At the Cottage ~ August 25, 2023

    It was a gardening week here at the cottage.  After getting my squash in last week, I moved on to various types of lettuces and greens.  We have been eating a lot of these, so I am going to be glad when we start harvesting and I don't have to buy them any more.  They are one of the easiest things for me to grow, so it pains me that they are so expensive at the store.

    After I got these in, Colton told me that we were expecting rain on Tuesday.  Rain is so rare and precious where I live, so this sent me into gardening overdrive.  I planted green beans, radishes, beets, carrots, cabbage, and parsnips.  John planted corn and zinnias.  I covered my rows with more wood chips (we are really running out but I think the Lord must have multiplied them for me like the loaves and fishes because I had enough with some left over!) and spread more hay in between.  Ginger helped, obviously.

    Inside, I started my tomato seeds and herb seeds.  I should've done this sooner, but better late than never (I hope).

    What I didn't know was that we weren't just expecting rain- it was a tropical storm!  Not sure how I missed that memo (actually it's because I don't watch/read the news or socialize very often), or I probably wouldn't have planted!  I'm glad I did, though, as we ended up getting a steady, gentle rain that totaled three inches by the time it was over.  This is what I found the next morning:

    That's my squash!  And some of the greens coming up:

    I set out buckets and caught lots of rainwater.  I'm using it for my seedlings and fruit trees, which are still in pots.  Two of our peach trees were completely stripped of their leaves overnight by leafcutter ants, so I'm having to haul them into the shed at night and back outside in the morning until Colton can find the ant colony and poison them.  They are nearly impossible to fight.  All the websites basically say "good luck".  We'll try.

    With all of the planting I did, I thought I should really keep a better record than I have in years past, so I created a gardening journal using one of the binders I bought over the tax-free weekend.  I used free printables from JES (here and here) and these, which I found on Pinterest from The Fairy Printsess.  There are so many free options to choose from that I was able to customize it and get exactly what I wanted. 

    Some of the pages:

    I also included print-outs from my local nursery on planting times for our area and care guides for some of the trees and plants I have.

    While I was at it, I made a weekly/monthly planner using free printables from Shining Mom, which I also found on Pinterest (just type in "free planner printables" and you will get loads of results).  The planner I have used in the past is wonderful but expensive, so this time I am opting for "free".  I was able to get the pages that will fit my needs, and they are pretty!

    I do so much better with lists because it means less for me to remember!  Getting things onto paper means getting them out of my brain, which means less stress about all the to-do's.  I can keep track of my Fly Lady schedule this way too.

    This week I tackled a big task and organized and inventoried the freezers (we have three if you count the one in the fridge).  Now I can see what all we have, what we need to buy, and what we need to use.  Sometimes I open them just to admire my work!  I added the inventory sheets to the back of my planner, along with a master list of meal ideas that we eat and like so that I can meal plan and rotate my stock.

    It was a no-spend week, except for buying apples, which I could not pass up.  There is a discount produce store in the city where Colton works and I always check their Facebook page for deals.  Once we bought a 40lb box of bananas for $5!  We shared them, ate them, froze them, baked with them, and my dad freeze dried heaps for us to eat as snacks.  This time it was organic apples for $1 per pound!  I bought 18lbs of Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, and Fuji varieties.  This coming week I will process them into apple butter, applesauce, juice, and dried slices.  Because they are organic, I can also use the peels for making jelly and/or vinegar.

    I am still working on my wardrobe.  I had ordered some clothes online during tax-free weekend (are you tired of hearing about "tax-free weekend" yet??) when the boys had their shopping spree.  Most of them came in this week, so I was able to try everything on and see what worked and what didn't.  Most of it didn't, which I expected, but that's ok.  I've become very picky about my clothes because I don't want a closet full of things that I avoid wearing for one reason or another.  I'd rather have the money for things I feel good in, so I will keep the pieces I really like and get a nice refund for the ones I don't.  

