by Jess
8. May 2010 19:14
So this year, I planted a garden. I have been waiting for the day I could have one and it has finally arrived. I started it a little over five weeks ago. It took a few weekends to dig, level (to a point), and get the soil somewhat right. The next step was to test the soil and sun exposure (see my previous post on EasyBloom). And then, what do I plant? I want herbs, vegetables, fruit…so many choices. I finally narrowed it down to vegetables I knew we use a lot of - onions, bell peppers, cucumbers, jalepenos, and banana peppers. I threw in a canteloupe plant too.
The first couple of weeks the peppers and cucumbers all looked promising. The onions were not very healthy to begin with (as I later found out visiting Lowe’s one day), they had brown ends. I did not have much hope for them. The canteloupe kind of stayed the same.
The next couple of weeks, showed extreme growth thanks to mother nature. I learned you can not water them too much. Water is their drug. Almost everything was looking quite healthy – the onions even were beginning to turn around. The canteloupe, still the same and the leaves were turning yellow. Not a good sign.
And that brings us to this weekend, week five. The bell peppers are blooming (each bloom becomes a bell pepper), the onions are now over 12 inches tall, the cucumbers are taking over their side of the garden with mini cucumbers in sight, and the other peppers are still green and growing, but no blooms. The canteloupe is no longer (or the cucumber is hiding it).
I have become an obsessive gardner weeding every other day, watering every evening after work, looking at each plant in hopes of seeing a bloom… I feel like these little guys have become part of my family. (ha!) Most of them have a 70 day gestation period. I can’t wait to see what the next couple of weeks bring. Check back for my next update.
by Jess
18. March 2010 19:26
Some people might describe me as a “green” person (not in the face hopefully) as I try to eat and contribute towards a cleaner environment as much as I can. I buy organic foods (local when available), use water filters over water bottles, paper over plastic… Each year I add something else to the list.
I recently switched out my house cleaning service toThe Cleaning Authority. Over the last five years, I have been a loyal customer of a friend, but felt that it was time to change my house chemical habits (no this is not an infomerical). Bleach is not good for the environment (one of the worst chemicals) and not to mention good for you or your animals. So, no more bleach. I will miss that lingering clean smell, but my body and the ones I love are worth so much more.
Second, I am planting a full garden in the backyard along with a couple of fruit trees. I bought this neat device from EasyBloom.com to help me out since I do not possess a green thumb in gardening (Kelly watching too much HGTV paid off)! This nifty guy is very easy to use and provides a wealth of information. All you have to do is stick it in the ground where you want to plant something (i.e. flowers, vegetables, etc.) and 24 hours later, it has mapped out how much sun, water, humidity that area gets. And if that wasn’t cool enough, it will even suggest to you what to plant in the area and how. Did I mention this was a techy device…you probably guessed that already if you know me. Yep, just plug it in to the computer (via USB) after the 24 hours and all the data is analyzed and displayed before your eyes! Love it already!
Let me know if you need any veggies or herbs… I have onions, tomatoes, peppers (bell and jalapenos), potatoes, thyme, cilantro, rosemary, and a few others on the list this year. Tune in on the progress…
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