Our one-year anniversary came and went. It's fun to think about how much fun it was to celebrate our Anniversary 0 with many of you last year. One of the fun parts of Anniversary 1 was opening the note cards from the wedding. Thank you for all the wonderful (and sometimes completely silly) notes!
These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity - Chris and I went camping and hiking at Teddy Roosevelt National Park over a long weekend (pictures coming soon). This past weekend, we drove up to Grand Marais to meet up with family friends in town from PA. And almost every night in between has been filled with friends and/or family. It has been a lot of fun!
I'm very much looking forward to the three-day weekend. Lots to do around the house (everything that's been piling up over the past few weeks) and lots of relaxing to catch up on. I will post photos of all the plants soonish. My potatoes-in-a-trash-can experiment is going much better than I ever imagined: the plants are about a foot above the top of the can already and growing strong!
28 June 2011
04 June 2011
Stuff's a growin'
I can't believe it, but the potatoes are already sprouting leaves! Plus the strawberry plants are already throwing off runners. It's been less than a week! Guess we all love a little sunshine :)
01 June 2011
Adding to the garden
I've been doing lots of stuff in the yard the past few weeks. This past weekend, we went up North to get some ticks, but mostly to see my parents. It was a very relaxing time and I got more plants from my mom to add to the garden. I went on a planting spree on Monday, even though it was incredibly humid. I was too excited about the plants to wait!
The columbine is doing excellent against the garage (it's one of the kinds of plants I planted last May).
Between the columbine and the day lilies, I planted the clump of tiger lilies I got from my mom. I can't wait until they bloom!
My parents also got us a planter for the deck. Chris got another one right away. The planter from my parents is now filled with strawberry plants, and Chris wants more! He's a strawberry addict. It will be fun to see the berries develop and see if/how much they spread. It was amazing that the bees found the flowers almost right after we put it out on the deck.
In the other planter, I planted the two herb plants I've had going for quite a while and the other herbs I got from Mom. We have oregano, cilantro, chives, rosemary and parsley. Chris used the parsley almost right away in a dish he made for supper. I'm really excited about seeing the chives bloom too.
And finally, my experiment. A year or so ago, I got the book Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Places by Gayla Trail. She is great at explaining how easy it is to grow lots of different types of fruits and vegetables. The one I'm trying out is growing potatoes in a garbage can. Just so happens I had a garbage can with holes in it lying around the garage recently (it was used as a compost bin before and we recently got one of the big bins). And then I was reading through Grow Great Grub this spring looking for more information and there it was: Trashy Potatoes.
You fill the can with about 6" of dirt, then plant the seed potatoes. Mom gave me seed potatoes too! They were pretty far along as you can see from the pictures. After the sprouts get 8" tall, you are supposed to cover them up about 2/3 of the way, and keep repeating the process, hilling the potatoes as they come up. At some point, there will be lots of greenery and flowers and when those die, the potatoes should be ready.
One thing that could happen since I'm using a metal can is that the potatoes could get cooked. We'll see though. I think it will be ok because the metal can will not be exposed in the hot afternoon sun, but the greenery will.
I will keep you updated!
The columbine is doing excellent against the garage (it's one of the kinds of plants I planted last May).
Between the columbine and the day lilies, I planted the clump of tiger lilies I got from my mom. I can't wait until they bloom!
My parents also got us a planter for the deck. Chris got another one right away. The planter from my parents is now filled with strawberry plants, and Chris wants more! He's a strawberry addict. It will be fun to see the berries develop and see if/how much they spread. It was amazing that the bees found the flowers almost right after we put it out on the deck.
In the other planter, I planted the two herb plants I've had going for quite a while and the other herbs I got from Mom. We have oregano, cilantro, chives, rosemary and parsley. Chris used the parsley almost right away in a dish he made for supper. I'm really excited about seeing the chives bloom too.
And finally, my experiment. A year or so ago, I got the book Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Places by Gayla Trail. She is great at explaining how easy it is to grow lots of different types of fruits and vegetables. The one I'm trying out is growing potatoes in a garbage can. Just so happens I had a garbage can with holes in it lying around the garage recently (it was used as a compost bin before and we recently got one of the big bins). And then I was reading through Grow Great Grub this spring looking for more information and there it was: Trashy Potatoes.
You fill the can with about 6" of dirt, then plant the seed potatoes. Mom gave me seed potatoes too! They were pretty far along as you can see from the pictures. After the sprouts get 8" tall, you are supposed to cover them up about 2/3 of the way, and keep repeating the process, hilling the potatoes as they come up. At some point, there will be lots of greenery and flowers and when those die, the potatoes should be ready.
One thing that could happen since I'm using a metal can is that the potatoes could get cooked. We'll see though. I think it will be ok because the metal can will not be exposed in the hot afternoon sun, but the greenery will.
I will keep you updated!
07 May 2011
Beautiful days = yard work
In celebration of nice weather, I got to spend the bulk of the day outside. It has been so perfect out today! I finally dug out all of the red lava rock from the back of the house, which I'll be replacing with mulch; I cleaned and organized the garage; I completed the border around the bed against the garage; and mowed the yard. Busy day, and very rewarding.
I put out the freshly painted rain barrel the other day. It looks so much better! I'm really looking forward to seeing how well the new compost bin works too. I basically have it full already.
All the plants are doing really well, except for those in the native bed I planted next to the deck. They started coming up before the frost, then died and are now barely starting to come back up again. I'm excited for the bee balm again and I'm anxious to see if the butterfly weed and coneflower have any flowers this year.
