A Look Into My Garden - Starting From Seeds

To celebrate Spring, here is an early look into my garden and greenhouse.
I have planted around 52 tomatoes of various types of heirlooms and 18 basil plants of 2 varieties, sweet and lettuce leaf (in the picture below).

 In the tray below are several kinds of peppers, hot and mild, heirloom and standard. There is also 2 pots of thyme I am going to add around the herb bed when they get bigger.
The copper wire laid across the tops of the pots are to keep the snails away. I also wrapped the same wire around the legs after one of those slimy  things climbed in and helped itself to all of my cabbage seedlings.

 The bottom shelf has 6 more pots of the same varieties of basil as above. I will use them when I create my small herb gardens I will be selling at my at home farm stand.  The 3 little pots have cayenne pepper seeds.

 I planted these potatoes about a week early for my zone. This picture was taken last week. I went out to the garden today and the sprouts are double the size. I can't wait for home grown potatoes

 I transplanted the strawberries into a container and moved them into a sunny location. I hope to get strawberries this year.

 And lastly, my blueberry bush.
This little twig has been hanging on for about 2 years. It was passed on to me by my mother in law who didn't want it anymore.
It has given us one blueberry. I am also hoping it will produce a few more. I just have to learn how to grow blueberries in my zone. (I live in zone 8 Northern California if anyone has any tips on growing blueberries).

 There are several lavender plants, oregano, rosemary, garlic chives and my grape vine has started to bloom. My garden is starting to thrive and it makes my soul happy to be out in the yard playing in the dirt, especially when the kids can join me.

Happy Planting!

Making Cards and Other Stuff

I have found a new addiction Pinterest. Fun and awesome all at the same time. I would be on there all the time if I didn't have family or an artsy crafty hobby to tend to.

Anyway I have been busy in the garden since my green house blew over and I had to start my seedlings all over. It was worth the wait. I have so many chilies and tomatoes I will have to sell them so they don't get thrown into the compost.

Extra money never hurt a hobby!

I started dabbling in card making. I was inspired by Helen (Scott's aunt) who makes wedding invitations. They are so beautiful.
I am no way going to do wedding invites but basic card making I can do...I love glue and glitter and gluing little things together. And drawing. When I have more me time I might actually get back into drawing, I am pretty good.
I make basic blank cards for Thank You notes, love letters, break up threats...you can actually write whatever you desire because they are blank and well, I just decorate them for you. I sell them in sets of 7 cards with envelopes and each set has a theme. Allison (above) is photographing the theme pack "Thank God I'm a Country Girl.
You can get the cowgirl boot custom glittered in your favorite color!!!

Check out my Etsy shop to browse. I have many more things coming soon. Baby items, because I sew too. So maybe patch work baby quilts, pillowcase dresses...

My mind in over run with craft ideas (thank Microsoft for the post it notes on the desktop), just wish I had more time in the day, but then again, don't we all.

Making Extra Money While Staying at Home

Right now I am sitting in bed watching the sun come up through the window. These quiet moments are few and far between. Soon the kids will be awake and I will be throwing laundry in the machine, making breakfast, and getting ready to work in the garden. I am fortunate to be able to stay home and raise my kids and play around with some of my hobbies. I am hoping to make a bit of extra cash so Scott could take a day or two off without it hurting our budget. My favorite idea so far is the micro farm produce stand. I really enjoy getting my hands dirty and growing something from seed. I enjoy feeding people and talking about the food I grow. The kids love being outside playing in the dirt, helping plant the seeds, learning about bugs and how things grow.

If all goes well, this will be my favorite job, aside from being a mom, that I ever had.

While this one is not a "money maker" unless you have time to market and advertise, I find making soap to be just as fun as gardening. I do have a few customers that come back time after time, which is nice. I like to know that I am providing all natural, good for your skin soap. And it also makes wonderful gifts, I call this one more of a hobby than a true money maker.

Lastly, I love sewing. I make a lot of the home decor things like throw pillows, pillow cases, seat covers and the likes. I have just started making pillowcase dresses. I know everyone and there mother makes them too, but if I find a few of the non sewers that are not Etsy customers then I will have some customers. Now if I make a few different sizes and sell them at the roadside market then I will probably make a bit more cash.

Turning a hobby into a money maker is not as easy as everyone makes it out to be. If you get a few loyal customers and make great products, eventually you be known by word of mouth and break even on your endeavors. If you have the time and money to market you could probably start making money, but in the mean time I am still considering them my hobbies and enjoying what I do.

An Experiment

Scott bought me a very small, but invaluable asset to my obsession with starting all my plants from seed.

As you can see it was a rainy day. None better than to take pictures of my germinating seeds. All the seeds were planted on Monday. Before the storm.

In every pot there are 2 seeds, except the basil. They are such tiny seeds that I just added a pinch. When it comes to thinning I will have to figure something out.

I chose a lot of heirloom varieties like this Sebastopol Tomato. The story goes that the seeds were held onto by a lady for 70 years. Just had to try. I wish I had planted  a few more San Marzano Tomatoes though. I like can sauce and salsa for winter and it would be nice to do some plain tomatoes of this tasty kind.

I also did a few standard veggies, California Wonder Bell Peppers, Straight Eight Cucumber and Black Beauty Eggplant, all of which I plan to sell at my roadside market this summer.

Has anyone tasted a Cherokee Purple tomato? What is the flavor and the best use for it? Sandwiches? Salads? or Just off the vine warmed by the sun?

Another Beautiful Day

It poured rain last night, but this is how the afternoon turned out. Beautiful!

I decided to wash and hang some of the quilts I have. Getting them ready for our Easter Picnic. This one is my favorite. My Mother sewed it and it has patches of fabric from clothes me and my sister wore, along with a few of my parents clothes. Such a fun and snugly blanket with lots of meaning and memories.

One of my helpers hard at work...fixing the wheel barrow tire.

My other one being a goof. She was moving my sign around to find the perfect spot.

Here is 3 varieties of thyme I grow in an old rim of my husbands 1963 Nova. They look a bit scraggly now but come summer I will have thyme growing out of my ears.

And here is my garden. I still have a TON of work to do, but I finally removed the straw and started a new compost pile. We still have to add our last years compost and till it all together then I will be ready to sketch the plant placement. My seeds shipped today so I will get them potted and in about 6 weeks I will have plants ready for the ground. Once the last frost has passed I can get the zucchini and yellow squash seeds in the ground.

If I get at least 2 more beds started then I will almost double my tomato plants to about 18 - 20. I can't wait to put all those tomatoes up for the winter.

A Little Break in the Weather

Finally a day of sunshine. Cold, but sunny and after all that rain it just puts a smile on your face when you see the sun and feel the warmth of its rays.
And with the sunshine came the gardening itch. I ordered around $25 in seeds from Sustainable Seed Company (not endorsed by them, just like them). They carry a great collection of heirloom seeds. I picked out some great tomatoes, probably 6 different types: Red Calabash, San Marzano, Petrillo, Sebastopol Cherry, Big Rainbow and Yellow Pear, some peppers (3 types including Cubanelle which I have searched to no end and finally found) and 2 varieties of squash both zucchini, one yellow, one green stripes.
I hope to get them soon since I need to pot the tomatoes and peppers so they will be ready to plant when the weather warms up.

I also bought some flower seeds and priced redwood for a few new beds I want to add to expand our current garden. I am also looking at greenhouses. I would LOVE a 12x8 greenhouse with all the bells and whistles, but for right now I will settle for a cheap plastic zip up style.

All of these are from last years garden. I hope to have just as much luck if not more this year. I hope this gives all of you the itch to get out there and garden.