My Little Corner of the World

Thought I should update on the puppy status

2011-08-19T20:30:00.000-04:00

My baby grew really quickly! She is quite a girl so very sure of herself. She seems to explode with energy so I decided to register her name as Jo'Mel Spontaneous Combustion but around the house she is Ziva. If you watch NCIS you will know the character who reminds me a lot of my girl.

She is a terrible digger so I trained her to dig in a pot half full of dirt. She thinks this is some kind of sport lol.

She is quite a big girl now and stands just a little taller than her mom, Zoe. Don't think that because she is bigger that Zoe lets her get away with anything. Zoe still rules the house!

Daddy J just kinda sits back and lets things happen although it is not unusual for him and Ziva to have a round of rough housing.

We also have a new house guest. My roommate (for now) Diana just bought a new puppy. With 4 dogs and 1 very big cat running around, the house is always full of energy.

Of course we cannot forget the "Breakfast Gang". My girls feed me and the babies lots of yummy eggs :)

As you can see I am keeping myself rather busy lately and have actually begun a new blog. I have taken up the hobby of pottery and have challenged myself to make a piece a day for a full year. Feel free to stop by and check it out http://pottery365.blogspot.com/ Kim

Our new baby

2011-04-18T22:34:00.006-04:00

My sweet little papillon girl, Zoe had her first pup. She is a singleton and was very large! It seems that single pups get all the nutrition that a full litter would normally get and tend to get very large. The vet and techs all referred to her as the "giant" baby. She is 11 days old today and is pretty much an eating machine. Hopefully she will open her eyes soon and get a little personality. Zoe is an excellent mom :)

Chicks

2011-04-18T22:21:00.005-04:00

I purchased 6 chicks from TSC. They seem to be quite entertaining for the house pets. These pictures are weeks old already and the chicks are now feathered out. Seems I need to add some more recent pictures.

I'm Back!

2011-03-27T20:29:00.001-04:00

Major computer problems caused me to wait to post for awhile until I was able to get a new one. Just learning how to use it and what it can do but so far love it.

I told you I would let you know if I got some chickens...well I did. There are 6 little future food makers in a makeshift brooder in my family room. As soon as I get a chance, I will post pictures.

Tomatoes & chickens

2011-03-01T12:18:00.002-05:00

Getting ready for the summer bounty of tomatoes! First few have popped up in the seedling set up.

Now I am seriously looking at getting a couple of hens for some fresh eggs. Trying to make up my mind but I REALLY want a couple. I have been thinking it over since 2009 and may take the plunge this year. I will keep you updated if I actually go for it!

Time to get going again

2011-01-27T19:16:00.002-05:00

I decided to get my little blog going again so here is my first post of 2011...wow where did the time go?

Today I put out a couple dozen containers of winter sown vegetables for the springs garden. Good to be thinking about spring again. This winter seems to be dragging on with consistent low temperatures.

Not really much gardening news to report for awhile but having fun sorting through seeds, doing some seed swaps and dreaming with the catalogs.

It has been a long time

2009-10-12T07:40:00.005-04:00

I thought it was time to give you all an update into what life has thrown at me. As I mentioned before, my husband passed away in June. Since that time I have pretty much had to do a total renovation on my house. It all started when the roof started to leak. I was at work the day the roofers came to install the new roof. The material was delivered by a very large truck which they backed into the driveway. The driveway cracked so bad that it sloped toward the house and caused the basement to flood. So new roof and new driveway. During the hottest and most humid week of the summer, my air conditioner died. New furnace and air conditioner had to be installed. The hot water tank dropped the bottom off and flooded the basement. New hot water tank was installed. My drier died...well you know what came next. As I was scrubbing the wall in the shower, it fell off! Well since I plan on staying in this house for many more years, I decided to do a complete tear out and replacement of the bathroom. Since the kitchen cabinets were literally fall off the wall, I did the bath and kitchen together. When things finally started to settle down, on Friday I was sitting at a stop light when WHAM! I got rear ended! So today the car goes into the shop.

You know I decided a long time ago that life was too short to let these things get to me and have been working at just getting things fixed. I was getting a little down and decided to find a new hobby and love to keep my sanity and along came 'J'. He is the new love of my life and a very good distraction. We have been going to training and dog shows. He is now officially a UKC Champion and has a leg toward his Grand Champion. We have really met some wonderful people and have been having lots of fun. Some day soon, I hope to add a couple more dogs since he has been so wonderful!

Here we are on the day he Championed! He was incredible. On this weekend there were 4 shows in total. He won his class 4 times. He won best dog 4 times. He won best of winners 3 times. He won Best of Breed and a Group Second! For a 9 month old puppy, he did incredible and was able to champion in one weekend!

This past weekend we did a 5 show. We moved up to the champions class and had some pretty stiff competition. There were 5 dogs total. He took 1 Best of Champions, 3 Reserves, a Best of Breed and a Group 4th. He is doing amazing! When I purchased this dog it really wasn't for the purpose of doing conformation. I intended on getting into rally, obedience, and later agility. This is a very interesting twist and I have decided to continue on with the conformation for the next year to see if he can get his Grand Champion and with one leg already, I think he has a good shot at it.

I'll try to update more in coming months to let you know what life has to offer and I hope you will come back to visit me soon in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

(Champion photo by 4 paws imagery)

Putting up the beans

2009-08-02T18:33:00.020-04:00

I thought I would share with you some of the beans I harvested today. After eating my fill for the day, I have been putting some of the beans into the freezer to enjoy during the winter. It takes just a little work but the reward of eating fresh, organic, homegrown beans is so worth it!

Here are the beans I had left to put into the freezer. I eat a LOT of beans while working out in the garden. I really like them raw and prefer to eat them this way while I can. The next best thing is the fresh, I mean REALLY fresh, frozen beans in the winter. I like to pick them and freeze them within a few hours.

The first thing I do is get a large pot lightlysalted water boiling. While the water is heating up, I also get a nice large pan of ice water ready. You need the ice water bath to stop the boiling process so the beans do not overcook. They will stay much firmer when frozen. This is a very important step!

Clean the beans and place in a colander and then plunge into the rapidly boiling water.

I cook them for only about 30-45 seconds and then IMMEDIATELY plunge into the ice water bath.

The beans will stay this beautifully green and fresh while frozen if you blanch them this way. I have kept beans frozen for over a year and had them look and taste this great.

The Foodsaver has been one of the bestinvestments I have ever made! I have had this one for 6-7 years and use it often. I have kept meat and vegetables for over a year in the freezer and have had no loss in color or flavor. I highlyrecommend them for putting up fruit, vegetables and meat for the freezer.

Today's harvest all ready to pop into the freezer.

Just in case you are curious, I use the Square Foot Method of growing my vegetables. The area I have for beans is 2'x8'. In the last 2 weeks, I have had plenty of beans to eat and share and still managed to put 13 bags into the freezer.

Happy Harvest! Kim

General garden pictures

2009-08-02T18:00:00.010-04:00

I took a bunch of random garden pictures today and thought I would share them with you. I have been a little lax in taking care of the garden but will post a series of pictures to show you that I haven't totally given up on it. It may have a few weeds but, I have been getting lots of fresh vegetables out of it. I have so many zucchini I think my neighbors are going to lock the doors and close the curtains next time they see me coming.

What an incredible lunch I had today! I was able to harvest some romaine lettuce, green pepper, 3 kinds of tomatoes, beets, cucumber and some herbs. I added some feta cheese, olives and dressing and had a fantastic salad.

The tomatoes have turned into a jungle! I had a lot of problems with blossom end rot which put my harvest almost a full month behind. I did a lot of pruning of excess foliage today and hope it helps give the plants some better air circulation. I was able to find quite a few tomatoes that were unaffected and hope the BER tapers off so I can enjoy many more and have enough to put up for the winter.

A few of the tomatoes and some peppers I picked (forgot to take pictures before I ate quite a few). As I was pruning, I knocked off some large green tomatoes which should ripen just fine on the kitchen counter.

Some of those zucchini I mentioned. I am getting some this big and at least 3-4 every couple days. Just kidding earlier about the neighbors running. The extras I take to a local greenhouse where there is a drop off for produce to be given to Forgotten Harvest. I have been able to share quite a bit so far this spring starting with lettuce late in May.

One of my favorite vegetables, kohlrabi. Many people have no idea what this vegetable is. I think they are wonderful and am so happy to have been eating these since early spring. I winter sowed a lot of these and am so glad I did. I plan on doing them again for next year as well.

I'm not sure if you remember my experiment with planting potatoes in pots. These are just some of the ones I was able to harvest...I didn't think to take pictures before I ate a few. I am going to try growing them indoors this winter for sure! All in all, quite successful.

The last of the broccoli and the most successful. I started several plants indoors under lights early this spring and planted them outside in March. This one plant was winter sown and by far put out the largest head. My daughter was very lucky to receive the other plants I started this way and was just as successful. Another plant I will definitely start this way again next year.

Alright, not a garden picture but I thought you might like to see what I actually look like. My granddaughter has become quite good at taking pictures and this is one she snapped of me.

I also have been harvesting LOTS of beans and in the next post will show you what I have been doing with those I am not sharing and eating. Hope you enjoyed my update! Kim

Life goes on...

2009-08-02T17:54:00.003-04:00

I thought I should take some time to let everyone know that I am still around. Things have been pretty busy since John died. With the small amount of life insurance he had, I have been fixing up the house so I won't have to worry about major things such as a roof for many years to come. I have to start thinking like a single woman now and looking at what my future holds.