    This was the view out my window as I tried things on during all the rain: 

    Could there be a cozier scene? 

    Meanwhile, I've been putting more effort into my every day attire with the purpose of looking nice for my family.  I had fallen into the comfy t-shirt and worn out denim skirt trap, and it wasn't pretty!  Here is an example of my recent efforts:

Top: Goodwill

Skirt: made by me about 15 years ago!

    It isn't anything fancy, but I think it's lovely anyway.  Lovely is the goal.

    How was your week?  I'd love to hear!

Planning for Spring in the Garden and How I Store My Seeds

    Between the two of us, John and I made quite a large mess of the dining room table- he with his many ongoing art projects and I with my seeds, charts, notebook, pens, and tea.  But it was a rather lovely mess, don't you think? 

    There is nothing quite like being contentedly absorbed in creative plans, surrounded by the things (and people) we find beautiful, interrupted only by the occasional, "Look, Mom.  What do you think?"

    First, I looked at my planting chart to see what needs to be done in January.  I have so many things that I want to plant, but I know I had better not get ahead of myself and just focus on this month.  I then made my list of what needs to be started now and pulled out my seeds to choose my varieties.  I will be trying some new ones this year:

    Would you care to see how I store my seeds?  I saw this idea floating around on Instagram back when I was active and I was immediately "influenced".  

    This is actually a photo storage case, meant to hold 4 x 6 photos.  Many craft stores carry them, but I ordered mine from Amazon as that was the best price at the time.  Always check sales and coupons to find the best deal.

    I labeled each small case with my Dymo labeler.

    The seed packets fit nicely inside.

    This has worked well for me so far, but truth be told, I could use a second one as I have amassed quite the seed collection.  When the seed catalog comes in and my gardening husband is just as enthusiastic as I am, we are bound to get into trouble.  I think looking at seed catalogs in the winter, or visiting the nursery on a fair spring day, is just like going to the grocery store hungry. 

    For my bulkier seeds and seeds that I have saved from my garden, I keep them in an old cookie tin.  You saw it in the first picture and thought I was cheating on my diet, didn't you? 😉

    I have seen some people store their seeds in binders with baseball card holders or in photo albums, which are also good ideas.  How do you store your seeds?  Have you been thinking about what to plant for spring?  I know that is much later for some of you, but it is still fun to dream.

Starting Herb Seeds, Spring 2020

  With so much construction happening in and around the garden this year, I have not really had a chance to plan my spring garden.  Nevertheless, I do plan on having one planted!  I looked through my seeds yesterday and found some herb seed packets given to me by a friend last year.  Stored in a cool, dry place, they should still be just fine. (Seeds are an excellent gift for a gardener, by the way!)

Cilantro, Basil, Dill, Parsley, and Thyme
Starting from seed is a very frugal way to grow a garden.

  I prefer to start my herb seeds in pots, as opposed to direct sowing them in the ground.  I like to save the plastic 6-pack containers that I get from the nursery, and that is what I used this time.  I filled each one with potting soil and added about three seeds to each individual square section of the container.  This is just in case a few of the seeds don't germinate. Once they start sprouting, I'll choose the best looking seedling from each section and pull the others up. This way I should end up with six of each herb.

The back of each seed packet will tell you when to plant each
 type of herb based on your location, as well as planting depth,
days to germination, and plant spacing.

  After getting all of my seeds planted and labeled, I placed all of the containers on a cookie sheet that I keep specifically for this purpose and watered them.  Keeping them on the cookie sheet keeps the water from getting all over my potting table and other surfaces, and it allows me to easily move seedlings in and out of the weather until they are strong enough to be transplanted into the ground.

I have a stash of cookie sheets and baking pans that I keep in
my garden shed specifically for transporting my seedlings.
They were all purchased very inexpensively at garage sales and thrift stores.

  Now I just need to make sure my soil stays warm and damp for my seeds to germinate! What about you? Have you ever tried growing herbs from seed?