for several hours before wrapping them.

Try this procedure with other fruits as well. Cherries, pineapple, peaches, apricots, mangoes, watermelon, apples, pears, and citrus rind are all great candidates for candying. I’m not enthusiastic about candying berries.

What About the Syrup?

With a little cooking, the leftover syrup should make excellent hard candies… and it seems you could cook it to the hard ball stage (250F degrees) and pull it to make taffy.

Also, you could cut the syrup with water to start a new batch of candied fruit. I haven’t tried this, but I’d spoon out a third of the syrup and cut it with an equal amount of water for the first cooking. I’d add half of the remaining syrup for the second cooking, and the rest of the syrup for the third cooking.

We’d love to hear your suggestions as well: after you make candied fruit, in what creative ways might you use the leftover syrup?

Daniel Gasteiger gardens in hardiness zone 6 in central Pennsylvania. He writes two blogs about kitchen gardening: Your Small Kitchen Garden and Your Home Kitchen Garden and recently published the book Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry it, Too from Cool Springs Press.

Thanks Daniel for being a guest on Jenn's Cooking Garden. It was a real treat having you show us how to make candy from fruit. I look forward to trying this recipe. I have a Pineapple waiting to be turned into something amazing!

I hope you all enjoyed learning how to make candy from fruit. If you have any questions for Daniel, leave a comment. He will be happy to help you out! Also, if you are in search of a fun new book about Canning, Freezing and Drying! Daniels book is perfect for you!

Happy Candy Making!!!

Blooming Cactus for Wordless Wednesday!

2011-06-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

Are you smarter then a Smart Pot?

2011-06-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

Smart Pots! Have you ever used one?

I am trying out a Smart Pot thanks to Peaceful Valley!

A Smart Pot is an aeration container used for growing in. You can grow just about anything in a Smart Pot. I am excited to try this product and share my experiences with you!

I am growing from the tan 15 gallon Smart Pot. The Smart pot is alot wider then I thought it was going to be. Which is good, means I can plant many veggies in it! One of the reasons I decided to try this product, is that I am always looking for different types of containers to grow in. One of the features about this pot that caught my eye is that it is a breathable fabric that gives good aeration to the root zone. I am always in search of products that will work well with the root system of plants. After all healthy roots make for a healthy plant. Smart Pots also release heat, stop root circling and air prunes the plants root structure.

When using containers for container gardening, use a good soil, I also added some rabbit poo to my soil mixture. When filling the Smart Pot make sure all the sides are straight. Lift the sides as you go to straighten the fabric walls. I left about a 2 inch space from the top of the soil to the top of the Smart Pot. Once your soil is to your desired likeness, add plants! Once you have added your plants to the Smart Pot slowly water to saturate the pot.

I am going to be growing Squash in my Smart Pot. I will be growing a Winter Squash from Peaceful Valley called Burgess Buttercup.

The Burgess Buttercup gets about 12 to 18 inches in height. They produce 3-5 pound fruits. I have never grown this squash and I am very excited to try it out!

Here is my completed Smart Pot! I did add a tomato plant that I will be trellising to a trellis outside the Smart Pot. I also added some Nasturtiums to hang over the edge of the pot for some added color. Depending on how wide the squashes get, I may remove a couple of them and plant around the bottom of the Smart Pot. I will keep you posted through out the summer months on how my Smart Pot and Squash is doing! Another thing I like about the Smart Pot is if I decide I don't like where it's at, I can easily move it.

Guess what???

A GIVEAWAY!!!

Peaceful Valley has also been kind enough to give away a Smart Pot to one of my readers! Are you interested, of course you are!

All you have to do to win a Smart Pot, is tell me what what you would grow in a Smart Pot and where you would put in your garden. Sounds pretty easy! I will announce the winner June 15, 2011!

I would love for you to check out Peaceful Valley!

They have wonderful products for the Organic grower! Peaceful Valley also has great blog for growing and wonderful videos to teach you about Organic gardening. Peaceful Valley originated in 1976 in a small garage. It's really a wonderful story on how they began! Check out there about Us page and get to know the wonderful people of Peaceful Valley! You can also follow Peaceful Valley on Twitter and Facebook! They love answering your questions and helping you out with all your growing needs. They also tweet wonderful things that other growers are growing. I know once you check out this wonderful company, you will love them as much as I do!

What are some of your favorite Squashes to grow?

Happy Gardening and Good Luck!!!

Peaceful Valley gave me these items to try out in my garden! All my thoughts about the products are my own. All reviews are my own from my own trials with the product.

When Sourdough goes stale!

2011-06-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

We are all guilty of buying or baking bread and not eating it fast enough!

I love fresh bread! It amazes me with all the people living in our house that bread actually goes stale!

This wonderful loaf of sourdough I am sad to say got a little to hard for us to eat!

Instead of letting it go to waste, I decided I would make homemade crutons. Crutons will go well with all the lettuce we have been harvesting from the garden.

Making crutons is very easy. You can do many flavor profiles. I made garlic and black pepper crutons.

First, cut up the bread to the size crutons you like to eat.

I then drizzled olive oil over my cut pieces.

Using my hands, I mixed all the pieces together to evenly coat the bread.

I then sprinkle garlic powder, crushed black pepper and parsley flakes over the cubes. I use my hands again to make sure each cube is coated.

I cook the cubes in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. After the first 20 minutes I stir the cubes and check the texture. I then cook them for an additional 20 minutes. By now they should be toasted and crispy.

I let them sit for about an hour until they are completely cooled off. I store my crutons in mason jars.

I also use these to coat chicken pieces for baking. Just toss what you need in a food processor and grind! My kiddos love to just grab a handful as a snack. They are good. We also make a garlic and parmesan flavor.

How do you use stale bread?

Happy Cooking!!!

A Container Garden Journey...It's Seed GROW time with Renee's Garden!

2011-06-03T00:38:00.000-07:00

Exciting times are ahead, Seed Grow project is in full swing!

I am such a huge fan of Renee's Garden Seed.

I'm so totally stoked to be able to participate again in the Seed Grow project. Renee's Garden has given me seeds to try out in my garden!

Last year, we grew Nasturtium Spitfire seeds! It was so fun to see all the other blogs and different ways people were growing their Nasturtiums!

This year we get to try 3 packets of seed!

We are growing specific seeds in containers! I am hoping to be very creative with my container choices! The 3 seeds we are trying out are Container Lettuce Garden Babies Butterhead, Large-Leaf Container Basil Italian Cameo and Butterfly Flowers Summer Splash Marigolds!

Here are the packets of seed! I love the packaging, they are so pretty!

Here is a tray of all the seeds I started in the greenhouse!

I started Garden Babies Butterhead two ways! I direct sowed outside in a wheelbarrow and also started them in my greenhouse.

My wheelbarrow of Garden Babies is doing really well! The Garden Babies are soooo cute! I cant wait to taste them. Looks like soon, I will be!

My Garden Babies in the green house I started about 7 days ago. They are off to a great start! I plan on adding these to different containers on my patio mixed with beets and carrots!

I started the Italian Cameo Basil about 7 days ago as well! I also direct sowed into a long planter box outside. I also started some in my greenhouse.

I think the Italian Cameo Basil is liking the outside better! I am anxiously awaiting to make pesto from this basil!

The Summer Splash Marigolds I am starting in the green house. I am still a little timid when it comes to growing flowers. I thought they may have a better chance starting out in the greenhouse.

They are slower to start, but are emerging nicely!

I cant wait to watch everything grow!

I hope you will follow along in this fun Container Garden Journey!

I am excited to be participating in the SeedGROW project 2011! A super huge Thank You to Renee's Garden for the Free seeds!

The Winners of My Favorite Things in May!

2011-06-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

May was a fun month! Lots of fun giveaways!

I have the winners!!!

If you didn't win, I have a few more giveaway's in June! Due to me having the flu and some strange weather, A few of my May Giveaways are carrying over into June!

June is my Birthday Month! So let's celebrate by giving you some presents!

Now on with the WINNERS!

Congrats to all of my winners!!!

Eco Smart Bundle:

Carolyn Of Cowlick Cottage

Seed Keeper:

Romi

Seed Balls:

Junk Loving Girl

Heirloom Veggies Guide:

Vagablonde515

The Green Gardener's Guide:

Meemsnyc

Liquid Fence Green Goody Bag

Andrew Odom

Email me your mailing Info to 4bratz2luv@gmail.com or contact me on Twitter @4bratz2luv

If I don't hear from you by Monday June 6, 2011 I will draw a new name!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Happy Gardening!!!

Rabbits vs. The Garden...Liquid Fence to the rescue!

2011-05-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

Rabbits have invaded my garden!!!
This is worse then the pending Rapture!

Like most, I continue to look for greener ways and company's that do "Green" for my garden and landscape!

Being green is important to me! I have children and pets that play. It is important for me,to make sure they are playing in areas that have no harsh chemicals.