I have been trying to enjoy many of the things I used to, although, the nights can get pretty lonely. Many nights I have a hard time sleeping with thoughts of "what if". You know, what if the surgery had gone different, what if he waited a few more weeks...well, I'm sure you can understand.

I'll try to do better in getting updates done. Kim

With a heavy heart...

2009-06-13T06:46:00.002-04:00

The doctors removed the polyp that was holding up John's transplant surgery but unfortunately they were unable to control the massive amount of bleeding he had following the surgery. The doctors and nurses worked for many hours to try to stop the bleeding and maintain a blood pressure. When it was obvious there was nothing more that could be done I and our children decided to let him pass with dignity. One of John's last wishes was not to die on a ventilator and we had it removed. He passed quietly and actually looked amazingly peaceful at 9:34 am on Thursday, June 11, 2009.

Thank you all for the prayers you gave over the past few months. John and our family were truly blessed 7 years ago when he received his first liver transplant. We were able to enjoy 7 more years with him that he would not have other wise had. Please consider organ donation if unfortunately the time comes. It is a precious gift that John appreciated and honored to the fullest.

I will miss him more than I could ever put into words. I think our granddaughter Jordan said it best, "Grandpa is going to be an angel now".

Garden pictures

2009-06-05T12:35:00.022-04:00

I thought it was a good day to get a few pictures of the gardens. My yard is so small that I cannot fit the entire garden into one picture. I will just show the pictures so you can get a good idea of how they look. Hope you enjoy! Kim

The picture on the left is of the cucumbers and the one on the right is of the melons. I started all of these indoors about 2 weeks before planting them outside.

Here are my absolute favorite vegetables...tomatoes! The picture on the left shows the 2 tomato beds and the picture on the right is a close up of one of the beds.

A picture of the lush growth of plants that were originally under the hoop house. The lettuce is still growing strong and the broccoli is over a foot tall now. In the back is a row of peas. I am hoping the peas provide just the right amount of shade so I can extend the lettuce harvest well into summer.

This is 2 shots of my one really long bed. It is 4'x24' and I cannot fit a picture in one shot. Against the fence is lots of pots full of different types of food plants such as potatoes, herbs, sunflowers and lots more.

The gardens as seen from my patio. Here I am standing against the house and I cannot fit the yard in one picture...that's how small it is.

Raspberries and blueberries on the left and the strawberry tower on the right. Next year we should have lots of berries to eat!!!

Last but not least, the bed behind the garage. There is a grape on each end which will be trained on wires. The middle is for a new planting of asparagus. Toward the far end is a rhubarb.

Chinese Bok Choi Salad

2009-05-25T16:47:00.003-04:00

One of the best things I did in the garden this year was to install the hoop house. We have been able to enjoy garden fresh vegetables for over a month now when others in our area are just now planting. All the cool weather crops are coming in very well. On Sunday I was able to pick such a large salad, I was able to feed 14 people for lunch. There was a wonderful variety of lettuces, spinach, corn salad, oriental salad greens, beet tops, radishes and herbs such as chives, oregano, parsley and basil. All I added was some chopped boiled eggs and shredded cheese to make it a meal. The lettuces and greens are doing so well in fact, that my daughter was still able to make another large salad to take to a picnic for 8 people today. Ah don't worry there is plenty left to eat all week long!

For dinner tonight I wanted to use some of the Bok Choi, or is it Pak Choi...I really don't know the difference. I made up this simple but tasty salad as a side dish for grilled burgers.

Chinese Bok Choi Salad

1 large or 3 small Bok Choi or Pak Choi

Wash the Bok Choi and remove large stems but do not discard. Chop the stems and place in a large bowl. Stack the leaves and cut in half down the middle from the top to the stem end. Now cut the leaves into strips, similar in appearance to shredded cabbage and place with the stems into the bowl and set aside.

2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons blanched slivered almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 package Ramen Noodles, crushed while still in package (Oriental or chicken flavor)

Remove the seasoning packet from the Ramen Noodles and set aside. Melt margarine in saucepan and saute the almonds, sesame seeds and Ramen noodles until golden. While this is cooking make the sauce. When golden brown, add to the Bok Choi in the bowl.

**This step is not totally necessary but adds a little more flavor. You may choose to just place the ingredients into the bowl with the Bak Choi.**

2 tablespoons vinegar (rice wine, red wine or plain white works)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar (or sugar sub works well also)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 packet seasoning mix from Ramen noodles

Place above ingredients into a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well. Pour over all the ingredients in the bowl and toss well. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

I hope you enjoy this simple spring salad at your next picnic or backyard Bar-B-Que! Kim

Maple Banana Bread

2009-05-16T20:01:00.002-04:00

I had a couple bananas looking a little brown and decided it was time to make some banana bread. I modified a very old recipe I had that used honey as the sweetener to use up my maple cream that had crystallized (note to self: use it up sooner!). It tastes great and the natural sweetness of the maple shines.

1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup maple syrup (or in my case crystallized maple cream)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 5x9 loaf pan well and set aside.

In a large bowel, mix the melted butter and syrup. Stir in the beaten egg and mashed bananas, milk and vanilla extract.

In another bowel, sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Stir the flour mixture just until moistened in the the banana mixture (over mixing will make the banana bread tough).

Pour into greased baking pan and place into the preheated oven. Bake 40-50 minutes or until a knife placed in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Garden Art

2009-05-16T14:57:00.027-04:00

Last year my granddaughter Jordan and I grew a couple birdhouse gourds. Today grandpa drilled a hole in one so Jordan could paint it. Of course, she painted it pink! She wanted a flower for the bird to go into, so I outlined it for her and she painted it in. A final coat of a clear sealer will help keep it safe.

I think the birds will love it.

Today's Harvest

2009-05-13T15:17:00.005-04:00

The garden is giving us ever more food each day. Today we were able to pick enough greens for a very large salad for dinner tonight. It is so amazing to be able to simply go out to the backyard and find something wonderful.

Dinner yesterday was a great stir fry using all my Asian vegetables...too bad I didn't think to take pictures for you all to see. Kim

Mother's Day

2009-05-12T20:50:00.010-04:00

Things have been very busy in the garden the past few days. The kids came over as a gift to help move a 6 yard dump truck full of compost to some new raised beds. I added 2 beds of 3'x8'. One bed is for raspberries and the other is for lignon berries and blueberries. A 4'x8' tiered strawberry bed was added along with 2 beds of 4'x8' for trellised plants and tomatoes.

Everyone helped including my 4 year old granddaughter and garden girl, Jordan. It is amazing how much enthusiasm she has for gardening! She helped move the entire pile of compost to the new beds. As a matter of fact if we tried to take a break, she would tell us we are not tired yet LOL. Here she is with both her daddy and grandpa.

Once the garden beds were filled, she just had to start planting. You must know that she is "a big girl" and "I can do it all by myself". Here she is planting the beans that will grow between the tomato plants. I heard tomatoes love the nitrogen that the beans help fix and will grow stronger and larger.

Things are beginning to grow and green up well and hopefully the weather will stay warm enough to have things planted over the next couple weeks. I'll update again soon so please come back to My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Time for an update

2009-05-07T14:37:00.002-04:00

Sorry to have been gone for so long but as you may have read my husband is very ill. Between work and taking him to numerous doctor's appointments, I have very little time left. What time I do have, I have been putting in new raised beds and starting the summer crops. The plants in the hoop house are growing like crazy and I am able to get large dinner salads daily from it. I also planted lots of Asian vegetables which are now able to be harvested for stir fry twice a week.

Today I tilled under the large raised bed, moved some some soil from another bed into one of the new ones and borrowed a trailer to pick up some compost this weekend to fill the new beds. I am already tired but now have to get ready to work this evening. I'll post pictures soon so you can all see the progress...thanks for stopping by, Kim.

Geraniums

2009-04-21T17:30:00.003-04:00

Geraniums are one of the simplest flowers to propagate. Today I took several cuttings from 3 geraniums I am overwintering so I will have enough to plant out this spring. I take off about 2/3 of the mother plant which still has leaves of mass to grow into healthy, beautiful plants. The cuttings are then stripped of all but 2-3 small leaves, dipped into rooting hormone, and placed into damp medium. I find that the roots will be stronger with this method. Another method of propagating geraniums is to place cuttings into a vase of water. No matter which method you choose, you will be blessed with an abundance of beautiful flowers all summer long.

Don't forget that in the fall, you can take cuttings from those you planted out this spring to save over the winter to repeat the process next year.

Garden Journal

2009-04-20T19:57:00.006-04:00

The weather was incredible on Saturday! It was 75 degrees and sunny. I was able to get outside for most of the day to get some yard work done. Our city gives away wood chips so I decided to make some nice paths to keep me from sinking ankle deep in mud this spring. My tomatoes and peppers got a little sun also today...but not too much as it was their first time outside.

The plants are doing really well in the hoop house as well. I am able to pick some incredible salads daily. All the other varieties of vegetables I planted as seeds are sprouted and look very happy. The box you see in the back contains 4 potato plants. As they get larger, I will continue to fill the box and hope to get a nice size harvest. I will be planting another similar box in another area in about a month to stagger the harvest.

I am in the process of making rain barrels out of 44 gallon trash cans and will post a few pictures soon, unfortunately, it is raining out too much to go take pictures LOL. Hope to see you again soon. Kim

A quick check in

2009-04-13T23:20:00.003-04:00

Sorry to have been away for so long. The doctors are frantically working up my husband for his transplant and between doctor's appointments and work, I have little time to do anything else.

