1st market day
I enjoyed the invigorating day of the market and sold things and bought things. Looking forward to next week !
strawberry companion plants
I have a bed for strawberries and so far they are really blossoming this Spring. Someone told me that in Florida they grow onions with strawberries, but this guide I found doesn’t say that, although it doesn’t say not to plant them with strawberries either.
http://strawberryplants.org/2011/03/companion-planting-strawberries/
I see it says not to plant near the cabbage plant, but bush beans are good, so I will probably plant beans in the bed closest to the strawberries.
Went out and took some pictures – so fresh and nice after rain and will be warming up soon.
another interesting thing – wicking beds http://www.urbanfoodgarden.org/main/wicking-beds/wicking-beds.htm - the same as self-watering containers I think.
I’ve been reading about keyhole gardens where you put a compost thing in the middle for your kitchen scraps, etc. and then water it through that and so here I have put the circular wire and I am adding the kitchen scraps. I will cover the compost leaves with peat moss, vermiculite and more composted compost, as in the new square foot gardening book.
I don’t know what these lovely flowers are, but I’m glad they are growing so nicely. I planted some wildflower seeds here and so I will eventually find out what they are.
Potato plants popping up nicely through the straw.
Meadow Sage is a winner!
Love the tulips !
back to the blog
I lost the book that had my password in it since I had changed it and so I never could get back on here, then I listened to the 700 Club show today about hoarding and decided to go through my books on the bookshelf and either list some of them on Amazon or give some away. There was my green book with my password, so here I am again.
Today is the National Day of prayer. I found this prayer guide I intend to follow indefinitely. http://commit2pray.com/7×7/
Some tulips in bloom, but alas, snow is expected tonight 1-3 inches. Oh dear, the tulips can probably handle it and also anything else growing outside.
The farmer market begins tomorrow. I told the guy I would not come because of the weather and he said. that is fine, probably a wise decision. In a week the weather should be a balmy 69 degrees.
a good helping the homeless idea!
new goal
my weight – want to get it under 45 this week
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-tips-to-spring-clean-your-body.html 5 tips to spring clean your body
The one I especially want to do is warm water and lemon juice first thing in the morning, then also drink fresh veggie juice. Now that we have a nutri bullet it will be more fun.
3 sisters
Tips for growing the three sisters:
- To try them in your garden, in spring, prepare the soil by adding fish scraps or wood ash to increase fertility, if desired.
- Make a mound of soil about a foot high and four feet wide.
- When the danger of frost has passed, plant the corn in the mound. Sow six kernels of corn an inch deep and about ten inches apart in a circle of about 2 feet in diameter.
- When the corn is about 5 inches tall, plant four bean seeds, evenly spaced, around each stalk. About a week later, plant six squash seeds, evenly spaced, around the perimeter of the mound.
Each of the sisters contributes something to the planting. Together, the sisters provide a balanced diet from a single planting.
- As older sisters often do, the corn offers the beans needed support.
- The beans, the giving sister, pull nitrogen from the air and bring it to the soil for the benefit of all three.
- As the beans grow through the tangle of squash vines and wind their way up the cornstalks into the sunlight, they hold the sisters close together.
- The large leaves of the sprawling squash protect the threesome by creating living mulch that shades the soil, keeping it cool and moist and preventing weeds.
- The prickly squash leaves also keep away raccoons, which don’t like to step on them.
By the time European settlers arrived in America in the early 1600s, the Iroquois had been growing the “three sisters” for over three centuries. The vegetable trio sustained the Native Americans both physically and spiritually. In legend, the plants were a gift from the gods, always to be grown together, eaten together, and celebrated together.
How to do this
http://www.kidsgardening.org/node/12033
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/recipes/growing-a-three-sisters-garden
I copied this from http://www.cooks.com
Homemade Soap No. 1
1 can lye (12 oz.)
6 lbs. lard or fat, melted
1 1/2 pts. hot water
Dissolve lye in hot water, being careful not to breathe the fumes. Let cool. Pour lye solution in a slow easy stream into melted fat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until cool. Pour into a tub or pan which has been dipped in cold water. When soap is hard, cut into desired shapes and store in dry place.
Homemade Soap No. 2
6 c. hot water
1 c. powdered Borax
1/2 c. washing ammonia
1 can lye (12. oz.)
9 c. warm grease
