groOrganic's Online Garden Planner

I was given the opportunity to receive a 30 day FREE trial to groOrganic's Online Garden Planner.  As you all know from my recent past posts, I'm in the market for a good program that will take the place of my graph paper system that I have now.  Although, after much reviewing of program after planner after program, I'm beginning to think more and more that I'll be sticking to the pen and graph paper system.  In my opinion, the groOrganic's Online Garden Planner is basically the same as you can find at the Gardener's Supply Company, as well as Better Homes and Gardens (both of which I listed in previous posts).  so basically, it was a waste of my time, it did not do what I wanted it to do.  It doesn't allow for garden structures, it's more time consuming to draw them, than I plan, and I'm usually one of those kinds of people that can do stuff like that lickety-split.  And I don't feel that it's worth the whopping $99 per year subscription to it, either!  Alas, I'll continue to search for the perfect format, or, I'll just keep going with my pen and graph paper system, lol.  If you'd like to see my review of the groOrganic's Online Garden Planner, you can read it on my sister site, Thrifty and Frugal by Debbie...I've included plenty of links and pics and screen shots for your enjoyment!

Collecting my wild ties for Easter eggs again!

It's fast approaching...Easter.  The meaning of it, Lent, Ash Wednesday, oh my, it'll be here very soon this year.  And I've been hard at work collecting some majorly wild and colorful ties all year to do our 2nd Annual Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs again this year.  We LOVED doing them last year, and it was WAY more easier and definitely  not as messy as having dyes in cups with vinegar, blah!  here's the link with the super simple instructions on how to make tie-dyed Easter eggs...believe me, I wish I would've known how to do this a long time ago, it would've saved SOOOO much hassle...once you do these, you won't want to ever go back to the dye in cups method ever again!  Here's the pic of last year's, aren't they GORGE?! 

Here's a site that has LOTS of 'natural' ways to dye your Easter eggs...this lady says not to eat eggs that have been silk dyed, and I have googled this and many people 'suggest that you don't consume the eggs if dyed by silk.'  And I'm sure there are some dyes used on ties and such that may be toxic, but we may be in trouble then, because my kids ate some and didn't die from it...however, I'm not advocating the consumtion of them, I'm just relaying that my kid have eaten a few of last year's.

This site gives a GREAT tutorial of the egg dying process using silk ties, boxers, blouses, etc.

Martha Stewart shows us how to add lace to our decorated dyed Easter eggs...they're very pretty.

Get your seed catalog orders going, peeps!!

If you're an avid gardener or just starting out, you may choose to grow your plants from seeds or buy them already germinated and established, the latter of which is the easiest if you don't feel you have the time to sow seeds.  Either way, collecting and perusing seed, plant, shrub, rose, flower, etc. catalogs is a great tool to help you decide what you want to plant and where you'll plant them.  Most seed companies offer the catalogs for FREE.  Remember the old days, when there were literally only a handful (if not LESS) seed/plant catalog companies out there?  I do, mannnn, really showing my age there, lol.  Here's a few that I receive or I've just ordered:

• Territorial Seed Company
• Reimer Seeds (online catalog, but they're stuff is SOOO cool!)
• El Dorado Seeds for Organic growers (online catalog for email request)
• Johnny Seeds (GREAT, PRIMO company!)
• Burpee (tried and true, of course)
• eGardener's Place (you can request 8 catalogs from this one page, all at once, unfortunately 4 of them are out of stock, but there's 4 other great ones to choose form, including Jung Seeds!_
• Seed Savers Exchange
• Gurney's (another oldie but a goodie)
• Park Seed (they have 2 to choose from, or both)
• Henry Field's Seed and Nursery
• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (they're out for 2011, but keep'em in mind for next year) you can still shop their online catalog

ok, that's enough to get you going, but there' are OODLES more out there, just do a google search for free seed catalogs or free plant catalogs, etc. and a gazillion will pop up for you to request, lol.  enjoy and happy cataloging, lol.
If you know of a catalog that you'd like to share and have me add to the list, just let me know!

Got my seeds from WinterSown, plus bought 6 new rose bushes!!