I do have about 60 tomatoes and 40 peppers along with a few other vegetables growing under lights in the basement which keeps my thumb a little green. The vegetables in the hoop house are looking great and today I was able to pick a nice salad for lunch. Unfortunately, I think I may have put my potato in a pot outside too early as it looks pretty sad. I took it out of the pot to see how things were looking and found a lot of tiny potatoes trying to grow. I placed it back into the pot but don't expect too much from it at this point...but you never know so I am not giving up yet.

Tonight I am trying my hand at making sourdough bread. I made the starter a few days ago and have some dough rising. Hopefully it works out so I can post a simple recipe for you all.

I'll check in again as soon as I can. Kim

Queso Blanco

2009-04-06T14:13:00.017-04:00

Queso blanco is a very simple cheese to make. Queso Blanco is not typically used as a table cheese on crackers such as cheddar and does not melt like mozzarella but definetly has its place in the kitchen. Queso Blanco can be use as a substitute for tofu in recipes and will have no ill effects on people who are allergic to soy products. Queso blanco is a good way to use up extra milk and also freezes well. It takes less than 10 minutes to make and is very high in nutrition.

Supplies to yield approximately 1/4 cup Queso Blanco:

2 cups milk (we drink 2% so that is what I use)
1 to 2 teaspoons white vinegar
non-aluminum sauce pan
thermometer, I use my digital meat thermometer
spoon
small square of muslin or very fine cheese cloth
sieve
extra pan or bowl to catch whey

The process is extremely simple. Since I only wanted a small amount of Queso Blanco to use for dinner in stir fry, I started with 2 cups of milk. You may make a larger amount of Queso Blanco by simply using more milk and vinegar.

Place the milk into a sauce pan. Place the thermometer into the pan and slowly bring the milk to a temperature of 180 to 185 degrees and cook for 5 minutes. Keep the heat low so the milk does not scorch on the bottom of the pan.

You will see a thin layer of scum develop on top of the milk. After 5 minutes using the spoon, skim off the scum and discard. Now pour the vinegar into the warmed milk and stir. You should see curds (lumps) develop immediately. If needed to get a good curd, add a little more vinegar 1/2 teaspoon at a time. The liquid which separates is known as whey.

Place the muslin or fine cheese cloth into the sieve over a container to catch the whey. Now pour the curds and whey into the muslin. Allow to strain until all the whey is removed. The result will be a white, sort of rubbery cheese.

The resulting whey will have a slight green tinge. The whey contains a lot of nutrition as well and can be used in place of water when cooking. Refrigerate both the Queso Blanco and whey until ready to use or you can freeze both.

Queso Blanco is a great way to use up milk that is soon to expire. I usually purchase milk by the gallon because it is the same price as a half gallon, but since my husband and I do not drink a lot of milk, before it was going to waste. Also, milk is extremely inexpensive right now in our area. Just last week I purchased 3 boxes of cereal and received 3 gallons of milk for free. Knowing there is no way we would use up the milk before it expires, I thought it would be the perfect time to start making and freezing Queso Blanco for use later when milk will cost more.

Dinner tonight will be vegetarian stir fry with Queso Blanco over rice made with the whey....yum! I hope you give Queso Blanco a try and if you do let me know how it worked out for you. Kim

Just wanted to add another note (4/8/09) last night for dinner I used some of the Queso Blanco crumbled into spaghetti sauce...it was delicious! I am also thinking of using it as a replacement for ricotta in a 3 cheese (Queso Blanco, parmesean and mozzarella), vegetable lasagna.

Garden Journal

2009-04-05T21:49:00.003-04:00

It looks like the garden is going to expand a little this year. My honey was feeling pretty good (and our son was over visiting) so he made a couple more raised garden beds for me. I have been wanting to expand this year but thought it was out due to his failing health and limited funds. John was able to find "culled" lumber at a really good price and used some to make the beds for me. Now it is my turn to find some good compost to fill them with.

I finally finished transplanting the tomatoes into larger pots...but wouldn't you know it, I forgot to count how many I ended up with. In many of the pots there were double and even triple seedlings and since I am such a tomato nut, I didn't have the heart to simply snip any off so...I gently swished the roots in room temperature water to remove the soil and then gently separated the plants. Now I have even more to get rid of but, I already have a line up of people asking for a tomato plant or two this year.

My next big transplanting project is going to be the peppers. I have at least 30 or so of those started as well. This is the first year I have had this type of success with peppers and believe it is due to placing them on a heated seedling mat.

I am a little worried about the plants in the hoop house but will keep the faith...we are supposed to have 3-5" of snow tonight. I'm crossing my fingers (and toes) hoping everything makes it to harvest time.

Well, I'll update again after the big snow and let you know how my little darlings made it through. See you next time, Kim

Garden Journal

2009-03-31T17:25:00.004-04:00

The weather was a sunny 50 degrees today and was perfect for planting some seeds into the hoop house. The plants are looking good and showing signs of new growth. Seeds were planted close together in 2 ft rows and consisted of shallots, chiogga beets, golden beets, clindra beets, danvers half long carrots, purple dragon carrots, rainbow blend carrots, turnips, french breakfast radish, watermelon radish and sugar snap peas. I'll report as soon as I see the first signs of emerging plants.

The plants under lights are looking very healthy and some needed transplanting. A dozen tomatoes went into larger pots and 3 types of basil were started (purple opal, lemon and genovesse). My plan was to begin many more herbs but my husband decided to paint one wall of the basement and since I am extremely allergic to latex, I had to stop for a few hours until the paint dries. Well this give me enough time to figure out what to make for dinner and to write a quick blog entry.

Dinner tonight needs to be very soft since I had a tooth pulled yesterday. I thought a nice omelet sounded good. I found some chives, walking onions and oregano growing well in one of my permanent beds and cut some for the omelets. A nice treat later will be some biscuits with maple cream...that should be soft enough for me to chew. Now that I know what to make, I'd better get started. See you next time. Kim

Garden Journal

2009-03-30T15:23:00.005-04:00

I was caught totally off guard yesterday by a rather large snowstorm. Thanks to my hoop house, all the plants outside are alive and looking very healthy. Hopefully in the next couple days, I will be able to plant out some early spring crop seeds as well. I will be planting out beets, carrots, peas, radishes, radicchio, spinach, turnips and rutabaga. I'm not sure the temperature of the soil will be warm enough to germinate but since I am trying to push spring a little bit, it will be worth the try.

The seedlings of tomatoes and peppers under lights in the basement are looking happy and growing well. Now that they are about 2", it is time to add a fan gently blowing on them to stimulate stronger stems so they can withstand the winds outside when they are a little older.

Spring is ever so slowly warming up which means much more planting to come so please come back and join me in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Maple Cream

2009-03-27T21:27:00.006-04:00

Since I have never seen nor tasted maple cream, I am hoping this is the real thing. Making the maple cream was very simple and not as time consuming as I thought it would be...well at least in comparison to making the syrup. The taste is so incredible!

Supplies:

thermometer capable of reading at least 240 degrees
very DEEP cooking pot (I used the one from the turkey fryer)
4 cups (2 pints) maple syrup
ice water bath
strong wooden spoon or Kitchen Aid mixer

Place 4 cups water into the cooking pot. Bring to a boil and test the temperature. In my case, water was at a full boil at 210 degrees. Carefully pour out water and dry pot.

Pour the maple syrup into the pot. You may add a teaspoon of butter if you like to keep the syrup from boiling up too high. WATCHING AT ALL TIMES!!! Bring syrup to a boil. It will foam up considerably and you DO NOT want it to boil over! It will make a mess that will NEVER come off your stove.

Continue to watch the syrup boil, but do not stir, until it reaches 24 degrees above the point your water boiled. It took me about 13 minutes to get my syrup to 234 degrees (remember your temperature may vary).

Once syrup has reached 24 degrees above the boiling point of water. Carefully place the cooking pot into a sink of ice water. DO NOT DISTURB! Allow to cool, undisturbed, until it reaches 80 degrees. This took about 35 minutes.

Once cooled to 80 degrees, begin to stir. You will need a lot of muscle at this point and may even have to ask the husband, kids and neighbors to help. I poured my cooled mixture into the bowel of my Kitchen Aid mixer and turned on the lowest setting. I mixed for approximately 20 minutes until it reached the consistency of peanut butter.

Pour into 1/2 pint jars, screw on the lid and refrigerate.

Enjoy! This is absolutely heavenly on fresh, homemade biscuits.

Garden journal

2009-03-27T16:57:00.004-04:00

The lettuce I planted in the hoop house last week still looks healthy so I decided to give spring a little push again today and put out some more plants. I still have lots of seeds so if things don't do well, I can start again. Today I planted, 9 kohlrabi, 6 Japanese pak choi, 10 bok choi, 3 Michili cabbage, 2 pak choi, 2 swiss chard, 1 kale, 6 broccoli, 6 cauliflower, 4 purple glazer garlic, 1 yukon gold potato, 1 red potomac potato and the rest of my salad greens I was growing in the basement this winter. The salad greens that went outside are: red sails lettuce, grand rapids lettuce, spinach, mache', freckles lettuce and black seeded simpson lettuce.

We are supposed to get one night this week below freezing so I will keep my fingers crossed that all my little babies will do well. I am running out of space under my growing lights with all the tomato, pepper and other vegetables! Hopefully, we have a bountiful harvest this year.