My recent issue has been jack rabbits! They are in full force this time of year. They just love eating All my lettuce and strawberries. Those darn jack rabbits are now after my chard, oh did I mention they like kale too. My backyard garden is an all you can eat buffet! Well NO MORE! I have taken action! Don't get me wrong I love bunnies! We have bunnies and their Poo makes wonderful fertilizer in my garden. If those pesky jack rabbits would fertilize, I would gladly let them have a snack!

One of the best Rabbit repellents I have found so far is made by Liquid Fence. Liquid Fence strives to make you Environmentally safe products! They are always ready to answer your questions and find the right product for you. Liquid Fence is even on Twitter. Emily is always happy to answer any of your questions. It has been a pleasure getting to know her. It makes me feel like I have a better relationship with the company by having her interact with me about all my questions. Liquid Fence has also joined the fight against Breast Cancer! When you purchase Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent 25 cents of the purchase goes towards the fight against Breast Cancer. What a wonderful caring company! Such a great cause.

I started using the Rabbit Repellent last spring when I had a jack rabbit issue. I was at my wits end! The product is very easy to use, aim and shoot! You just spray near and around the area's of the rabbit infestation. You can even spray your edibles! It is safe! 100% natural. The product has a very strong unpleasant smell, it does go away. I mean it really is stinky! Small price to pay to save your edibles my friends! The smell is what I think keeps the rabbits away. I wouldn't eat in a smelly area! I also started using it again a couple months ago.Guess what, I haven't seen a jack rabbit lately, and my lettuces are looking fabulous!

Things I like about Liquid Fence Rabbit Repellent:

Environmentally Safe & Biodegradable

Can be used on edible crops (read directions)

Rain Resistant (a plus since Mother Nature cant make up her mind)

Repels with Scent & Taste

This product is Eco friendly

100% money back guarantee!!!

They also sell CowPots which I love for seed starting! They are made from cow poo! Pretty clever! Once your seeds get growing, you can plant the whole container. CowPots are also a renewable resource. I just recently started some peppers, okra and more tomato's using CowPots!

Now that you know a little bit about the product and the company. How about a giveaway!!!

Liquid Fence is giving 1 of you all of this! A Go Green Goody Bag!

For this giveaway, I am going to have to really make you earn it!

Tell us your Eco friendly ways of keeping Rabbits out of your garden.

It can be sprays you make to fencing or friendly traps! Send pictures of structures you make to keep Rabbits out! This will get you entered for this giveaway! Send pics to 4bratz2luv@gmail.com I will post your pics here, giving you full credit with a link to your blog! Tweet the giveaway for more entry's . You can also check out Liquid Fence on FaceBook

Winner will be announced May 31, 2011

Good Luck!!!

Happy Gardening!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE:

Lots of great Comments! Here's pictures by Andrew Odom
Check Him out Tiny r(e)volution
His Rabbit Trap! So Awesome!

Pictures Courtesy of Andrew Odom

He shows the inside of the Rabbit trap. Middle picture shows him setting up the trap. Final Picture, No bunnies, but Awesome Possums!

Great Pictures Andrew, Thanks for sharing!

The Green Gardener's Guide!

2011-05-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

Making the changes to be "Green" is a personal decision and a good one!

When I started in my adventures of being "Green" I really only knew about recycling and water conservation.

I knew I wanted to do more. Not just to lower my family's carbon footprint, but to educate myself and other's in my life. Change has to start somewhere!

As I started my own personal research by reading various outlets, via books, magazines,articles and of course the internet, I found myself overwhelmed. My thought was, how am I going to incorporate so many of these "green" changes in my life?

One of my main goals was to "green" my garden space. I truly had no idea how to begin. As I researched more, I found out i was actually already greening up my garden. I have incorporated many items into my garden that I recycled from old bed frames for raised beds to box spring frames for trellis's. I was composting most of my kitchen scraps, either the chickens got them or the compost pile! Yet, I wanted to do more. My next thoughts were water runoff, bug control and native plants for my garden landscape. Then my brain really took off, I wanted a full Organic gardening lifestyle. No pesticides or harmful chemicals.

Then one day the clouds parted and the sun shot rays from the clouds!

I found what I was seeking, a book by Joe Lamp'l!

The book I am speaking of is The Green Gardener's Guide This book is a great resource for someone wanting to green up their garden space.
This book has chapters full of information on greening up your garden. Through out the book Joe has, Did You Know sections. These sections help explain different topics he is discussing in the book. I also love his tidbits about The Impact of Gardening Green.

I really love how Joe gives a section on 10 Simple Actions to get you off to a fast start! With the 10 Simple Actions, he gives advice from growing plants in the right place, to testing your soil and including rain barrels for roof top run off!

My favorite section of the book is Chapter 7 Gardening to Protect the Ecosystem. To me, this chapter is important! Protecting our Ecosystems are very important to our earth! Imagine having a happy Ecosystem in your growing space! You can have one. All you have to do is start with your own growing space. Sounds simple and truly, it is that simple.

Joe Lamp'l is also on a great PBS show along with Patti Moreno called Growing a Greener World
Growing a Greener World shows so many ways to garden and shares all these wonderful places that are working hard at changing how people eat and grow. From Urban Farming to Seed saving. The show has a great group of people who truly care about what they are doing and love sharing great content. They are always ready to answer questions and share garden advice. If you haven't seen the show, check out the link above. They have many wonderful episodes for you to preview. If you are into Podcasts, check those out too. Oh, you must check out Chef Nathan Lion he has wonderful recipes for you to try!

As part of my Favorite Things in May continues, their is a giveaway my friends! Joe Lamp'l has been Awesome enough to give one of my readers his book. Everyone needs a good book like The Green Gardener' Guide. It will change the way you grow!

For this giveaway all you have to do is share your favorite episode of Growing a Greener World and why it's your favorite! If you haven't seen any of the episodes, go check them out and watch a couple and enter back here. Good Luck!

Winner will be announced May 31, 2011

Happy Gardening!!!

Growing Potato's & 3 methods I am trying!

2011-05-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

Potato's!

I love them mashed, fried and baked! They grow pretty easy! So many methods of growing them. There is the Trench method, Raised beds, Potato condo's and Towers. I have seen so many different ideas around the web.

My thoughts last year as we were digging out potato's on our hands and knees in puddles of our own sweat, their must be an easier way! I did the 3 feet deep trenches last year. We probably added 3 feet of soil on top of that. In my eyes, way to much work and way to much space. Don't get me wrong, a homegrown Potato is worth the work! When you are growing enough for a family of 6 to last a few months, you start wondering about easier ways!

I with the help of Super Dave (my hubby) have built a Potato tower. I am hoping by growing them up, it will leave me room to plant other things in my garden. Yes, yes I am also hoping it will be a little easier when harvesting. I work hard enough in my garden, it would be nice to have some of that hard work be a little easier.

We used wood that is 3 by 5 and we will be stacking them 5 high!

My potato's are already growing nicely. As the plants get taller, I will be nailing in wood on all 4 sides.

My wonderful hubby built a frame that will be easy for me to just nail on new boards as I go. As I add boards, I will be adding composted soil, leaving just a few green leaves peeking out at the top!

I am excited to see how this method works for growing Potato's. I am also growing Potato's in a few buckets and a raised bed I made out of an old captains bed.

Here is my son and I as we crammed pieces of the captains bed in my van, good times!

The Captains bed is now a raised bed for potato's.

I am even growing some in 1 trench.

I decided in the end to try many different methods. This way I can see which way is the best way for me to grow potato's.

Do you grow Potato's?

What methods have you tried?

Happy Potato Growing!!!

More Tomato Love! Growing something new!

2011-05-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Gardeners begin to dream of their summer gardens about a week after they rip out the previous season.

Most start thinking about what they will grow next year and where.

For me, it's all about Tomato's! I start searching for ones I have never tried or heard of!

This year I am growing a new Tomato for The Populuxe Seed Bank The seed bank sent me seeds to grow.

I will be growing the "Russian Persimmon" While I am growing, I will also be saving anywhere from 200-400 seeds to send back to the seed bank.

Russian Persimmon Seed Starts

The Russian Persimmon is new to me, I have never grown this variety before.

I am told they are a yellowish orange tomato. I have heard they have a good flavor and are more acidic then regular yellow type tomato's.

These plants get about 4 ft. tall and bear alot of fruit.

Russian Persimmon Tomato's in the Greenhouse

They are to be planted in the garden in the next week or so! Crazy California weather has prolonged my veggies from making their debut in the garden. I will be growing these in an isolated part of the garden, so the seeds will stay true!

Have you grown Russian Persimmon Tomato's?

Tell me all about it!

Happy Gardening Friends!!!

Wall Flower Studio, Seed Ball Fun/and a Giveaway!

2011-05-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

The best part about Social Media is the wonderful people you get to meet and become friends with! You seek out people who are like you and share many of the same interests!