Blue Boy rose





Blue Girl rose



While I was at Big Lots yesterday, I picked up 6 new rose bushes to grow.  The ones I picked out are VERY healthy, with LOTS of green shoots, buds and such.  We've decided to finally install our white picket fence that we picked up for $50 (what a deal THAT was, lol) a couple of years ago.  If we don't get it installed this year, it's gonna rot, and I will be majorly pissed, and the hubs does NOT want me pissed, lol (so he says, we'll see, lol).  Anyway, it will run down the hill to the creek on one side, with a gate the length of 2 fence panels so trucks can get in and out for the garden, then on the other side from the house to the idiot neighbor's horse fence he installed (in the middle of an upscale subdivision...like I said, he's an old idiot, lol...the fence story was in a different post, lol).  It'll have a small entrance gate to let us in to go around the house to my rose arbor on that side, and such.  So, long story short, this fence installed means I get to plant MORE ROSES!  and ya'll know I LOVE growing my roses.  I picked up a Blue Boy (which is actually a light pink to light lavender rose...see pic) and a Blue Girl (which is actually has light blue roses on it...see pic)...(they look very similar in color, but in real life, you can tell the difference)these are out of my color wheel for my landscape and roses a little bit, but I'm gonna try them and see how I like them...if not, they get dug up and my bestie can have them installed in HER yard, lol.  It's important to note that these two types of rose bushes aren't always easy to find in local nurseries, let alone Big Lots, so if it's one you'd like to try, you might look to see if your Big Lots has any.  The others I picked up werer other pink ones, and one more white one to plant near my other white one to even out the arbor. 

The roses I picked up are bare root roses (of sorts).  They're  the onese you get with the plastic wrapped around the bottom.  Store them in a cool place until early spring when it's time to plant them.  When I do this, I'll take pics and explain what I like to do when I plant my roses and to have large, luxuriously growing plants.

WinterSown seeds...got'em in! yays!!!  When you do the $5 donation with your order, they really send you more than what you order (not by a LOT, mind you, but generally a pkg of bonus seeds and such.  This is what I ordered:





Green Zebra tomatoes





Mr. Stripey tomato


• Green Zebra (they're green when ripe, with darker green stripes)
• Louisiana Pink (I didn't get these, they sent the June Pink instead, but they're basically the same, in that the fruits are pink when they're ripe)
• Legend (up to 1 lb, blight resistent, sweet fruits)
• Mister Stripey (red fruits with yellow stripes and a tangy flavor)
• Sunray (3" orange fruits when ripe)
• Tomatillo Purple (ripe when they're purple and the husks break...have always wanted to try to grow these)
• Tiny Tim (abundant red cherry tomatoes on a dwarf plant)
• Super Marmande (a French heirloom, w/red fruit)
• Sausage (6" tapered, extra long fruit...don't these sound FUN?!)
• and finally
• Wild Card (which is THEIR choice)...I got the Kosovo tomato...which is pink when mature)
• as a thank you, they sent me a pkg of Cilantro (my daughter loves this, not me so much), and a pkg of Pepperoncini & Pardon peppers (mildly hot peppers...daughter and phys. therapist loves spicey, they'll eat'em, lol).



Sausage tomato (cool, eh?)




Tomatillo Purple (meaty tomato)



So, basically, I got all that I asked for, with one that they ended up swapping for a different one that was basically the same.  YAYS!!  In all the bags, there's a few more than 6 seeds (they say they'll send 6), and with the peppers and cilantro, they gave me plenty more than 6! I can't wait to start them, get'em to germinate, and use my newly acquired zippered green house, lol (that I STILL need to run over and pick up)

Don't all those variety of tomatoes sound fun?  I wanted to pick tomatoes that I couldn't find other places, at local green houses, and such, and I think this variety will do just that for us...we love tomatoe salads, and with all these colors, yummmmm, they'll look beautiful tossed in a bowl!

My bestie and I are planning a seed swap, hopefully this weekend...will have to get my garden binder and garden plan in top shape for that meeting, lol.

UPDATE: I GOT MINE! Zippered green house only $20!!

UPDATE:  I went and picked one of these zippered babies up...they're not as big as the one at Lowe's...they're like 50" tall (2 shelves, I believe), but I went ahead and picked one up anyway.  I don't have a cold frame right now, and a hubs that probably wouldn't understand the concept of one anyway, lol...so it'll do for what I want.

I was at a Big Lots store yesterday and in the Lawn and Garden section (which, btw, is growing much bigger now that the growing season is fast approaching), and they had a zippered green house for only $20!! OMG!!  I didn't pick it up because I was in a major hurry, but I came home and looked online and it's not showing them having it!  So, apparently it can't be purchased online thru them.  If you have a Big Lots near you and have been wanting one (like me), you might want to swing by and see if they have one, if they do, snatch it up cuz it's not gonna be there long!  They're $58 at Lowe's, and look like the one in the pic!!