Medical news

2009-03-27T10:37:00.002-04:00

For those of you who visit my blog, first thank you...it makes it worth writing. Just in case I seem to disappear for a little while, I wanted you all to know I will return. My husband is in very poor health and needs a liver transplant in the very near future. He is going through a lot of testing and as soon as they are done, he will be listed. Since his health is failing rather quickly, he will be near the top of the transplant list. Hopefully, he will be visited by an angel and receive a new liver soon. Please keep him in your prayers...love and hugs, Kim

New toy

2009-03-25T18:10:00.012-04:00

My husband found this nice little battery powered chainsaw on the clearance rack at Lowe's for me. It is easy to handle and works great for trimming small trees. I usually don't use any type of power tools except the lawnmower, but I think this one is going to be quite handy. It made easy work of trimming the small landscape tree in front of the house.

Looks like I have a new toy! Next stop, trimming the fruit trees at my daughter's and mom's house.

Potato in a pot

2009-03-18T15:44:00.005-04:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I saw a video on YouTube that showed a woman growing potatoes in pots. I wanted to give this a try also.

On February 20th, I took a large pot, approximately 2 gallon size, placed a 3" layer of potting mix into the bottom. I then layed a potato from a 10# bag into the bottom and covered with more soil and watered well.

On March 1st, the potato sprouted. As the potato grew taller, I kept adding more soil until it reached the top of the pot. As you can see by the picture, it looks very happy and healthy. I am now in the process of hardening off the potato so it can be placed outside in the hoop house until I need the planting space. The potato will then continue to be grown in the pot until the top dies off. At this point, the potato will be ready to harvest, in about 90 days or so, and I will know how successful this experiment was.

I'll post at that time how many potatoes I was able to grow this way. If successful, I plan on growing potatoes in pots in the house into next winter to extend the fresh potato harvest. Kim

Hoop house update

2009-03-18T15:01:00.006-04:00

I needed a way to keep the side pieces of the hoop house from blowing around in the wind and I have to admit, my husband had a great idea. He took 2 more pieces of the 1/2" pvc pipe and used duct tape to secure the plastic to the pipe. Now I can roll it up and use some clamps to hold it in place when open. When closed, I use the clamps to secure the side pieces to the raised bed because they are so light weight. I keep the ends closed with old bricks.

I transplanted some of the lettuce I have been growing indoors for salads. I have been hardening them off for the past week in anticipation of placing them out in the hoop house. I have another flat I plan on planting out sometime next week. I just wanted to make sure these took off first. We are expecting a couple nights of below freezing weather this weekend which will be a good way to determine if the plants can tolerate living out in the hoop house.

Ok, now let me tell you the way I was going to make the hoop house in case anyone wants an easier option. (See previous post for materials list.)

First I would have taken the 3/4" pvc pipe and cut it down to 8' since I wanted to be able to move it to different raised beds...I plan on making 4 4'x8' beds as my next project...but this one will have to stay put since the measurements are off because my husband decided it was too much work to cut to 8 ft...lets just leave it at that :)

So again, take the 3/4" pipe and cut to 8 ft (if desired). Make a mark 2" from the ends. Then make a mark at 2', 4', and 6' from one end. (In order to use the type of clamps I used on the raised bed, I had to come in 2" from the end to properly secure to the wood of the raised bed.)

Take 5 of the 10 ft sections of 1/2" pvc pipe (ribs) and make a mark in the center, approximately at 5'. Using the 1/4" bit and drill, drill a hole at the marks on the 1/2" pipe.

Drill a hole through one end of the 3/4" pvc pipe (spine) at the 2" mark.

Now take a bolt and washer and place through the center hole of the 1/2" pipe then through the hole in the end of the 3/4" pvc pipe. Place another washer and then the nut and tighten down. Lay flat on the ground. This will allow you to drill the rest of the holes without the pipe rolling around so everything will line up properly.

Now drill through the remaining marks on the 3/4" pvc pipe and secure the ribs to the spine as above.

At this point, it would be good to have a helper. Carry the soon to be hoop house to your raised bed and stand it up on the 5 rib pieces. Place a clamp over each of the ribs and tighten into place.

Now go to the other side of the raised bed and loosely screw your clamps into place...at the 2" mark, 2', 4', 6' and 2" in from the ends. Now bend the ribs and place into the clamps and screw down tight.

Place the plastic over top of the hoops making sure you have enough to be able to secure down the ends. Now take the remaining 2 pieces of the 1/2" pvc pipe and cut to 8 ft lengths. Place the pipe on the plastic at the sides of the hoop house and tape down well with the duct tape. You will now be able to roll up the sides as in the picture above and secure them with clamps when you want to keep it open to plant and on hot days.

Hope this all makes sense but if it doesn't, feel free to let me know and I will try to clear things up. Kim

My adventure into hoop house building...

2009-03-17T19:33:00.018-04:00

After 4 long hours, I finally have a completed hoop house. It should have been a simple project but you will soon find out that things at my house are not always simple.

Supply list:

7 pieces of 1/2" pvc pipe 10 ft long
1 piece of 3/4" pvc pipe 10 ft long
5-1/4" machine bolts with nuts and washers 2 1/2" long
10 pipe clamps (holders) to secure to wood frame
tape measure
marking pen
10 ft wide by desired length clear plastic
saw to cut pvc pipe to 8 ft (if desired)
duct tape
a couple clamps borrowed from the husband
20 1" or 1 1/2" deck screws

Now this is one item on the supply list that can either help or hinder any well thought out project. Sorry guys but I am sure you ladies know what I am talking about. The hoop house was supposed to be a simple project. Take a 3/4" pvc pipe, measure out where to drill holes and drill holes to make a spine. Take the 1/2" pvc pipe, mark the center and drill some holes. Now take the 1/2" pvc and bolt it to the 3/4" piece to look like ribs. Now screw the clamps to the raised bed frame, place the pvc ribs into place and tighten down....yeah it should have been that simple.

Enter the husband. It started out with something like "No, no, no, you don't just drill a bunch of holes and start bolting things together. Where is your measured drawing?" It was precisely then I knew I was in for a very long day. Now don't get me wrong, I love the man but simple is just not in his vocabulary! "Well dear," I say, "I was watching this utube and I know what to do. Would you like to see it?" Of course I knew exactly what he was going to say, "I don't need no stupid tube thing to show me how to make this thing". So I quietly explained what I wanted and where, pulled up a chair and grabbed a book and told him to let me know when he needed me to hold things or hand things to him.

A couple jigs, lots off cuss words, and a few hours later, my hoop house (and most of my book) was done. The only thing left to do is to place the plastic over the top. But then, someone insisted that he was positive he had enough so there was no need to buy another roll....

If you need a measured drawing just let me know and I'll see if my husband will share. Also don't forget, the little clamps need to be precisely down 2 1/2" from the top of the board and the bottom of the pvc pipe needs to be precisely down 4" from the bottom of the clamp and the center of the pvc pipe needs to be precisely 28" apart and...well lets just say I'm glad it was a nice sunny day outside.

I did get him to also agree to let me have another 10 ft of lawn to add 4 more raised beds so I am sure I will have another story to tell in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Maple syrup

2009-03-16T16:10:00.004-04:00

I have finally found a good way to boil down my sap into syrup. I first tried an electric frying pan since that is what I had. It did the job, but it was very slow and made an extra light colored syrup that tasted and looked like butterscotch. It was delicious, but the time involved prohibited it from my chosen method. The second batch was made with a large kettle on a hot plate outside on my patio. The sap never got to a good boil and was taking way too much time. That batch was finished off on the stove with all the windows in the house open to prevent extreme condensation on the windows and walls. My husband actually came up with the last and, for me, final way to boil down the sap. He suggested a deep fryer run on propane that is also used to deep fry turkeys. He has been wanting one for quite some time, so we purchased one. We both win with this solution. He gets his deep fryer and I get an easy way to boil down my sap.

Here is a picture of my syrup made with the deep fryer. It is very rich and flavorful! The tree at my house is giving me about 5-6 gallons of sap a day while the tree at my daughter's house is giving me another 3-4. The process of boiling down the sap is simple but time consuming. My neighbors must think I am pretty strange sitting out in the garage for hours at a time reading a book. Oh well, I don't care since I am the one enjoying the wonderful taste of spring in a jar.

More to come soon as spring is finally near so please come back and join me in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Tomato madness

2009-03-11T14:41:00.002-04:00

It's official! My yearly tomato madness has begun! Each year I cannot wait for that first ripe tomato exploding with flavor in my mouth. Jordan and I planted all 20 varieties yesterday along with 5 varieties (so far) of peppers. Now I will obsess over the little tomatoes until well into the summer months. I have many new varieties this year and cannot wait to try them out. The varieties this year will be: zapotec pleated, Kellogg's breakfast, green zebra, Italian market wonder, cabot, garten perle, opalka, yellow pear, roma, nyagous, Brad's black heart (so far my favorite!), cherokee purple, Oleana's, Ludmilla's red plum, rutgers, New Yorker, brandywine, marmande, black cherry and mennonite orange. This is a nice variety of color, texture, and taste. I'm not sure where they will all be grown and know for sure I must expand the garden to accommodate the larger assortment of tomatoes and the other vegetable seeds I acquired this year.

Looks like we will be eating good in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Updates

2009-03-10T21:32:00.002-04:00

I thought you might like to know how some of my little experiments are going so I think an update is in order.

