Great Gifty Friends!

I was beautifully blessed with some fun gifts from friends this past weekend ^.^

My friend Tiff gave me a couple samples of tea (Wild Chaild and Sweet Tangerine).  I drank the tangerine one already and it was delicious!!!  I will def be buying a box of that asap!  She also gave me a cutting from her mint plant.  All the excitement is mine!!! I'm going to plant the cutting and brew tea from the leaves ^.^  I keep envisioning myself drinking nice cups of tea from my huge mint bush while sitting on the front porch during a nice summer rain shower.  That sounds like a wonderful Sabbath afternoon...

The other gift came from my friend, Erica.  She found a bag of fabric while cleaning out her garage and gave me the whole thing! o.O  What what!!!  Talk about an awesome crafty gift ^.^  There were quite a few large pieces that I can use for bag making and also some that will be really nice for garments.  I'm so excited to dig into this new stash soon!

Crafty, gardeny, tea loving friends are the BEST!!! lol :)

Garden Update: Leafy Happiness

Almost exactly 2 months ago, I wrote about the newest additions to my container garden. So far all's been well on the pesky bug front.  My green bean plant had a run in with a snail and now has some snail trail scarring along a few of the leaves, but no horrid damage.  I'm being super ultra vigilant when inspecting each plant for other pests and bugs.  Fingers crossed this batch of plants will be more fruitful than the last.

Top Row: green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers. Bottom Row: cucumbers, lavender, basil

Here is my green bean... bush... This is actually quite a few separate plants that I'm keeping in one pot together.  The one that is currently bearing, is the sole survivor of the "Green Bean Ball" ^.^  Originally, there were a bunch of surviving sprouts from that ball, but then we got a big storm and there was so much rain that most of the sprouts couldn't handle all the water.  Anywho, shortly after removing the fallen, I decided to plant the leftover seeds into the pot.  The newer sprouts are the ones around the edges.

Next, we have my lavender plant.  It has grown quite a lot! My dream is to get it large enough to be able to collect and dry the leaves and make a rinse for my hair.  That would be awesome.  Plus, I've seen many recipes for lavender lemonade which would taste pretty good I think.  Summer plans maybe??

Soo... I thought this was my bell pepper plant for the whole first month of having these sprouts ^.^ As they grew up, I kept thinking... These look a lot like cucumbers... And finally when the flower bloomed, I realized that I had mislabeled the seedlings. LOL!!! Gardener Fail!  They look like they might be struggling a bit, so I'm going to re-pot them into bigger pots and give them some new trellises to climb.  Crossing all the fingers and toes that I get my one cucumber this year!!!

Here are the actual bell peppers... The whole time I was looking at the cucumber plant, I was looking at this one like "That's a weird looking cucumber plant..." I'm glad I finally came to my senses ^.^  But in my defense... the leaves do look similar.

**EDIT** Turns out these are cucumbers lol! As they've gotten bigger they're showing their cucumber-ness.  I know I planted bell peppers, but I haveno idea what happened to them. This has been a really weird start to the garden.

I decided to also plant some beefsteak tomato seeds.  Normally I don't like tomatoes because of the slimy bits inside, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of that in this particular type of tomato.  Hopefully that is.  Anyway, they are shooting up quite quickly and they're making me feel like a very good gardener ^.^

Lastly, we have my basil plant! This baby has been with me since last year!  Recently, we've been fighting the mealybug war, and consistent bug spray and water spray has gotten/kept the pest population down.  Also, there are a LOT of seeds that can be harvested from the dried flowering parts right now.  I'm thinking about maybe planting them and starting what would be another 3rd generation basil plant.

So there you have it! That's my current garden roster :)  Lots of potential veggies and some aromatic herbs.  I have some empty pots that are begging for new things to be planted in them, so maybe I'll go pick up some plants from walmart or home depot...

What plants should I add to my garden? Comment below!

Garden Update: New Babies!

Last year I started a herb & veggie garden for my 30 Before 30 list.  I had lots of seed sprouts at the beginning but by the end of the spring/mid summer, I only had basil, chinese plum, cucumber, and beans left.  We ate the beans one Sabbath... all 5 of them lol.

Of the original garden, only the basil and chinese plum have survived the year.  The basil has actually blossomed a few times and produced seeds, which I planted.  The cool thing about the second generation basil plant was the leaves were much wider than the original.  I wonder why that is... Anywho, I have since re-potted all the basil plants together in one big pot - I have this dream of cultivating a big basil bush.  That would be awesome!  Oh, and the second gen basil plant went to seed and I dropped them in the midst of the pot.  Now I have a few THIRD GEN basil plants growing! Eeeeee!!!