I would, however, MUCH rather have one of these beauts!!!  OH, can you iMAGine the wonders I could do with one of these babies?!  It would annoy my neighbor who thinks he has to mind my business to no end, what fun THAT would be, lol.  They're snap together green houses that can be purchased online at Lowe's website, and are between $700-$800 (which, personally, I don't think it's all that bad of a price), and they're 8'X6' and extensions can be added on to them later if you want them bigger. 

of course, if you live in an area that would allow it (city and/or county permits, zoning laws, sub. organizations, etc. tend to nix this idea), you can make your own out of some 2X4's, a few 4X4's and old windows and glass doors...they're so charming looking!  These would be much cheaper to build, and could use reclaimed lumber and windows and doors and such, which can be picked up sometimes for FREE on Craigslist, 3-5 bucks here and there at garage, barn, or estate sales, etc. THAT's what I'd RATHER have, but, as always, my idiot neighbor would have me in court until the end of time if I tried this...I'll wait until I have more time to deal with him to try it, lol (plus he's sick, maybe they'll move away or something and my yard will be my own again, lol).  If you make your own, you can add a rain barrel to the inside that takes water from the run-off of your green house to use to water your plants, add humidity and such (see pic w/blue barrel).

Isnt' this one beautiful? it looks SOOO easy to build, too...I'm aching to try it, truly I am!



While I was online at the Big Lots site, I saw these adorable metal pinwheel sprinklers...aren't they cute????  And they're only 2 bucks!!!  I can imagine exactly how they work, with the spinning motion.  I may just have to check them out to see if they'll work for my garden, I'm all about adoramous stuff in my garden *giggles*



Did you know, you should pick your cherry/grape tomatoes before it rains?

So, I posted below the FREE eVersion of the Garden Fresh garden mag from Burpee...it's not an eBook, an eVersion is totally different in that when you click on it, it opens on a webpage rather than a pdf to have to deal with.  You turn the pages just like a real book and click the  +  at the top to zoom in.  Well anyhoo, there's some super great info this eVersion of Garden Fresh, I didn't know for sure if I'd like it or not, but I DO!

Gardening tips to remember:

First off, did you know that you should pick your cherry and grape tomatoes that are ripe or almost ripe right before it rains?  This is because they're so small and ripe to almost-ripe, their skins are so much thinner, that when it rains, it's too much moisture for them and they'll spit.  Now I know why my cherry and grape 'mators always split!  and now I know how to keep it from happening again!

Next, I didn't know that peppers, all varieties basically, LOVE bonemeal.  I never really know this...did ya'll??  Plus, you should always let your tomatoes come to room temperature before serving with meals or on a sandwich for maximum flavor, as the cold from refrigerations reduces the flavor and fragrant chemicals within them, however they'll begin to run to their orig. strength as they warm up...cool, eh?

Pepper plants...this tip may have been my problem last year, as I only received 3 tiny bell peppers from a total of 9 plants, grrr.  Don't over fertilize!  Peppers are very fickle, if you over fertilize, they'll grow beautiful, green and full foliage...but you're likely NOT to get very good fruit, either in size or at all.  And you should never work in the pepper part of your garden after a rain or watering, as the moisture and water aids in the spread of plant disease among them and makes them more prone to it...I told ya, they're fickle little things.

Cucumbers....this isn't from the Burpee, but from me.  MY idea for cucumbers works beautifully....tomato cages upside down!  Plant your cukes in a mound, of course, then once the sprouts are a few inches, place an upturned tomato cage over the mound and keep in place with ground carpet secure staples (they're like reg. staples, but thicker gauge and longer pronged).  As they grow, guide them up the cage and over the top.  Doing this not only aids in support of the cucumbers, it allows oxygen and air to flow between them, decreasing rot and helping the plant grow larger produce.  It also helps to keep the plant from crawling all over the ground, latching onto other plants or in the walkways.  Believe me, it works perfectly.  My cucumbers last year were just the basic type, but grew to over 12 to 13 inches long!  This will also take care of most of any cuke mildew problems that may occur, I didn't have a problem with that at all.

Beans, pole and bush:  work with them only when they're dry.  They are prone to rust, which is HORRIBLE to deal with if you've never had to, trust me.  Rust can spread when they're wet, so work with them, pick, trellis, or do other things to them ONLY when they're dry!  and, of course, don't forget to pick them.  Picking them regularly encourages them to grow more...they can't grow another in it's place until the one before it is gone, ya know  ;)

FREE Burpee Vegetable Garden Guide

Get a FREE eVersion of Burpee's Garden Fresh Garden Guide, just in time for growing season.  US and Canada only.