As the month continues with My Favorite things in May, I want to tell you all about my friend Karen Sloan of Wall Flower Studio! Karen is a Horticulturist, Artist and Floral Designer, she resides in Ontario. The seeds on her site are Organically grown and non GMO seeds! These are seeds she saves from her garden!

You must check out her Art work as well! Gorgeous! One day, I would love to have her art hanging in my home!

Art by Karen Sloan

Karen like me is into a sustainable lifestyle! Like most of us, trying to make the world a better place!

She also has a pretty Fabulous Etsy shop.

She sales organic seeds, greeting cards, dried botanical teas, and seed balls. You should check out her shop if you are into Organics and Eco products!

I first learned about Karen from #SuperSowSunday, an event held on twitter on Super Bowl Sunday! Where like minded gardeners get together and talk about seeds and sow them together!

Karen was kind enough to giveaway some of her products for this event! I won some of her Plantable Paper Garden Greetings Greeting cards with seeds embedded in them that you toss in the garden and grow!

Pretty genius!

Here is a post by Karen about how to create Seed Balls !

Picture by Karen Sloan of Wall Flower Studios

Karen is giving 1 of my readers Seed Balls for my Favorite Things in May giveaway! She is just Fabulous!

I encourage you all to take some time and check out Wall Flower Studio. You will love what she has to offer!

All you have to do is share with me, some ways you are artistic in your garden or ways you are trying to make a change in being organic!

Good Luck Friends!!!

Winner will be announced May 31, 2011

Make sure you share the giveaways with friends, all are welcome!

Also if you tweet the giveaways let me know so you have an extra entry! I am @4bratz2luv on Twitter!

Strange Weather with the first Tomato!

2011-05-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Crazy weather is happening everywhere!

What happened to April showers bring May flowers?

In this wonderful month of May, we have gone from 90 degree weather to the 50's with rain, hail, thunder and lightning!

I made a mad dash in my flip flops to save some tomato's and other flowers and plants on Sunday. The hail was in full force. I guess it is the closest thing to snow my California backyard garden will ever see!

I lost 3 Tomato plants, they were simply pummeled by hail! I suppose it is a small thing to lose. But to me sad, starting plants from seed and taking care of them for a couple of months before they are ready for the big kid garden is alot of time and love. Good thing I plan ahead and always double the amount of seeds I start, just in case! Here are some of the pictures I took in my mad dash! They are a little rough, I was trying to protect my camera from the hail!

Russian Persimmon Tomato's

Part of my garden

Lettuce Bed & Chard

Onion, Dill & Herbs

The upside, I may not have seen the first Tomato growing on the vine had I not rushed to save my plants from the hail!

Exciting........

Even if my hubby kinda shook his head with a little sly smile murmuring, Crazy Woman! He was kind enough to toss me a towel to dry off, since I now looked like a drowned crazy woman!

Here it is! My first Tomato! It is a Yellow Pear Tomato!

Yellow Pear Tomato

How are your Tomato's growing?

What Tomato's are you growing?

Happy Gardening Friends!!!

My Favorite Things in May...A book about Heirlooms! Oh...and a giveaway!

2011-05-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

Heirlooms! I can't say enough about them!

I have an obsession with them! In my opinion, it's a good obsession!

What is an Heirloom you ask?

Heirloom seeds are open -pollinated seed, that have been around generally 50 years or longer. From what I read they were bred before chemical pesticides were common.

My obsession started out with Heirloom Tomato's. This year I am growing many Heirlooms in my garden!

I started with a little research on the subject. Their is alot of great info, especially in books. Which brings me to this book. The Complete Idiot's guide to Heirloom Vegetables!

I was lucky enough to review a copy! Read my review here!

My good friend Chris McLaughlin wrote a fabulous book for people just starting out in their search for Heirloom Vegetable's. If you know nothing about Heirlooms, this book my friends is for you!

I have learned so many things about Heirlooms and the many types from this book. As I buy different Heirloom seeds, I have been highlighting them in my book! This book has become a wonderful reference for me and helps me keep track of what i have bought!

Here are some pictures of some of the Heirlooms I grew in last years veggie garden.

Black Krim Tomato's

Multiple Heirloom Peppers

I love the bright colors and odd shapes of Heirlooms.

Now on with the giveaway!!!! I know you want to win this one!

My friend Chris is helping me celebrate my 2 year Bloggaversary!

Chris is giving away a copy of The Complete Idiots Guide to Heirloom Vegetables to one of you!

All you have to do is tell me about your favorite Heirloom that you grow!

If you have never grown an Heirloom, tell us all about the one you would love to grow!

Also, If you tweet the contest that gives you an extra entry!

I encourage you to try growing Heirlooms, you will not be disappointed, I promise!

The winner will be announced May 31,2011

Good Luck Friends!!!

Happy Mother's Day! A Seed Keeper Giveaway!

2011-05-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Being a Mom takes a special person. I was blessed to have a wonderful Mom and fabulous Grandmother's! I believe they helped mold and make me, the mother I am today!

My Mommy taught me to love, understand and appreciate the people in my life! My Grandmother's taught me to cook, garden, preserve and to be kind to the earth. I only hope with all they have taught and instilled in me, that I have shared those parts of them and me with my own children!

For Mother's Day my kids made me something special...

A new Flower Bed in the front yard! I love it!

As part of my Favorite things in May, it's time to reward one of you Mom's or Grandma's!

Have you heard of The Seed Keeper Company! If you haven't, you are missing out on a wonderful and fun product!

I love my Seed Keeper! It keeps me organized for seed starting and seed saving!

These ladies have wonderful products for organizing your garden seeds! Carol & Kerrie like most of us, were looking for a better way to store and save their seeds. They also came up with supplies for the kits that every seed starter needs. They do all the work for you and put it in a waterproof container.

For Mother's day, the Fabulous ladies Carol & Kerrie at Seed Keeper Co. are giving away The Seed Keeper Deluxe to one of you!!!! How wonderful are they! These ladies are so much fun! I enjoy chatting with them on Twitter. It's great to get to know the people who bring you great gardening products! They also love chatting and getting to know their customers. Check them out on Facebook and become a fan. They are always ready to answer your questions!

Image from The seed Keeper Company

Sorry gentlemen, this giveaway is for Mommies And Grandma's only!

The Seed Keeper Deluxe has 14 unique seed starting, sowing, saving tools and supplies!

A couple of my favorite things from the kit is the wooden planting ruler, which is great for direct sowing of radishes, beets, carrots and turnips. The ruler helps eliminate the thinning of seedlings later. I also love that they include an A-Z and monthly dividers. This way I can alphabetize my seeds and put seed packets in the specific months that I want to sow them.

To win this giveaway, share with me one of your favorite memories you have with your Mommy or Grandma!

The winner will be announced on May 31, 2011

Good Luck Ladies and Happy Mother's Day!!!

Black is the New Green...Flat Tire Decor

2011-05-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

What uses do you think of when it comes to old tires?

You know, the ones that end up on the side of your house or somewhere in your backyard being an eye sore. You often wonder what you should be doing with them. Some people use them as planters, tire swings,or whatever they can come up with.

Today, I want to share with you a company that I recently learned about.

The company I am talking about is, Flat Tire Decor! They are finding great uses for all those old tires that may otherwise end up in a landfill. What a way to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle! I think it's a fabulous idea!

This company is based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin! One thing I really love about this company, they offer work experience and training to people with disabilities! To learn more, check out Curative Care Network! Now that my friends, is AWESOME!

I received the Newport tire basket to review. The tire basket is really durable and I love the authentic colors of the tire basket. No tire basket will look the same, all tire baskets will have their own authentic look. I really like the fact that this tire is not in a landfill and is being put to good use.

I am using mine for chicken scratch. The handles will make it easy for me to transport the scratch from my house out to my chicken coop!

You could use this basket for many things, gardening tools, knitting supplies or even to hold small toys and books in your car to keep your young ones entertained.

Flat Tire Decor is a company I would proudly share with people. I love supporting company's that make positive change for people with disabilities and our planet.

To learn more about them, check out their website above or check out their Flat Tire Footwear !

You can also follow them on Twitter & Facebook

How do you Reuse old tires? What are some ways you would use Flat Tire Decor baskets if you had one?

Happy Recycling Friends!!!

Flat Tire Decor sent me product to review, the opinions of the product are my own!

Favorite Things in May Giveaway EcoSmart

2011-05-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

Favorite things in May giveaways starts today!!!

Having an Organic garden is important to me.

I looked into EcoSMART for solutions for my garden. My goal in my garden, is to keep harmful chemicals out of my garden and off the food my family eats. Most gardeners I know are looking for products they can use safely! I feel EcoSMART is one of those products I can trust! EcoSMART is also Pet friendly! Being Pet friendly is a great for us! We wouldn't want our Dog, Cats, Chickens or Rabbits to ingest any harmful chemicals!