Now that the weather has gotten much warmer at night and early morning, I decided to start my new seedlings.  I started cucumbers, peppers, and beans from seed, and a lavender plant.  The lavender smells soo good!  I can't wait until it's larger so I can make tea and hair spritzes from it.

I didn't take any photos of the seed pots of the cucumbers or peppers because they haven't sprouted yet.  This pot of green beans is what I'm calling the 'green bean ball'... after I planted seeds in the started pots, I had a bunch of leftover seeds so I tossed them in the pot.  They have actually sprouted much better than the seeds in the starter pots.  Now I have to figure out how to transplant and separate them into a larger pot. Go figure.  I must say, it makes me smile every time I go out to water the garden.  I always think "Green beans, may the odds be ever in your favor!"  Hopefully, the cucumbers will sprout soon.  Hopefully, the garden will get on well.  Here's to my garden version 2.0!

Garden Update: We Meet Again Mr. Cucumber

Yes, ladies and gents! This is happening.

I am going in for take THREE- growing cucumbers.  Any and ALL gardening tips/advice is welcomed!! Hopefully three is really the charm.

Our Wedding Tree: The Chinese Plum

When I moved to Florida, one of the first things I remember being REALLY different were the fruit trees.  I've never lived somewhere that had so many fruit trees just everywhere.  One day, Lamar and I were driving somewhere and he pulled the car over and started picking fruit from this tree on the side of the road.  He got back in the car while rubbing the little fruits on his shirt and started eating them.  I was like, "What is that?! You didn't plant that! Is it safe! What if you're allergic! AHHHH!!!" That was my introduction to Chinese plums or Loquats.  I tried one when we got home (with benadryl close by should the need arise!) They were delicious and I'm not allergic ^.^

Fast forward to March 13th of this year, I planted a Chinese plum seed from my in-laws' tree.  For the first 2 and a half months, it looked like nothing was going to come of it and it even got some sort of mold in the soil.  So I partially chalked it up as a loss, but kept watering it just in case.

Some time in May I came out to see that it had sprouted ^.^  I was super excited about it and showed Lamar.  He was like "YES! Now in 10 years we can have our own Chinese plum tree and get fruit from it!"  He also remarked that since I planted it within our first year of marriage, it can be our 'wedding tree'.  Isn't that sweet!

So here is our Chinese plum wedding tree now.  It's quite a strong little plant and it always makes me happy to see.  Plus I just think its really really cool that I ate the fruit, planted the seed, and then grew this plant!  It's the circle of liiiife!!!

Garden Update: Caterpillars vs. Cucumbers

Once upon a time, I thought caterpillars were awesome little bugs that grew up to be butterflies.  They could teach you all kinds of life lessons about patience, transformation, and the beauty of change. 

And they are...

When they're not doing their transformations in your struggling cucumber plant!!

That's right! A Cabbage Looper Moth decided to lay a bazillion eggs in my cucumber plant one day, unbeknownst to me.  There I was, going about my normal garden business... watering, fertilizing, spraying away spider mites, when I start noticing little holes in the leaves and black sandy looking stuff everywhere.  I took a closer look and discovered little green caterpillars all over the place! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

My first order of business was to identify them and figure out how to get them gone.  I could pick and squish (ew. no.), pick and drop in soapy water (better), or spray with pesticide ($$).  I decided to go with the soapy water.  Now, I'd never seen a caterpillar infestation before, but I'm pretty sure that's what was going on.  I mean they were everywhere... eating all the leaves and pooping on everything.  My plant had even started to bear little cucumbers, but the stupid caterpillars ate them up too! UGH!

After days and days of picking caterpillars, the local lizards started hanging around and eating them.  But sadly it was too late.  My cucumber plant finally lost the battle. :(

It's really upsetting because this particular veggie has been a struggle from the beginning and I was finally making some positive strides when the loopers took their toll.  I'm planning to get a third cucumber plant and try yet again... I feel positive about this time around because with each failed plant, I'm learning new things that will help me be a more successful gardener.

Hopefully the third time is actually a charm.

Garden Update: Basil Babies!

A few weeks ago I noticed the flowers on my basil plant were all dried up.  Since I know that flowers are the precursor to fruit or seeds, I decided to take a closer look.  Sure enough when I rubbed the dried flowers in my hand... there were a bunch of basil seeds!!!

So I grabbed a little pot and planted them.  I also planted the rest of the package seeds that I originally purchased.  Unfortunately, the pack seeds didn't make it.  I think it was because I planted them in the same container as the grown basil.

