Quasimodo Garden

One of these things is not like the other...

Winter hit in full force last night!

 Today will be full of trapped at staying home, making first day of snow fudge, playing with chocolate play dough, and getting outside to brush off all that heavy snow from my Quasimodo evergreen. And hoping that I don't discover another puzzle piece hidden for who-knows-how-long in one Professor's diaper. :)

Watching the blinding sun rise this morning over the freshly fallen snow, 

I am thankful for this eternal promise today:

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” 

says the LORD. 

“Though your sins are like scarlet, 

they shall be as white as snow; 

though they are red as crimson, 

they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:18)

Miracle Lechuza Pots

My usual M.O. when growing houseplants is as follows:

1. Get sucked into buying something green when everything is gray outside

2. Forget about watering it, or give it too much watering love

3. Voraciously google how to save the withering plant

4. Watch it die

5. Repeat process

Diagnosis: Three days to live

The story of all my houseplants have followed this unfortunate path. 

Until...

One of our friends from church kept telling me about these miracle pots he grew houseplants in. We went to visit them at their home several months ago, and oh. my. mercy. I thought I had walked into a plant museum. His plants were so beautiful they looked like they were fake!

He grows them in Lechuza pots. The plant grows in a soil-less mix and it is self watered with a wick underneath. There is a little meter that tells you when you need to refill the pot with water, and exactly how much water to use. He says he hasn't lost one plant due to over/under watering.

(And FYI, to my great chagrin, I am in no way affiliated with Lechuza....maybe someday!)

They are a little pricey, but so is a continual cycle of purchasing and killing new plants! I suppressed purchasing one for a good six weeks or so, then broke down. I've had it for probably 5 months now, and I love love love it. (And I know I'm going overboard on the italics and bold print - just read this post in a tone of great excitement and you'll get my gist!)

 

Here's a close up of the little watering meter. The red line at the top is the maximum fill line. When the little red meter drops down to the lower line, just fill her up to the top. No guesswork on "am I dehydrating my plant? Am I drowning my plant?"

Lechuza is the perfect pot for an Anti-Container-Gardener...
and believe me, I would know. :)

Thankful Wednesday

Thankful that I don't have a giant plastic dinosaur hovering over my supper...

...and that I have an easy to use sweeper!

Beginning to Look a Lot like Seed Time!

In the middle of coughing my way through walking pneumonia and cleaning up from barfing toddler, 

I was thrilled to see the first seed catalog show up today.

(There's always something to be thankful for!)

I was unsuccessful in convincing the Tornado that the girl on the cover was NOT actually her.

Last year I ordered all my seeds from E&R Seed and was very happy with both the prices and the quality of seed. They are an Amish company, I believe, and don't have a website or email. You also have to calculate your own shipping, which is a bit tricky. I actually overpaid on the shipping and received back a little envelope with change in it when my seeds arrived!

Edit: You can call E&R at (866) 510-3337 and request a catalog ... thanks Crafty Cristy for reminding me to put that info in!

Last year I got the first seed catalog on December 3, so the seed dreaming months of winter must be beginning a little early this year!

What is your favorite place to order seeds?

Bloom Day: November 2011

I've missed joining in on Garden Blogger's Bloom Day for the past few months.

Unfortunately, not much is blooming in my garden in November!

But I did find a few stragglers:

This unknown shrub rose keeps putting out blooms and I even found a few buds still on it!

The alyssum has sent out volunteers all over the garden and the blooms just keep on coming. This one alas, was deep in the corner where I found a salamander lurking last month. Eeek. 

I'll probably never be able to go in that corner again. :)

I transplanted the maiden grass during one of my compulsive transplanting sessions, so its "blooms" are not as big as usual, but it's still nice to see them waving in the chilly fall breeze.

What's blooming in your November garden?

Blue Gray Rainy Day

I am convinced that whoever came up with Daylight Saving Time:

1. Did not have young children living at home, and 

2. Was not a light-loving gardener.

It's sad to be eating supper in the dark now. 

(Even sadder that I am getting up at 5 in the morning now - not.by.choice!)

That's what *I* think of your smug Daylight Savings scheme!

