One year ago

It's funny how little things have changed!  I want to work in my garden, but we've had an awfully wet spring.  Last year was a big bust as far as my garden was concerned.  Those flower seeds are still in my home somewhere.  Where?  I need to find them!

I want to go out and get the garden ready this year, but the weather hasn't received my request yet.  We have had an unusually cool and wet spring so far, and every weekend has brought us rain.  So for now, I will settle for planting my seeds for setting out later.  I'm hoping they all do well, and we have a bountiful garden all summer long.

I purchased all my seeds from Ed Hume Seeds and the plan is to not purchase plants.  I'll let you know how that works out.

Here is the list for 2011:
Oregon Spring Tomato (these were fabulous 2 years ago)
Gourmet Blend Lettuce (Buttercrunch, Grand Rapids, Red Sails and Parris Island Romaine)
Cal Wonder 300 Bell Pepper
Arugula
Basil
Golden Cross Bantam Sweet Corn
Gold Nugget Tomato
Blue Curled Scotch Kale
Martino's Roma Tomato
Crimson Sweet Watermelon
Early Jalapeno Pepper
Olympia Hybrid Spinach
Spacemaster Cucumber
Mesclun Mixed Salad Greens
Cilantro
Cocozelle Zucchini
Sugar Ann Snap Peas
French Green Beans (bush beans)

And for the rest of the garden, and to get a start on our backyard garden:
Shasta Daisy
Godeti Double Azalea (free gift with my order)
California Poppy
Sweet William
Alpine Poppy
Heliotrope
Livingstone Daisy

More on our backyard garden plans to come.  Let's just say we are reclaiming a large portion from the dogs, and our tax return is going to make it fun!

Garden Dreams

I want to go out and get the garden ready this year, but the weather hasn't received my request yet.  We have had an unusually cool and wet spring so far, and every weekend has brought us rain.  So for now, I will settle for planting my seeds for setting out later.  I'm hoping they all do well, and we have a bountiful garden all summer long.

I purchased all my seeds from Ed Hume Seeds and the plan is to not purchase plants.  I'll let you know how that works out.

Here is the list for 2011:
Oregon Spring Tomato (these were fabulous 2 years ago)
Gourmet Blend Lettuce (Buttercrunch, Grand Rapids, Red Sails and Parris Island Romaine)
Cal Wonder 300 Bell Pepper
Arugula
Basil
Golden Cross Bantam Sweet Corn
Gold Nugget Tomato
Blue Curled Scotch Kale
Martino's Roma Tomato
Crimson Sweet Watermelon
Early Jalapeno Pepper
Olympia Hybrid Spinach
Spacemaster Cucumber
Mesclun Mixed Salad Greens
Cilantro
Cocozelle Zucchini
Sugar Ann Snap Peas
French Green Beans (bush beans)

And for the rest of the garden, and to get a start on our backyard garden:
Shasta Daisy
Godeti Double Azalea (free gift with my order)
California Poppy
Sweet William
Alpine Poppy
Heliotrope
Livingstone Daisy

More on our backyard garden plans to come.  Let's just say we are reclaiming a large portion from the dogs, and our tax return is going to make it fun!

September

One late lily 

One early mum

Four busy kids, plus one kitten

All make for a beautiful September here at the Kihn House.

Accidental Garden

Golden Cherry Tomatoes

I planned my garden, I used my mother's day gift card to buy tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, squash and cucumber, but they looked like they always do.  Wilting.  Then when we got home from our short vacation in Seattle I turned the water on, then fell asleep and forgot all about it.  I expected a high water bill from that night of indiscretion, but what I received was amazing.  My tomatoes really responded to all the water.  I have the nicest tomato plants I've ever grown!  Even now in September, I'm still picking lots of cherry tomatoes.  We're eating them in salsa, salads, and just as a snack.

I have learned one little Tomato Law.  The plants you stake well will not produce.  The plants that end up in between staked plants, will grow abundantly.  Go figure!

Very late jalapenos, hoping the weather holds

More On Our Garden

You are probably tired of this photo, but new ones are coming. I have many more pots this year!

Just a few more thoughts on our garden. First, you may recall from last year, our entire garden is in the front yard.