About EcoSMART

EcoSMART Technologies, the world leader in safe pesticide solutions, is a venture-backed company with patented technology and a world-class management team. Our mission is to create the world’s safest, most effective pesticides based on natural ingredients. We have 15 years of scientific research and a wealth of patents behind us. We make the only 100% safe insecticide that is proven to work. We offer the only complete line of EPA exempt pesticides sold in the US.

Recently I was sent a bundle of products to review!

I chose a Plant & Garden bundle.

In the bundle I received:

Weed and Grass Killer (24 oz spray bottle)
Garden Fungicide (24 oz spray bottle)
Garden Insect Killer (24 oz spray bottle)
Insect Repellent (6 oz bottle)

I have been trying out the products, and lately we have used the Insect Repellent alot! With all the recent rain we have had, and the overflowing creeks around my house. Mosquitoes have been feasting on my family!

We have been using it in the early evening when we are out in the backyard gardening or playing. I will definitely be using this product during our camping trips! Has a black licorice smell to it. I love that it doesn't smell like chemicals.

Shooting my weeds dead! Dead weeds also shown from previous week

The product I am loving the most is the Weed & Grass Killer! I have that lovely crab grass. You know what im talking about! That nasty grass when you go to rip it out and by the time you are done, it's 6 ft. long! I am happy to report it has been working wonderfully! It also works really well for the grass and weeds that grow in the cracks of your driveway and sidewalk!

I am really enjoying using EcoSMART.

Now for the giveaway!!!!

Who wants to win a Plant & Garden Bundle?

All you have to do, is share with me some of your Organic methods! What are some solutions you make Organically for your garden? Easy peasy!

Extra enterys, If you Tweet or share on Facebook! Just let me know if you Tweet and Facebook the giveaway!

Follow them on these Social Media sites!

Follow EcoSMART on Twitter! @GetEcoSmart

Follow EcoSMART on Facebook

Good Luck to all!!!!

Winner will be announced May 31, 2011

All items from EcoSmart were free! I was not paid to endorse thier product! Opinions of the product are simply my own!

Guest Post with Michael Nolan "How to Trash Your Garden"

2011-05-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Today, I am honored to have a guest post by Michael Nolan "The Garden Rockstar" He is sharing with us "How to Trash Your Garden"

Now that I have your attention!
Michael Nolan is a book Author! He is a Co-writer of "I Garden: Urban Style"

A great book that showcases Urban Gardens! Michael also writes on his own blog "My Earth Garden" where he shares his love of gardening, food, environment and building his own rural Homestead from the ground up! This month on "My Earth Garden" Michael is going "Around the Blog in 31 days" He will be doing guests posts on 31 blogs in the month of May!

I always enjoy reading Michael's blog, I especially love his "How to videos" & I really love his videos where he lets loose and has fun being who he is! I hope you check Michael out after reading his guest post! He is a Fabulous guy to hang with on Twitter & a great guy to learn from!

I know introduce you to the Fabulous Michael Nolan....

How to Trash Your Garden

A guest post by author Michael Nolan

I love talking trash. As a southerner it is my birthright. In this case though, we’re going to talk trash in a different way as I give you a few examples of how to trash your garden using recycled materials, look cool, be eco-friendly and save a little cash in the process.

Seed Starters

There are so many different things that can be used as seed starting pots. From fiberboard egg cartons to the egg shells themselves, paper towel & toilet paper rolls to newspaper seed starting pots, the sky is really the limit and a little creativity is often all it takes. It is not necessary to buy them, but if you feel the need to spend money on them please just ask & I will make you some.

Plant Markers

Please tell me you don’t buy plant markers. Just… don’t. If you have an old set of broken down mini blinds, cut them down into 8” lengths, trim one end into a point and you have readymade plant markers that will last the entire season and then some. You can even recycle an aluminum drink can into some free metal plant tags if you’re feeling really crafty.

Recycling Plants

If you aren’t recycling plants, what’s wrong with you? Most of every plant can be recycled from feed for pet chickens to the precious compost pile that you should be building, and don’t forget seed saving! Saving your own seed is the ultimate in recycling in the garden.

You can trash your garden like a pro when you allow yourself to see beyond the common uses for everyday items around you. Give the local landfill a break and your garden will thank you for it.

Michael Nolan, The Garden Rockstar is an author, blogger and speaker on gardening, sustainability, food ethics and homesteading. He is currently in the process of writing a new guest post on a different site for each day in May. To follow his progress, visit MyEarthGarden.com.

I hope you all enjoyed Michael's guest post. If you have any questions for Michael, he would love to answer them for you.

Thank you Michael for being a guest today on Jenn's Cooking Garden! I look forward to reading all your posts for the next 31 days!

Jenn's Favorite Things In May! 2 year Bloggaverasry Celebration!

2011-05-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

Amazing things have happened to me since I started my blog 2 years ago in May!

I have met many wonderful people and made a number friends through Blogging and Twitter.The best part, the Garden Community of friends I have made. I have learned so much from all of them.

My very first veggie garden 5 years ago

When I started this blog, I was simply a Veggie grower. I had been gardening for a few years before I started to blog. I learned to garden from my Grandma Jimmie! We had a huge veggie garden! Every year she canned her summer bounty! My favorite, The black eyed peas with onion, Yum! Oh.... and the fired Okra in cornmeal. I had this deep want of getting back to my roots and grow my own food and preserve it! I had no interest in growing flowers or diving into a deeper realm of gardening. I am glad I didn't listen to what I thought I wanted to do! Gardening has brought peace to my life and so much more!

Recently, I was asked to work a garden show and had a blast! I had free reign of creating the vegetable garden area! Awesome, right!

My Vegetable Garden at Cal State Garden Show

I was so inspired by my friend and now plant mentor Jeannie Hanson! She got my wheels turning and I started my own small buissness as a Vegetable Garden Coach! So many people approached me wanting Vegetable gardens, but they didn't know where to start! None of this may have been possible without my blog and great inspirations like Jeannie telling me to jump and not leap into my garden dreams.

May is a fun Gardening month!

Some states have been in the garden for awhile and some are just now hitting their soil! The states have been having some crazy weather experiences! I hope all my friends back east are staying safe!

With May being my Bloggaverasry month, it's time for a month of Jenn's Favorite Things!!!

The whole month of May is dedicated to all the things I LOVE as a Gardener, Preserver, Cook, Reader & Blogger. The month will be filled with Giveaways, Guest Bloggers, Garden Projects, Canning and Recycle Garden Ideas! I hope you join me in celebrating the month of May! Stay tuned everyday in May for a new post and a possible giveaway!

All Winners will be announced On May 31, 2011

Thanks for being a follower of the blog and friend! I appreciate all of you!!!

Happy Gardening Friends!!!

Fabulous Friday 5! 5 Favorite things from the week!

2011-04-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

On this wonderful Friday I have decided to show some of my fellow bloggers some love. Here are 5 of my fave's from the week!

Eat. Drink. Play in the Dirt.

3 things I love! Check out this blog by Nikki! She is super fun and a great garden inspiration! Oh and did I mention, she has great drink ideas!

She invented the MooTini!!!

This week she grabbed my attention with her bird seed balls!

Image from Nikki @ Dirt & Martinis

Michael, at My Earth Garden Is working on creating a rural Homestead from the ground up. For the month of April he did 20 recipes in 30 days! Wait till you here about his May challenge! But, you will have to check out his blog to find out what it is!

This week he shared a wonderful recipe, Cashew Chicken & Spring Rolls!

OH.... Did I mention he is a Garden Rockstar and the Author of I Garden: Urban Style

Image from Michael @ My Earth Garden

My pal Daniel from Your Small Kitchen Garden is a Jack of all trades! A great all around guy! He has been my food preserving pal since I started my blog! I stalk his page often! He is always giving good seed growing advice with great videos to follow!

Recently, Daniel wrote a Fantabulous book! Yes, you can! And freeze and dry it, too!

Of course the blog entry that snagged me this week, has to do with Preserving food!

He shows the many ways you can accomplish preserving food!

Image from Daniel @ Your Small Kitchen Garden

All around good guy Bill Bird! Very funny with his adventures in Gardening and Bee's!

Whenever I need a good comedy relief, I head to Bill's blog!

Sacramento Vegetable Gardening is all about growing in Sacramento, where I am from!

One thing I love about Bill, is his devotion to his wife and goddess Venus! That man truly loves that woman!

The post that had me salivating this week was all about Artichokes!

I have to say, I am super jealous of all the chokes he will be consuming! From reading his blog, I probably wont be getting any chokes this season from my plants! There's always next year!

Image from Bill @ Sacramento Vegetable Gardening

Last but not least!

My girl Bren from BG Garden! Bren is the host of #Gardenchat on Twitter!

A fun place for Gardeners to chat and learn new ideas. She lines up awesome guest hosts each Monday night!

She also has a great blog covering many topics from growing, eating and social media!

This week Bren took us on an adventure to Arkansas! Where she hung out with P.Allen Smith and many other great bloggers.

