Garden update....

I have forgotten to post about my lovely garden. Well, maybe not forgotten.....
I went out into the weed jungle and found one more zucchini. It did not get very big, but hey. I can't be too picky now can I?
The broccoli never sprouted. The onion bulbs did not get much bigger so I left them in the ground. The other squash varieties and bell peppers did not make an appearance either.
I had high hopes for the bell peppers and also the squash. I will still blame it on the weather!

Garden update....

Is it Monday already??
Well the weeds have about taken over. I can barely get in there now. It's a sad sight. I did find 2 more zucchini though among the vegetation.
I am hoping that a few squash and/or watermelon might be lost in there as well.
A girl ca dream right?!?!

Garden update....

Not much to update this week. Same old story. Weeds, weeds and more weeds!!
I am too embarrassed to take a picture to show the horror. Maybe next week.
My husband thinks that it was a complete failure and that there is no need to try next year. I beg his pardon. This only makes me want to try harder next year. I know where i went wrong. Kind of. The whole weeding issue. Maybe I can hire a kid and pay him $10 to weed the garden. I will look into that.
I am happy for the quality time I spent with Amara in the garden. I learned that she can make up a song on the spot about anything. I learned that she does not like to pull weeds for more than 10 minutes at a stretch. I at least have a few HUGE zucchini to show for all the time and effort(ha) I put into it. A handful of edible strawberries and green beans and peas too. I probably should not hold my breath on the broccoli and the bell peppers have yet to make an appearance either.
I will have many fond memories of my first attempt at an organic garden!

Garden update....

The garden has produced more green beans and one more zucchini! I am just hoping that the bell peppers decide to make an appearance sometime soon. I can wait I guess. I really have no choice. I have also given up on picking weeds. No point. They have taken over and I might as well get used to it!
We had lots of thunderstorms last week that pretty much trashed the garden. It probably looks really bad to someone that does not know that there are actually edible vegetables growing there. The weeds and all the uprooted weeds and plants and tons of dirt everywhere. Looks beautiful to me though since it's actually producing some produce. ( not a very funny joke).
Hopefully I will spot some bell peppers soon, I really want to make some salsa from my own garden. I might try my luck at some zucchini bread or muffins this week. The last time I tried it did not go so well. It was undercooked I think. I am certain that Matt ate it anyway. He eats whatever I cook, no matter how unappealing or undercooked apparently!
If you know of a healthy and easy zucchini recipe you would like to share I would love to try it out!

Garden update....

The time has come again. Monday garden update! Exciting stuff.
I have zucchini. I guess I had no idea what I was looking for so I might have been able to make this post last Monday. I am not sure what I was thinking. I know that zucchini are heavy so they should be low to the ground or actually on the ground. I was looking for them to be hanging off the plant ( think green beans) DUH! I found a huge zucchini just chillin' in the dirt. I am sure if I entered it in a contest that it would win. Hands down. It's large. My family was excited too. Lots of cheers and squeals from the kids and a high five from Matt! I think he has been feeling bad for me since my garden up until now has been a huge disappointment. That's only partly true. Yes, I wish I produced more goods, but the process was actually fun and I have been learning a lot and teaching some as well ( to my family). I might have mentioned that this summer is not a very warm one for growing things either. We have friends that are farmers and they have not been happy with their crops growth either. I probably should not compare my little garden to a farm with acres, but I think you get my point. The moral of this post is that I might actually know what I am doing. I cannot control the weather. I am kind of excited to do this again next year. Since I am an experienced gardener and everything. I will earn my green thumb status!! I need to go and plan our menu for the next few days....I can finally add zucchini to a few meals
Anybody have any easy recipes they want to share?!?!

Organic Garden Update

Well here it is Monday already. I am happy to announce that we had buckets of rain over the weekend that made some beautiful stuff happen in the garden. Among the very tall weeds that also did well, I found a goof amount of green beans. I was not expecting to find anything ( love my positivity) at all, but I did. I found enough to pick. I am going to attempt to cook them this afternoon. It's not enough for everyone, so I figure at least I can get the first load. I'm kind of selfish that way. I might share with Amara.
Nobody told me that squash plants are prickly! I found out the hard way. I dove right in and got a nice surprise. I was moving the leaves around looking for any actual squash ( nope-none). Those things hurt. They do have large pretty orangish yellow flowers, and I bet the next step will be beautiful prize winning worthy vegetables!! One can dream......

Great workout, insane instructor and on the wagon once again....

Not so much to update on the garden. I know it's soo interesting. Same old story. Lots of weeds. Stuff is kind of growing. Wishing I had more time to weed and take care of it, but I don't.
I think that the crops might be further along if the weather would stay consistently warm/hot. We have had record lows for the past few days when this week should be record highs. I will totally blame Mother Nature and not my lack of a green thumb. Sounds good to me!

Garden update....

