Garden-Gedden Pics

Last night I actually got *two* posts out! Yay me! And this is in addition to the actual garden stuff, lol. But I was too tired and dirty to get pictures of it all yesterday, and I did promise them. So here they are!

(Well, most of them. The stuff that's just seeds in dirt I didn't worry about pictures of those yet, lol.)

First - Tomatoes!

Here's a picture of all the freshly planted tomato plants. Three different types - An Heirloom variety I don't remember the name of, lol. The other two are hybrids for hot climates. Phoenix is one of those, but I don't remember the other either, ha ha! I'll take a look next time I'm outside.

Second - Pepper!

And this is the new pepper plant! Along with a close up of the buds on it. I'm really, really hoping it will supplement the plants, rather than... supplant (HAHA! Couldn't help myself.). One of the other plants is full of buds, too, and the one I broke is hangin' in there. So keep your fingers crossed.

Bud Close Up

Third - Basil!

These are the replanted and repotted basil plants. One per pot, all healthy so far. Still didn't get the other stuff cleaned up yet, and I'm going to root some purple basil to go along with these. But aren't they cute, all nice and lined up like that? 

So there you have it. Chives, spinach, beans, and pumpkin are seeds in dirt right now. At least a few days before any of those can be up, so pictures when it happens.

In the meantime, there ya' go!

:)

Post Card Sunday That Should be Saturday

Yeah, got a lot done yesterday. And today, as well. Unfortunately, Post Card Saturday wasn't one of them. It was... something, all right.

But here it is, better late than never, right?

Another oldie, with one of those amazing feats of nearly no address getting it where it was supposed to go. Of course, I always assume they got where they were going. I guess I'll actually never know, lol.

Anyway - there's the front up top. Again in the same vein as so many from the era.

Here's the close up of the location.

The full back - note the address. That's what caught my eye on this one. It is literally the name of a restaurant, a city, and NY. I mean, I suppose it's possible that Clyde, NY was so small that the postcard got there no problem. Still though, it's just odd. Postmark dated 1941.

And here's the message:

Dear Angeline,
I had a wonderful time with you. I hope some day you come & stay ar out hourse. Than you for every-thing.
Catherine

No telling what any of it's about of course. Who were these people? How did they meet? Why is this being sent to a restaurant instead of a street address? Questions without answers... But it's fun, right? I think it is.

So there you have it for this week!

:)

Garden-Gedden

Whew! What a day!

And apologies about no post cards yesterday. It was a productive day, then I was tired, and then when I remembered, it was super late. I'm going to get on that as soon as I finish this!

The picture above is a place holder, clearly. As are the rest of them in this post. Today was the big garden planting for this season. I said I was going to give it two major growing seasons, and this is the second. A big reckoning will come around December or January, to see if the garden experiment was worth it.

My approach today was one that was a bit more labor intensive, hence the tiredness, lol.

So today was a long day, but I got a *lot* done. Still a few things to wrap up, but yeah... a good one. Pictures tomorrow - promise! I was just so tired and dirty I couldn't really get my camera out, lol.

First up - Tomatoes...

Got all the dead ones gone, the new ones planted. They look good so far. The three of the older plants still alive in the garden are still there. Hopefully they'll all grow and give some tomatoes!

Second - Chives and Spinach

A couple of small pots of chives, as well as a window box of spinach. I've tried both before but they never took off. Keep your fingers crossed! I'm going to see about paying more attention to them.

Third - Peppers

If you recall, I bought another pepper plant. It's settled in its own large plant. I have some seeds, but since I ran out of dirt, they didn't get planted yet, lol.

Click "Read More" to read more!

Worms!

Yes, Seriously. Worms.

My garden is up on a platform. Off the ground. In tubs of dirt. Yet I have found worms in these tubs as I dig for things.

How are they getting up off the ground and into my tubs?

And are these the good kind of worms to have?!