Because of 2 dumb dogs, we cannot plant anything in the backyard, at least not anything we expect to live. Sampson on his own effectively took out all the hostas, a bleeding heart, 3 mini roses, 2 bushes, and most of some type of mint that I had spent the prior 3 years trying to pull. The only backyard survivors are two trees, a pretty ground cover (name unknown), a few brave yarrow, and the plants that grow in between the rocks (creeping phlox and chicks and hens).

Our front garden isn't all food though. You will also find asiatic lilies, oriental lilies, day lilies, lavendar, evergreen trees, bushes, mums, japanese maples and ornamental grasses. In the spring there are the daffodils, jonquils, crocus and hyacinth too. There is also the ever present weeds. So the front garden is a mix of beauty and utility. The big bushes are right by the retaining wall, and that is also where I planted the grape vines. My hope is one day that the front of our garden becomes a fence/hedge to block out the street.

The last thing you may have noticed is, I didn't work with seeds (except for the lettuce). While seeds are the least expensive way to grow your own food, they also can be more time consuming. I have also found that I have only moderate luck with seeds, where small plants do well for me. In figuring cost, it's easy to see that I am still saving the family money. All of the veggies I purchased this year, except for the pumpkin, were $1.79 for 4 plants.

• Each tomato plant then needs to only produce 1 to 2 tomatoes to recover the cost.
• Cherry tomatoes, which will only need to produce about 5 each.
• Each jalapeno plant will pay for itself if it produces approximately 4 jalapenos each.
• The squash plants will only need to produce 1 squash each.
• The cucumbers will only need to produce 2 cukes each.
• The red and yellow bell peppers will pay for themselves with 1 pepper each.

The pumpkin is something I don't normally buy. But, at $1.79 for 2 plants, 1 pumpkin will recover the cost, if I were to buy one in the fall. (Which is unlikely considering that the babies will be here before Halloween.)

I didn't buy a green bell pepper plant, because I often can purchase nice big peppers for 25 cents a piece. While they would still pay for themselves, there is a better return on the red and yellow which are much more expensive. Last, I bought plants because I am making an effort to take care of myself and these babies. It was easier, and right now, that's worth a few dollars!

And for potting all thos container plants? The Dollar Store has good sized plastic pots at $1 each and potting soil for $1.79 a bag. Also there are a few yard sale pots, and a few birthday present pots mixed in. So this year I've spent about $20.11 on our garden. I won't venture to guess what the value of food harvested will be, but I can guarantee it will be far more than $20.

Our Garden

This weekend was a busy one, but I was careful not to overdo it! As of yesterday we have the biggest garden, I've ever planted!

Currently in the ground:
10 tomato plants (4 brandywine, 4 celebrity, and 2 unkown)
4 acorn squash plants
2 pumpkin plants
2 pole beans from my aunt
several tomato seedlings from my aunt
2 grape vines from last year that may or may not grow this year
several green onions from last years crop

Currently in containers:
4 sweet bell pepper plants
4 jalapeno plants
4 cucumber plants (bush variety)
lettuce seed

Waiting to be planted:
2 sunflower plants from my aunt
3 blackberry poles from my aunt (poles, starts, shoots???)
4 cherry tomato plants

I still have more seeds that I could and should plant, but I'm beginning to run out of room! I think I will definitely try to put some more beans in around the 2 I've already planted. And I plan to plant the lettuce seeds successively.

I need to weed more of the front garden so that I can plant the last 4 tomatoes. I'm hoping to have the energy to work on it just a little bit each night this week. And once that is done, I can plant some more of the seeds that are just waiting.

How is your garden going? Are you still in the planning stages, or lucky enough to be bearing some food already? We are being gifted with rhubarb from friends and family, but I think that's about all that's growing here.

My Helper

When she was good, she was very, very good. And when she was bad, she was horrid.

This weekend Kaia started out as horrid. There was a complete meltdown before the 16th Birthday Party we attended Friday night. Dana and I refused to let her wear a pair of leggings with a t-shirt. The leggings are the kind that are meant to be worn under a skirt, or under a drss that's a little short. She was great at the party though, much better behaved than 90% of the teenagers. We were out late, and she had actually crawled up on my lap and fell asleep she was so tired. (Mo on the otherhand was still going strong at 11 p.m. He was busy grabbing the teenage girls' butts and showing off for them. Yes, he's all boy!)