Winter Gardening
I saw the first green in my winter sown containers yesterday. The radishes are already putting on their first true leaves. The other containers are in a slightly more shaded area and are still pretty much frozen solid.

Lettuce under lights
I am thrilled at the amount of greens I have been able to produce under the cheap shop lights. I planted in early January and am able to eat a large dinner salad every night from the containers I have growing. In fact things were going so well, I added more lettuce containers, spinach, mache, beets for greens and radishes.

Potatoes in pots
My large pot containing a store bought potato that sprouted is now full to the top with soil. Since the pot is full I will just have to wait a couple months for the plant to finish growing and for the top to finally die off to see how this experiment works. I have the pot sitting so it is just barely under the end of the shop light. I wrapped the end of the light and the pot with foil a few days ago to give the potato as much light as possible. It really greened up and looks really healthy.

Garden planning
This is still ever changing. I am in a swap for cuttings and have lots of different food items coming. I also received an incredible variety of seeds through friends from Garden Web and I want to plant at least a 1 foot square of each of them. Looks like I need to get the plans out once again.

Propagating
The propagator I made works beautifully! I used it to root things to send out in the cuttings swap. The geraniums rooted well and some of the hard wood cuttings had little root nodes starting. I did learn that the geraniums did not like the top on the container yet the hard wood cuttings did. Next time, I will simply make more than one and keep the different types of plants separated.

Worm bin
The worms appear happy and are doing their magic. Things are getting broken down on the bottom and I have a thin layer of castings. Not bad for only a half pound of worms. I am positive that next spring I will have enough for all my little seedlings.

Simple sprouter
I am enjoying different types of sprouts pretty much daily in my salads. These are a great addition to the lettuces and greens for added flavor and nutrition. I especially like the radish sprouts which add just a little bit of zing to the salads. I am not a fan of a cut up radish but really enjoy them as sprouts.

Maple syrup
This is working out so well. Yeah it takes a lot of sap to make just a little bit of syrup but for me it is so worth it. I simply put a pot on outside and keep adding sap a little at a time while doing spring clean up chores outside. The first batch was at more of a simmer than a boil and made a flavor like a cross between honey and butterscotch. It tastes amazing and is wonderful on biscuits. I actually prefer this to the taste of maple. I may make another batch later on and put it away just for me!

Well spring is in the air so I am sure there will be much more action to come so please come back and visit me soon in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Tree Honey

2009-03-10T11:37:00.003-04:00

I finished making my first couple batches of syrup and they taste great! The first syrup looks and tastes a little more like a light butterscotch and less like maple syrup but is wonderful on biscuits. The second batch looks more like maple syrup but now has a slightly butterscotch/maple flavor. Either way I am very happy with my little experiment and will be boiling down the sap a couple times a week. Don't they look delicious?

Since I didn't have the money to purchase a lot of equipment, I wanted to find something I could use that I already owned. The first batch was boiled down in my electric frying pan out on the picnic table. It took quite a long time and I am not sure if that is why the first batch is so light in color. I decided to purchase a hot plate for the second batch and it cooked down much quicker. For both, I finished the boiling process on my stove in the kitchen so I could control the temperature better and keep a closer eye on them. Looks like I can expect approximately 3 gallons of sap a day from my 2 trees which will make a little less than a pint of syrup. I am happy and plan on approaching a couple of neighbors next year to see if they will allow me to tap their trees as well...a nice pint of syrup may help in convincing them to let me tap them.

Tapping Maple Trees

2009-03-04T18:26:00.009-05:00

We had a sunny, warm day today which is supposed to last for the next few days. Jordan and I were looking for something new to try in our food production experience. Just to see if we could do it, we decided to try making our own maple syrup. I didn't want to spend a lot of money and did a lot of research to find an inexpensive way to collect the sap. My total cost was less than $1 for the materials we needed.

Supply list:

1/4" poly tubing
large cup hooks
drill with bit to match tubing
diameter
zip ties
recycled milk jugs
food grade 5 gal. bucket
garden snips

The first thing I did was to drill holes into the tree about 12" apart. It is very important that the hole not be too large or you will lose a lot of the sap. I then cut the poly tubing with the garden snips so one end was angled and pushed it into the hole about 1/4 to 1/2".

I then screwed the large cup hook to hold the milk jug. The jugs fit just a little too tight on the hook and were difficult to remove so I placed a zip tie on the handle of the milk jug to hold it on hook. I drilled a hole in the lid of the jug and placed it so the tubing went through the hole and into the jug so no water could get inside if it rains. Jordan and I then hung the jugs into place and started collecting the sap.

In just 3 hours we were able to gather just under a gallon of sap today from the large tree you see in the picture which is at my daughter's house and a smaller tree I have in my front yard. I hope we can continue to gather the sap at this rate because it will take about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. Even if we only get a few cups of syrup, I know this will be an awesome experience for both of us...especially when we sit down to our first taste of our own syrup on a big stack of pancakes.

I'll keep you updated as we progress in collecting the sap and of course when we actually make our syrup so remember to come on back and join us in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

From the Michigan Maple Syrup Association:

The Algonquian Indian Legend
We don't really know who first discovered maple syrup, though most people believe Native Americans in the northeastern part of North America discovered the sweet sap of the maple tree. Several legends have been handed down over the centuries which tell of the first discovery of maple syrup. This legend comes from the Algonquian Indians and relates how a the wife of a chief discovered maple syrup quite by accident while preparing venison during the "Season of the Melting Snow."

Woksis, the Indian Chief, was going hunting one day early in March. He yanked his tomahawk from the tree where he had hurled it the night before, and went off for the day. The weather turned warm and the gash in the tree, a maple tree, dripped sap into a vessel that happened to stand close to the trunk. Toward evening Woksis's wife needed water in which to boil their dinner. She saw the trough full of sap and thought that would save her a trip to get water. Besides, she was a careful woman and didn't like to waste anything. So she tasted the maple sap and found it good-a little sweet, but not bad. She used it to cook her venison. When Woksis came home from hunting, he smelled the unique maple aroma and from far off knew that something especially good was brewing. The water had boiled down to syrup, which sweetened their meal with maple. Woksis found the gravy sweet and delicious. He spread the good news how the Great Spirit had guided his wife in making the delicious new food, Sinzibuckwud (meaning, "drawn from the wood" in the Algonquian tongue). Soon all the women were "sugar-making" ("seensibaukwut"), and the braves began performing the "Sugar Dance." Thereafter, maple sugar was produced and celebrated each spring after the long, cold winter during the "Season of the Melting Snow."

Seed inventory

2009-02-25T18:35:00.005-05:00

Wow I spent the better part of the afternoon doing a complete inventory of all the different types of fruit and vegetables seeds I have collected this past year. I think it was well past due since I found I had multiple copies of many types of seeds. Recently a couple stores in my area had those seed deals where you get 10 packs for $1. Well I have to admit, I just could not pass them up. I didn't think I had any zucchini so I bought one. I then went back a couple weeks later and forgot I bought zucchini and purchased another one. Today when I did my inventory I found out I now have 5 packs. Now who really needs 5 packs of zucchini? My neighbors will be locking their doors and closing the blinds if I grew that much zucchini and tried to give it away!

To make matters worse, the plants are beginning to arrive in the nurseries. I know I would not be tempted but how do I keep my car from driving me to the store? I have no control over my car when it sees the nurseries and it makes me go there! Do you suppose there is some kind of auto pilot on them that makes gardeners stop in whenever they pass by whether they need seeds or plants or not? I tell you it's a conspiracy!

Looks like I will pack up a large envelope and send it off the Need4Seed soon. Kim

Spring crops started

2009-02-18T19:50:00.002-05:00

I am probably a bit early but I had this intense need to get a few things planted for my spring garden. I am hoping to push the envelope a bit by putting the spring crops into a hoop house over my existing raised bed. My plan is to have them outside in early April. At the same time, I also plan on direct seeding my lettuce and other leafy crops...hope it works as I would love to be able to at least pick a few fresh greens by the end of April.

I was very fortunate that I received some seeds for foods I have never tried before from some great people on the Garden Web site. I am in a birthday swap and listed what I wanted to try and many people sent me seeds for those foods plus others. So far it has been a great experience. Last year I was very successful growing broccoli as transplants and just planted 9 for this year. My cauliflower grew well into the seedling stage and then nothing...a tiny foul tasting head. Since cauliflower is one of my very favorite vegetables, I decided to give it another try this year and started 6. I also started 3 mammoth red rock cabbages...I have never grown cabbage before so this is new for me. The other things I started today are things I have never tasted...I am trying to expand my horizons among the vegetable foods I have not only grown but at least tasted! Today I also started pak choi, leeks, chard and kale. I have eaten bak choi before and am pretty sure I will like the pak choi so 6 of those were started. As for the leeks, chard and kale I started 2 of each...if I like them well enough they will be grown again in the fall garden.

I'll update later as things begin to germinate. Soon I will also be starting my must have plants such as tomatoes...mmmmmm...tomatoes. Sorry I kinda got lost there for a minute as I am a tomato nut and cannot wait to taste another tomato again...I simply won't eat them unless fresh from the garden. MMMM, dreaming of tomatoes...Kim

a day at the zoo feb. 17, 2009

2009-02-17T20:28:00.001-05:00

Simple sprouter

2009-02-12T11:56:00.024-05:00

I have a desire for fresh grown vegetables throughout the winter months. I have been very successful with my indoor lettuce but wanted to add something a little different for flavor and nutrition. I found a sprouter at a local store but was shocked at the price of $9.99. The sprouter consisted of a jar and a lid with holes. I knew I could make one of these for next to nothing.