For now, they stay. They look okay to me. And worms are good for dirt. They aerate it, and their poop is like fertilizer. That's a good thing, and why you can, no kidding, buy worms online. Heck yeah..

http://unclejimswormfarm.com/index.php/Worms.html

And that's just one website... lol.

So yeah.. worms...

:)

Happy Carrots?

Happy Carrot Tub #1

As most of you know, I planted carrots a few months ago. They are the cool "kaleidoscope" kind, with different colors and all. They seem to be growing great!

Happy Carrot Tub #2

Problem is, I don't really know when to pick carrots. Or rather, dig them up. I couldn't stand it the other day (go figure, lol) and started pulling.

Here's some of what I found:

You see these carrots? They are really... small. Now the tubs they are in are super deep, so it's not a matter of not having depth. And I water them a lot, put the occasional fertilizer. And yes, some have been moved because when I thinned them, I put the others in other tubs. And those seem to be growing, too.

And if you look here - the greens on the carrots are big and bushy and green!

The carrots though... really small. 

Yes, I know, I need to get on the internet and look all this up and see what I'm doing right and wrong. But in the meantime, I can't decide if these carrots are happy or sad. And the rest - still in the tubs for now. *sigh*

:)

Lazy Sunday

As Phil the cat is the epitome of lazy,
I figured a picture of himwould be
good here to illustrate my point, lol.

Yeah... It was a lazy Sunday here. Comparatively speaking, I guess. I had big plans to get out, do some gardening, do a bunch of stuff around the house, do some online stuff... Most of it didn't materialize, lol.

Lots of laundry, though, a few chores. But maybe... maybe I just needed the rest. It happens to us all, right?

Tomorrow is another day, however! So with a good night's rest, let's look forward to that, right?

:)

Post Card Saturday

Yes it is! It's Post Card Saturday!

Tonight I went totally random. Literally, lol. I pulled out a stack of cards, stuck my fingers in the middle and pulled out a card. Generally I look at a few and go until I find one that suits my mood. I left it up to the universe tonight. 

But it's a good one! As you see up there, it's similar to some others that are older. Here's the detail of where the picture is from - Junction City, Kansas.

Here's the back - postmark April 16, 1945 - almost right at the end of WWII. And the address is so sketchy, I wonder that it even got there. 

And here's the message (no name on the note, but it's addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Parker Groufer(?) - hard to read that last name.)

We are having a swell time. I sure enjoyed the trip. We drove 1230 miles. We are staying at the Bartlett Hotel Kansas.
Ada


That's a long trip, no indication if it's by car or train or bus, though to me it sort of says car. 

Another little card full of unanswerable questions... *sigh*. Gotta love 'em, right?

:)

The Promised Plants

Short one tonight, but here are the promised pictures of the new plants. There aren't that many - just a few to supplement what's already growing. And some seeds I talked about yesterday. We'll see what the weekend brings, I guess.

Here's another picture of them. Two different types of tomatoes, and one bell pepper plant. Keep your fingers crossed they grow! 

:)

And a Couple More Things!

Oh, how you've grown from the early days!

I made my first foray into true garden territory again today. I had to be out and about, so I swung by Lowe's. I couldn't resist, really. I didn't do too much damage, ha ha!

I got a couple of different types of tomato plants. Boy, if anyone had told me six months ago that I'd need to buy tomato plants, I'd have laughed myself silly. Isn't that the way it always works though?

Also got another pepper plant. This one already had a bud on it, and while I don't want to jinx my luck with the ones I already have (hands down, got my money's worth on those two babies!), I figure if they all grow, that's even better! Then I will *always* be assured of having my own peppers in the freezer  :D

And then... I indulged in some seeds. No squash - not going there again. I got some bush beans, and some spinach. I still have some carrot and lettuce seeds, so I'll see what the tub and pot tally is this weekend and go from there.

No more dirt yet. I have almost a full bag, and some more manure. And the dirt that's out there... most of it has worms in it, lol. So I don't want to toss it out and start over. Those worms worked hard to get in there! I'm guessing they did, anyway, ha ha!