Saturday, I could quickly tell was not going to be a good day with the kids. Both Kaia and Mo were WILD. I tried my best to convince them that because it was Mother's Day weekend they should be well-behaved. It didn't work. I did take them both with me to the nursery next door. I picked out a few tomato plants, but will have to go back for my favorite Oregon Spring variety and also to get jalapenos. Kaia was goofing off and fell and skinned her knee while we were there. Her dramatic reaction to this earned both kids a free tomato plant from an employee. I didn't think it was necessary, but I wasn't going to argue. After arguing with Mo over the wagon, and having him almost de-pants me while paying for our plants, I got the kids home.

We all worked in the garden and when Dana came home he took some great photos of the kids with his motorcycle. The evening just continued to be fun, trying to keep Kaia and Mo out of the newly planted garden. Trying to keep the house from being destroyed. It was pretty much non-stop until bedtime.

Sunday was much the same, although Kaia was on her best behavior during church. She also listened moderately well at Grammy and Papas. They arrived home from Hawaii, and we had a bbq there after church. When we got home, there was no listening and just being rotten. At 8:22 pm I had had enough. I made both kids brush their teeth, get dressed for bed, and then I read them a short book, before tucking them both into their own beds. I turned off the lights, and retreated to the couch with Dana.

What happened next was amazing. Both kids went to sleep in their own beds, on time! Then this morning, both kids got up and Kaia got herself ready on time. When it was time to leave, I forgot a booklet in the house, so I asked Kaia to please open Mo's car door so he could get in while I ran back upstairs to get the booklet. Not only did Kaia help Mo get his door open, she helped him in his seat, and buckled him in! She was proud as she's never been able to figure out the car seat buckles before. I made sure to tell her how proud I was of her being a big girl, a responsible girl and for being my big helper. There were times this weekend where I thought, "I am so screwed. There is no way I can handle 4 kids, when I can't handle the 2 I have now." Funny, now this past weekend looks a lot better after a good night and a great morning.

Resurrection

I think it is so fitting that in the Northern Hemisphere we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the spring. I only have to look outside to be reminded of how all may seem desolate, it is only for a time, because life returns.

My garden is just returning to life, after a season of frozen ground and snow.

Bleeding Heart that will soon tower over Mo.

White Hyacinth

Yellow Daffodils

More Daffodils

Jonquils, which I had forgotten planting until Kaia picked a few to show me.

On Sunday, we will sit outside in the 40 degree temps for sunrise service. It's cold, but being out in God's creation, singing to Him, and reading His words is always powerful. Especially when we are joined by the birds, and we are each year.

I wish you and your family a blessed Easter weekend!

Garden Planning

Container cucumbers, jalapeno, and green onions.

It's the end of March, our ground is finally thawing, and it is time to start preparing the garden for spring planting!

I didn't do a very good job prepping the garden this fall, so I have my work cut out for me. This weekend I plan on de-weeding the garden. So far we have daffodils and lillies coming up. The mum that died right after I planted it last year, is already growing again. The crocus are in full bloom, and some of the ground cover is looking nice already.

This year I plan to plant much of the same items, and hope to do a better job. Each year provides a lesson. Last year, I planted container cucumbers, and they did well, but I think they would do better in the garden. The 1 jalapeno plant that I planted in the container did excellent, while the 3 that were in the garden barely produced. So I will use the containers for jalapenos this year, and lots of them!

The container tomatoes I planted did terrible. They had blossom end rot, and nearly all of the tomatoes were composted in the garden. (they are in the brown planters on the steps) I think I may try lettuce or spinach in the containers this year. It will allow me to move them around to shadier and cooler spots as needed.

My garden tomatoes had mixed results. One variety was outstanding. The tomatoes were good sized, had excellent flavor and had a good yield. The variety was Oregon Spring. I suspect that it is meant for growing in cool springs, and it seemed to thrive while the roma tomatoes and early girls struggled. I plan to buy almost all Oregon Spring plants this year.

Yes, I know that buying plants may not be the most frugal way to start, but it is where I've had the most success. I buy them from the local nursery. Local as in, I can see the greenhouses from my garden. I like to buy them local, because I know that the plants they sell will do better in our climate. Also the employees are knowledgable on the plants, pests and weeds in our area, unlike in the big hardware stores or at Walmart. So I do pay a little more, but I feel the results are worth it. To help save money, I don't buy the huge plants, and I buy them a little early in the spring. I have always paid less than $1 a plant for the tomatoes and jalapenos.