The supplies were simple:

canning jar
lid ring
plastic canvas
scissors
pen

The plastic canvas I purchased at Michael's (a crafting store) for $.79. This was actually the most expensive piece because I purchased the one known as 14 aida which has the smallest holes. I needed the smaller holes for alfalfa sprouts. The larger mesh which costs .39 will do for just about any other seed you may want to try.

In order to make your own sprouter, you place the ring on the plastic canvas, trace around the ring with the pen, and cut just inside the line. It's that simple. To use your new sprouter, you place 1-2 tablespoons of the seeds you would like to sprout into the jar. Now add enough water to cover. (Note: Since I have city water I like to let a pitcher of water sit out on the cupboard to let excess chlorine dissipate.)
Place the plastic canvas top on the jar and screw on the lid ring. Gently swirl the seeds/sprouts and turn the jar upside down to drain. Allow to drain completely upside down for about 5 minutes. Place the sprouts in a warm dark place such as your pantry.

In just a few short days, you will be enjoying fresh sprouts! You can add them to salads, wraps, sandwiches or stir fry. Since my husband claims he is not a sprout eater, I chop them and put them into things such as meatloaf and meatballs...he'll never know I added a little extra nutrtion to things he eats.

In the next post, I will show you how to make a sprouter absolutely free from things you probably already have around the house. It also makes a great recycling project so don't forget to come back next time to My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Simple propagation chamber

2009-02-11T18:02:00.027-05:00

I am in a swap for cuttings and I decided to learn how to get them started. I made a simple propagation chamber from common items you can find in any home center. The total cost was fairly inexpensive because just about everything can be used over and over. (I would recommend not reusing the seed starting mix to keep fungus and other diseases to a minimum. You can simply put the used mix into your composter or garden. I used less than 1/4 bag.)

Supplies:
clear plastic box with lid $2.37
unglazed terracotta pot .87
small amount plumbers putty
soil less seed starting mix $3.47
rooting hormone $5.19
spray bottle $1.19

The first step is to place the plumbers putty or silicone into the hole in the bottom of the pot. This will allow the pot to hold water. It is important to use an unglazed pot for this part of the process so that water will slowly seep through it which keeps the growing medium moist.

Place the plugged pot into the bottom of the clear container. Begin to put the seed starting mix into the container in increments of about 1/2 inch and spritz well with the spray bottle. This helps moisten the medium evenly. Continue to fill and spritz until the box is about half full and pat down lightly. Your propagation chamber is now ready to use.

Now the fun begins! One of the easiest plants I have found to propagate is the geranium. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been taking cuttings from a plant I got from my late grandmother. The process is simple. Take the desired cutting. Dip in rain water, well water or other untreated water or you can allow tap water to sit out uncovered overnight. Place a small amount of the rooting hormone onto a disposable plate (this keeps the contents of the bottle clean and dry) and dip the cut, moistened end of the plant into the hormone.

Using your finger or pencil make a small hole into the seed starting mix in your propagator. Carefully place the cutting into the hole so as not to wipe off the rooting hormone. Use your fingers to snug the cutting into place.

Continue placing in the desired cuttings until the chamber is full. You can get quite a few cuttings into each chamber. The one pictured here has several cuttings of golden euonymous, native plum, nanking bush cherries, Manchurian bush apricot, and 4 colors of geraniums. I am not sure if everything will root, but half the fun is in the learning process. The last step before putting on the lid and placing the propagator in filtered light is to fill the pot with rain water.

Every couple days remove the lid to allow for fresh air to circulate. Check to see that the seed starting mix is still moist. If necessary, re wet the growing medium using the spray bottle. After spraying, allow any leaves on the cuttings to dry before placing the lid back on.

In a couple weeks your little starts should begin to develop roots...some will take longer than others. To tell if the plants have roots, gently give them a little tug. If you feel resistance, your little plants probably have roots. You can now remove them from the propagator and plant into individual pots.

The best part is in sharing your little starts with friends. Come on back to My Little Corner of the World in a couple weeks for updates. Kim

Lettuce update

2009-02-09T15:50:00.025-05:00

Our lettuce is growing very well under the inexpensive light set up I have in the basement. Here is a picture of my granddaughter holding some of our bounty. Remember we have been eating off these greens up to 4 times a week. We simply pinch off enough leaves for a small salad or some for a sandwich. We now have added alfalfa sprouts as well as the mung and adzuki beans. I think this has been so successful that next year I will double or triple the grow lights so we will be able to have a small salad a night.
Time to pick the lettuce, happy eating. Kim & Jordan

Worm bin

2009-02-06T16:50:00.035-05:00

OK so you may think I am truly crazy but, when my husband asked what I wanted for my birthday next week I knew it would be the perfect time to ask. I told him I wanted a worm bin for the basement. Now as you may have guessed by now, my husband really is not all that interested in my gardening adventures (except when he is munching down on fresh, homegrown vegetables). Oh don't get me wrong. He loves me and puts up with some of my crazy ideas but, he really objected to me wanting a worm bin. Well because this is all I wanted for my birthday, he just kinda rolled his eyes and gave into my crazy desire to have worms at pets.

Making a worm bin is actually pretty easy. The first step is to get a container to hold the worms. The one I purchased is pretty nice and it is made from 99% recycled plastic. The cost was just over $5 including tax. The first thing I did in preparing the container was to drill lots of small holes in the bottom.

The next step is to drill some holes around the top to allow for proper air circulation. I used a 3/4" spade bit to drill all away around the top of the container. The worms need the ventilation to allow excess moisture and heat escape.

Place some cardboard in the bottom to keep the holes clear and to absorb excess moisture. The worms also enjoy snacking on the cardboard itself!

Now fill the bin with damp torn up newspapers. (Note: the ones in the picture are probably a little too wet so I later mixed in some dry strips.) The worms will eventually turn the newspaper and cardboard into castings or as my husband deems, "worm crap".

The last step is to add the worms. The only other thing to do is to feed the worms sparingly until it is determined just how much they will eat in a few days. If you overfeed the worms, the bin may develop and odor and this is something I cannot let happen less they be banished outside! Oh yeah, don't forget to put something underneath the bin to catch any liquids that may develop and drain out. This is the best stuff for nourishing your young seedlings.

I'll post updates as the worms turn my scraps into lovely, usable castings so don't forget to come see me again in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Propagating

2009-02-02T14:48:00.006-05:00

Oh boy! It looks like I got myself into some heavy duty swapping. I joined a round robin swap on Garden Web which looks like a lot of fun. We are trading cuttings from plants we have for ones our traders have. I need to do some research on propagating the items I have offered as well as those I am going to receive. Even if none of the items survive my first attempts at propagation, I am sure I will learn a lot. I'll have to let you all know how things turn out.

Time to do some research! See you next time. Kim

p.s. am doing that research and found a great tip to pass along...when taking a cutting make a straight cut on the top and a diagonal cut on the root end. This way you can keep them in proper orientation to grow!

Garden planning II

2009-01-30T10:37:00.004-05:00

Looks like I made a couple errors on my initial plan. I didn't allow enough space for the number of tomatoes I would like to grow. Since tomatoes are a staple in our home, I need to tweak it a bit to allow for the maximum number of tomato plants. It looks like I will give up some of the space for corn to allow for more tomato plants. Don't get me wrong. We love corn, but for my small space and the variety of things I would like to grow this year, corn will be easier to purchase fresh at the farmer's market. I will, of course, give growing corn a try to see if I am successful. If the corn grows well for me, I will plan a larger area next year.

The 16 sq ft of space I allowed for the herbs is also going away. The herbs will be placed in the 2'x50' bed (and/or pots) this year as the permanent plantings will not be fully established yet. In place of the herbs, I will be growing edamame, mung and adzuki beans. These will help meet our nutritional needs during not only the summer, but into the winter as well. From past experiences, I know that just 2 mung beans will give plenty of seeds for sprouts and will assume the same for the adzuki beans. The remainder of the area will be devoted mainly to the edamame and other "new" seeds acquired to try this year.

I also need to develop a plan for my seed saving bed. It will be devoted strictly to plants I wish to save seeds from that are not easily obtained such as tomato and melon seeds. It will be relatively small but will allow me to better control the growing conditions for my seed plants of broccoli, carrots, lettuce etc.

Looks like I need to learn how to use a spreadsheet to help with this planning phase. I'll have to ask around to see what I can find.

Happy continued planning, Kim

Garden planning

2009-01-28T18:12:00.003-05:00

What else is there to do in the deep snow of winter except dream? I have finally put a good working plan down on paper for my gardens this coming spring. I have 2 established beds and am planning on adding a couple more.

The one bed is directly behind the garage and is 30"x16'. In the bed I plan on planting: 8 cauliflower, 12 broccoli, 6 cabbage, 2' of kohlrabi and 1' of rutabaga (not sure how many per sq ft yet). Against the garage on a trellis I will have a row consisting of peas and pole beans. Sprinkled between the larger crops there will be radish, chard, turnips, celery, beets, carrots, leeks, lettuce and spinach...these can be harvested before the larger crops need the room and later replanted in late summer.

In my already existing bed of 4'x24' I plan on planting: 16 peppers (4'x4'), 4'x4' of bush beans, 2 (2'x4') zucchini, 4'x4' of herbs and 2'x8' of potatoes with the same of sunflowers behind them.