Here are some of the latest pictures, including one of Banjo playing with Duckie (that damn duck!):
I put out the freshly painted rain barrel the other day. It looks so much better! I'm really looking forward to seeing how well the new compost bin works too. I basically have it full already.
All the plants are doing really well, except for those in the native bed I planted next to the deck. They started coming up before the frost, then died and are now barely starting to come back up again. I'm excited for the bee balm again and I'm anxious to see if the butterfly weed and coneflower have any flowers this year.
Here are some of the latest pictures, including one of Banjo playing with Duckie (that damn duck!):
30 April 2011
Spring projects
Even though it feels like the day went by in a blur, I actually feel like I've accomplished something. This is fantastic news for me since I was sick for about a week-and-a-half. I was completely drained of energy and got tired walking around my house. Luckily work was a little bit slower than it has been the past couple of months, so I was able to scrap by.
Today I played with spray paint. This is my first attempt at using it and I am even more impressed with those that create the graffiti works of art (not so much for those that just tag stuff). I am painting the re-purposed Smurf-blue rain barrel I bought/made last year beige. I think the neighbors will be pleased since they had to look at it through their patio window all summer. The first coat is on and looking much more neutral.
The other exciting thing was we picked up a compost bin. We've had one made out of a metal trash can for 2-3 years now, but I failed to think of how I would not only turn the compost at the bottom of the bin, but how I would get compost out of it. I'm super excited about this new compost bin because it's much larger, has an open bottom and it has a slot at the bottom to turn over the compost and to scoop out the finished compost.
It's been really fun seeing all the plants coming up. The day lilies in back are really tall now, as are the columbine I planted last spring. The lilacs have buds all over and the lilies of the valley are finally starting to poke up. The rhubarb out front is growing a lot and the hostas are starting to peak up out of the ground. I'm hoping the nice weather sticks around a while.
Today I played with spray paint. This is my first attempt at using it and I am even more impressed with those that create the graffiti works of art (not so much for those that just tag stuff). I am painting the re-purposed Smurf-blue rain barrel I bought/made last year beige. I think the neighbors will be pleased since they had to look at it through their patio window all summer. The first coat is on and looking much more neutral.
The other exciting thing was we picked up a compost bin. We've had one made out of a metal trash can for 2-3 years now, but I failed to think of how I would not only turn the compost at the bottom of the bin, but how I would get compost out of it. I'm super excited about this new compost bin because it's much larger, has an open bottom and it has a slot at the bottom to turn over the compost and to scoop out the finished compost.
It's been really fun seeing all the plants coming up. The day lilies in back are really tall now, as are the columbine I planted last spring. The lilacs have buds all over and the lilies of the valley are finally starting to poke up. The rhubarb out front is growing a lot and the hostas are starting to peak up out of the ground. I'm hoping the nice weather sticks around a while.
10 April 2011
Hello muscles I haven't used all winter
I did the bulk of the spring clean-up yesterday in anticipation of the crazy thunderstorm that I slept through last night. I left quite a few leaves on the ground before the first snow last year out of laziness and lots of leaves in the flower beds out of planning, which meant I had plenty to clean up. Last year, I cleared out the flower beds too late - everything was a few inches tall which meant I had to be extra careful not to rip out the fragile plants.
Given all the bending over, picking leaves up, raking, hauling, etc, my muscles decided to revolt this morning. I groaned getting out of bed. The back of my legs are killing me and I'm walking like a zombie (luckily I don't have the urge to eat brains). I've been taking Ibuprofen, stretching, and had Chris make me a protein shake in order to start combating the soreness. I'm really nervous for tomorrow morning (it's always worse the second day for me at least).
All the pain is totally worth it. Not only is it great to uncover all the little plants that are growing like mad, I am getting inspired about all the garden plans I thought I was going to work on over the winter. Good weekend!
Given all the bending over, picking leaves up, raking, hauling, etc, my muscles decided to revolt this morning. I groaned getting out of bed. The back of my legs are killing me and I'm walking like a zombie (luckily I don't have the urge to eat brains). I've been taking Ibuprofen, stretching, and had Chris make me a protein shake in order to start combating the soreness. I'm really nervous for tomorrow morning (it's always worse the second day for me at least).
All the pain is totally worth it. Not only is it great to uncover all the little plants that are growing like mad, I am getting inspired about all the garden plans I thought I was going to work on over the winter. Good weekend!
07 April 2011
Spring arrives!
I am so excited! Banjo and I went for a long walk today, and afterward, I chased him around the yard a bit. While playing, I noticed some green starting to appear: the day lilies are starting to come up! Then I looked a bit closer and noticed the honeysuckle are starting to come up too! After that, I started noticing little plants all over the place!
The funny thing is there is still some snow in the backyard (where the sun doesn't hit). It's looking out of place though, which brightens my day :) I'm planning on starting the spring clean-up this weekend. There's plenty to do because it seems to me I got a bit lazy with raking towards the end of fall last year, so there are plenty of leaves to rake up. I'm most excited about uncovering the flower beds! Banjo's excited about everything - he loves the warmer weather. He started just sitting outside for the fun of it.
The funny thing is there is still some snow in the backyard (where the sun doesn't hit). It's looking out of place though, which brightens my day :) I'm planning on starting the spring clean-up this weekend. There's plenty to do because it seems to me I got a bit lazy with raking towards the end of fall last year, so there are plenty of leaves to rake up. I'm most excited about uncovering the flower beds! Banjo's excited about everything - he loves the warmer weather. He started just sitting outside for the fun of it.
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