P.Allen Smith had a Garden 2 Blog event where he invited bloggers, to see his garden home and many other great places! It looked like they had a great time!

I love seeing what Bren will cook up next!

Image from Bren @ BG Garden

What are some of your favorite blogs?

Leave me links in the comments, I would love to check them out!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the blogs I have shared with you!

Happy Gardening Friends!!!

~Wordless Wednesday~

2011-04-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Garden show finale!

2011-04-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Finally we finished! Here are a few pictures of the final display! We received Silver, which is 2nd place.

The lighting in this big warehouse is really wonky!

This is the side view with a small seating area.

Inside the patio is a potting table. Every gardener needs a spot to get their plants ready for the soil.

A fun little sitting area to unwind with a nice glass of wine.

This is the veggie garden area I designed! Its off to the side, yet still in the front yard living space.

The olive tree in the front yard area.

The Wonderful Award!

As I go through more pictures, I will post them. This was such a fun experience!

Have you ever been to a garden show or participated in one?

Tell me all about it!

Happy Gardening Friends!!!

Cal State Garden Build Part 2

2011-04-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

As the preparations continued for the Cal State Garden show, there was plenty of work to be done!

Paint went on the walls!

The lighting in the building is really bad. The colors used were a yellow and an almost terra cotta color.

The colors work really well together.

These are the walls for the outdoor dinning area!

This is also a side entrance into the front yard living space.

This is a frontal view of the front yard edible living space.

Olive trees and grapefruit trees will add height to the space.

A walkway into the front yard space. A small gate will be put at the end of this walkway.

It is going to be fabulous!

This area will be a lounging and fun area. Possibly even a potting table.

So many possibilities for this large outdoor living space.

This little nook will be a dinning area. Some coper panels will make a roof.

This design really will incorporate outdoor living and utilizing your outdoor space. Yet,

the walls will give you a sense of privacy. Two smalls windows will add extra light to the space, while also being used as art by being able to look out into the garden while you enjoy a meal.

Other added elements such as cobblestone side yards.

Large pots with trees and some seating will go here.

I love these walkways. They invite you to enter and enjoy some relaxation.

This charming area will be a vegetable garden. There is an entrance from the side yard. These iron gates add charm and elegance. Also serving as a way to keep large animals out of the garden area.

We are also using these Iron pieces to add elements to the space. Adding dimensions to make the space more appealing.

Water features in the garden are nice to! They add texture to a space and trickling water is relaxing.

Another water feature we will be using in the design.

This fountain will hold plants to add more texture.

Gates! Beautiful! These are the main entrance gates. They add height and charm.

The entry way looks more inviting.

Also, we are using these very cool garden bed brackets for raised beds throughout the garden space.

You just slide the wood in the already formed brackets! Makes garden bed building very easy!

The brackets also make the garden area more elegant looking.

Stay tunned for the final post on the completed display!

Happy Garden Designing!!!

California Flower Food & Garden show

2011-04-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Garden shows are happening everywhere this time of year!

I am super excited about this one Cal State Garden Show !

I have the honor of working with Jeannie Hanson of Geno's Garden!

Jeannie is a Garden Designer, coach and writer. Jeannie has great ideas for her Mexican themed exhibit at the show this year. I will be giving her a helping hand this week (jumping up and down in excitement)

I will be working on the Vegetable Garden area of her exhibit. Totally up my alley!

Here is a picture of the space I will be working on.

The view coming through the patio area.

Outside view of my area. In this area will be 2 raised Vegetable beds, a waterfall feature, a walkway , some pots and a grey water system.

Here are some more pictures of the bones of the space.

Here is a side view. The area with the 2 windows will be a dinning area.

Inside the dinning area.

A view of the inside.

This is the front entrance of the exhibit. Jeannie shared with me all the plans for the space. I will share as we go along. For now I will leave it to your imagination.

The cobblestone flooring is gorgeous! I would love this in my backyard.

This is one of the water features . So rustic!

These are some gates and another water feature that will be used.

I am very excited to be a part of this wonderful experience. It is very neat seeing how it all comes together.

Over the next few days I will be sharing how this display comes together! Who knows there may be a few surprises for some lucky readers who are local.

Are any of my local blogger/twitter peeps attending this event?

I hope to see you there!

Happy Gardening Friends!!!

Garden Inspiration from Pier 39

2011-04-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

In recent travels to San Francisco, we took a little stroll on Pier 39.

Its a popular Pier for shopping and eating.

This crab is really cool! Talk about vertical growing! The crabs body has a number of succulents and plant growing. I thought it was a very neat way of displaying art and plants.

I was checking out all of the flowers and container gardens they had on display. I snapped a few pictures for future inspiration in my own gardens and to share with all of you!

Tulips were in full bloom! I have never seen so many in one place.

Here are some Tulips and Daffodils hanging out together in a wooden barrel.

I loved how they had flowers and edibles growing together in these large barrels.

The possibilities are endless when mixing edibles with flowers .

I loved the mixing of succulents with shrubs!

The purple flowers in the background really make the succulents pop!

Succulents and flowers are mixed together in this window box display.

I also like the ornamental grass's peeking out here and there.

More container gardens along the pier. I love the fuschia flowers. I have this in my backyard, although it is not blooming yet. I purchased mine through Annie's Annuals

I love these yellow bell looking flowers. The leaves are gorgeous too. I don't remember the name.

Any ideas?

Here we have more succulents with shrubs. I really love the textures blended in this garden bed.

We also stopped to look at all the amazing bread sea creatures that were baking at Boudin Bakery

We had such a fun trip! We also visited Alcatraz Island. That will be another post. They had Gorgeous gardens on the island as well.

When you visit places, do you ever stop to see whats growing?

Where are some places you have visited with flowers blooming and gardens growing?

Happy Garden Exploring!!!

Crazy cold meets hot warm Soup!

2011-03-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

The Weather!!!

In my wonderful part of Cali, the weather has been crazy insane. Unable to decide if we get 70 degrees and sunny, or cold sideways rain with wind blowing up to 50 miles per hour. Needless to say, we now have flooding streets and overflowing creeks. The good thing about all this rain, is that my rain barrels are overflowing and the garden is thoroughly watered!

With weather like this, all we need is SOUP!

My latest soup Chicken Gnocchi with Kale.

I love this soup and it is so easy to make.

Ingredients:

3 Chicken Breasts (cooked and chopped)

4 cups of Chicken Broth

2 Cups Half & Half

2 Celery Stalks

2 Garlic Cloves (from the garden)

2 Carrots (from the garden)

1/2 medium Yellow Onion

1 1/2 cups of Kale (from the garden)

Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon Thyme (from the garden)

Salt & Pepper

16-18 ounces Potato Gnocchi (you can make from scratch)

Directions:

Saute the onions,garlic,carrots,celery in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.

Next add chicken, half & half, chicken stock, salt, pepper and thyme.

Heat to boiling and then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 3-4 minutes.

Then simmer the soup for 10 minutes.

Add chopped Kale and cook for an additional 2 minutes until Kale is wilted.

Heat to boiling and then serve!

Such a yummy soup for a cold night.

We had some Garlic Bread with our soup. The bread is so good dipped into the soup.

Enjoy!

What soups do you love making on cold winter nights?

Spring is almost here, again!!!

Happy Eating!!!

Yay!!!! Its SPRING!

2011-03-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung!

Gardeners all over are Happy she has finally arrived. We are still having alot of rain in my neck of the woods.

Although, it certainly hasn't stopped me from getting my

green thumb deep into some soil.

I have been busy with my seed start station!

Getting Tomato's, Peppers,Basil and Eggplant a nice little start.

I have so many things growing in the greenhouse too!

Zinger Hibiscus Tea! I'm excited to see this garden goodie grow. I cant wait to make my own tea.

Here is my Swiss Chard, Malabar Spinach, Butter-crunch Lettuce and Garlic Chives. These seedlings are about 3 weeks old.

Alpine Strawberries are finally germinating! Took about 19 days! I have never grown Strawberries from seed. It's exciting!

Sweet Chen Basil. I am also growing 6 other Basil varieties.

My Tomato plants are off to a fabulous start! I'm growing 11 varieties this year.

These Tomato's are called Russian Persimmon. I'm growing these to help a seed bank. I will be doing a post all about this project soon.

I started Artichokes from seed this year as well. These will go in my front yard edible landscape. I will be sharing more about the edible front yard in future posts! This is just a few things I have growing. I will post more this week.

What seeds have you started?

Are you growing new seeds this year? If so, what are you growing?

Happy Growing Friends!!!

Growing edibles with flowers contest!

2011-03-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

Growing edibles is so fun! Whats even more fun is seeing them grown with flowers and bulbs.

Growing the 2 together makes for a pretty container garden!

I saw great container gardens with both growing together!

I decided to do a fun little contest. Below is a picture of a container garden.

