Grow Your Own Mushroom Kit Giveaway!

I'm hosting a giveaway on my sister blog for a Grow Your Own Mushrooms Kit, to grow your own oyster mushrooms (these aren't always so easy to find at the store, growing your own wil take care of that).  Each kit uses composted coffee grounds that you can use in your garden, potted plants, etc. for great OM.  Each kit will grow between 2-4 harvests, with some growing 5!  Head on over to Thrifty and Frugal by Debbie and enter for your chance to win the Grow Your Own (oyster) Mushrooms Kit.  Hurry, it ends on July 3!!

Here's my NEWLY expanded garden!!

I know I gave the hubs a hard time about getting this expansion done.  I do that to ensure that it will, in fact, get done.  Some of you know what I mean by that.  Some guys you just gotta 'gently' prod (ie nag) to get them to complete a project they've promised.  But here it is.  A couple weekends ago, I had a load of 'better than last year's' topsoil brought in, for the following days that the expansion was going to be complete and ready for it.  It's getting late in the season, I HAD to get my garden planted.  So, the minions decended and viola! done!

You can see last year's fence, it's the darker, weathe-worn fense, with the newer fense pieces at the left.  The gate is in the center and I had them make it 2 pieces wide so that a truck can back into the garden if needed.  So the center is actually empty (you can see my potato buckets tubs in the center, but we moved them toward the back) so that a vehicle can back in if necessary.  You can't see the pile of dirt, it's off to the right in this pic because the dump truck that brought it was HUGE with 8 wheels!  I had no idea that dump trucks could even HAVE or NEED 8 wheels, lol.  So he couldn't 'thread the needle' well enough with the huge thing to get it dumped closer to the garden.  Now, because of my back and health issues, I didn't do any of the manual labor, I didn't even supervise, lol.  The hubs had my demands in his head and knew them by heart.  So I stayed out of the way, inside the house, brought them tea, made them sandwiches, etc., but stayed out of their way.  Two days later, we had this beautiful garden.  It's planted now, and I just couldn't get use to the idea that I had so much more room to plant.  I was finally able to plant some fun things, like Turks Turbans.  Yellow AND green squash (can't wait until THOSE babies start producing!)

Here's where I got the idea for the potato tubs,, plus I'd seen them in the gardening catalogs that are selling those collapsable tubs for use with root-type plants.  I thought 'EUREKA!'  Why do the tubs have to be collapsible?  Why can't I just use 'tubs?'  So I picked up these used storage tubs at a thrifty store for only $1.23, they had no lids, which was fine by me.  And we began our 'trial.'  They're super big now.  I like the above idea for the potatoes too.  These and tubs are perfect ideas for those that garden in raised beds.  When we build our raised beds, we put a weed barrier at the bottom.  This helps to keep moles out, as well as weeds, but allows for drainage, but it wouldn't be conducive to root plant such as potatoes, because there wouldn't be enough room...hence, the hubs.  When you grow them above ground like this, the heat from the outside environment helps the potatoes mature faster and just as evenly.  The key is to make sure there's plenty of drainage in your tubs.

I thought for sure I had a pic of the my potato tubs, but I can't find it.  But this is what I did:  I took the tubs, turned them over and drilled well over 20 holes at 1/4" in diameter all over the bottom.  I placed the tubs OFF THE GROUND by setting bricks around the edge like 'feet,'  Then, I put some gravel (only about an inch or so) in the bottom of the tubs, and topped them off with soil up to about a couple of inches from the top.  Then I planted.  Normally, when you plant potatoes, you plant them quite a distance apart, but when I planted these tubs, I planted about 8 per tub.  I did this because there's plenty of room for them to grow DOWN, plus from the photo above, it doesn't look like they planted their tators 3 feet apart either.  I may be wrong about that, and that's ok, that's why I'm calling it a 'trial' lol

My Goodwill outdoor lamp craft! Super Fast and Easy!