So instead on this blue gray rainy day,

 I'm letting my mind wander to happy gardening days and thanking the Lord for giving us coffee. :)

  

 

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. 

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, 

and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:44-45)

DIY Chic: Tomato Cage Grapevine Tree

A few weeks ago, the girls from our small group were helping a friend pack up for her soon-to-be move. As we were leaving, a desperate throw-out shout called us back, "Anybody want this old tomato cage?"

Do I want a free old tomato cage? Are you kidding me? Of course.

Because naturally I am going grab some twigs from the woods and a strand of Christmas lights to make it into a cute tomato cage grapevine tree! It's a wonder there wasn't a stampede when she offered the cage up...I acknowledge I got lucky on that one. :)

After I regained my breath from pricing grapevine lengths at the hobby store (about $15 per 12 yards!),  the woods were looking pretty appealing. I went out and cut about a wheelbarrows-full of twigs that were green enough that they had a good bend. Then the twigs, me, and my trusty floral wire had a hour long date.

Turn the cage upside down, and wire the three loose ends (that usually go into the ground) together into a point. That creates your "tree" and now you just need to add the twigs.

There's nothing magical about how to do this...just wire on the twigs nice and tight. I wanted a rustic look, just as long as the twigs weren't going to blow away in the wind! After you get the first several twigs secured around the wire cage, you can just weave the rest of them in and out until your cage is covered.

Add some lights, and voila!

This would also make a very cute Christmas tree using an old greenery garland. I can picture a throwback modern sixties tree in pink or blue tinsel. Many thanks to my junk-be-gone friend for inspiring this!

CSA vs. The Garden

The garden and the CSA have officially wound up for the season and it's time to bust out my final harvest home tally spreadsheets.

Is joining a CSA worth the money? 

All I knew about CSAs were that you paid an upfront sum to receive a box of veggies that are locally, organically grown for a period of weeks. Our summer CSA was 20 weeks on the dot, and we did not need to participate in any of the growing/weeding/harvesting work. Each CSA is slightly different though!

I recorded everything we received with the intention of price matching it at the grocery at the end of the season to compare costs. I gave up on that idea though, because the price of spring produce at the grocery is obviously a lot higher now than it would be in June. Wouldn't wanna sway the results with inaccurate data!

So I'll just ramble. Which is probably more interesting amusing anyway.

The CSA:

1. Variety! We had over 40 different items throughout the season. Some were things we were familiar with and some were things I would be happy never to see in my kitchen again. Flax seeds, I know you are good for me, but don't think you're ever getting in my house again.

Killer Kohlrabi

2. Lack of quantity! Either we eat a crazy amount more than what is suggested for four people per week, or else I imagined the size of the box to be much larger. :) We still had to go buy lots of veggies to round out our vegetable intake for the week.

3. Price! We paid around $20 a week for the CSA share. I was also going to a local veggie stand nearby to supplement, and it seems to me I would have been able to buy the same items & amounts for less cost.

The Garden:

1. Grew what we love! The plus side here is that everything that grew in our garden, I knew we loved to eat. We didn't have any vegetables that I had to ID on the Internet. :) I was also able to grow loads and loads of extras that were frozen or canned to use over the winter.

2. Battle of the Deer! That one particularly pesky fawn better have grown up into a stunning buck on all the fresh veggies he stole from my garden. Although I managed to fight back and still get a fair amount from the garden, I wasn't able to harvest as much as I'd planned thanks to the deer.

3. Work! Keeping up the garden is a lot less convenient that just picking up a box of veggies each week. Fortunately, I love being out in the dirt, weeding, harvesting, and generally puttering around. Except when the occasional frog jumps out and stops my heart for a few seconds. :)

The Conclusion:

We won't be doing the CSA again. 

I enjoy working in my garden, growing only what I know we'll use, and I can do it for less cost. I also ended up buying more produce that I could can/freeze. So for us, it makes more sense to not join next summer.

But if you don't enjoy gardening (or gardening on such a big scale), and you are looking for a convenient, easy way to get more fresh and local  variety in your diet, a CSA may be right for you!

Did you join a CSA this summer? What did you think of it?