Anywho, the 2nd generation basil babies are doing well.  I'm excited to have added them to my garden.  It seems that if all the plants I originally chose, the basil is the easiest to grow and maintain.  It isn't fussy and wilts a little when it needs water.  I would definitely recommend having basil if you're considering starting a container garden.  It's s great ego booster when your cucumbers or spinach  won't grow... *cough cough*

I'm hoping I can get the plants large enough to have a basil bush. That would be absolutely awesome!

Garden Update: Tomato Time!

Holy Canoli! We have TOMATOES!!!

Yes! My tomato plant has birthed a whole bunch of little tomato babies ^.^ One morning while watering and inspecting the plants for bugs last week, I discovered 3 tiny green tomatoes.  I was probably WAY to excited to see them especially since I don't like eating cherry/grape tomatoes (I can't help imagining that they're eyeballs... good luck getting rid of that mental image, lol!).

Anywho, they were about the size of my pinky nail and still had the blossoms at the top of them.  It was so cool to see them actually growing from the flowers.  These photos are of a few of the tomatoes over the span of the past week.  It's nice to know that once the veggies happen they grow pretty fast.  This gives me hope for the cucumbers ^.^

So yeah, I can't wait for them to turn red and I hope the squirrels don't eat them.

Garden Update: The Balancing Act

This week's garden update is not a typical one.  I recently thrifted a book called "Knit Together: Discover God's Pattern for Your Life."  In the first chapter, the author, Debbie Macomber, made a very interesting comment about being patient while trying to find your passion/purpose.  She wrote,

 "I understand what it means to be impatient for your dream to take rood and grow.  Even though I knew from my own experience how important patience was, once I sold that first novel, I found myself in a competitive trap, walking faster and faster on a treadmill, comparing my career with others', wanting what they had.  Eventually, I discovered the need for balance, for insight and emotional strength.  I made it my goal to enjoy every step of the journey instead of being greedy for more and more."

Strangely enough, while reading this bit I kept thinking about my gardening experience.  More often than not I am grumbling about the slow going of raising a container garden.  I'm comparing myself to my friends that have these beautiful, flourishing gardens that seemingly grow effortlessly.  There are veggies everywhere and even surprise sweet potatoes that pop up while weeding!  It's like everyone else is literally seeing the fruits of their labor, and here I am struggling.  I'm plodding along trying to keep the pests at bay and praying everyday for ONE cucumber.  Just one!  I think, if my plant bears one cucumber I'll know I'm not a failure.  If my plant bears one cucumber I'll know I didn't waste my time and money.  If my plant bears just one. single. solitary. cucumber I'll know that I can accomplish that new thing I set out to do.  I just need that one cucumber...

I'll be honest, I don't know how to balance wanting my garden to succeed and enjoying the journey.  It's very hard to say "I am glad to be doing this" when there seems to be no forward motion.  It's hard to enjoy the journey when the road is so full of potholes and setbacks.

This is my life.

Constantly wondering if my time is being wasted.  Thinking if I land that one job everything will be right.  It is a balancing act.  Very true.  Walking a tightrope between dreams and reality... between what I want and what I have... what I want to be and what I am.  I wish I could tie this post up with a neat bow, a happy ending... some wonderful epiphany about how the light switch flipped and suddenly I understood exactly how to walk that rope, but I can't.  I just have to wait and see what grows.

At least cucumber flowers are pretty.

Garden Update: Attack of the Spider Mites!!!

Hello :)

It's been a while since I've done a garden update and as you can see from the title... tragedy has stuck!  My cucumber plant had been growing pretty well after I moved it into the bigger pot in May.  It even started blossoming.  There were SO MANY flowers!  So I started feeling really good about the garden.  I was excited to see the little cucumbers growing.

But shortly after the flowers bloomed, I noticed that the plant started drooping.  It looked like it needed water, but I was watering it enough.  Then I noticed the leaves were starting to get more and more discolored.  I was getting more and more worried.

 

One particular day when the poor plant was looking particularly sad, I sat down to see if I could figure out what was going on.  Upon close inspection, I discovered many of the leaves were covered by a fine webbing... and inside that webbing were all these teeny tiny red bugs. WHAAAAT?!?!?!

I ran in the house and grabbed the neem oil bug killer and sprayed the whole cucumber plant and everything else for that matter.  After all my garden was dripping, I did some googling and discovered that the little bugs were spider mites.  Lemme tell you spider mites are a force to be reckoned with!  I thought that after the epic spray down I put on them they would be done for, but nope.  This is what they did despite the neem oil bath...

No matter how much I tried, the spider mites won.  They killed my poor cucumber plant.