A new 4'x24' bed will be added containing 22 tomato plants with a 2'x24' row of corn behind them...stagger planted of course to extend the harvest.

Not sure where yet, but I will be adding a narrow strip (probably along the other side of the garage) for vining/climbing crops of cucumbers and melons.

A 4'x4' box will be made in the middle of the yard for my granddaughter's giant pumpkin which will be allowed to sprawl across the lawn (sorry dh but you won't know what hit ya until it is too late lol).

I will be adding a trellis along one side of the fence for a grapevine and down the line further my 2 blueberries under planted with lignon berries.

A new bed of 2'x50' will go along the back fence behind the existing 4'x24' bed. This will leave a walkway of 2' between them. The long, narrow box will be home to permanent plantings consisting of asparagus, herbs, rhubarb, strawberries and a few flowers to attract bees. I am also adding a box of 3'x8' in an out of the way spot for raspberries.

There is also a really ugly corner with an even uglier telephone pole right in plain view. I will plant some kind of climbing flower on the pole and then fill the corner with beneficial, bee attracting flowers.

In total, the planting area will take up a solid 1/3 of my back yard. I'll have to see how my husband reacts to this as he is "not a farmer" and doesn't understand my desire to become more self-sufficient and my love of gardening. I figure by next year, he will have time to accept this and I can squeeze out a few more feet for more beds.

Oh yeah, I have tons of pots which, of course, will be filled with edibles. Happy planning, Kim.

Lettuce is a keeper!

2009-01-26T21:28:00.009-05:00

I am so happy with my little lettuce experiment. I have been able to pick a small salad four days this past week. The lettuce leaves are about 1 1/2" long now and are doing very well with my simple (and cheap) shop light set up in the basement. I am also growing the mung and adzuki bean sprouts for added flavor and nutrients in the salads. The celery from the cut off end is now a couple inches tall and I can cut off a little piece every couple days to add to my salads. I also have some golden beets growing and a few radishes to see if I can at least get some greens to add to the salads. In very early March, I also plan on starting lots of pots with lettuce, radish, beets, spinach, 7 top turnips and just about anything else that I can pick leaves from for salads. These will be moved outside as soon as the temperature stays above freezing. I hope to purchase some PVC pipe to make a small hoop house to keep all the plants in.

At work I found some nice rectangular, plastic containers that get thrown away in large numbers. They will fit nicely on my only south facing window sill. I am going to start some more lettuce, spinach, radish and beets in them to grow some more salad greens. I will rotate with the other plants growing under my shop light in an attempt at keeping them from getting too leggy. I hope to be able to pick more leaves to add to my salads in a few weeks.

I found this neat Utube video on one of Patti's websites that shows one person's experiment growing potatoes in pots. Basically, a piece of potato was planted into 1 gallon pots and 90 days later it was harvested. She had a really good yield for the amount of space provided. I have a couple spuds in a brown paper bag to see if I can get some of them to sprout so I can grow potatoes in pots. I'm not sure if the light from my east facing window will be enough, but I am going to give it a try anyway. I figure I have nothing to lose except the opportunity to grow a couple fresh potatoes for the table.

I'll keep you all updated as I can...I've been picking up all the over-time I can and find myself pretty tired at the end of the day. You know the old saying, gotta may hay while the sun is shining. In my case, gotta get the work while the work is available. See you next time. Kim

Winter fun

2009-01-21T20:49:00.005-05:00

Jordan and I have been sledding a couple times this week and I have to say, I had a great time. I haven't been on a sled since my children were very young. I do have to say though, I don't remember being quite so sore those many, many years ago. On one of the last runs, I hit a rather large bump and was launched! I have a feeling I am going to be even more sore tomorrow.

My little lettuce leaves are now large enough to pick a small salad each day. I am also growing the mung and adzuki sprouts for some added flavor and crunch. My golden beats are up and I hope will be large enough soon to pick some leaves for the salad. I am really amazed at the celery end I planted. It is not only sending up leaves but, the center is putting out stalks as well.

Jordan and I also wintersowed 13 more containers today. We used some water bottles and milk jugs I gathered from a neighbors recycling bin (with permission of course). We are trying to find ways to not only recycle but to recycle twice. When the vegetables and flowers are due to be planted, the containers will be put out in the recycle box.

I think it is time for these poor old bones to go soak in a nice hot tub! See you next time in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Wintersown 1/21
Hyssop blue, eyeball plant, blue-eyed daisy, lemon balm, 4 o'clocks, white bunching onions, bronze fennel, lime basil, bright lights chard, catalonga lettuce, Isikurio scallions, scenic spinach

Celery from root

2009-01-19T09:45:00.006-05:00

I read online somewhere that celery will sprout of you place the end you would normally discard into some damp potting mix. Well let me tell you that it works! I placed mine in a cut down water bottle (recycle twice) with some potting mix. The center of the celery end is not only sprouting, but is about 2" tall now. I placed it under my simple light set up next to the lettuce and will watch and see how large it will grow. I figure that even if it only grows a few inches tall with lots of leaves, I could use them to flavor soups, meatloaves and other foods I normally put chopped celery into. I have another stalk of celery in the refrigerator and will definitely be starting that end as well.

My little lettuce plants are now at the top of the container and have enough leaves to pick a few for a small salad for my lunch today. I will add a little piece of the celery chopped up for flavor and some of my mung and adzuki bean sprouts. I'll have to let you all know how good it tastes!

It is still pretty cold but my granddaughter is begging me to take her sledding. It looks like I will have to borrow the husband's insulated overalls as it is only in the teens today. Oh what we don't do for the grand kids! Looks like I need to take a HUGE thermos of hot chocolate along for some added warmth, besides, what girl doesn't like a little chocolate.

Hope I don't freeze too much. See you next time. Kim

Bitter cold

2009-01-16T08:59:00.004-05:00

It is bitter cold outside at -12 degrees. It is simply too cold to go outside. Schools in our area are closed because it is so dangerous for the kids to stand at the bus stop. I had both of my 4 year old grandkids over yesterday. It was a lot of fun but today I am moving a little slower. Jordan spent the night and I was supposed to drive her to school but since it is now closed, it looks like we have to find something else to keep us occupied today.

I received a surprise from Patti, the Garden Girl, in the mail yesterday. She sent me a wonderful assortment of heirloom seeds from her Baker Creek collection. Jordan and I are going to grow a few of the golden beets so we can eat the tops in our salads. The lettuce we started last week is growing well under lights in the basement. If I wanted to be really fancy, it is at the perfect stage to be considered a micro salad. Since I am not in a 5 star restaurant, I think I'll let it get a little larger for my salads.

The lettuce is growing under the simple light set up I have which cost under $20. It is great for growing salad greens in the winter and starts for next season's garden. I am saving up for another shop light so I can grow more this year. The gardens need to expand in order to grow the ever expanding number of vegetables I plan on trying this year.

Well, I need to go since Jordan wants to plant those beets. Hope you can come back soon to join us in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Bloom time

2009-01-12T20:32:00.004-05:00

After working 2 very long, hard 12 hour shifts this weekend, I was greeted by one of my geraniums beginning to bloom. My grandmother passed away 12 years ago and I was able to get a piece of one of her geraniums. I have taken cuttings each year since and overwintered it in the house. Yesterday it began to bloom. Each year in the middle of winter this same geranium blooms and brings back wonderful memories of the time I spent with my grandmother. As the winter progresses, the plant will reward me with many more blooms. In late winter, the geranium tends to get a little leggy and I will take several cuttings and root them for planting outdoors in May.

I am so lucky to have this little piece of my grandmother that I have passed on to my daughter and now my granddaughter. I was very fortunate that my mom also did the same with a peony that belonged to her grandmother. I wonder just how many people have saved something as simple as a plant to pass down among the generations.

Here is a photo of my granddaughter, Jordan, enjoying one of my grandma's geraniums last winter.

Time to go and smell the flowers in My Little Corner of the World.

Kim

Saving seeds

2009-01-09T09:12:00.003-05:00

One of the new things I learned last season was how to save various seeds. I am planning ahead this year on a way to save a larger number of seeds. I belong to a small group that gives seeds to those in need called Need4Seed. The concept developed by Robin was simple but has had a great deal of impact on many people. She wanted to help others help themselves. She started giving away fruit and vegetable seeds to anyone who had a need. I was one of them. In turn, I saved many different types of seeds and donated them back to her. I also have plenty saved for this year's gardens and will learn how to save new varieties as well.

As a way of saving more seeds, I have decided to make a little seed saving garden. I will plant a few different vegetables utilizing the square foot method with the sole purpose of acquiring seeds for the following year (and to donate to Need4Seed). I figure that a garden of 2'x6' should be plenty of space to grow out things such as carrots, lettuce, broccoli, beans and a variety of other vegetables. Things that normally are easy to save seeds from such as tomatoes and melons will have their place in the other gardens. I'm also going to save a square foot or two for cuttings from my grape vine and blueberries.

Looks like I need to make up a detailed plan on how I want to space the different things I plan on growing. See you next time in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

Time to get healthy

2009-01-07T16:43:00.004-05:00

I don't plan on writing too often in one day so as not to bore you too much. I work a 12 hour shift tomorrow and doubt I'll be writing. As I said earlier, I have made a commitment to myself to become healthier with this new year. I went to the doctor today and got a complete physical, EKG, labs and mammogram. The appointment went well and we decided in order to be at a healthy weight I need to lose about 60 pounds. My goal is to lose this in the next year. This is a healthy weight loss of about 1 pound a week. In order for me to meet this goal and, most importantly, keep it off, I feel this is a good goal. I need to change some bad habits that I have developed over the past 46 years and it won't happen overnight.

