organic aspirations: Growing

Showing posts with label Growing. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

It's Summer and Eco Kids

I said good-bye to my puppy this weekend. Ana cries and cries when she thinks about how she misses him. He was the most gentle and loving lab I've ever known, and I'll never forget holding him in my hands the day he was born. We used to give some of our puppies silly names before we sold them, and he was "Load" because he was the big guy of the litter. When it was time to name him he was Fallon- Fallon's Load of Rox.

It was fitting to spend the last day with him in the yard where he spent his 14 years. The kids played and had fun, but they would stop to lovingly pet him and say a prayer for him. Yesterday when we stood and looked at his grave, the tears came, but standing there in the peaceful sunset it felt right to go on gardening and playing and doing all of the things that we did just a few days earlier when he was still with us. Although there were tears, there were lots of smiles too- and popsicles. Our old guy would have approved.

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Please join me for the Eco-Kids Linky! I hope that you'll share some great family-friendly posts that are also friendly for the environment. Some ideas include:

Nature Activities
Outdoor Activities
Crafts made with re-purposed or recycled materials
Sewing and DIY home projects
Science Experiments
Posts on environmental issues for kids or families
Non-toxic living
Homeopathic Remedies

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Gardening and Eco Kids

Last summer I shared each week of the CSA share that I received. This year the share is no less promising- it's even more packed with goodness, but I have to share a picture of my own crop from this year. My family has been living on lettuce from the farm mixed with this spicy mix that we harvested from our own garden!

I transplanted about 50 tomato plants just last week, so I'm hoping for lots of great tomato products to can this year!

What are you hopeful for from your garden this year?

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Please join me for the Eco-Kids Linky! I hope that you'll share some great family-friendly posts that are also friendly for the environment. Some ideas include:

Nature Activities
Outdoor Activities
Crafts made with re-purposed or recycled materials
Sewing and DIY home projects
Science Experiments
Posts on environmental issues for kids or families
Non-toxic living
Homeopathic Remedies

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Making Recycled Mini-Greenhouses

With the return of warm weather comes the time to start the garden. Although in many zones, seed can be sown directly into the ground now, chances are there are a few varieties of plant that should be started inside. Some examples of plants that need an indoor start in most cases are peppers, tomatoes, and celery. Rather than buy trays for starting your seeds, why not collect some of the plastic waste that is already in your recycling bin to reuse? Milk jugs, vinegar jugs, and clear packages that often hold cupcakes or cookies make great mini-greenhouses.

Materials:

Plastic containers
Heavy duty scissors (a woodburning tool would also work well for this)
Packing tape
Soil
Seeds

Directions:

1. For jugs, cut around the middle leaving the top and bottom connected in a small space.

Making mini greenhouses out of milk and vinegar jugs

2. Discard lids, and poke holes in the bottom for drainage.
Add about three inches of soil, and soak the soil. Let the soil drain completely before planting about four seeds.
Tape the jugs back together. Supposedly you can leave these little greenhouses outside even in the winter, but thus far I've had better luck with the ones that only go outside on nice days.
For the clear bakery containers, follow the same steps, but poke holes in the top and bottom. There's no need for cutting or taping because the container opens nicely and snaps back shut.
Place containers next to a window that gets direct sunlight, and add a light if possible.

Tutorial to make your own mini greenhouses

This week I'm featuring some of my favorite Eco Kids links from last week. They are all great tips for using around the home:

10 Green Cleaning Essentials by Mums Make Lists

Homemade Orange ACV Cleaner by Scratch Mommy

DIY Flexible Icepacks by Homestead Dad

If you were featured today, please share this button on your site!

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Please join me for the Eco-Kids Linky! I hope that you'll share some great family-friendly posts that are also friendly for the environment. Some ideas include:

Nature Activities
Outdoor Activities
Crafts made with re-purposed or recycled materials
Sewing and DIY home projects
Science Experiments
Posts on environmental issues for kids or families
Non-toxic living
Homeopathic Remedies

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Thank You Lord

...for the newly crisp almost fall weather. It reminds me of all of the good and exciting things that are just around the bend. Apple picking, hayrides, playing in leaves, bonfires, The Johnny Appleseed Festival, and heading to Erie are just a few of the things that I'm looking forward to doing.

...for the vegetables that have been keeping us well-fed this summer.

...for friends new and old. It's great to spend time with others and share our lives.

...for my family and their health. It's so great to have such a wonderful family, both immediate and extended. I say it every week, but I would be remiss not to be thankful for all of the support that I receive from them.

...for a great start to my new business. Between new students and several weddings, I am really glad for such a successful start of my studio.

...for Your Word God. It's my hope and my song. What a joy that I have the freedom to read it every day, whenever I want really. I know that everyone does not have that freedom.

Tags: God, Jesus, prayer, thanks, thanksgiving, thankful, grace, love, peace, family

Thursday, August 9, 2012

My Secret Garden

garden with fresh mulch and compost pile

Ok, so it's no secret. I have a garden. It's a huge jungle that's taking over my yard. Just this week, I went to work weeding and mulching. There was really no need for all of that before since I planted so late in the season (we moved here in late April, and I didn't plant until mid-late May). Now with many many days of rain, the vegetables (and weeds too!) grew up overnight! The cucumbers, squash, watermelon, pumpkin and one of the tomato plants that came up on its own all have buds on them. No matter whether I get a huge harvest or I can gather just a bit, I wanted the experience of growing my own garden under my belt.

Right before this picture was taken, I added much needed straw to the compost pile. My mulched leaves from last fall have long been gone, and I had to wait a bit for my straw that I bought to brown. What a difference it makes though. Since this photo was taken, I turned the pile again, and the compost is filled with pill bugs, and it is turning a rich black. I'm really pleasantly surprised that the composting is turning out to be such a success! My garden needs it too because the current soil is mostly clay with just one layer of peat that we spread underneath.

No matter what happens with the garden this year, I cannot count it as a total loss because I did so far harvest one thing! If you have read this blog before, you probably know that I photograph the crop from the farm that comes each week from the CSA- well, here is my own crop photograph! LOL

my first crop from my home grown organic garden

Someone tried to eat my crop! LOL

Tags: garden, organic, crop, harvest, cucumber, eat, fresh, food, compost, mulch, straw

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Discoveries

My backyard is full of possibilities. It's also full of plants starved for love and attention. After some advice from my mom, I figured out that I have some gems.

Garlic

Berries

Strawberries

I also planted a few things already which were provided by my mom's abundant supply.

The kids love helping out...

...and I love it when they do.

Tags: garden, garlic, stawberries, berry bush, bleeding hearts, weeding, backyard

Saturday, March 24, 2012

In My Garden

Spring has sprung here, and as we prepare to move, I'm grateful for the beautiful flowers blooming in my garden one last time. I am sad that the peonies won't bloom until after we leave, but I've enjoyed them for many years, and I'll have lots of fun gardening at the new house. Here's a taste of what I'm enjoying now...