vol.25

A quote for your week #99

Well, hello! How is your monday treating you? Can you believe that this is quote #99!!? I can hardly believe it myself. I think I should so something jaw droppingly spectacular for my 100th quote, and I will probably spend all week trying to decide just what I should do, and then end up not doing anything! :D That would be " so me. "

These past couple of weeks I've been spending quite a bit of time out in my garden. It seems I enjoy it more and more each year. I moved some things around a couple of days ago, and this opened up a nice big space over on the sunny side of the garden. :) Still debating on what to plant there. I may try to do a strawberry garden out of an old Heat Treated (edible planting safe) pallet we have outside. But, I already utilized three other pallets we had on hand... (is that odd to have 4 pallets on hand? lol) One side of my garden is the backside of the neighboring houses garage/shop. It isnt a bad color to look at, and probably reflects quite a bit of light onto my plants, but I've been dreaming up ways of making that space a little cozier. I would LOVE to use reclaimed wood and make a garden wall, but until we have more time for yet another project, I'm making do with utilizing the wood pallets:

I'll have to give you a more thorough in depth post another day, but there is a peek at the set-up! I took some watered down lime colored acrylic paint and painted them a bit. I also did the heart on the middle pallet. I wish it was a bit more faint, and I may take some sand paper to rough it up some. To the right you can see some lettuce planted in the heat treated pallet. I couldnt find the HT stamp on the other two pallets, so I'm just planning to plant some pretty flowers. :) I'm basically making little pockets in the available openings with landscaping cloth and a staple gun. :)

There are SO many neat vertical gardens made out of pallets online. I also think I may attach some painted terra cotta pots the pallet on the far left. I'll be sure and update you guys! :)

But- I'm curious... have you planted in a pallet?

edit: I had seen a peek at a pallet garden wall on rachel's blog (smile and wave) but after THOUROUGHY searching both her and elsies blog for a tutorial I gave up... well I just noticed elsie posted the tutorial today! :) Head on over for even more inspiration!

pictures of my veggie garden...

I actually took these pictures a couple of weeks ago, so everything has gotten quite a bit bigger! :) I guess I should get some updated pictures... :)

This year I am growing lettuce, (two varieties) strawberries, zucchini squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes (cherry, Roma, big beef, and a mr stripey) green bell peppers, jalapenos, egg plant, onions, dill, sugar snap peas, various herbs,blackberries, and green beans. :) My cucumbers fed the bugs, both times I attempted to plant, my egg plant is barely hanging on, and I am not entirely sure where my cantaloupe is... but for the most part I am really really happy with how things turned out this year.

the above picture shows my onions and dill, and a peek at the girls' sandbox and chalkboard table [more on that later!]

 

there is a peek at my strawberries, peppers and tomatoes. The tomatoes are kinda crowding out the peppers, and I'll definitely need to do something different next year! :)

Here is my lettuce. The lettuce shown in the top half is a loose leaf variety that I really don't care for. It seems like it harbors the bugs more, the other type of lettuce.. I am loving this year. Much easier to clean, and I can easily distinguish the heads for quicker cutting.

My zucchini is now being eaten by a bug... I need to find a way to get rid of them because they are turning my veggies soft and yellow. :( 

 

Here are my sugar snap peas. These are REALLY REALLY yummy. So sweet that even Trin will eat them fresh off the plant. The year I was pregnant with Journey my garden was SEVERELY neglected, I had tons of weeds that spread even more seeds, so last year was like a weed nightmare. I really didnt want to deal with that again, so after looking online I found a very affordable weed blocking solution. Free cardboard from the cardboard bin, broke down and spread out on the walkways of the garden, we bought a couple bales of straw and laid that on top of the cardboard. It has worked REALLY well. I have the occasional grass or straw sprouting, but the cardboard keeps the roots from anchoring. Which means pulling them is a breeze.

 

I have done raised beds for as long as I have a had a garden... which is only about 6 years. Ever since we married... these are the same original boxes that I took with me when we moved into this house 3 years ago. They have really held up well. I have heard of people using cinder blocks too, and I think that sounds like a really good idea. 

 

This is the little table we made the girls one saturday. I had leftover chalkboard paint so we painted the surface with a couple coats. The girls just LOVE it. Jaydon drilled a hole in the center to accommodate this umbrella I picked up from Target. He drilled the holes at two different angles one straight up, and one at an angle so it would protect them from the sun once it start setting. :)

The sandbox is made by naturally playful, and I love it. maybe even more then the girls... :) I looked online at several different styles, and was definitely drawn to the "natural" look. It blends in with the garden really well, and definitely serves its purpose. I am really enjoying that the girls can go out in the garden with me, and I am not having to worry about them wandering into the front yard without me.

Journey likes to erase... trinitys drawings... and well trin is not very appreciative, and for some odd reason that eraser has gone missing? :)

   

I am sure the paint will eventually fade. I usually just hose it off when the girls are done. Its been a month, but so far it is holding up well. I just might have to give a fall update. ;)  Do you have a garden? Any patio gardeners?