After the appointment, I went to the store and purchased lots of vegetables and some fruit. Healthy lean meats and just a few low-cal frozen meals also went into the cart. I don't plan on eating many prepared frozen meals but need something I can grab on my way to work just in case. I would rather be prepared than caught off guard.

One of my favorite low calorie snacks is celery and salsa. I get the same crunch as tortilla chips without the fat and calories and I get a couple vegetable servings in this way. I cut up the celery and put into zipper bags and put some salsa into small containers ready to be eaten on the fly. I also washed and chopped up my Romaine lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, onions, and mushrooms. This way I can make a salad on the run by grabbing a big handful of lettuce and some toppings. These fixings are also great to add to egg white omelets as a quick meal.

After cleaning up the mess...for some unknown reason when I cook things go flying...I decided to take the ends of the celery and onion and place them in a little damp potting mix. I have read that they will sprout and you can use them as cuttings. It is worth a try anyway. If it doesn't work they'll end up in the compost pile later rather than sooner. While I was out shopping I also picked up some mung and adzuki beans at a bulk food store and have them soaking for sprouts. This should add some fresh taste to my salads. This spring I also plan on planting a couple of the seeds to grow my own.

Well if I am going to get in a little exercise, I'd better get off the computer. Hope to see you again soon in My Little Corner of the World. Kim

New Year, New Me

2009-01-07T07:33:00.007-05:00

I did it. I finally got my mind straight and rejoined a diet support group. Having worked the midnight shift the past 3 years, I really packed on the pounds. Well now I don't have any more excuses. I am back on the day shift and need to get this weight off. Here is to a healthier weight in 2009.

Eating healthier in the winter is very difficult for me. I prefer to eat the vast majority of fruit and vegetables fresh. The choices are dismal as far as I am concerned. The foods I prefer most taste more like the wax models I once tasted as a child (don't ask). To help ever so slightly, I sowed some lettuce seeds and have them under lights in the basement. The little darlings have sprouted in just 3 days. I don't think they will ever get large enough to produce my entire salad, but they will get large enough to take clippings to add to store bought lettuce. Today I will go through my seed stash and sow a couple more pots of greens to add to the lettuce. I am thinking beet tops would be tasty and add a little more color.

Starting a grow light system does not have to be expensive. I started mine for just $20 last year. The common "shop lights" sold in most home improvement stores are all you need. You can add a 'plant and aquarium light' if you chose to broaden the light spectrum but the seedlings will do just as well without one. The shop light I purchased was $8.99 and the grow light was $9.89. I was able to start all my tomato plants as well as spring crops last year with just this 4 foot set up. I have my little lettuce seedlings growing under the light now. When it is time to start the broccoli and other brassicas as well as the tomatoes, I will set the lettuce seedlings outside with protection.

As soon as the ground thaws, I plan on setting up a hoop house and starting a large cut and come again salad patch. I needed some heavy guage plastic in the winter and was able to pick up a 10'x100' roll for $14.99. I had plenty to do my project and have more than enough to cover my salad bed. I figure for under $15 I can purchase enough PVC pipe to make a small hoop tunnel.

I'll post pictures once things get going so don't forget to come back and join me in My Little Corner of the World.

Kim

Winter gardening

2009-01-05T13:27:00.021-05:00

The seed catalogs are beginning to arrive and fill my dreams with the new gardening adventures awaiting me in just a few short months. I sit and study the catalogs and find exciting things just waiting to be grown and eaten. I find offers of purple carrots and cucumbers that already taste as if they have been pickled. It doesn't matter that the space my garden occupies is under 100 square feet. I must find a way to incorporate all the wonderful new flavors just waiting to be tasted. (Looks like the poor old husband is going to lose a little more of has lawn this year.) I have this intense need to dig into the soil and have an ever increasing patch in which to plant my new finds.

Oh but the obsession has already started. I have been collecting milk jugs, water bottles and other containers for seed starting. I found a way to get my fix playing in the soil and planting seeds that does not require me to have a greenhouse or expensive lights. I found a method called Winter Sowing. Oh to my delight! I can start planting now when the temperatures outside are below freezing. With winter sowing you get a jump start on not only starting the early spring seeds, but it takes so little effort you would think it is not possible. How could I possibly plant my seeds and put them outside to freeze? How can they possibly grow? These questions have been asked and answered by Trudi of Wintersown. She developed the method which has been tried time and again and has proven it works.

The method is so simple it seems too good to be true. As do most people, I didn't believe it was possible and was quite skeptical. I started out small last spring with just a few containers. Much to my delight, I was able to grow flowers and vegetables with very little effort and expense. Much to my dismay, as many others before me have found, this method soon turns into an obsession. I cannot walk past a container without thinking what I can plant. Luckily, I have things under control....well I am trying anyway...ok I do have a few things going and I do have plenty of more seeds waiting for the perfect containers...oh well, I give up. The more containers I collect, the more containers I plant. I haven't taken wintersowing to the extreme yet as I only have 22 containers started and another 12 waiting for my next round of seeds to arrive in the mail. I hear of others who have 300+ containers sitting on the frozen ground just waiting for Mother Nature to give them their wake-up call.

You may not want to read any further. I'm going to tell you just how easy this method is. Ok, last chance, stop reading now unless you too want to get hooked. Oh sorry, it is already too late? Don't say I didn't warn you!

Supplies:
milk jug or other suitable container
a razor knife or scissors able to cut the containers
potting mix (NOT soil)
seeds
lable
tape

Just how simple is this? Using the razor knife, cut a door in the side of the milk jug. Punch a few holes in the bottom of the container. Fill 3-4" deep with potting mix, water and let drain well. Sprinkle seeds on top and lightly pat into soil (for larger seeds barely cover with more potting mix). Place lable inside container and tape the door shut. Discard the lid! (You don't want to fry the little guys when the temperatures start to warm up.) Place the container outside. Now for the hard part...wait! When the time is right, the little seeds will begin to swell and soon you will see the beginnings of green. Yes, it really is that easy. What are you waiting for? Give it a try.

Before you go, take some time to visit wintersown.org for complete details on how and what to plant. If you still have questions, hop on over the the message board at Garden Girl Tv and give me a shout . Then don't forget to come back and join me in My Little Corner of the World.

Happy planting! Kim

Wintersown thus far:
12/9/08 (a little too early I later found out) asparagus, alpine strawberries, leeks, broccoli, garlic chives
12/21/08 kohlrabi, cauliflower, dill, oriental leaf mix, romaine lettuce, red rock mammoth cabbabe, Italian market wonder tomato, freckles lettuce, minnesota midget melon
12/31 red cardinal flower, lemon bee balm, gaillardia, marjoram, thyme, sage, creping rosemary, Wyatt's Wonder giant pumpkin

My favorite places to visit

2009-01-04T07:23:00.004-05:00

I said last time I would share some information about me but that is boring (and in my profile). I would rather share my favorite places to visit.

As a young, struggling mother of 2 very young kids, I was fortunate to discover Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew on PBS some 23 years ago. We were living below the poverty line and barely making ends meet. The food budget was a dismal $30 a month plus some government rations given to the children. Mel taught me that in just a few square feet, I could help feed my family fresh homegrown vegetables. My adventure started out small in just a 2'x8' area. I took a few dollars from our meager food budget to purchase a tomato plant and some green bean seeds. Thanks to Mel and his Square Foot method, I was able to supplement our diet with the first fresh vegetables we had eaten in a long time. Sorry Mel, somewhere I got lost along the way and my adventure developed into hundreds of square feet of flowers instead. My vegetable gardening turned into a couple of meager tomato plants that is until the spring of 2008. A new house and a desire to eat fresh, organic, homegrown fruit and vegetables has once again taken over. I am back!

In early 2008 I was fortunate to stumble across Garden Web while searching out some much wanted seeds. WOW! Is all I can say about this extensive source of gardening nirvana. There are hundreds of forums in all aspects of gardening. Much to my delight, and the dismay of my poor husband, I found thousands of people who have a passion for growing their own. I have bubbly after bubbly coming to my house full of seeds. Our tiny yard is slowly losing its boring, green, flat lawn and becoming a blooming mass of flowers and vegetables. I think he has figured it out though. He grumbles about his ever decreasing mowing space which in turn I tell him he is nuts, go play golf, leave the yard to me, why do you want to mow anyway???

Then along came my friend, Patti Moreno, The Garden Girl. Through a small post on Garden Web I discovered some incredible videos on YouTube. The Garden Girl showed me that in my tiny little yard I could, indeed, have my own little urban homestead. I am totally hooked as Patti is now my gardening guru. She has shown me the light and the way....ok...enough...I very much enjoy learning the techniques she teaches in her videos. She is a sweet, wonderful person who loves to share what she does best with the rest of us. I would highly recommend checking out her website and videos. When you are done, come visit those of us who are like minded on her forums. There is a ever growing wealth of information from some more great people there. Don't forget to give me a wave when you come to visit.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea whichever you prefer, take some time and check out my links. When you are done, don't forget to come back to share a little more of My Little Corner of the World.

See you next time,

Kim

Welcome

2009-01-02T22:06:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my little corner of the world. This is where I get to share my experiences with anyone interested enough to take the time to read them. This is going to be a new experience for me and I hope you will have some patience as I learn the ropes here. Next time I visit, I will tell you a little about myself.