I slept great last night and feel so much better today! I was hoping to get my treasures but then I got an email that she just shipped them today! I ordered them last Saturday! There goes my Mother's Day plans. So, to make up for it I logged on to the Country Stitcher (Brenda Gervais) and ordered a few items. Things I needed, of course.
Today is beautiful... 70's, sunny and just perfect for working outside. I am trying to dig up those kiddie pools I planted last year. Not one of my better ideas. I painted them and the paint chipped and the pools cracked. I was trying to dig up the dirt as it was organic and I thought I could reuse it but weeds have taken over and it is a real job to try and get it weeded and out of there. Now I'm resigned to just get the dirt out so I can throw the pools away, never mind trying to save the soil. I did get to use my soldering iron for poking holes in one of the totes. That is so much easier than drilling! I only got one planted today. I am putting them on my benches which I had to clean off and move. That way I won't have to bend over to take care of them or to plant! Yay! My bending over days are over! LOL!
I watch Robbie and Gary Gardening on You Tube and I am using her system of composting in place and gardening in totes. I used my soldering iron to poke holes about 1 1/2 to 2 inches above the bottom on one side that way all the water won't drain out. Then I put a layer of bulky brush; twigs, sticks, weeds, leaves. Then I put a layer of dirt then my kitchen scraps; egg shells, tp rolls, melon rinds, carrot and potato peels and orange rinds. Then I covered that all with dirt. I cut several bigger holes in the bottom of my tomato plant container so the roots could go out the bottom and I placed it on top of the dirt. I pruned the tomato plant. I learned that you leave the stems that grow out straight from the main stem but prune the ones that are at an angle. You can also put your prunings in water and they will root and you can plant them and get more tomato plants! Who knew? Here is what it looks like............oh, I finally found a use for those old pantyhose I will never ever wear again! LOL!
I found some old quarter round in the garage that I was able to use for staking up this tomato plant that is growing like crazy! Tomorrow I will put tulle over it so the birds and bugs won't bother it. It's on my front yard sidewalk and another bench is on the side of the driveway. It's the southern side of the house with no shade. It's probably not attractive but what do I care. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and in my eyes fresh homegrown vegetables are beautiful!
Here is a closer look...........
Now, for Stitch Maynia Day #5..........I had to take breaks from my moving benches and digging and that's when I worked on this Halloween cutie.............after washing my hands, of course.
Here's my progress....I only had the lilac done and some black from last year.........I have a ways to go!
BTW, I usually start my plants from seed but I wasn't going to garden this year until I found this system using the totes and the tulle and by then it was too late to start plants. So, all my plants are purchased but if this system works I will be back to starting from seed again next year. If any of you have tried this way of gardening in containers please let me know how it worked for you.
Happy Trails!!!
5 comments:
That was super interesting Sam. After all of my years of gardening I didn't know you were supposed to prune the tomato plants. And seeing your tote is really interesting. I may try to plant a cucumber plant and green beans and see how they do. The deer ate all of my geraniums that I planted in the backyard. I was NOT happy about that at all.
Your cross stitch is coming along. Who care how long it takes if you're having fun.
I took my Sheep Virtues to Michaels today to have framed. Whoa Nelly! That was expensive. Without coupons it would have been almost $300.00 which I NEVER would have paid. A simply frame and piece of glass cost almost $80.00. That's why I don't do big pictures anymore. I think I'm going to stick to bookmarks and ornaments, etc. I should get it in about 2 weeks.
Take care my friend. Be careful of storms.
Blessings,
Betsy
WE are going to put rocks in that sheep tank and then potting soil...it has a drain hole on the side should it get too much rain. I hesitate to compost because skunks like compost with eggs and fruit in it. My nephew next door composts and he gets skunks:(
You are a busy lady. We are making our first trip to the greenhouse tomorrow. We have switched from a garden bed to pots, too. So much easier.
Every year I say I will plant more than I do, but it doesn't happen. I started a compost bucket last year but haven't even opened it yet to see what's going on in there. Surely the heat has done its job by now. :/ It's always good to find different ways of growing, what works best for your situation and environment. I'm balcony gardening and my nemesis is ANTS. They've already started finding ways to get indoors and the heat just started, so now the battle begins.
Some great tips there, although I did know about taking out the side shoots as my dad had me doing that when I was a kid. On bush varieties it doesn’t matter but cordoned I only ever have one main stalk. This year I haven’t planted any tomatoes.
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