If you can guess all the EDIBLES growing with the flowers and bulbs. You will win a pack of lettuce seeds and a pack of flower seeds that grow well in containers!

Maybe you will be inspired to grow them together!

I will pick 3 winners based on how many you got right!

I will announce the winners on Friday March 11,2011

Good Luck Friends!

Happy Growing!

Compost with Chris McLaughlin and Annie's Annuals...A perfect Saturday!

2011-03-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

Most of you know all about Annie"s Annuals! I have been hearing about this AMAZING nursery for over a year now. I finally, was able to make a trip there. Not only did I get to check this AWESOME nursery out, I was able to hear the FAMOUS Chris McLaughlin talk all about Compost and Worm Bins!

Chris McLaughlin is the Author of CIG to Composting.

A very comprehensive book about Compost and Worm Bins! I love this book! This book is very easy to follow and understand. If you are new to composting, this book is perfect for you!

Chris and I striking a pose!

We had such a great time talking compost and plants

. I enjoyed talking about Veggie gardens and using recycled items in the garden.

Silly me forgot to take pictures of her demonstration. She had a pretty good turn out.

After her demonstration we did a little walk through Annie's. My walk lasted about 3 hours. There is so much to see at Annie's, you almost need an entire day!

This is just one corner of Annie's Annuals!

Lot's of neat edibles and plants in different types of containers.

Purple Kale

I love these! I am loving purple's this year.

Orange and Greens!

I love this! I cant remember what this is called. It makes me think the flowers will open and eat ya!

Their were a few areas that are landscaped throughout.

Succulents

Sitting area

The combinations in this area are way cool!

Can you see the teacup on the metal pole? Very neat idea.

This would be a wonderful ground cover in my front yard.

What a wonderful idea!

Who doesn't love free Soil?

Here are some of my faves!

One of the best parts of the day! My husband was patient and pulled my wagon of plants for me! He is a keeper!

If you ever have the chance to visit Annie's Annuals I highly recommend you do so! Plan on spending the whole day at this Fabulous nursery!

Happy Gardening and Composting!!!

Recycling a Lettuce Garden

2011-02-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

I am always on the look out of doing Recycled projects!

I have a few in the works, that I will be sharing soon!

I thought today I would share with you, one of my favorite recycle projects!

What you will need:

Wheel Burrow

Soil

Seeds

Water

Today, I am starting a Container Lettuce. I would definitely consider a wheel burrow a container!

I will be growing Garden Babies Butterhead by Renee's Garden

First I got my soil ready. I used Organic soil mixed with a little rabbit poo.

I made a few rows in the wheel burrow for my seeds. I spaced each row about 2-3 inches apart.

I then, Sprinkled the seeds and covered the rows with soil. Gave them a nice sprinkle of water. I guess now, I just wait!

I put my wheel burrow by the door of my greenhouse.

This way in the afternoon the lettuce will have a little shade.

What recycling projects are you doing?

Happy Gardening!!!

Planting Bulbs and a Memory Garden

2011-02-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

Playing with Bulbs is something new with me.

I have been getting bulbs from random areas in my yard or digging them out of other people's yards!

In the greenhouse this past weekend, I decided to put some bulbs in individual pots. This way, I can put them in different areas of my yard.

hyacinths

I have some Terra Cotta pots laying around, so that's what I decided to use.

I filled the pot halfway with dirt.

I then added my the bulb that has already started growing to the pot.

I then filled in the rest of the pot with organic soil.

They have very pretty blooms!

I also transplanted some Daffodils and Paperwhites.

Along with Sedum "Blue Spruce"

This area is a special Memory Garden in honor of my husbands Grandmother who recently passed away.

I dug the bulbs and the Sedum from her yard.

Sedum "Blue Spruce"

I am hoping the Sedum will fill in this area nicely. I also sprinkled other seeds in this flower bed for the summer months.

This large container is where I got the Hyacinths from. Attached to all theses dead leaves in the container were roots that looked like this!

Do any of my garden pals know what these might be?

I figured I would just leave them in the container of dirt in the greenhouse and see what grows!

What bulbs do you grow and what are your favorites?

Happy Gardening Friends!!!

The first Strawberry seedling

2011-02-21T14:54:00.001-08:00

The first Strawberry seed has germinated! I'm very Excitied!

The greenhouse seems to be doing it's job nicely!

I am hoping more seedlings will pop up this week!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Greenhouse seed starting

2011-02-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

A greenhouse allows me to start growing year round! I do grow alot of things year round already!

A greenhouse will allow me to extend the season on most things I grow!

It may even be possible, that I could be eating Tomato's in December or January!

That gets me really excited!

I have already started seeds in my greenhouse! I wasted no time getting started.

I love using these large flats to start lettuces and greens. Once my lettuces are about 2 inches tall, I transplant out to the big garden.

Here is how I plant in large flats.

I use weed mesh to line the bottom of my flats,so none of my soil falls through the cracks. I reuse the pieces until they start to get holes and can't be used anymore.

I add my seed starting mix to the flat and then moisten the soil before I sow my seeds.

These are the seeds I will be sowing. Some Chard, Lettuce Blend, Arugula, Sweet Greens & Reds along with some Bloomsdale Spinach.

I sprinkle the seeds in sections, this way I have an idea of what is growing wear.

You can see the different seeds in the soil. I sprinkle a layer of soil across the top of the seeds and spray a mist of water over the top.

I am trying a new type of growing container this year. Every year I like to see what's new.

I am trying Planters Pride Fiber Grow containers. They are fully Biodegradable which I love! I am always in search of items to use in my Organic garden.

I will be starting Alpine Strawberries from seed in Fiber Grow Strips.

I will keep you posted on how they work out! I just added seed started mix and seeds and watered.

The Alpine Strawberry seeds were very tiny. I used tweezers to sow the seeds. I did 5 seeds per pot.

I have never grown them before. So I figured, I would sow 5 seeds cross my fingers and hope for the best!

I will keep you updated on the process of starting Strawberries from seed.

I also started some Cilantro.

Cilantro should sprout pretty quick. I use a ton of cilantro. I will be starting Cilantro every couple weeks. I have noticed that I have a few rouge Cilantro plants popping up in the main garden.

At least Cilantro seeds are a little bigger, no tweezers required for this seed. I put 4 seeds in each pot. They will go outside as soon as they are a couple feet tall.

My first greenhouse seed sow!

I am so excited! Can you tell!

I will have many more greenhouse shares as time goes by. I am sure it will be alot of trial and error as I get used to the temps in the greenhouse. I hope you are all ready for a fun new journey in the greenhouse!

Do you grow in a greenhouse?

What are some of your tips for starting seeds?

Happy Gardening Friends!!!

A Greenhouse from my Valentine!

2011-02-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

Valentines IS a day of LOVE!

I have the best husband in the world! I LOVE THAT MAN!!!

He knows how to make his girl happy!

My first Greenhouse! I am so excited!

I put it smack dab in the middle of my garden! Which means the whole garden gets a face lift.

My first greenhouse project: A path to the greenhouse!

I laid out some weed proof mesh. I took some different size river rock and lined the edges.

Then I added shredded bark into my walkway. My son was a great help with this project.

We then added some stepping stones, just to make it more appealing. My kids made me these for Mother's Day! I love the long one by the door. It looks like a door mat.

Final project!

Lots of work ahead. I can't wait to share my all my adventures!

Do you have a greenhouse? What's your favorite thing about your greenhouse?

Happy Gardening!!!

Super Sow Sunday Update

2011-02-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

Super Sow Sunday was so much fun!

I got a few seeds started during the event!

Everything I needed to get ready!

I planted Brocolli, Basil, Russian Persimmon Tomato's and Leeks!

Here is how they look a week later!

Brocolli

Basil (Purple Opal, Sweet Chen & Citrus)

French Leeks

Russian Persimmon Tomato's

I also won a few contests on Super Sow Sunday!

Here's what I won!

Seeds from Renee's Garden and a Greeting card with seeds in the paper from http://wallflowerstudioseeds.blogspot.com/

I also won lots of flowers from Botanical Interests

I also won Herb seeds from Cubits Organics

It was such a fun event!

I would like to thank Bren over at BG Garden

She pulled off a wonderful event!

She also is the moderator for #gardenchat on Twitter!

Thanks Bren for all you do in the Gardening Community!

What seeds have you started?

Happy Seed Starting!!!

Something is blooming... My first cactus blooms

2011-01-30T23:08:00.000-08:00

Cactus's are something I have never really thought about growing! In the past year or so, I have been picking one up here and another there. I have also started buying succulents as well.

I received a Christmas Cactus over the holiday! I love how pretty they are.

I love how green they are. The leaves are flattened with scallop like edges. This Christmas Cactus has a bloom that hasn't opened yet!

The flowers are so pretty! I love how they shoot out from the plant. The flowers are about 3 inches long. The flowers are so red and vibrant with a little pink tongue sticking out at you! I did notice the blooms last longer when they are near light!