I'm hoping to add some squash to the garden, and peas would be nice too. I'd also like to give corn another try. I have a nice place to plant it, but ensuring it gets enough water is the problem. The raspberries didn't make it, but if I keep up the water I think the corn would do well.

What garden plans do you have?

Urban Garden

I found this garden in Auburn, WA. This house is probably a one-bedroom rental. There is no yard, as it sits behind two other houses in an alley.

They didn't let that stop them from planting a garden. With the price of things in the Seattle area, I admire their frugality.

Don't ever think you don't have enough room for a garden.

Ringing in September

Tonight we are having dinner with Grammy June and Papa Gordie. I had some housekeeping to do today, I needed to decide what was for dinner, and I had found the cutest chocolate brown plate on clearance at Target. (it looks lighter due to the flash)



I didn't want to just plan dinner, I wanted to head to the produce stand next door for inspiration, and I found it. Fresh bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. Dana had already suggested fresh salsa. Now, we do have tomatoes growing here, but not many are ripe right now, we go through cycles of a ton of ripe tomatoes and then a ton of almost ripe ones. We have plenty of jalapenos here, and I recently bought 7 dozen fresh corn tortillas at Fiesta Foods. Have you figured out what we are having? Did I mention we have leftover grilled steak from our barbeque last night? We are having fajitas, salad, fresh salsa with homemade chips, and something for dessert, I just haven't decided yet.

The produce stand is filled to the brim with gourds and pumpkins right now. I knew that I would find what I needed to fill that cute plate at Target there. I'm not crafty, but Kelli inspires me to be a bit more. So I dug around in the closet in the basement, and found plenty of fall items.



I created this plate, with 2 of the 4 gourds from the produce stand, and some flowers from an arrangement I received last year.





There were still plenty of flowers though, from a bouquet that Kaia had brought home from Grammy's and started to destroy.



So I added them to the old bouquet after chopping with Dana's cutters from the garage.

I even switched the magazines over to early fall mags, and the Garden Moment Getaways that I received from Kelli's giveaway.

There were still more things leftover, though. So why not one more decoration?

Have a wonderful September weekend! I'm off to make dessert.

Selling Fear

Boomer, whose only fear is not getting fed.

BigDumbDog is afraid of the water hose.

I wish I could tell you that last night went so much smoother than Monday, but it didn't. I really hate nights where I spend all my time yelling, because I'm being completely ignored when I talk. Morgan was even being naughty as he decided to dump half a bottle of pre-depilatory cleanser (expensive stuff that I bought with Birthday money last year) on the coffee table.

It wasn't completely the kids bugging me. We were standing outside for a bit while I watered the front garden, and my plants in the planters when a salesman walked up.

Cucumbers, green onions, and a jalpeno plant (in the middle of the onions).

My gift for Mother's Day from my Mom and Dad, I chose the John Deere Yellow, Dana helped me paint it. Those are tomatoes up on the steps. Never mind the weed in the bottom right corner.

Not one of you commented on my Swingtown post, so either you don't watch it, or are afraid to admit it. Well last week's episode was about finding your authentic self. When Rodger asks his boss for more money, he's fired. He tells his wife's best friend, Susan, that he's glad. You see he was an insurance salesman and he tells her that successful insurance salesman need to scare people to get them to buy products. They sell fear.

Last night we had an alarm salesman. Of course they aren't selling the alarm. They are giving the alarm away, plus the installation and warranty. You just have to pay $45 a month to have it hooked up and display a sign in your yard. We listened to his spiel and pointed out that our security system was in the house. Come in and threaten, you'll meet a bullet. Then he pointed out to Dana that of course Dana could take care of himself, but what about when he wasn't around. A system would be good for protecting the wife and kids, or the house when no one was home. Dana's answer? My wife's a darn good shot, she can take care of herself!

Salesman is figuring out that this isn't going quite how he planned. He points out that it's your sense of security that feels violated, and that an alarm will provide a deterrent. And it raises the value of your home! Ummm... my dog is a deterrent, and the fact that we have so many close neighbors that are home during the day. Thanks, but no! He left fairly quickly, having been beat. I didn't even point out to him, but did to Dana, that we could just put up some alarm stickers in the window if we wanted people to think there was an alarm. Also my co-worker installed the alarm at our office for far less, and there are no maintenance fees on that.

