To Pee or Not To Pee? Seriously it is a question!

We're getting our garden ready for planting and while doing some research I came across an interesting article which proposed the idea of using human urine in your garden. So I ask: To Pee or Not To Pee ~ would you use urine in your garden?

A Year in Review: Chicks, Movies, Books and More

I recently listened to 's third installment of the Bridget Jones' series, Mad About The Boy, which I highly recommend. I always loved how Bridget started and ended her day with tallies so I thought I'd follow her format and review 2013 similarly

Beans Beans and more Beans

Fall has officially arrived in Florida so I thought I'd share how things fared in our mini urban farm.

The Peeps are Producing

Life with the Peeps has definitely been similar to a roller coast ride.  Eggs, attacks, coops, lots of happenings means lots to share.

How does your garden grow?

We had such high expectations when we started our garden earlier this year.  I'll admit is hasn't gone as well as expected but we are having some results.  We're trying some new things as well.

We've Got Worms II

     I was so busy educating you about our worms yesterday that I didn't share any of their squirmy gloriousness with you!  How Rude was that? So without further ado for your viewing enjoyment I present the first Royal Colony of Worms. 

We've got Worms!

    That's right we have worms and we're proud!  How often do you hear that sentiment?  First let me lay your worries to rest neither of the puppies have worms, they're healthy as always.  As far as I know chickens don't get worms, they do eat them but they don't get sick with worms.  Guess how many worms we have?

We Did IT!! We've got Taters

  WOO HOO we have potatoes!  It truly doesn't take much to get me excited, but you know that by now don't you.

Don't Blame ME~ I Saw It on Pinterest

     When my husband arrived home from work the other night the last thing he expected to see was our front yard piled high with Crepe Myrtle branches.  He knew they couldn't have come from our trees especially there were close to over hundred 8' and longer branches piled high and wide.  After climbing over the mess blocking the garage and trying to figure out what the four different piles I had of various cut branches could possibly mean I smiled and told him "It's for a project I saw on Pinterest!" 

Plants and Peeps Update March 3

     It is hard to believe that February is gone and in just a few short weeks Spring will officially be upon us.  I thought I would update you on what's been happening both in and out of the Greenhouse;  Plants and Peeps.

Do you Compost?

     The answer should be yes if you do any type of gardening.  Why pay for what you can create for free.  I think most people have the same misconceptions about composting that I did before we started.
My hope is that by sharing our experiences you'll try composting yourself.

Look What Else We've Done

     I told you yesterday we were getting serious about growing our vegetables. Like many of you I've spent way more time than I'd like to admit on Pinterest adding things to my boards.  There is one project on my gardening board (check it out)  that I have been wanting to try and I finally convinced the hubby it was worth it.   So the day after we built our greenhouse (OK assembled our greenhouse) tried our hands at growing potatoes

Watch Out We're Getting Serious

It is no more fun and games in my house when it comes to gardening. This past weekend we decided to make a serious investment with both our money and time. We've been playing with the idea for a while, considered building our own, did research so we finally bit the bullet and bought a greenhouse.

We're going DEFCON (Squirrel Wars part 2)

     OH NO SHE DIDN'T

It seems that I named Nadia appropriately:

 Nemesing* Animal Destroying Innocent Agriculture

Last week I shared how Nadia had attacked my Broccoli and Lettuce crops.  Well it seems she hadn't quite had her fill.  As you can see in the evidence presented here:

She not only ate all the leaves but actually scarfed down more than half of the plants themselves.  

With this last assault on my innocent vegetation it is clear the time for being nice is over.  In response to her first attack last week I covered the shelves with a frost blanket to keep them safe, unaware of her ability to burrow through the fabric to get what she wanted.  I received some interesting advice last week from my friend Sherri.  She told me about motion sensitive sprinklers that she uses to protect her yard from deer and other unwanted dinner guests.  Upon research I've learned there are a variety of choices, styles and of course price ranges.  The one I particularly likes is called the Scarecrow from Contech Inc.,.  This company actually has the profile of a menacing crow as part of the design which I find very entertaining.  Of course I had to search YouTube and find video proof of animals fleeing after activating the sprinkler which you can also giggle at.  This handy little soldier at the moment is most definitely on my wish list.  

What I also am not understanding is why NADIA is only assaulting my broccoli and lettuce.  Right around the corner is the last tomato plant of the season.  There are four glorious tomatoes slowly ripening.  Oh maybe that's it she doesn't like green tomatoes?  Picky little thing she is.

