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Made this Green House,
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Hinged roof top makes it easy to tend to the plants inside.
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Gardening ~ My Natural Stress Relief
ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS....
Gathering Vegetables or Herbs for my dinner. The trials and research of how to grow, the excitement of daily changes, caring for it each day and watching it produce
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I really do enjoy stepping out to my herb garden and gather flavor for my dinner...
Gathering Vegetables or Herbs for my dinner. The trials and research of how to grow, the excitement of daily changes, caring for it each day and watching it produce
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I really do enjoy stepping out to my herb garden and gather flavor for my dinner...
March 2016 and I've started planting
Keep reading and follow link below to see how my garden looks now.
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I thoroughly enjoyed the first days of planting. Tomato, red bell pepper, yellow squash and my first time growing green beans I raised from seed.
On the right, my corn and zucchini are beginning to look happy and healthy. I ended up planting more green beans here near the fence. This area receives more than 5 hours of sun and although a small space, I had a extra tomato plant so trying it out here near some mint and jalapeno peppers. |
I love growing my herbs in a half barrel as I have here. Allows for an easy move of location if necessary. I didn't need a hole for drainage, found this weathered half barrel hidden in the corner in my yard. Cleaned it and raised the bottom so it's about 8 inches deep.
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My strawberries are hanging this year, so far I've lost one, really believe it was due to cheap basket with cheap straw mulch that gave off rusty colored water when draining.
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Simple Low Maintenance:
Low-maintenance gardens are the only way to keep the fun in gardening, and low-maintenance techniques can also lead to increased yields from your plants.
1.Basic seasonal preparedness - an understanding of the three essential elements during a crop's life-cycle will ensure that your vegetables have the right nutrients at each stage of development.
~ nitrogen (N) - promotes leafy growth, essential is spring, but nitrogen should not be applied as the plant nears maturity or it will encourage growth instead of fruiting.
~ phosphate (P) - promotes root growth and new shoots. Rock phosphate and bone meal can be applied throughout the growing season.
~ potassium (K) - aids fruiting and flowering, essential as the plant nears maturity.
• watering - Early in the morning is the best time to water your garden because there is less water loss to evaporation. Watering in the evening is OK, but leaving the plants and soil wet overnight can encourage slug activity, and can cause young seedlings to 'damp off'.
• weeding - It's best to pull any weeds before they are mature enough to put out seeds.
• mulching - Once seedlings are tall enough, it's time to add a 4" - 6" blanket of mulch to cover the soil surrounding the plant. Mulch is not dug in - it stays on top of the soil. Using mulch conserves water by reducing surface evaporation; mulch also greatly reduces the need for weeding, the bane of the gardener. Do not use landscape cloth or plastic sheeting beneath mulch. The mulch will gradually incorporate into the soil, adding nutrients and preserving loose soil texture. The mulch will need to be 'topped up' from time to time.
Low-maintenance gardens are the only way to keep the fun in gardening, and low-maintenance techniques can also lead to increased yields from your plants.
1.Basic seasonal preparedness - an understanding of the three essential elements during a crop's life-cycle will ensure that your vegetables have the right nutrients at each stage of development.
~ nitrogen (N) - promotes leafy growth, essential is spring, but nitrogen should not be applied as the plant nears maturity or it will encourage growth instead of fruiting.
~ phosphate (P) - promotes root growth and new shoots. Rock phosphate and bone meal can be applied throughout the growing season.
~ potassium (K) - aids fruiting and flowering, essential as the plant nears maturity.
• watering - Early in the morning is the best time to water your garden because there is less water loss to evaporation. Watering in the evening is OK, but leaving the plants and soil wet overnight can encourage slug activity, and can cause young seedlings to 'damp off'.
• weeding - It's best to pull any weeds before they are mature enough to put out seeds.
• mulching - Once seedlings are tall enough, it's time to add a 4" - 6" blanket of mulch to cover the soil surrounding the plant. Mulch is not dug in - it stays on top of the soil. Using mulch conserves water by reducing surface evaporation; mulch also greatly reduces the need for weeding, the bane of the gardener. Do not use landscape cloth or plastic sheeting beneath mulch. The mulch will gradually incorporate into the soil, adding nutrients and preserving loose soil texture. The mulch will need to be 'topped up' from time to time.
2015 Garden Below
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Egg plant in front, Tomato plant in back and you can see some
of the green bell pepper. 
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So this one is exciting, Cinnamon Basil, my first time growing and loved the fragrance, although it was hard to find a good place it liked to grow. I dried it and use it in cooking to add an umph to dishes. :P
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Love these Gardening Tips ~ Natural
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Lydia and Malinda just shared a tip for the garden………
1 tsp Epsom salt in 4 c warm water Spray on plant then again 10 days later. Boosts Magnesium which produces more fruit. I’ve done a variation of this by adding Epsom salt to the soil, before and after I’ve planted once plants are in good shape. Be careful if adding to soil, don’t put too much. As you can see from measurement above, you won’t need much. 
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2015 crops, tomatoes, peppers, yellow bell peppers, red bell peppers and my first year producing egg plant. Along with the many herbs I have growing... (picture top middle) One herb I really enjoyed growing, cinnamon basil. I dried it and use it in potpourri, as well as in cooking.
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Succulents |
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My beautiful succulents, most of these came to me as a gift from Marty. Wasn't sure how they would do throughout the winter, so here they are to keep forever in pictures, just in case. We'll see in a couple months :)
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They made it through and are looking magnificent. Growth is so amazing, I'm propagating new ones. I'll post pics soon.
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