I look forward to trying to keep this cactus alive. I am not very experienced in cactus's. Although I am learning! Learning is the fun part of growing plants!

From what I have learned they like rich well drained soil and bright indirect light. Christmas Cactus's are not drought tolerant and like to be watered. Let them dry out between waterings. Over watering can lead to root rot. Water less in the winter time!

Do you grow Cactus's? What are some of your favorites? Do you have any advice for me on keeping this baby alive and thriving?

Happy Cactus Growing!!!

Super Sow Sunday

2011-01-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

Super bowl is in a week! Who cares... not I! I have something more exciting then that to do!

I will be sowing seeds and Tweeting about it. Along with a few other folks on Twitter. This is the 2nd annual Super Sow Sunday. Bren over at BG Garden Is the host of this Awesome event.

Picture from BGgarden.com

Their will be Fabulous prizes to win. Its easy to join in on the fun! Just log into your Twitter acct. and use this hash tag to follow #supersowsunday Super Sow Sunday is February 6 and will start at 6:30 -8:30pm ET.

I participated last year and had so much fun!

Super Sow Sunday is a great way to meet gardeners from all over. Everyone shares ideas, gives tips and even swaps a few seeds.

Here are some of the seeds I sowed last year on Super Sow Sunday.

It was such fun! I hope some of you Gardeners will participate in this fun event!

Here is what you will need:

Seed Starting soil

Cell packs/Small Containers to grow in (egg cartons, milk jugs)

Jiffy Greenhouse kits (optional, if you don't use above items)

Plant Markers (popscicle sticks work well)

Seeds

Spray Bottle (Moisten the dirt after you plant seeds)

Indoor grow lights

Seed Mats(optional)

I hope to see you Tweeting on #supersowsunday

Post your pictures as you sow on Twitter! I would love to see what you are sowing!

I would also like to give a shout out to all the AWESOME company's who donated and sponsored this event!

For more information on #supersowsunday and the sponsors that are participating, please visit Bren at http://bggarden.com/blog/

Happy Seed Sowing Friends!!!

Granola Gourmet and a little Giveaway!

2011-01-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

With the new year moving vastly! Most of us vowed to eat Healthier!

I am one of those people.

Most of you who read my fun filled little blog, know I'm always in search of healthy eating for me and my family.

There is a Diabetic, Celiac, Crohns and a Wheat allergy among us.

I had the opportunity to try a new product, that is healthy for you! One that would be good for all of us.

As I researched the company on their website Granola Gourmet I found out great things about the company and how they came to be. The have lots of information for Diabetics and even a Diabetic blog.

The founder Jeff Cohen is a Diabetic and was having trouble finding snacks that met his needs as a diabetic.

Jeff and his family came up up with their own solution and got busy in the kitchen and created healthy snacks. Not just for him, but his entire family! A wonderful idea!

Their products are Kosher, NO Wheat,No Dairy Energy Bars that are High in Omega 3's and Whole Grains. Granola Gourmet bars are 100% natural and made with 75% organic ingredients.

Another great thing about this company , A portion of your purchase goes to help The American Diabetes Assoc. and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

I was able to try 4 flavors! Ultimate Cran-Orange, Ultimate Berry, Ultimate Fudge Brownie & Ultimate Mocha Fudge. I have to say, I really liked them. They were very tasty! My favorite was the Cran-Orange. I did a ton of Gardening this weekend and munched on a couple of these bars for snacks. I didn't feel to full and they gave me great energy. My kiddos even enjoyed them! I gave them all samples to try! 2 liked Mocha Fudge and 1 liked the Ultimate Berry and the hubby liked the Fudge Brownie!

Granola Gourmet has offered to give samples away to one of my lucky readers!!! Yay!

Here are the rules: Leave me a comment letting me know why you should win! (are you trying to be healthy, diabetic etc...)

Check out their website Granola Gourmet Web Site

Follow them on Twitter granola_gourmet

Check them out on Facebook Granola Gourmet

Granola Gourmet has alot of information on their website, so check them out!

Also tweet about about my giveaway for a wonderful product!

I hope you will check out this product! I know I will be buying them. So far, only my local Safeway is selling them. The company also sells them on their website.

I will announce the winner on Monday January 31, 2011

Good Luck!!!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Update: Gardenmom29 is the winner!
Email me your address for your free product!

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

Preserved Lemons

2011-01-21T14:34:00.000-08:00

California is known for great citrus!

In my opinion one of the best reasons to live here!

Once you start growing citrus, you always have extra! Which is what brings me to my post today. I have lots of Lemons! There is only so much juice I can squeeze and freeze. The juice I squeeze, is saved for Lemon-aid and for canning and salad dressings.

I asked many people on Twitter and Facebook, (two of my favorite places) what I should do with all my extra lemons. Preserving them is what really got my attention!

Preserving Lemons is very easy! There are many different spices you can use as well. I just did a basic recipe!

All you need is Lemons, Salt and Jars! Oh, and a knife for cutting!

Add 2 Tbls. of salt to the bottom of each jar. Make sure your jars are sterilized.

Start off by cutting slits in the Lemons leaving the peel attached to the flesh. Also, cut the ends of the lemon with the stem off!

Sprinkle salt in the insides of the exposed Lemon.

This is the fun part!

Stuff those Lemons into the jar. Squish them down adding the extracted juice from the Lemon. Make sure the juice covers the Lemons. If you need more juice, add freshly squeezed Lemon juice. Top each jar with a couple tablespoons of salt. Seal jars with lids.

Let the jars sit at room temperature for a couple of days. Turn the jars upside down occasionally. Put in refrigerator and let it sit. While in the refrigerator, remember to turn jars upside down occasionally.

Leave in refrigerator for 3 or 4 weeks, until the rinds are softened.

You can store them in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. When you do use, make sure you rinse the lemon to remove any salt. Get rid of the seeds and any flesh (if you want)

How are you using Lemons?

Do you have favorite uses for Lemons?

Happy Lemon picking friends!!!

Heirloom Vegetables...A must have in your Garden & Library!

2011-01-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

Garden books, we all love them and are guilty of buying on impulse! I know I am very guilty!

Recently I have been reading The Complete Idiots Guide to Heirloom Vegetables!

This book is written by Chris McLaughlin she is also the author of the Complete Idiots Guide to Composting. She is a Master Gardener and also contributes to VegetableGardener.com and FineGardening.com She is also a feature writer for Vegetable Gardens at Suite101.com

I have had chats with her on Facebook and Twitter, she is a fantastic and knowledgeable person when it comes to growing food, composting and playing with worms.

She is a wonderful person to know and is always sharing her information with others. I have enjoyed getting to know her and learning so much about Heirloom Vegetables!

This book is perfect for someone like me, who is just starting out in the world of Heirloom Veggies! I have just started growing Heirlooms in the past 5 or so years.

There is an amazing amount of Heirloom vegetables to choose from, I didn't realize how many until I read this Phenomenal book!

Pretzel Bean

under wood gardens

I love how the book is formated. Its has three parts of organization.

The inheritance of the Heirloom Vegetable! It gives you an introduction to Heirlooms. Also helping you decide and figure out what Heirlooms are best for your garden.

Discusses the Birds and the Bees and saving seeds! My favorite chapter. Caging, collecting, bagging and storing. Who doesn't love saving seeds for the future!

The Heirloom Vegetable Directory! Wow, is what came to my mind. 203 pages of Heirloom heaven! That's an amazing amount of Heirlooms!

Oh I almost forgot! More Cool Stuff. Little icons that give you tips along the way. Heritage Hints, Weed! and Definition. Which I found very helpful along the way.

Heirloom Vegetables is something I think many people are turning to these days. Gardeners want authenticity with no pesticides and chemical free seed. This book teaches you all those things you NEED to
know about Heirlooms and the history.

Chinese Five Color

Picture from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

In chapter 3 Choosing your Heirlooms asks you, Ten Questions you should be asking yourself! I found this information great. For example, what part of your yard gets full sun and do YOU know your growing zone! Important info for all gardeners. A must read in the book before you start your garden. Also grow what your family is eating it will save you money in the end.

My ultimate favorite thing, Compost! Yes she discuses it in the book! Compost is King! Its like a little refresher course! I also love the chart of when to start seeds. She tells you the month, seed type, soil temps and all the other fun stuff that goes with it!

The Directory is going to be fun! I am taking a highlighter and marking the ones I have! I am challenging myself to find at least one variety of heirloom seed from each section. I have got to say the Tomato section, AMAZING!!! There is a picture in the Tomato section it looks like a cluster of grapes!

Reisetomate

Photo from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Pretty cool Tomato!!!

I have really enjoyed this book! I highly recommend it if you are a first time Heirloom Vegetable gardener or even an experienced one. I have learned so many great things from this book. I want to plant every Heirloom I can! I know I will be using this book the rest of my Garden Life!

Do you have Questions for Chris? She would be happy to answer. Leave your questions in the comment section and next week I will post a little Q & A on my blog.