So instead of pouting about lost plants, I decided to buy a replacement cucumber plant from the store.  I also picked up a tomato plant and seed pods for romaine lettuce.  Here are the new additions to the garden in their new homes.

Also... Dollar Tree gardening gloves... not so much the business.

Garden Update: Cucumber Teachers

Hey there!

The hardest part, so far, about gardening is perseverance.  For instance, yes my cucumber plants have grown... they have big leaves and everything... they look good I suppose, but they're not flowering.  So I find myself wanting to go to the store and buy new seedlings to just start over because they MUST be dying.  I'm feeling discouraged and I want to throw in the towel on these current plants.

My 2 cucumber plants are having a struggle & need to be replanted.

But, I know that I can't just give up on them just because they're not flowering or producing the cucumbers when I want them to.  I have to be patient and let nature take its course.  I can't rush it.  I can't make them grow faster.  I can't make the cucumbers appear on the vine.  I have to suck it up and wait.

In their new home. Hopefully, this will work better for them.

So I guess that's what I'm learning from the garden experience right now.  Perseverance... seeing it through to the end... and patience to wait and see how they will develop as I try to problem solve.

This is a bit of the reason I'm feeling discouraged. Discolored leaves showing a nutrient deficiency.

Oh... and I'm also learning the importance of prior research.  Had I been knowledgeable about various plants and their needs, I would've known that fertilizer is really needed for container gardens. *shrug* You live and learn.  Onward and upward!

 

Garden Update for Earth Day!

Hi there & Happy Earth Day!

Lovely cucumber little tendril :)

A bit more than a month ago I started my vegetable garden with basil, broccoli, chinese plum, cucumbers, green beans, lavender, rosemary, and spinach.  I also had lemon balm and spearmint with the intention of using them for tea.  It's definitely been a trial of patience waiting for them to sprout and get settled into the pots.

I'm glad that my cucumber, green beans, and basil plants are growing very strong.  The cucumbers have started getting the little climbing tendrils, so they should soon start growing up the trellis.  The broccoli and spinach plants are limping along it seems... they haven't given up yet :)

Look how yummy this basil looks! Strawberry basil lemonade will def be made this summer!

Cucumbers on the left & green beans on the right.  I love their big happy leaves!

Sadly, the rosemary never sprouted and the lavender has been chillin with two teenie tiny leaves for nearly 2 and a half weeks now.  I keep watering it, but I don't think it's going to make it. :(  I also made the decision to get rid of the lemon balm and spearmint plants because the tea they brewed wasn't good and I know I won't drink it.

My only surviving broccoli plant, I'm hoping it pulls through because I love fresh broccoli :)

The spinach looks mighty sad... but it's still green and hasn't given up yet.

I added a Touch-Me-Not plant to the garden shortly after starting all the seeds.  Now that it's big enough to respond to touch, it's the coolest plant I've seen in a while!  I think the only other time I was this excited what in high school when I got a carnivorous plant.

 

Here's a quick video of the Touch-Me-Not awesomess!

I hope you had a pleasant Earth Day! Now go hug a tree ^.^

How Does Your Garden Grow

Last Friday I started my first garden!  I spent a couple days prior gathering supplies: seeds, pots, soil, seed starters, etc.  Currently, my garden has lemon balm and spearmint plants, and I'm starting the rest from seeds.  I'll *hopefully* have basil, broccoli, cucumbers, green beans, lavender, rosemary, and spinach.  I am also attempting to start a chinese plum (loquat) plant from seeds from my in-laws' tree. *fingers crossed* My mom and Lamar think I should grow tomatoes... but as I don't like them, I am still undecided on that front.  Writing all this out just now makes me sound suuuper ambitious, but hey, go big or go home... right?!

These are the potted Lemon Balm & Spearmint plants.

The lemon balm and spearmint are supposedly good for teas.  I really wanted peppermint, but couldn't find any, so gonna make this spearmint work.  When I get the plants more settled, I'll try making the tea.  I'm excited to taste whole leaf from my garden tea ^.^

Here are the finished pots, pods, & jars.

It's been a long time since I've done any gardening, so getting my hands in the dirt and planting each seed was nicely satisfying.  I felt like I was tucking each seed into a wee little bed ^.^  Anywho, a few of them have already sprouted, as you can see.  I'm very excited to watch them continue to grow. And I'm pretty sure that the first salad I have with my own veggies will be the best salad ever! lol

Sprouts!!

Of course I couldn't plant a garden without DIYing some cute labels :)

Thumbs up for jumping into my 30before30 garden and all the work it'll need!  It's going to be fun ^.^