I also did not yet indulge in the treated plywood. Believe it or not, the stuff that's out there seems to be holding up really well. So that's a plus!

What I think I might have to replace are some of the tubs. Apparently, plastic doesn't always do so well constantly exposed to the hot sun and rain and all that, lol. One cracked, but just around the edge that rings it. Another cracked a little on the side. I'm being very careful when I do have to move those. I think they'll make it through this season, but the replacement costs are going to have to be figured in if I keep up this gardening thing. 

So that was a good part of the day! Pictures tomorrow of the 'mater plants and such. And fingers crossed, I'll be able to get stuff mixed up and planted this weekend.

:)

Garden Survey

The squash when it had so much promise!

Yep, it's that time. Planting season here in South Florida. When I started this a year ago, I said I'd try two growing seasons and see what happened. So this will be my second. Time to take stock of what I want to try this time. Which means I now need to survey what's growing, what isn't, and what kind of room I have in tubs and pots. 

Sad tomatoes

Tomatoes, definitely going to try some more, though I'm not sure what kind. Most of mine lost all their leaves and have subsequently died. The carrots are growing great! But they aren't ready to dig up yet, so they will stay where they are. 

I have a ton of little basils all over the place, but how much of that can you really use? I know it could be chopped and frozen, or dried, but since it grows here all year, there hardly seems a reason.

I think the sweet potatoes are going to yield again, but that took months the first time, so I'm just going to stick to the one big tub of 'em and not plant more. 

Click "Read More" to Read More  :)

Post Card Saturday

Once more, it is time! Got an interesting one tonight, or I think it is. Short and sweet, but it's still a good one.

Here's the front. The card itself "feels" old, for sure. And it's pretty, obviously a tourist spot. But if you look around the edge of the card - there is nothing identifying what it is, lol. Nothing on the back, either.

Here's the back. Note the lack of address, just "Mummy". Haha - I think even the postman would have trouble delivering that one. My guess is that it was just used as a note that was left for someone or hand delivered.

The message dates the card, at least a little - 1951. And I'm pretty sure this is from England. Both the "Mummy" and the price of 20p (written in pencil on the card) suggests that. But here's the message if you can't read it:

Our National Day, 1951 With all our loves.
Mavis & Chris
x

Here's a link to a page about National Day if, like me, you weren't sure what that was. Go here.

So there you have it - another awesome card!

:)

Completely... Baffling

Though perhaps it shouldn't be. All kinds of strange things have happened since I started this garden experiment. Like worms finding their way into my tubs that are on my platform and nowhere near the ground! But this... is a new one.

Take a look at that, and tell me what you see.

Yeah, I couldn't tell yesterday either. (Sorry the picture is fuzzy, but I still wasn't sure even looking at it up close, lol).

Now - this particular plant is in a hanging thing. Once upon a time it was part of my upside down tomato experiment (Goldie). And this one lasted a good long time, gave me lots of tomatoes, even after Mom planted marigolds on top of it.

Eventually the tomato plant died, and there was just one scraggly, half-dead marigold in there. But I started watering it more and the marigold came back.

Apparently, the marigold has buddies. I didn't see them because it' slightly above my direct line of sight. But I watered from a different angle tonight, and so could see in more easily. This is what I saw...

Why yes, yes they are. Those are *mushrooms*! Two mushrooms in this hanging basket that is not near the ground. HOW IN THE HECK DID MUSHROOMS GET IN MY MARIGOLDS?!  

Here they are from another angle. They're kind of cute in a mushroom-y kind of way... *sigh*


So there you have it. I don't have words, lol. (Well, other than the ones above that just recounted my discovery tonight, ha ha!)

:)

Still Working - Sort of...

Computer issues galore! I was going to do a garden tally tonight, start making plans for the "new" garden stuff, given this is the start of planting and growing season. But - I've been fighting with my computer all night. Let's hope things are truly fixed, but we'll just see what we see. 