My plan is to cover the shelving unit with screening.  I'll glue the screening to the side supports, back and top.  For the front I'll glue the screening to the top triangle only and attach the rest to the side supports with clips so I can get access the plants. HMM considering the framing is metal maybe I could somehow electrify the frame as well (insert evil laugh).  With my luck I'd shock myself every time. Unfortunately it poured here yesterday and everything is soaking wet ~ thank heavens though all my rain barrels were empty!  So for now I am  just going to cover them by laying down screening on them weighted just enough so it won't blow off.  

Bring it on Nadia!!

*I know that this is not an actual word but it fits perfectly and remember this is MY WORLD :)

Fun and games are over ~ this means war!!

     Last week I shared the antics of a  backyard squirrel Nadia.  To refresh your memory I commented on how much I fun I had sitting in the backyard watching the animals enjoying our treats.  I thought it was so cute watching one specific furry little rodent attack the sunflower.  Well that little love fest is over and I'm out for blood!

    Today while I was out watering our plants I discovered that my generous offering of sunflowers and feeder corn wasn't enough for the local furry thieves.  The only excuse I can up with for the attack they've launched on my greens is that after all the protein they need some ruffage (or roughage depending upon where you live), or maybe they're on a diet.  Remember my beautiful pots of lettuce and how proud I was that we'd have salad greens for weeks on end~ NOT ANYMORE!!
What I don't understand is that they didn't eat from the full grown leaves but rather attacked the baby lettuce :(  They even munched on my one and only spinach plant.  If you look closely you can see the teeth marks.  With that I could get a forensic odontologist to get the exact furry little thief. Why they would feel the need to completely eat some roots and all is beyond me.

    It gets worse! The lettuce wasn't even enough.... they attacked my freshly re-potted broccoli as well.  I don't even know if the attacked plants will continue to grow now that their crowns have been attacked.  The broccoli they ate wasn't even mature as you can see by the ones they left untouched.   I really don't want to transfer them to the greenhouse as it isn't necessary and I think it would actually hurt the plants.  Tonight I am going to throw a frost blanket over the entire frame and hope that will keep the critters away.  UGGHH  I thought this container gardening would mean less critters.  I didn't realize I was creating an all you can eat salad bar!!
    Any advice?  In the meantime here's the solution I'm pursuing:

Can't get much fresher

     Gardening is something that I'd like say I'm pretty good at.  The reality is that my enthusiasm is usually met with limited success.  However this year we've taken a new approach and I must say my success rate is increasing.
     In the past I think we've set our goals a bit too high.  I believe it could best be summed up as why only do one when you can do so much more??  Instead of easing our way into gardening we attacked like a SWAT team unfortunately our results were more along the lines of the Keystone Cops.  That's not to say we didn't enjoy the fruits veggies of our labor, but our yields definitely didn't match our efforts.  Until this year!!
     We decided to go smaller, much smaller.  Instead of four 16-square. foot boxes we opted for container gardening.  Finally our thumbs were beginning to change a slight shade of green.  Our most successful endeavor was the easiest and the most cost saving.  As you know we've been trying to eat healthier.  Unfortunately eating healthier costs much more than well NOT!!  Especially when it comes to salads.  We were dropping almost $20 a week on salad greens and such.  Well not anymore:

    We hit a clearance sale at Wal-mart and got 4 of these 22" window boxes for $4 each.  We have our own compost bins so the enriched soil was free.  One packet of mixed salad green seeds (also on clearance for 25 cents) and just a few weeks later ~Salad!!  Now for once I thought about the future and planned.  Instead of planting all 4 boxes at the same time I planted one every other week.  We had steamed shrimp salad for dinner the other night. I only needed to harvest half of a planter to fill three large bowls for dinner.   By cutting the lettuce and leaving approximately one inch of the plant behind the lettuce should be large enough to harvest again in the next 4 weeks.  If I do this right I believe we'll have fresh salad for months!!

 I'm also giving Broccoli a try this year.  I got a 9 pack of seedlings for only $1.99, there were actually 11 plants as two pods each had two plants ~ freebies I'll take any time. Last time I checked fresh Broccoli was $2.49 lb so even if only half of my plants survive I'm way ahead of the game.  I transplanted them about three weeks ago; looks like it is time to put them into bigger pots soon.  By using our compost the plants are always being fed whenever we transplant them into larger pots.

 Our other container success this year was this pepper plant.  We grabbed it at Sam's Club of all places and it has been producing spicy red peppers since June.  We're going to try and figure out a way to make a "greenhouse" of sorts to put around the entire plant hoping to prolong its life.  Did you know that squirrels like spicy peppers?   We have to harvest the peppers quickly or we lose them to those furry beasts.


