Update on Greenhouse!

Does anyone remember this post: My Greenhouse Effect has Affected My Gardening? https://perceptivedelectables.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/my-lack-of-greenhouse-effect-has-affected-my-gardening/ ???

Well, I have to say I am so blessed and thankful that my husband had someone who was willing to help him lift the trusses up and place them on the greenhouse frame that was created earlier this year. Not only that- but plastic sheets were also placed! As you can see- they worked until the sun was down and moon was bright. Amazing!

I am so very excited and hoping that I’ll be able to have a completed project to use for my starts next spring. I may even try experimenting with growing herbs this winter! Just had to share!

PS: Any advice for my husband in putting on the finishing touches? Any advice for me in using it for my plants?

 

My dog will eat anything!

Just wanted to share this photo of my pooch munching on a radish. He’s such a strange dog: He’ll eat almost anything! I have to keep him out of the garden because he actually enjoys the carrots, radishes, potatoes, tomatoes, and other foods I have bursting in the soil! Miles, the pooch, gets SOOOO excited when I do my harvesting- but he’ll have to get the occasional bop and the word “NO” needs to be yelled sometimes to keep him from snatching any veggie I pull from the ground.

Do any of your pets eat strange things? I’d love to see photos and hear stories! Please share!

Enjoy the rest oof your weekend!

Frogs, Flowers, Fresh Food, and Dirty Fingernails- Loving My Garden Time

There really is such a peaceful serenity when one is involved in the gardening process. The sounds, sights, tastes, and feelings you experience all amount to such a wonder- that one can be curious as to why someone wouldn’t want to have their own garden. The photo of the small frog above is an enhancer to my point of the peaceful sounds in a garden.  As the evening creeps in after a long day of succumbing to the calling of a day job, of a husband, of children, and of farm animals- it is nice to sit in the area of growing produce and just listen to the near silence of frogs croaking. Doing the early evening gardening chores and listening to the simple sounds of nature is actually quite the break from hearing customers on the phone, hearing my husband say “Hey babe, can you…”, hearing my children bicker and argue, and hearing the goats and pig bray or grunt for attention. The silent sounds in a garden are a positive shelter for the ears.

Having some experience in gardening times past, I know that patience is well rewarded when blooms begin to burst. This was my first year planting some bulbed flowers in the spring however, and I was very unsure of the turnout. As these Gladiolas got taller though, my anxiousness got settled. Soon some lovely wedding like white flowers began to poke through the long stems and my joy was so overflowing that I’ve been bringing these lovely petals up in coversation everywhere. Whats even nicer, is that not all of my floral plants bloom at once so I get to keep experiencing the joy of each one opening up to the birds and bees of the world around. Another simple joy from gardening: the wonderful visual blooms of God’s great aesthetic design on plants.

And while you’re at it- why not grow food that is both pleasing to the eye and to the pallet!?! There’s nothing like the taste of your own lettuces, spinach leaves, radishes, onions, and herbs all diced up together into a salad. I know they don’t just taste better because their so fresh and organically grown – it’s also because you put your time, love, and energy into making sure they turned out the best they could. Even the children and husband eat a few greens when grown by ourselves. Gardening makes for a great money saver at the grocery store as well! Thinking back- I spent maybe $1.00 on the packet of lettuce seeds- and how many salads can I make out of it? Enough for a daily dishes through the summer and some to share with neighbors too! Another garden pleasantry- food for the stomach and the soul!

I’ll have to admit- having little scratches from thorns or getting dirty fingernails can be frustrating- but weeding through, thinning, and replanting items in the garden area can be so therapeutic. Such a “mindless” activity in a sense that it leaves room in the brain to consider other feelings of the day. The ‘work’ in a garden allows for one to just take a breather- a combination of being alone and working physically with one’s hands helps to remind ones self that some of the little things bothering the heart and traveling through the body are so miniscule in the scheme of life. Although I love the help of my family while we build a garden together- sometimes I enjoy the “me time” that comes from it too.

As you can see, I love my garden time. Do you? What frustrations do you have? What are your positive wonders? I’d love for you to share!

If at first you don’t succeed… hope that 3rd time’s the charm!

My dear readers. You have read of my sad adventures with my gardening in previous posts of not succeeding…I tried inside a greenhouse. https://perceptivedelectables.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/my-lack-of-greenhouse-effect-has-affected-my-gardening/.  And I tried outside, with hope of new beginnings https://perceptivedelectables.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/garden-love-connection-new-beginnings/. Well- needless to say the outside part, so far, seems to be failing. We had a 5 day non stop rain, with about 80% rain on the 6th day and 50% rain on the 7th day. My poor baby plants (like my cherry tomato above) all pretty much died off or got to a point where they are struggling in the finally sunny day today. Too much water and the cold ground was not a good place for such innocent roots and pairs of leaves – such as those of my zucchini, pumpkins, and watermelon. Even my potato plants were very yellow and withery.

So- I’m hanging on the thread that 3rd times the charm with planting. I am going to work on fencing off the area with some bird netting and bamboo sticks so my chickens and dogs can’t walk through the whole area. I’m praying for sunshine with the occasional rain and a long enough growing season for a good harvest. And I’m starting fresh with some new seeds after the waterlogged mud garden dries out a bit the next few days.

Wish me luck! And I’d love to hear your stories of loss and gain with your gardening (it would be seriously encouraging to get some positive stories!)

Night!

Garden Love Connection- New Beginnings

Gardening is like life…

Some of you may remember my posting of how my greenhouse blew over and killed all my baby plants. First I started all my seeds inside- but most of them grew too fast and too close to the light that they reached too far and fell over to die. Then I had to take the rest of my plants and bring them outside into the only greenhouse I had available. It blew over and killed everything else. Hence, I had to start fresh by planting in the outside soil directly when the conditions seemed just right (a couple weeks ago). And now I have cute little paired leaf baby plants popping up all over. It just gives me a tingling and good mood feeling to see new beginnings in my garden.

New beginnings in my garden also remind me of new beginnings in life. Looking at my cucumbers push through the soil and open up helps me remember that there are so many times in life when things seem to go wrong but are just in need of the right conditions to go right. This can especially be identified with when it comes to relationships.

Many years ago (ok, only about 9 years ago) when my husband and I met, we were smitten with each other from the beginning. But our relationship was not planted at the right time or with the right conditions. We grew too close, too fast. We were both reaching so high for a love that we started to wilt and die off. We held on though- thinking it wasn’t too late- until we came to a point where everything seemed to blow away. We knew we were still meant to be planted- but we needed to have better conditions before we could really begin growing in a healthy relationship.

We then had to start fresh with the seeds of our affection. It was a bit of a struggle in our new beginning with having to push through the soil of life to reach out to the light of love we needed. But we pushed through. Now we are a healthy and fruitful couple progressing and growing constantly to be better while we intertwine with each other. We don’t always have a “romantic” frame of mind, nor are we perfect, but we fight off the weeds as they come with our strong root system and continue to soak in all the positive things we need as a couple.

Now I can only hope that my cucumbers will be as successful as my relationship has been!

Have a great week and remember to let everything have the chance for a new beginning with the right conditions!