I'll get on this this week, though. And you all will have, as always, a front row seat to my garden successes and woes, lol. 

:)

Sad Tomatoes and Happy Carrots

Would you take a look at these poor things? Aren't those the saddest tomatoes you've ever seen? If they can even still be called tomatoes. The plants/stems are still living for most of them, but almost every leaf is gone. And I don't know why! I've scoured them looking for tomato worms, and there are none. 

The tomatoes in the garden "proper" seem to be doing pretty well. They have leaves, they even have a few blossoms. But these... Every since ti tied them to stakes (and you see one has a cage and not tied at all), they've gotten scraglier and scraglier. I should do some research, but isn't that the story of my life? Lol

On to Happy Carrots, though!

Yep, look at these! They still aren't very big yet, even though I really want to pull 'em, lol. But they seem to be doing well, so I'm leaving them for now.

And these - believe it or not, these are the transplants. You're supposed to thin carrots when they get so big, but I couldn't bring myself to throw them out (you all know me by now). So I figured an experiment couldn't hurt. Replant them in an empty tub - and voila! Here they are, almost as big as the others. How cool is that?!

Still deciding what to do about the watermelon plant... *sigh*. Updates on that as they become available - ha!

:)

Post Card Saturday

Whew! After the past few weeks of long Postcard posts, I figured short and sweet tonight to get back into it. 

I picked this one because it seemed kind of fun, whimsical if you will. Cats in clothes and fishing - how cute is that?

Other than I know this card is older, and it was apparently published in Zurich, there's nothing else to know. 

There's not even a message, which does make me wonder what the story is about the card. Who bought it and didn't send it? How did it end up in a rummage sale to be bought with another book of them? Did it mean anything to the person who bought it, or, like me, did they just think it was fun?

So many questions, no answers, lol. That seems to be the norm when collecting other people's postcards.

And there you have it - enjoy!

:)

Another Yum Creation

Aji paste is the bomb! Usually the yellow
one is the best, but this rocks, too.! So versatile.

For those of you who cook, willingly or not, you know it can be hard to think of something different to eat every day. But if you've been doing it for a while, then you also get a general sense of things that might work, or might not. Add into that a sort of craving, and well, you might end up... experimenting.

We all know some experiments are dismal failures. But I had a great one the other night! Hurray! Because that sure as heck is the best, right? Lol

I've been craving pizza lately. Like - any kind of pizza. Frozen ones that I've doctored up, the kind they sell by the slice that's big and greasy, homemade, you name it. I have no idea why, but I have been.

And the other night, well... my mind got to working. I'd bought these pre-made pizza crusts ages ago. They've been around forever, and I was trying to think what to put on them. Aji chicken came to mind (I call it this, but it is by no means unique, I'm sure. Cooked chicken with onions, green peppers, and aji sauce sauteed in a pan for a while). I had some of this frozen, you see. 

So I pulled it out, but it occurred to me that it might not really go with tomato sauce. I looked up a few chicken pizza recipes and boom - here's my thrown together sauce.

It is literally cream of chicken soup mixed with ranch dressing, lol. Thinned it slightly with some milk. Oh yeah, really, haha!

Here's the pizza in the assembly process: crust, sauce, aji chicken, and some chopped tomatoes.

With the cheese added (mozzarella and fiesta blend. It's what I had in the fridge, lol).


Man, did it smell good while it was cooking, let me tell you.

And viola! Here it is! Yummmm...

:)

And the Winners Are...

So the big drawing! Four winners for four prizes...

Here are the winners! Congratulations!

(Butterfly, I'm not sure if you found me on Facebook or here, but we need to get in touch somehow. If it's here, we'll have to think of something, lol.)

Anyway - I will keep the status of the prize distribution updated here and there as I can. 

Thanks for all the comments, you all. It means a lot to know that people have taken an interest in this little blog of mine. 

Garden stuff tomorrow!

:)