When we were in Kansas City a couple weeks ago, we stopped in at a Goodwill to pick up my youngest a hoodie...apparently, the hotel room was too chilly, whatever, lol.  Anyhoo, I found this baby.  This beautiful and LARGE amber bottle in square shape.  It was $1.99.  I don't know what it's original use was for, probably made for a decor piece from one of our favorite, expensive decorating stores, lol.  Ok, so I also picked up one of these wicks that go into wine bottles to make them into lamps a couple of months ago for a mere 99 cents at a local Goodwill (they normally run from $3.99 upwards of $6.99...good grief).  When I saw this bottle, I KNEW it was perfect for my wine bottle wick.  So, we picked it up, packed it in along with some clothes in our suitcase, lol and it made its way back to the St. Louis area on the Amtrak with us, all so I can do this:

To make the final $3 product look like this:

This would sell for a LOT more than the final price of $3 at any given store (except maybe the Goodwill or a great yard sale, lol).  Now, when I say this bottle is large, I mean that it stands well over 7" tall.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I just love the amber coloring.  I have some citronella oil that we're going to use in it for outside to keep the buggies away.  What's you're latest craft project?  I'd love to see or hear about them, share it with us.

Metal Stamped garden picks and decor!

I've been seeing the hand stamped metal jewelry and garden decor all over Etsy and the web and, just like I always do, I said, 'I can do that.'  So I did, lol.  Not only did I get myself into, my 12 yr old daughter's taken a liking to it.  It's super easy to do, and you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for a set of metal stamps.  Did you know that Harbor Freight carries them?  yes, they do!  In 2 different sizes, and they ALWAYS have a 20% off coupon floating around, so you can get a set of 1/4" for less than $10, and a 3/8" set for like $7!  Hobby Lobby carries the latter of the two, as well, and they're the same exact set, for the same exact price.  Next, you need a hammer and a hard surface like an iron block.  The hammer I use has a larger, flatter surface and a peen? however you spell it, lol.  And I use the hubs iron whatever kind of block from his tool junk box (he never uses it anyway).  Next, flatten the spoons, forks, ladles, whatever that you've picked up for a quarter at the junk store.  After that, stamp away. 

This is my creation.  Can you see what it says? lol  'Grow Dammit' lol  The fun part of doing this is that the letters don't have to be straight or lined up right.  It's more fun when they're a bit lopsided and caddywampus.  To get the letters dark, there's several different techniques that folks on the web use, but the most economic way is to use a fine tip Sharpie pen and just write inside the letter's groove.  When stamping the utensil, it's important to keep the stamp straight with the letter flat on the metal surface.  Use the flat side of the hammer to hit it firmly (not wimpy but not extremely hard!) and flat on the stamper's flat top a couple of times.  Many say not to hit it more than once in case your stamper moves, but we're not making heirloom engraved pieces here, we're making fun garden art, so hit it a couple of times and don't worry about it slipping.  It only slips when you don't have a firm grip on it...and you WILL have, won't you?  lol

There's all sorts of things you can stamp on a garden pick like this.  You can choose the basic words like herbal names: oregano, thyme, basil, etc.  Or you can use fun little sayings like I did.  My daughter used 'Farmer Girl.'  How about Queen, King, Prince, Princess.  Or Yin and Yang.  'I know I planted something here' Or even your name, your hubs name, and your anniversary date in the center?  There's so many you can do, choose from, or think of your own.

Then, with your new found talents of metal stamping, you can spread out and do more.  What other fun stuff can you do with letter metal stamping?  How about fun dog tags?  they're not just for pets anymore!  Use them as luggage tags, necklaces and other great things!  This is one that I made for my oldest:

Funky, eh?  That's what makes it cool!  She has it on a black cord with a silver peace sign.  As you can see, I used two different sized letters.  You can get these steel dog tag blanks at Hobby Lobby for a couple of bucks for a few in a pkg, or grab some aluminum dog tags at Oriental Trading! 

You can also use them to make serving utensil more fun and whimsical, or as a gift, along with some beads and wire, and you're done:

Or the ever-so popular initial necklaces.  I've made a few, but didn't take any pics of them, they were gifts.  But they're like these:

You can add a charm or bead/stone drop like the one in the photo, or leave it plain. 

There's so much you can do with your new set of metal stamp set.  You can pick up customized symbol stamps, like birds, music notes, and millions more, on the net (ebay, etsy, amazon, etc), but they can get pricey, as well as other fonts for letter, which can be VERY pricey, but starting out on the more less expensive versions are great for practice AND on the wallet!  What have YOU made with your metal stamps?  I'd love to see it!

My beautiful white Rhododendron and Red Cinnamon rose!