    I have to tell you that having the lettuce planter on the table looked really pretty.  Which gave me this idea:
   I'm thinking of planting 8 or so small pots of lettuce and using them for a luncheon.  I'd put one pot at every place with a pair of scissors.  All of the salad fixings would be on the table and everyone would make a fresh salad.  At the end of the meal each guest would leave with a pot full of growing salad to take home with them.

 ~ What do you think?

You shouldn’t have to get mad to get what is fair

            I don’t back down.  If I think I am right I will go toe to toe with anyone.  Today the lucky person to feel my full wrath was the manager at The Orange Box Store *.

     Last Spring we went through a fruit tree phase.   We bought 6 different varities of trees.   We’ve been fertilizing and just generally loving them for the past year.   All but one of our fruit trees have been doing really well.   This one tree finally lost its fight with the last dry spell we had.  But I wasn’t too disappointed as we bought the tree at The Orange Box Store .  Like Lowes, The Orange Box Store offers a one year guarantee on their plants.  With that in mind we leave the store tags on the trees in case something happens.  (Can you see where this is going?)

     In the past I have had to return plants.  I’ve never had an issue.  Return the plant in its pot with tags and you get a replacement, no questions asked.  Having decided to return my dead tree I called over to The Orange Box Store and spoke with the garden manager.  Told him my tree was dead and it still had all of it’s The Orange Box Store  tags on it.  I explained I no longer have the receipt and that I didn’t want a refund just a replacement.  He said no problem, bring the tree in and we’ll swap it out.  I should have gotten his name.

            Today we dug the tree up and headed to The Orange Box Store to get a new tree.  I really have to wonder- do the put the most clueless person at the returns desk?  Seriously if they don’t have any authority whatsoever don’t put them there!!  We explain to the girl (in her tight leopard top-can’t make these things up) about the tree and our conversation with the manager.  Sorry you need a receipt.  Again tell her what the garden manager says, she repeats all this (in a “TONE”) to another girl in customer service who repeats the store motto ~ no receipt no return.  Honestly who keeps their plant receipts for a year?  Never mind the fact that today’s receipts are not printed in ink like the good old days but are actually printed on thermal paper and even with the safest storing methods fade over time.  “No sorry you need a receipt, how do we know you bought that plant a year ago?” 

            Obviously she thought her stern tone would be enough to scare me away.  I replied with one of my favorite lines ~ can I please speak with the store manager?  She calls the store manager, tells her the situation and turns to me and says, the store manager said you need the receipt.  UMMM NO I asked to speak to the store manager can you have her come here.  

            The store manager comes up front and before I can say anything tells me that a receipt is required to return anything to the store.  (Oh yeah this is going to be fun) I explain my conversation with the garden manager.  I also tell her how I have returned plants to Lowes, which is literally right next door, without any problem whatsoever.  This doesn’t seem to faze her one bit.  She stands her ground repeating that she’s sorry but a receipt is necessary.  After five minutes this was getting old.  Feeling like we were losing the battle I start to leave and let her know that this is not done.  I tell her I plan on contacting not only the area manager but the corporate headquarters telling them how this store seems more concerned about paperwork then their customers.  Before we leave I turn one last time to tell her that I am going to write a blazing blog post regarding how this store treats their customers.

-and then-

Mam!?!  Mam!?!  I want you to know that this one time I will exchange your plant.  But please know that in the future if you need to return a plant you will have to have your receipt.  You can go to the back and pick a tree to replace this one with.

Now why did it take me threatening to write a blog for me to get a replacement tree???   Let’s face it when something is returned it goes against the vendor not the store (my husband used to work at Lowe’s so I know how this works).    UGGH SO FRUSTRATING!  Imagine how many people just give up.  I hate that stores and corporations have gotten so big that customer service, real customer service barely exists anymore.  Oh forgot to tell you the tree in question cost a whopping $19.95, imagine if it had been one of the $59.95 trees!

My orchard now is the proud home of a Cherry Tree!!

***So I ran this post by my husband as he was there with me.  He pointed out how I threatened to write a blog and got a new tree yet here I am writing a blog.  He felt it would only be fair if I took the name of the store out, The Orange Box Store was our compromise.  Also in all fairness I did not mention which one it is as there are 4 in our area. 

   

Welcome to my micro farm :0) OR Death of a colony !!