Monday brings you the much anticipated garden updates! I am sure you all love the garden stories ( ha).
I am pleased to announce that WE HAVE PEAS people! I was doing some damage control on the out of hand weeds the other day and came across many pea plants that actually produced some peas!! I have not tasted them yet, but they are probably edible....I hope so.
The zucchini squash is flowering as well as the green beans. I feel so productive now! I don't feel like such a green thumb failure anymore.
My dad was the master at taking care of the lawn and the garden. I was forced to pull weeds and stuff like that every single weekend. Our lawn won awards every year for being so beautiful. He probably has no idea why my lawn is in shambles. I think it's because I was burned out from all the lawn work I did as a kid. Maybe. I also know that when he comes and looks at my garden he just shakes his head and wonders where he went wrong! Well too bad dad...I know what I am doing! Take that!
Not really..I have no clue what is going on, but that's not his fault. Not entirely anyway.

Garden update....

Oh my lovely garden. My lovely weed garden. Nothing new is sprouting up besides some new weeds. I will get in there this week for sure since the weather is not too crazy.
The strawberries are still my best grower--just as I was told they would be.
At this point I will take what I can get! That's all I have today, I must go get to weedin' now!

Tips on Tuesday- Teaching kids to go green

Teach by example! We just started being more earth conscious this year and Amara had followed suite and has taught us some things along the way.

We first started by recycling items. I then bought reusable bags, use natural cleaning supplies, planted an organic garden and lots of other things. Wow..I am impressing myself!

Amara also learns about recycling in school and well as on her cartoons ( those annoying shows are good for something!).

Ways to get the kids involved:

• Let them help sort the recyclables.


• Let them help clean-- a lot of the "green" products are harmless ( just done drink them)


• Let kids help plant the garden and pick the reward. Same with trees and flowers.


• Let them turn the lights off when not in use.


• Let your kids pick out some toys and take them to Good Will

We have done most of the the things on the list, but are ready to add more things. What things are you doing to get your kids involved in Green living I would love to hear about it!

Syrup anyone?

I think I can identify lots of things in my garden now. Bell peppers, squash, strawberries and maple trees! Yes, those darn helicopters are now growing. I know I did not get them all out a few weeks ago when they dropped in the dirt. I tried my best. Now when I am picking the weeds I am also picking maple trees before they get HUGE. I think there are already 2-3 big ones in the garden with bark and everything--great.
The maple trees are also growing in our gutters. This happens every year though. I just need Matt to get up there and clean them out.
I am still impatient about having to wait to pick the stuff! Hurry up and grow!!

The green stuff in the garden

I have not been in the garden today. Well I take that back. I just got back from taking a stroll in there, and did not do any work in the garden today. We apparently got a good rain last night ( I slept threw it). It must have done a lot better than my efforts with the hose because we have more peas and broccoli! I think it's broccoli. It's broccoli or a very consistent weed that's turning up every 18 inches in a nice row. I will google it later. It better be broccoli! The rain also brought back all of the weeds I just picked. Dang.
A friend told me that cayenne pepper might be a good rabbit repellent for my strawberries so I need to go buy some and sprinkle that very soon. She also uses glass jars full of water placed around the plants. The thought behind that is that the reflection from the water scares the innocent bunnies away! I will wait to hear if it helps or not before I try that one.
I think Amara and I both needed a garden break. She did not even ask about it today!
She is getting a bit more excited to try things in the garden ( so she says now). She wants to try the watermelon and probably even the bell peppers if they are fun colors. She is not so sure about the banana peppers ( too hot!), or the squash ( I do not like squash momma) or the onions( yuck).
Miles will just about try anything you put in front of him. He is loving green beans ( bee bees) and asparagus ( bee bees) these days. He wants to eat salad, but I will feel better about that after he gets more teeth! He was all about the edamame I had on my salad though. A bit hard for him to chew but he kept asking for " Mo, Mo peese!" Who could say no to that?!?

Strawberries are in!

Matt built a section just for the strawberry plants on Sunday. I transplanted them from their shoebox homes to their new place. I had no idea what I was doing(duh), but let's hope they grow (and don't get eaten by birds and bunnies). We love strawberries. All of us, so that would be awesome if they actually blossom and don't spread everywhere else in the process! A lot of them are already flowering which I think is a good thing-right??
That's all I got accomplished on Sunday. Well, that and pulling the weeds as usual!
Today I did not even step in the garden. I plan on watering it after the kids go to bed. I might not get to it though, but we have thunderstorms in the forecast so I won't feel to bad!
I have not planted any flowers yet either. I hope to by this weekend though.
All I have left to plant is the watermelon, green beans and summer squash. As always, wish me luck!

Chocolate bell peppers?

I was pretty busy today, but still found the time to plant 2 rows of bell peppers! I didn't start until after 8pm ( kids were in bed). I actually got my measuring tape out this time to make sure the seeds were 18 inches apart and the rows were 2 feet apart! I have not really been doing that for the other seeds..hope that won't be a problem. This seed pack says they are multi colored peppers including chocolate and white hues! That should be interesting. I have never seen those colors before.
The mosquito's were out of control too, so that made me work a lot faster so I would not get eaten alive. I would love to plant a few more rows of veggies tomorrow and/or some flowers too, but we will have to see what happens. I tried to recruit my brother to come over and help ( oh, by the way, he has his worm compost up and running), but I am not sure he will actually come over. I should probably get to bed!