THIS beautiful flower is what my youngest (12 yr old) daughter got me for Mother's Day.  I've never owned a Rhododendron before so I've had to study up on them.  This particular one is a County of York variety, which is a hybrid, and I've learned it can grow up to 18 FEET!  Holy COW!  I've never known a flower to be able to grow that big!  Did you?  do any of you own one of these types of rhodies, a County of York?  does it actually get that tall and how much does it grow each year?  I'm so curious.  The hubs and I relocated a 2nd yr bush rose the other day that's at the side of the house (the opposite side of the cranky old man) where it should get the required amt of shade and sun, near the newly attached and working rain barrel (remember, it's the one that we bought over a yr ago? lol  I got him to finally hook it up as a Mother's Day gift).  Next to that, I'm planting 2 Japanese ferns.  These ferns don't mind cold weather at all, thankfully, and will survive down to about 25 below if needed, so they're perfect for the midwest.  I've told my youngest that she's given me a challenge, for I have no idea about rhodies, but that's a good thing, it keeps my gardening brain spinning. The white in this flower is stark, shining bright, solid WHITE!  Whiter than my white heirloom rose even.  Astounding.  And, I have to water it each day!  It literally takes a LOT of water.  I've put an aqua-globe in it, but it drains it each day, so it doesn't matter if I do that or water it by hand.

Now, look at THIS beauty:

THIS is a Cinnamon Girl miniature rose, that stands at about 24".  THIS is what my oldest (17 yr old) daughter gave me for Mother's Day.  This photo really doesn't do this rose justice.  I've GOT to get this girl planted because I just can't wait to watch her flourish.  We'll be working on the garden extention hopefully next weekend.  This rose will be along the fenceline of the new extension, as I have other roses along the fenceline of the current garden space.  The roses I have now are longstem roses, one read, one pink, and 2 newly planted roses that have not established yet, but are in the pink family.  When asked, my daughter said she picked this rose because it was a color unlike any that I have, and she's right.  The creamy centers pop out at you like nothing you can imagine.  Breathtaking.

I just had to share my Mother's Day gifts with everyone, I knew you'd enjoy seeing them.  I know it's been a couple of weeks since then, but I've been a bit behind on everything.  But no worries, I've not forgotten about my Lavender Cove, blog, eBay, OR Etsy.  It'going strong, and the latter two will be up and running soon.

My Indoor Zippered Greenhouse! LOVE it!!

You may remember me talking about greenhouses last month, well, I bought one.  No, not one of those lovely larger outdoor beauties (I WISH), but an indoor zippered greenhouse with shelves.  They have them at Big Lots for $20.  Here it is with my starters going strong:

And HERE is my heirloom tomato plants growing heartily!  If it looks like there's too many in each cup, that's because there is.  We gardeners sometimes plant more than one seed, just in case one doesn't germinate, then 'thin' them.  Well, I hate thinning...not because of the work, but because I HATE throwing perfectly good plants away.  So, tomorrow my bestie is coming by with her starter cells, and as I thin the weeker ones out, she's going to plant them into her flats.  This way, none will go to waste!!  I HATE waste!!  Don't they look lovely?!  They're gorgeous!

My Basil harvest of 2010

I love the smell of basil...so I grew at least 5 varieties last year, and have started about 7 or so varieties for this year.  Below is the picture of the dried and bagged seed harvest of my basil plants from last year.  I think it's safe to say I have plenty of basil seeds, lol...especially since each tiny pod holds no less than 2 tiny black seeds, with some holding up to 5!  If you're in need of some basil seeds, let me know...maybe we can do a seed swap or something.



I have Boxwood, Lemon, Thai, Cinnamon, and SOME reg. Sweet Basil.
This year, I'm adding Spiced Globe and Licorice!

You've heard how marigolds among your plants help to keep the bugs away, but did you know that basil does an even BETTER job?  The marigolds work from the roots, not the greens or flowers, so they help keep those kinds of bugs that like bore, or head for the root and such, but BASIL will help keep your garden smelling WONDERFUL, AND once mature, will keep the mosquitos to a minimum for while you're working in the garden in the evenings, plus many other bugs.  I planted a gorgeous boxwood basil about every 2 feet along the outside of my raised bed on both sides of the tomato bed....and you know what?  we had NO bugs in our garden AT ALL!  none, zilch, and only occassionally had to swat a mostiquito...the basil works perfect.  Also, keep a pot of basil growing outside on or near your patio, for when you entertain, to help keep the mostiquitos away (or even a small pot sitting in the center as a centerpiece).