Fruit Trees!!!! I've got Fruit Trees!!!!!

This has been a long time coming...

I've wanted to plant fruit trees since we moved to this property 10 years ago. We tried to go the less expensive way and buy bare root trees. We brought them home and immediately placed them into water for 12-24 hours, as was suggested by the producer. Then we planted them.

They Died.

The next year we tried again. Again we followed the producers instructions, even check marking off at each step. AND!

They Died.

I gave up. Well obviously not entirely, cause fast forward to this year - 2011. I was driving past the farmer style store (obviously not fast enough - I'll have to work on that.) on my way home about a month ago, and there was a sign calling out my name: "Fruit and Shade Trees." I stopped and talked to the man in the greenhouse area. They were NOT bare root. They were three years old. They looked healthy. They were budding out appropriately for the time of season. They were outside, and had been outside for several weeks. I left. 

I obsessed about them for two more weeks. I went back to the farmers style store. I bought six trees.

1. 1 Sweet Sixteen Apple
2. 1 Granny Smith Apple
3. 1 Lapin Cherry
4. 1 Rainier Cherry
5. 1 Bartlett Pear
6. 1 Sungold Apricot

We planted them yesterday. 

Quincy helped.

Oh, and this time we used a Miracle Grow product to "fix" the roots system and help them establish easier.

I still need to buy and plant:

• 1 more Apricot - for cross pollination. They didn't have another type, so I didn't buy a second.
• 1 more Pear - for cross pollination. Same deal.
• 2 plums - I want one Italian and one Red type.

I'll be watching, and watering and worrying about them for quite awhile. Sure hope this works.

 

Oh, and we also decided to plant a couple children to see if they would grow more:

1 Boy Tree
1 Girl Tree

Yeah, cause that's what we need. More children.

Planting in the Yellow Greenhouse

Here we go... Planting in the Yellow Greenhouse this past weekend is FUN!

I started 40 Super Beefsteak tomatoes and 40 Roma's.

 I would have done more, except that I ran out of paper pots. 

I could have sworn that I made more, so back inside to collect more of my dear husbands read newspapers... It's important that he's already read them. Take note!

I bought this wonderful little tool at: www.underwoodgardens.com

PotMaker

I tried to use a drinking glass one year, but this little guy (gal?) is just easier to use. It was created for this purpose, after all!

This is a super important step in my "Plan to Can" everything that grows in our garden, for our family.

But perhaps the best part of the day still remains that I got the first flower of Spring 2011 from my sweet baby girl!

I just did another order from the Bulk Herb Store

I've been feeling a little tired lately. All right I've been downright fatigued all of last summer, fall and most of this winter. Enough is enough already! I am too young to feel this *&^#* old! I started doing research right before Christmas (2010) and it's lead me to believe that what I am experiencing is "Adrenal Fatigue." Hmmm, the symptoms sound right, so we'll see.

Being the weird/funky granola that I am, (Embrace my funkiness) I started looking towards healthy, herbal remedies first, and this is what I found. The Bulk Herb Store, and Shohanna's Kitchen (YouTube). O.K. so I've just fallen in love with this gal, she makes it all sound so easy, and she doesn't overdo it with the whole "selling issue." I placed my first order and it came super fast.

Starting out this New Year (yeah for 2011! - GOODBYE, so-long 2010!) I'm going to do a whole body cleanse (all ready started and I feel somewhat better - may have to do with having a good plan), followed by a liver cleanse. What then? Making sure that what we as a family eat, is actually being digested and assimilated into our bodies! I bought the book:

Started drinking Kefir (I bought my own grains, and I'm making it myself. It's soooo much less expensive, and I'm jes' so proud!)


I made my first, official, tincture (Bulk Herb Store Liver Cleanser) and it's finally done! I finally had a reason to go to the liquor store... to find the cheapest bottle of vodka I could find, in order to make it. Starting today, I've strained it (added "used" herbs to the compost pile) and bottled it, and am taking my first doses. 1 squirt - 3X/day either with or without water. And let me tell you, It's nasty tasting, but if it works????? (I'll let you know how that turns out.)

From Drop Box

So what was my newest order?????
I bought:

Dr. Cinnamon
Green Salve (Gonna made my first salve! I'm soooooo excited!)
Black Spice Chai Tea (I love a good strong chai tea... makes me think of coffee!)
Daily Boost Herba-Smoothie

What's my next order? I'm already thinking of some of their preblended herbal teas, and...

Make Your Own Cleaners

This is a great article for Spring Cleaning time!

Go Green Upside Down Hanging Planters - More DIY How To Projects

Topsy-turvy Tomatoes

Topsy-turvy Tomatoes

Tomato plants love the sun, so even if you plant them upside down, they'll find their way to the light. For a fun family project, give it a try and see for yourself. You can buy hanging planters from garden suppliers (such as gardeners.com) or make your own. Here's how.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Sturdy bucket with a metal handle and cover
Drill with large bit
Sphagnum moss
Tomato seedling
Dirt and compost

Time needed: About 2 to 3 Hours
1. Thoroughly clean out the bucket. Drill and cut a hole about 2 to 3 inches in diameter in the bottom of the bucket (a parent's job). Put some moss in the bottom of the bucket all around the hole to keep the tomato plant from falling out when you first hang the bucket.

2. Gently thread the upper 2 to 3 inches of the seedling through the hole, keeping the roots inside the bucket. While you hold the plant in place, have your child loosely pack dirt around the stem up to the root-ball. Then you can let go and add enough soil to cover the roots by about 2 inches.

3. Add a couple of cups of compost and more soil so the bucket is filled to just an inch or two below the rim.


4. Hang the bucket by its handle and water the plant thoroughly, until water starts running out of the hole. Water the tomato plant regularly, adding more soil and fertilizer if the level in the bucket falls. Keeping the bucket covered will help retain some moisture. As the plant grows out of the bottom of the bucket, its leaves will curl up toward the sun in search of the light until the tomato fruit appears and weighs them down.

Carla's Notes: There are some great buckets to use at Home Depot for about $2.38 each (in our area.) A serious savings over the original of this product. Also, remember that these are significantly heavier than a normal hanging planter, especially with water in it. Make sure you hang it in a VERY sturdy spot.

2009 Garden Plan

It's the day before Spring arrives! And our garden plan is finished! Well, not likely! But that's the beauty of a "plan." You don't have to follow it! I am always tweaking, and changing, and adding and subtracting. This is for our 2009 garden, and I had so much fun using my children's paint, colored pencils, and markers. 

It is based on the sad fact that we still do not have one greenhouse, much less the two I'm plotting for. So I am limited to what I can't pre-start, again. Most of the garden will not need pre-starting, I will direct sow. I am thinking of moving my living room around to try to squeeze in a rack to start tomatoes. We'll see what we come up with in the creativity area for our too small living room. I would really like to pre-start enough veggies and flowers, that we can have enough for our own use, and I could sell starts from our property.

Are you planting a vegetable garden this year?