Really the issue is, I don't like being sold fear. Why should we pay for an alarm to go off when someone breaks in? Someone has to break in first, and that's why we have the required homeowner's insurance. Speaking of insurance, why should we pay huge amounts of money for a life insurance policy that will likely never pay out? All that money would be better put into a CD and earning interest. Washington requires liability on all autos and trucks. And we have opted for un-insured motorist coverage, because the number of un-insured motorists here in our city is huge! The more Dana and I talk about this, the more we are considering insurance changes. A higher deductible is something we are definitely discussing (for the home). The money saved will help meet that extra upfront cost if, big IF, it is needed. I'm really seeing insurance like playing the lotto, except instead of the big IF being good, the big IF is the worst case scenario. Do you really want to spend your life banking on the worst case scenario? The hardest part? Telling our insurance agent that we are switching companies.

Busy Sunday

Now that Kaia's 5, it is finally legal for her to ride with her daddy on the motorcycle. She convinced him to take her out on her first real ride.


That's a belt around her waist, attached to him, just in case.

They rode all the way to Grandpa Richard and Grandma Owie's house, but they weren't home. While they were gone, Mo was napping, so I took a few photos.

Chicks and Hens in the rock garden.

A sunflower "planted" by the birds. (I love this photo! I did not retouching, just cropped and resized, yet it looks painted on.)

"Oregon Spring" Tomatoes. These are by far the best ones I've found they really stood up to our cold spring. I'm just hoping they taste as good as they look.

Another lily. I'm a little sad that I never got a photo of the red ones. Next year... I have a bunch more from the garden to share later.

Summer is Flying By!

I don't know how summer goes so fast. I wish I could pause it and just enjoy it more. Especially summer afternoons like yesterday. All photos are taken by Dana, on a new to us faster lens (thanks Dad!) at my niece's birthday luau.

Mom & Mo

Grandma Owie & Mo

Cute Puppy (Not Ours!)
Your's Truly

The Birthday Girl

Dana came home and kept up the photo taking (he really did take some of Kaia, but they haven't been resized yet).

Callie (This one's for you Jen!)

Just a few of my lilies

Saturday Decisions

It's a quiet Saturday morning here. Kaia went to church with our neighbors today. She loves to spend time with them, and they invited her yesterday. I let her decide if she wanted to go to church with Grandpa Carl and Gramma Mikey, and she did. She did tell me later that maybe she was spending too much time at church this week! Between Mom's Devo, worship with the neighbors and worship at our church. I just laughed. But after taking her next door this morning I only made breakfast for 3, and now there is no arguing over what cartoon to watch.

Today is going to be beautiful! It is already 50 degrees out. My problem is that the house is a disaster! Due to the stomach bug, I didn't get the house cleaned after Mo's party. So I have quite a bit to do in here. We do have to go to the library and turn in the DVD's also. What I REALLY WANT to do is go play outside! I have a huge bag of potting soil and pots to fill. I have seeds to plant for the garden, and weeds to pull.

I think that I will spend the next hour or so cleaning inside. Maybe some speed cleaning? That way when Kaia gets home from church, we can plant outside together.

Being Prepared

Do you believe that we are headed for trouble? Our economy is down the toilet, and unlike the days of our parents, grandparents or great-grandparents (insert the one that works best for you), most of us do not have food set by. We no longer grow produce and store it for the winter. When our current society is set in the moment, what happens when it all falls out? It's a scary thought. The fact that milk and gas cost about the same per gallon, dry milk is as expensive as fresh, and few of us know how to make do with less of both.

Dana and I plan to have a bigger vegetable garden this year. My 11 tomato plants were not enough last year. I'm also planning watermelon, green peppers, jalapenos, cucumbers, herbs, corn... Essentially if I can get it started and growing, it will be going in our front garden, the side of the house, and in pots in the front (can't plant in front of Mo's window due to foundation issues and buried ferrets). I was especially excited Monday night to discover this recipe: It's my Grandma Sarah's Green Tomato Relish. I love this stuff. We'd eat it all the time in the winter (remember when people ate by the season?) as a side dish. Now I need a pressure canner and some knowledge so I can make this too.

I like to be prepared. Having enough of what we need to get by, means that we're ready for what life has to throw at us. Whatever that may be.

Note: the recipe was written on the back of a plain paper calendar. Almost every scrap in her cookbook is a re-use of paper. Now that's a skill we should all use.