     Gardening is one of those things I get from my Dad.  Growing up on Long Island the weather and the soil were perfect for a summer garden.  Way before it was in my Dad used Square Foot Gardening at our house.  We composted in the 70's... who knew my Dad was hip!!  I think our garden was overall probably 12x12 then divided into sections within.  I loved spending time tending the garden (at least that is how I'm choosing to remember those days).  One of our favorite summer dinners was simply BLT's. Using Levi's Rye Bread we only had to pick ONE tomato from the garden to make 6 sandwiches as each slice of tomato covered a slice of bread!

     Move ahead 30 years (yes I was a toddler when I worked in the garden) and our garden attempt of 2011.  We have used square foot gardening since our home in Va Beach. Here in FL it makes even more sense.  The dirt is so horrible and we live in appropriately name Clay county so add that to the mix and raised beds are truly the best option.  We have been composting for 2 years now and love that.  We do our best to be as organic as possible and even have 2 rain barrels.
     With the slight interruption of my life we just didn't get our spring garden in when we should have.  For the first time in years I bought our starter plants.  I have a small green house where we usually seed start our plants.  The weather here is also out of kilter.  We've been consistently in the 90's for 2+ weeks now.  ~So as you can see I have properly presented reasons as to why it isn't MY fault  we're behind, Thank you.

     In 2008 a friend of ours brought a huge basket of lemons to church to give away.  These beautiful lemons came off 1 tree in her yard. Since then I have been hooked on the idea of growing fruit.  Christmas of 2009 brought 2 different orange trees and this past Christmas a lemon.  None of these went in the ground as a tree first had to come down (see blog: Margins, Tumbleweeds and Chainsaws).  Recently I read an article on peach growing in my area.  I called around and no one had any.  Upon visiting a local nursery I discovered apple trees for  NE Florida.  Unlike citrus trees most fruit trees require 2 trees for production.  We now have a McIntosh and a Golden Delicious.  But it doesn't end there..... I also discovered a variety of Kiwi so of course 2 of those are in the ground as well.  **Side note private garden centers are soo willing to give you deals on plants as all of the above was less that $50**  We were in the process of planting our trees and needed to run to Home Depot.  What did we find there with fruit already hanging????? A peach tree!!! Yes you normally need 2 trees but this one was already bearing fruit so we bought it!!!!  It was the last one so having 2 wasn't even an option.

Just in case you've lost track:

1. 1 Lemon Tree
2. 2 Orange Trees
3. 2 Apple Trees
4. 1 Peach Tree
5. 2 Kiwi Vines
6. 6 Blueberry Bushes (forgot to tell you about these)

Did I mention we don't have even 1/4 of an acre?

Onto our garden.  We have 4 4x4 boxes.  Each one will be filled with various yummies before long.  Our first box is in and most herbs with eggplant and 1 bell pepper.  I was working in box 2 weeding and sifting the dirt.  I noticed that my hands and arms were itchy and I wondered what new weed was causing this.  Then I saw it.  Mid-way up my arm the nasty little scourge of playgrounds in the south.... a fire ant.  For those unaware of these little critters:

Unlike many other ants, fire ants do not really bite, they sting. But then, neither do mosquitoes and we call those bites, too. The fire ant will bite with its pincher's, but that is only to get a tight grip on you. Then they sting you from their abdomen and inject a toxic venom. One welt can be the result of ten stings! They hold on with their pincher's and turn a circle, stinging you all around it. This can result in a pea sized welt or even larger depending upon your sensitivity to their venom. They can then move to a different area and continue stinging you. About 40% of people in infested areas, or more than 20 million, are bitten each year by fire ants. The worse thing to do of course is scratch.  You're supposed to massage the area in an attempt to get the venom out.  Usually though you've been bitten in numerous areas by the time you realize what is happening and who has time to massage? And if you haven't guessed by the name these pea size welts...feel as if they're on fire

last night this was covered in grits

     Now while I have acclimated to living in the south there are a few things this Yankee cannot adopt and grits are one of them!!  However after attending an Ag Extension class I learned a new use for these nasty little grains..... FIRE ANT KILLERS!!!  Remember we try to keep our garden as organic as possible so NO pesticide is coming anywhere near my farm.
UGGHHHHH Total depression.  I thought it would be cool to find a link showing how grits cause ants to well..explode.  We've used grits in the past quite successfully to rid ourselves of these tiny dragons.  Well in doing my properly required blogging research I have learned <big sigh> that grits do NOT in fact kill the ants.  They simply just move :0(  BUT I did find a new PROVEN remedy... garlic juice!! 

Well maybe I didn't kill that colony as I hoped when I dumped half a bag of grits on it. But they better be gone for the garlic is coming.   Hey if they don't like garlic does that make them part Vampire??? Think about it makes sense!

our baby peaches one is hiding



going to be a great blueberry season




our 2 kiwi vines