Happy Garden Reading Friends!!!

"This book was sent to me by the Publishing House"

Chicken Noodle soup for this Garden soul!

2011-01-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

The best part of winter, SOUP!

In my Chicken Noodle Soup I was able to use some

of the Celery leaves I dried from last springs harvest.

They still had a nice strong smell, I used 1/4 cup of the celery leaves in my soup. Cooking it all day! Made my belly growl all afternoon! I Made a double batch, so half went into the freezer for another cold day!

I diced up a small yellow onion and cut up 8 carrots.
Also adding salt and pepper and of course the dried celery leaves. I also added 3 cups of chicken broth and 4 cups of water. Oh and not to forget the 2 pounds of boneless chicken. I let my soup simmer on the stove for about 5 hours.

About the last 30 minutes is when I add the noodles.
I have a recipe for homemade, but did not make them that day! Possibly a future post! I also use this same recipe when I make Dough ball soup.(what my kids call it) I just take Biscuit dough and drop small pieces into the soup. Its pretty Yummy!

Final result, yummy! We also had some grilled cheese

sandwiches made with apple wood smoked cheddar cheese.

What are some of your favorite winter soups???

Happy Winter!!!

Seeds and the many decisions...Heirlooms,GMOs,Hybrid & Open Pollinated!

2011-01-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

The time has come! The mail box has runneth over with Seed Catalogs!

Which means spring must be near.

I love looking through my catalogs and dreaming and choosing what I want to grow this year!

In the past couple of years I have been more aware of the kind of seeds I buy. Most seed catalogs give you a list of the type of seed they sell. From Heirlooms, GMOs, Hybrids to Open Pollinated seeds.

I decided my post today would be to educate myself and hopefully others about the different types of seed offered.

Heirloom seeds are open -pollinated seed, that have been around generally 50 years or longer. From what I read they were bred before chemical pesticides were common.

GMOs are the result of non traditional plant breeding. Most are produced in a laboratory. Instead of using Pollen from another plant, they add genes that don't even come from plants! Like Bacteria!

Hybrid Seeds are from the first generation of a cross between two related varieties. They use traditional breeding techniques. For example, like brushing the flower of one with the pollen from another.

Treated Seed are coated with pesticide or fungicide chemicals (bleh) after harvest!

Certified Organic Seed come from farms that are inspected by the USDA's Organic Certification Program. No chemicals are used and they must meet other regulations. The seeds can not be GMO.

Just a few interesting facts on seeds.

I personally am into buying Heirlooms and Certified Organic.

What type of seeds do you like and why?

Happy seed shopping!!!

Family Fun on Christmas Eve

2011-01-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, we took a trip to the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town.

Every year its free to the public. I like to take the kids and let them burn off some of that Christmas excitement thats brewing inside of them.

Here is Kyla in front of Fairytale Town. She is following The Yellow Brick Road. You can buy a brick and be part of The Yellow Brick Road.

My kiddos were being silly and got their picture taken in Emerald City! My son decided to be Dorthy. Its a cute picture of them.

We also visited the cute little gardens they have.

I love this sign! I'm thinking of making one similar for my own garden.

I wish I had a spot like this in my garden, so relaxing.

I love the plants. They are natives to California. I may have to add some to my garden areas.

They had 2 lettuce and cabbage gardens. Also some Chard in there.

These were in the area of Mr. McGregor's garden.

Now to the Sacramento Zoo . We explored every inch of the Zoo.

I thought this tree was really neat! Although, I don't remember what it was called. Any ideas?

Lot's of flamingo's!

This is one big Kitty, as little miss Kyla said.

The Zoo also has a new Giraffe area. Its very cool. There is a huge ramp walkway thet you go up and it over looks the area. We watched them for awhile.

Such an interesting animal!

The Zoo had a meet and greet of the animals that day. Here is Kyla petting some kind of lizard, I cant remember what it was called. She wants one now! We will see. Maybe a smaller type of lizard. Any suggestions on small lizards that are 7 year old friendly.

All in all it was a great day!

Did you have any adventures over the holiday?

Happy Trails to you!!!

Christmas treats... Busy elves...Family fun!

2011-01-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

A Christmas tradition of ours is to bake until we drop! That's just what we did. This year several friends and family received goodies as gifts! Instead of buying presents, we decided to add pounds to everyone's waistline!

My elves!

Peanut Butter Snicker cookies

Candy Cane flavored Oroes dipped in white chocolate

Pecan Snowballs

Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Italian Christmas cookies

Fudge & Almond Brittle

Peanut Butter Balls

Candy Cane Hearts

What Christmas goodies did you make?

Happy Baking!!!

A new year! Welcome 2011....

2011-01-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends!!!

Happy New Year!!!

I realize it has been a long time since I have posted. I have had so many things happen in my life and I have been so busy with the holidays and all the repairs happening in my house.

The day after Thanksgiving, we had a water pipe burst in our kitchen! The leak was under the slab of concrete. They had to bring in a Jack Hammer and tear up my kitchen floor. After removing a wall and floor they found 2 more pipes with dime size holes! This of course meant lots of repairs for our kitchen and bathroom pipes. It ruined the hardwood in the kitchen, flooded out the bathroom and my sons room. They had to cut out walls and dry out the rooms. Once that was done, they added new walls, then paint to my sons room. The carpet is to go in sometime in the next week. My kitchen required a new floor and a new wall. The bathroom also received a new wall, sink, toilet and paint. It was definitely an adventure! They finished most repairs on Christmas Eve day. It was a lengthy process! I am just glad we had home owners insurance.

My sons room.

I still managed to do a little bit of baking and prepare for the holidays! We did minimal decorating with the rest of our house being in such a mess. Our family did have a very nice Christmas. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas too.

I am looking forward to getting back on track with my blog!

How was your Holiday season?

Happy New Year Friends!

The final summer bounty!

2010-11-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

Summer is gone! I was ready!

I picked over 400 pounds of Tomato's this summer! The most I have ever had in a summer harvest.

This is my final haul out of the summer garden!

I picked all the green Tomato's I could find, I was surprised we still had so many.

I also picked the remaining peppers. Hopefully enough Tomato's will ripen to make some spicy tomato jam for Christmas gifts.

Now that summer is over, will you be planting a winter garden?

What will you grow?

Happy Gardening Friends!!!

Apple Hill Fun and Gardens...Happy Fall Y'all

2010-10-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall Y'all!

Fall for me, sets in when we make our first trip to Apple Hill. We make a couple of trips up to the hill. This time it was for all things Apple. As always I find other great things as well. We saw some great gardens and visited about 6 different farms. I always love Apple Hill and we always have such a great time!

We went to a farm we have never visited this year. I am so glad we did. The farm was called Kids Inc. It was geared towards the younger kids. They also had a great garden to look at.

The corn maze was amazing! The hubby took miss Kyla through the maze. They had a great time.

Then we were off to feed the animals. We were allowed to feed them any of the apples that had fallen off the trees. I really wanted to take the pig home! Isn't she cute!

They had goats. I was trying to get a picture of the goat alone, but the piggy was hogging the camera!

Then we met Mr.Turkey. He was very friendly and Kyla enjoyed gobble gobbling with him.

Then I saw this....... Most people who know me know that I am obsessed with ladders as trellis's. I thought this ladder trellis was gorgeous! The Morning Glory's looked amazing! I must find more ladders to do this in my garden next year!

We also met an amazing bee keeper and purchased some local Wildflower Honey. It's so delicious. Its unfiltered, unprocessed raw honey!

As you can see we have already used some. We had to support our local bee keepers!

We also visited Boa Vista Orchards. We visit this farm stand every year!

Here is what we bought.

We bought a box of Pears, Granny Smith Apples and Red Delicious! These will be used for apple sauce. I also use pears in my apple sauce, it's so yummy! We also purchased small bags of other types. We bought Empire Apples, Fuji Apples and another green apple (I forgot the name)

We bought some Squashes, Chestnuts, and of course Apple juice. Also not pictured, were the apple doughnuts we bought! They were still warm when we purchased them. You cant resist gobbling them up right away! I always forget to get a picture of these yummy doughnuts. We devour them before I remember too.

We also visited a Berry farm. I forgot the name. We did not buy berries, they are not in season. I will visit them again when it is time for berries. Its a pick your own farm. We did visit the garden they had. Flowers are still blooming very nicely here in Cali.

Morning Glory's

Love Lies Bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus)

Cosmos

Kyla loved The Love Lies Bleeding. She loved touching it! She was amazed that it was taller then her.

While we were in Apple Hill and I was shopping. My hubby snuck off and bought an ornament for our Christmas tree this year. We buy an ornament every year with the year on it. This will be our 2010 ornament. He said, it was hard to find one that could hold all 6 of our names.

I look forward to visiting Apple Hill one more time this year. Next week we are off to the Pumpkin Patch.

What are some of your fall traditions?

Happy Fall Friends!!!